I feel like I'm at an AA meeting or something.....Hello, my name is Mongoose, and I'm a home brewer....
My journey: my favorite beer of all time is/WAS Potosi Cave Ale. A malty brew, pretty high ABV of 6.5, great mouthfeel, it was just what the doctor ordered. I like hoppy brews too, and some other ones, but Cave Ale? No finer nectar has ever been brewed.
Then Potosi Brewing began brewing their own beer instead of contracting it out, they hired a new brewmaster, and he somehow thought he should screw around with perfection. My gosh, Cave Ale was on tap in Madison; if that's not the sign of a new hit, what is? Who screws around with a hit?
So wisdom escaped the Potosi Brewing Company, and a new recipe was born--and not for the better. ABV down to 5.5, and a sour finish, less desirable mouthfeel, and just a real letdown. In a word: Ick.
*****************
Meanwhile, my son, unbeknownst to me, decided he would venture into the world of homebrewing. He does gallon batches, and he's been producing drinkable product, making mistakes, learning from them. He lets me in on his new hobby/passion, I ask some questions, and then LIGHTNING STRIKES!
AHA, I say to myself--AHA! AHA! What--WHAT--if I try my hand at home brewing? Maybe I can make Cave Ale, or.....even....something BETTER!
So my son explains the basic process, I anticipate some Christmas cash, obtain permission from the financial officer of the family (not me), and I order up a bunch of brewing equipment from a well-known vendor.
I get Palmer's book, I'm reading online, I'm quizzing my son. I receive the equipment, and I decide, when I purchase it, that I'm not going halfway. I'm going to get quality stuff, I'm not going to buy a bunch of cheap crap that three brews in, I'm going to regret buying.
******************
<introduction interlude> When I get interested in something, I REALLY get interested. I want to plumb the depths of every mystery, figure it all out, get as deep into it as I can. This has led me to, among other things, the making of matched golf clubs, fantasy baseball (I used to publish game theory in a national publication), playing golf (on a day of miracles, I actually shot a round of par), poker (you should see the books I have), ammo reloading, trap shooting....and guess what now? Yeah, home brewing. Get the hell out of my way, there are things to LEARN!>
********************
So here I am. My first batch was Irish Red Ale. Screwed up the boil a bit by putting in the malt extract at 170 degrees instead of when I returned teh steeped wort to boiling, but that should be ok. Fermented up fine, it's now in a secondary fermenter, and it's been 12 days.
Then I turned to my quest to find Cave Ale. Bought an English Bitters kit from a local brew haus, the owner suggested adding a couple extra pounds of light DME to the recipe, and on Sunday I brewed it up. My first boilover (learned something there), though it wasn't bad.
It's in the primary fermenter now, and it is still going, more than 4 days after I brewed it. The airlock was bubbling twice a second for a day or more, it was really going to town. The OG was 1.063, which depending on the finish, should produce an ABV pretty close to Cave Ale. It's a start.
Bubbling is down to a few a minute, and I'm trying to figure out how I'll finish it. The gas escaping has a fruity aroma, so I'm reading up on that. Thinking I'll just leave it in the primary for 3 weeks, hopefully most of that will be cleaned up. The primary is at 68* right now, and I have no good way to cool it.
I'll probably bottle the Red Ale this weekend, a couple more weeks before the second batch is ready.
One thing: I'm not very patient. This waiting is killing me. I think I'll open a Sam Adams while I wait. I can keep the bottle.
My journey: my favorite beer of all time is/WAS Potosi Cave Ale. A malty brew, pretty high ABV of 6.5, great mouthfeel, it was just what the doctor ordered. I like hoppy brews too, and some other ones, but Cave Ale? No finer nectar has ever been brewed.
Then Potosi Brewing began brewing their own beer instead of contracting it out, they hired a new brewmaster, and he somehow thought he should screw around with perfection. My gosh, Cave Ale was on tap in Madison; if that's not the sign of a new hit, what is? Who screws around with a hit?
So wisdom escaped the Potosi Brewing Company, and a new recipe was born--and not for the better. ABV down to 5.5, and a sour finish, less desirable mouthfeel, and just a real letdown. In a word: Ick.
*****************
Meanwhile, my son, unbeknownst to me, decided he would venture into the world of homebrewing. He does gallon batches, and he's been producing drinkable product, making mistakes, learning from them. He lets me in on his new hobby/passion, I ask some questions, and then LIGHTNING STRIKES!
AHA, I say to myself--AHA! AHA! What--WHAT--if I try my hand at home brewing? Maybe I can make Cave Ale, or.....even....something BETTER!
So my son explains the basic process, I anticipate some Christmas cash, obtain permission from the financial officer of the family (not me), and I order up a bunch of brewing equipment from a well-known vendor.
I get Palmer's book, I'm reading online, I'm quizzing my son. I receive the equipment, and I decide, when I purchase it, that I'm not going halfway. I'm going to get quality stuff, I'm not going to buy a bunch of cheap crap that three brews in, I'm going to regret buying.
******************
<introduction interlude> When I get interested in something, I REALLY get interested. I want to plumb the depths of every mystery, figure it all out, get as deep into it as I can. This has led me to, among other things, the making of matched golf clubs, fantasy baseball (I used to publish game theory in a national publication), playing golf (on a day of miracles, I actually shot a round of par), poker (you should see the books I have), ammo reloading, trap shooting....and guess what now? Yeah, home brewing. Get the hell out of my way, there are things to LEARN!>
********************
So here I am. My first batch was Irish Red Ale. Screwed up the boil a bit by putting in the malt extract at 170 degrees instead of when I returned teh steeped wort to boiling, but that should be ok. Fermented up fine, it's now in a secondary fermenter, and it's been 12 days.
Then I turned to my quest to find Cave Ale. Bought an English Bitters kit from a local brew haus, the owner suggested adding a couple extra pounds of light DME to the recipe, and on Sunday I brewed it up. My first boilover (learned something there), though it wasn't bad.
It's in the primary fermenter now, and it is still going, more than 4 days after I brewed it. The airlock was bubbling twice a second for a day or more, it was really going to town. The OG was 1.063, which depending on the finish, should produce an ABV pretty close to Cave Ale. It's a start.
Bubbling is down to a few a minute, and I'm trying to figure out how I'll finish it. The gas escaping has a fruity aroma, so I'm reading up on that. Thinking I'll just leave it in the primary for 3 weeks, hopefully most of that will be cleaned up. The primary is at 68* right now, and I have no good way to cool it.
I'll probably bottle the Red Ale this weekend, a couple more weeks before the second batch is ready.
One thing: I'm not very patient. This waiting is killing me. I think I'll open a Sam Adams while I wait. I can keep the bottle.
