AT LAST, BEER!

[Clint Yeastwood]

I finally got my disconnects and Inkbird today. Moved my only keg of brew to the fully armed and operational Beer Star, attached a Torpedo faucet, and ran off half a pint to get rid of the yeast. Pretty cloudy, but I didn't use Irish moss, and it's right off the bottom of a new keg that was just moved.

I can't throw it out. It's the precious. I'll just drink the yeast.

Wonderful banana and allspice aroma. The head is amazing. I didn't know it would do that. Maybe I did something wrong.

Way too much CO2, but that will pass, as gas sometimes does.

I didn't remember this beer being this good. Even if it's infected or turns out to have some other issue because of the many brew day disasters I experienced, I remember this stuff now, and I remember that I love it. If this one goes funny, I'll make another just like it, only without the brett, staph, tetanus, Ebola, and whatever else got in there.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

I just transferred a beer intentionally infected with Brett. But I won't get to taste it for another 9 months or so...

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Well, some of us are so talented, infections are effortless.

 

[bracconiere]

Ebola,

i wonder if that would help, or hurt head retention? be sure to post back with one of those fancy double pours where the foam is like an inch or two above the rim!

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

The head is really something. Almost like Kirin.

Having a glass with less yeast in it. It's sweet, so I'm not sure It totally finished fermenting, but then it has crystal malt in it, so some sweetness is expected. That was the purpose of the crystal. I can check the gravity later.

I don't care if it's wort. I'm drinking it.

Got me an oxygen thing, so I have confidence about future fermentations.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I think I'm past the real yeast bite. Here is how it looks in a glass. Very cloudy, but you don't get any bite to speak of until you hit the bottom.

I think next time I may use Irish moss. I bought it but decided against it. I was actually shooting for a cloudy beer.

I designed this beer to ferment at room temperature, for convenience and to get off flavors on purpose, but this one was generally between 68 and 71, and it still has bananas. I wonder if anyone can advise me: is moving the temperature down 5 to 7 degrees likely to reduce the heavy alcohols? What I mean is, if it tastes this good fermented cooler, and the heavy alcohols are reduced, maybe there is no reason to go back to room temperature. I seem to remember having some headache problems with this beer.

I used to use this beer to get me through hurricanes back when I lived in Coral Gables. The season of '05 was really something. I used to get a 300-quart cooler, add 50 pounds of ice, and fill it with a keg, bread, lunchmeat, and cheese. Then I would just sit on the porch and wait for the power to come back on. I didn't care if it came back or not.

 

[Sammy86]

Looks to me like you made beer...congratulations are at least in order for that much!

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

If it's underfermented, it can't be by much, because it's doing what beer is supposed to do.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Today, things are looking better. The hydrometer says I went from 1.054 to 1.010, so the beer is probably fermented. I don't think I made mistakes making these measurements. I think it tasted too sweet because the carbonation was messed up. It foamed like crazy on the way into the glass, and then it was a little flat. I think it lacked the right amount of carbonation zing. I have been adjusting the gas, and it's better now.

The yeast bite is just about gone.

The aroma is magnificent, by my standards. Hops, bananas, and allspice or cloves. Beersmith thinks I'm just over 80 IBU. The beer was designed to be hopped to the extreme, with crystal malt to make it work, but I kind of wonder if Beersmith is accurate. I think Listerine comes in at 75.

I love this stuff. It's way better than I remembered.