Wow. Hard to believe I haven't posted since December. Far too long to go without an update, so this will be a long post. Things have been a bit hectic, but no excuse. We also moved north to Boston in February, and I haven't brewed in almost 6 months! No worries though, the New England brewing scene is pretty sweet, and I found a great home brew store to frequent. Check it out! Homebrew Emporium
So, I packed up the truck (mostly with brewing equipment and my kegerator) and braved the hurricane-like weather up the east coast. I was afraid of rain, but had no idea we would be driving thorough Wizard of Oz conditions. Luckily, the plastic wrap protected my kegerator, and it's up and running as we speak. Check it out. I couldn't help but wonder what people thought I was transporting on I-95.
Once Andi, Tobey and I made it, I had to get my first batch out fast. I decided on an English style pale ale but with American hops. Simple and straight forward in case I encountered any hiccups at the new brewery. I also decided to treat my water (Poland Spring) to mimic the traditional English water of Burton-on-Trent. I found this article and table on Burtonizing Poland Springs Water See below. The high sulfate content should accent the malt and subdue the hops.
Nico's Yankee Time Pale Ale
6 lbs. Optic malt (U.K.)
5 lbs. U.S. Two row pale malt
1 lb. flaked rye
1 lb. crystal 40L
.5 oz. Magnum @ 75 min.
2 oz. Centennial @ 15 min.
2 oz. Centennial @ 5 min.
1 pack Nottingham ale yeast rehydrated and pitched at 65F.
The brew day went well. In fact, maybe the smoothest brew day ever. I found a nice spot on the deck outside and the hose was right nearby. Interestingly, I decided to disassemble and clean my Barley Crusher malt mill. It had a bit of rust I wanted to brush off, and I decided to lessen the gap between the rollers, which had always been set at the factory setting.
The adjustment gave me a slightly finer crush, and I got a huge boost in efficiency (may also be in part to my water treatment). I had anticipated my OG to be around 1.050-1.055, but it turned out to be a whopping 1.070. I added some extra water to the boil and everything finished up at 1.065. Turns out I made more of an ESB/English style IPA. Not what I was aiming for, but not worries. After all, this is Happy Brew with Nico!
The boil.
Final product!!! (sweet glass thanks to Andi and Lily). The beer ended up tasting quite English despite my judicious use of America hops. I think this occurred because of my water salt additions and goes to show how important water chemistry is when you try to brew a certain style. The final beer clocked in at about 7.5% abv and had a pleasant maltiness (though not cloyingly sweet). The perfect celebration beer for my inaugural brew in New England!
I think the high alcohol made Tobey sleepy. Up-coming post: CLASSIC AMERICAN PILS!!!
