beer kits...

[glockentalk]

I've got your brown ale recipe in my fermenter.

I'm drinking a stout to which I added 1 lb of chocolate malt and 1 lb of grated semi-sweet chocolate. It's very good: rich and creamy. It bears out what I said: the standard Brewhouse stout is bland, but it responds very well to mods.

 

[FlyGuy]

Agreed. Hope that brown ale turns out well. Let me know.

You didn't by chance enter anything in the Calgary competition last weekend did you? I only ask because I judged some awesome beers out of Edmonton, and wondered if any of them belonged to people from HBT!

 

[glockentalk]

Nah, I'm too new at this to even think about attending, let alone competing. I've only just started participating on the EHG forum. Helped a guy buy some kegs. Is there a website for the cowtown homebrewers?

 

[FlyGuy]

Nah, I'm too new at this to even think about attending, let alone competing. I've only just started participating on the EHG forum. Helped a guy buy some kegs. Is there a website for the cowtown homebrewers?

Yep, the Cowtown Yeast Wranglers website is at: http://www.YeastWranglers.ca

 

[glockentalk]

Wow! You guys have a sweet set-up. The connection to Wild Rose Brewery is fantastic. Hmm. Maybe I'll have to reconsider the idea of moving back south.

 

[UYLDAR]

I have a brewhouse honey blonde fermenting on day 4.5 right now. I only added 1 gallon of water as opposed to the suggested 2.2 Fermentation has slowed considerably at this point. Not that anything is wrong but I would not mind altering it to increase the alcohol content.

I am wondering if adding a sugar of some sort would be a good idea or if I should just let this batch finish and go about modifying my next batch from the get go.

Thanks
D

 

[FlyGuy]

I don't think adding sugar will help it in any way, particularly if it is brewed to be higher gravity than the recipe anyways. Your best bet is to keep the fermenting beer nice and warm so it attenuates fully. You can also gently swirl the beer in the carboy to resuspend the yeast so that it can stay in contact with the beer better and finish fermenting.

 

[UYLDAR]

By nice and warm I hope you mean 70 F. I am keeping it as close to 70 as I can.

Thanks
D

 

[glockentalk]

Agreed. Hope that brown ale turns out well. Let me know.

The brown ale mod of the cream ale was a big hit. I'll be working on the recipe this fall.

Right now, I'm doing herbal variations on the wheat ale kit. I bought Stephen Buhner's Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers. Armed with that and and a guide to edible plants of Canada, I've been having a blast.

I highly recommend the red ale. It produces a complex, highly-drinkable crowd-pleaser with no need for any modification. Give it at least 6 weeks, though.

I brought four kegs to my daughter's wedding: a red, a cream, a pale and a premium lager (fermented as ale). All were very well received.