Bottling Day

My first attempt at home brew finished fermenting the other day which meant it was time to bottle. It had been two weeks and a few days since brew day and the airlock had more or less stopped bubbling. If a beer is bottled too soon, there can be too much fermentable sugar left over which can cause the bottles to explode while fermentation continues. I spent the evening cleaning out bottles and getting ready. I had about fifty some bottles left over from all the beers I had been enjoying through the blog process which was more than enough for the five odd gallons that were brewed.

I peeled the top of of the fermenting tub and was greeted with a wave of massive hopiness. It smelled like an incredibly concentrated cloud of cascade hop gas. It made my eyes water and nearly caused to start coughing into the batch. I siphoned off a bit for the hydrometer reading and found that it had a final gravity 1.012. The original gravity was 1.052. This difference shows how much "stuff" fermented and became alcohol. This beer will be about 5.5% ABV.

I siphoned off the beer into the bottling tub and added the priming sugar. This sugar will be food for the yeast and will be fermented in the bottle to provide carbonation. I had tasted the beer when measuring the FG and it tasted like a nice and hoppy pale ale. A flat pale ale, but it tasted like beer nonetheless.

The beer left a thick nasty looking sludge in the bottom of the fermenting tub which used to be the yeast and other proteins that had settled during fermentation. This did not taste like beer and was, in fact, quite disgusting. I did manage to find the missing gasket that was pushed through during the first night, so great success!

The bottling itself was not to eventful, but now I have a cabinet of bottled homebrew that should be ready to drink in two weeks.

Saranac Seaon's Best

Brewer: Saranac
Style: Brown Nut Lager
ABV: 5.30%

Pour gives the expected brown/amber color with a nice thick head tat recedes to a solid lace that marks the glass.

Aroma has notes of hops and a nutty malt.

Tastes goes straight to hoppiness with a nutty finish much like the aroma. Beer finishes clean and crisp with little aftertaste.

Mouth feel is a lightly carbonated full bodied beer. Quite filling, wouldn't be able to drink too many of them.

I'm giving this a B- because it lacks some flavor, but is drinkable. Good for sitting around and drinking slow.

-Roy

Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale (Alex's take)

Brewery: Stone Brewing Company
Style: Black IPA
ABV: 8.7%
Country: USA, California

Roy had reviewed this previously here. As a fan of both stouts and IPAs, I couldn't really resist the appeal of this since a black IPA is a mix between, well, a stout and an IPA. The pour was pitch black with no sign of any brown around the edges. It had a big and thick head which was fluffy and tan. Left a sticky lace and rings the whole way down.

Aroma contained plenty of citrusy hops up front with lots of roasted flavors as well. More hops were found in the taste. Somewhat pine-like with oranges and lots of sweet malts. Roasted coffee and oak show up after the hops subside. Tasted like what I was expecting as a mix between a stout and an IPA. Roasted notes transition into a big wave of bitterness that lingers a long time. Bitterness really takes control and overpowers everything else. Stout and IPA flavors battled the entire time for dominance. While good, this was more or less what I was expecting. I'd prefer a bit less bitterness. B

Liefmans Goudenband

Brewer: Liefmans

Style: Flanders Oud Bruin

ABV: 8.00%

Enjoyed some of this at a recent tasting and decided a bit more was needed. First impression was quite good.

Pours a dark reddish brown with a thick head that thins out nicely to a lace.

The nose is spicy and sweet. Picked up what reminded me of tart cherries as well.

The first drink had a certain slight puckering sourness to it. Not over overpowering but not something I have tasted in a beer thus far. It actually reminded me a lot of a cider made with green apples. Overall a complex and smooth beer with a great mouth feel and pleasing aftertaste.

I give it an A-, pick some up and enjoy!

-Roy

More of my photography

Franziskaner hefe-weisse

Brewery: Spaten-Franziskaner-Brau
Style: Hefeweizen
ABV: 5.o%
Country: Germany

I'm actually surprised that it took this long for a German beer to grace this blog. AJ picked this one up while at the Teeter. I'm usually not a Hefeweizen fan, but I wont turn down a free beer. Poured out leaving a huge white-fluffy head. Body was a hazy orange color which was to be expected. Aroma had a slight grassy flavor along with plenty of bananas and wheat. Flavor had lots of wheat and bananas. Its really quite distinct. Some grass flavors and a nice buttery feel which isn't overdone. No bitterness whatsoever in the finish. The high carbonation lends a nice spicy, crisp finish. I can see how this would be a great beer for a hot day. I really enjoyed this one which was a nice surprise. B+

The Duck-Rabbit Porter

Brewery: The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery
Style: Porter
ABV: 5.7%
Country: USA, North Carolina

This bottle claims that the Duck-Rabbit brewery is the "Dark Beer Specialist" so I had some high expectations when pouring this one.

Pour was a dark black color that had some brown around the edges. Tan head dissipated quickly not leaving much lace. Smell had a light sweetness combined with a smoky, roasted character. Taste is fantastic. Plenty of good and dark flavors to choose from. Smoke, coffee, burnt charcoal. Similar to what I'd expect a fireplace to taste like. I really enjoyed this one. Just for the record, I can see both a duck and a rabbit, but it looks more like a rabbit. A-

Lagunitas Brown Shugga' Ale

Brewery: Lagunias Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
ABV: 9.99%
Country: USA, California

From the bottle: "We believe this special ale is something unique. Feeding brown cans sugar to otherwise cultured brewery yeast is a'kin to feeding raw shark to your gerbil. It is unlikely to ever occur in nature without human intervention. And it looks weird besides. But it has happened and now it's too late."

Pored a brown, reddish copper color with a bubbly tan head. Had a nice crystal clear body. It had a strong, sweet aroma. Brown sugar, some toasted toffee dominated the nose with a bit of hopiness. Taste had plenty of different sugar flavors. True to the name, brown sugar was the most dominant. Both molasses and caramelized sugar were present while toasted toffee shined through. A surprising amount of bitterness does a good job of bringing some balance to the picture. Some alcohol flavors and spiciness show up as well. Overall, it was a bit to sweet for my liking. B-