Sunday, March 4, 2012
Cooking Beer
I used the Around the Horn IPA recipe from Cellar Brewing Supply to kick off my maiden brewing voyage, and in deference to the folks at Cellar I'll leave the recipe details on my sheet of paper.
Audibles:
I added an extra 3/4 oz. of the flavoring hops halfway through the wort boil (roughly 25 minutes remained) in hopes of giving it a little extra hop flavor. Slightly worried that I never reached the boiling break point. I left the pot uncovered, which in hindsight may have been a mistake. We'll see.
Wort Up
Cooled the wort in my sink with cold water and a little bit of ice, refreshing the water trough every 7-10 minutes or so, and when it came time to transfer the wort into the bucket I had a slight panic moment because it felt like it had cooled so drastically. I thought it might be a good idea to put the half of the wort which hadn't been dumped into the bucket on the stove to heat it up before realizing that was a stupid decision and poured the rest of it into the bucket.
Feelings:
I really struggled to sleep that night, doubting my every instinct, and assuming that wherever there wasn't a photo of the brew equipment in my sources and instructions, that I had used the wrong equipment. Legitimate night terrors, folks.
Over time my fear subsided. Brewing Is Fun and Easy, according to all my books, right?
March 7, 2012
Fermentation Transfer
This was pretty easy, and it was a lot of fun to hook up the rubber tube to the bucket spout and watch her rip down the water slide into the carboy. Because I'm so bush league, I sanitized the carboy in the shower with me, down a double duty of scrubbin and rinsin. Sexy.
Audibles:
I added a sleeve of hops to the carboy. I think I was supposed to do this, but I'm not sure. Hoping for no spoilage.
Chillin in the Carboy
And there she still chills today. Next up: bottling
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