So...I've been planning for a little over a month now to have a brewfest at my house. We wanted to make our own stuff for Oktoberfest this year, and brewing is something that has interested me for quite some time now...so I spent the cash. However, Mother Nature had some major issues with our plans, and rolled through town dumping 6 inches of rain, knocking down 3.5 of my 60 year old trees (completely uprooting one of them) and killing the power until Sunday. Thankfully, they all fell into the yard!
http://www.demonwarp.com/storm_aug_2007/
Plan B: Who can host this party with less than 24 hours notice?
Thankfully, someone stepped up and we had our brewfest. We have 3 batches in the primaries (a hefe, a red ale and a wit..all extract kits from MWS). I think everything went quite well. We only had one boilover (during our only partial boil), but it was fairly minor. I was working on sanitizing stuff while apparently those watching the kettle were all tipping the glasses back at the same time. Oh well, it cleaned up quick with a hose. I was amazed at just how true those stories of "don't take your eyes off the kettle for a second" came to be.
OG's all came out within a point (0.001) or two of what was on the recipe. The hefe came out a bit heavy possibly because we poured a bit of trub filled wort into the bucket because the boil only produced 1.5 gallons of wort. That was probably a mistake, but I don't think I'll be doing any more partials anymore. Also during that hefe, we never got a hot break. This worries me...the other two batches broke sharply (amazing thing to witness). The wit turned out very dark in color, which surprised us all. Although, looking at the shade of the LME which went into the kettle, I can't see how it could be any lighter.
Anyhow, this was even more fun than I thought it would be. I just hope the Beer Gods bless us with good, clean beer...!
First batch(es) in the primaries...! (after fighting with mother nature)
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