Exciting times at the home brewery!

Mm...beer.

Slainte! Irish Ale Adventures

Irish Ale Yeast for both beers!

I can't wait for St. Patrick's Day...and it's starting to show.  Went to Princeton Homebrew today and picked up not one, but TWO recipes to make, specifically with St. Patrick's day in mind.  The first of these is my lovely Limerick Session Stout from last year, slightly modified:

Target OG: 1.044
Target FG: 1.012
Target IBU: 34

6 lbs Maris Otter
2 lbs Flaked Barley
1 lb Roasted Barley

2 oz Willamette  [whole, 5.6%AA] @60

WLP004 Irish Ale Yeast

The second beer, which I will brew sometime next week and rack onto the existing yeast cake from the stout, is a tasty Irish Red Ale, the first I have ever brewed and definitely a style I've wanted to brew for a while.  I'm pretty proud of this recipe...trying to think of a good name for it, and I'm open to any suggestions.

Target OG: 1.047
Target FG: 1.013
Target IBU: 25

8 lbs Maris Otter
8 oz Crystal 40°L
8 oz Crystal 120°L
4 oz Pale Chocolate 200°L

1.5 oz Willamette [whole, 5.6%AA]@60
.5 oz Willamette @5 min

WLP004 Irish Ale Yeast [cake from LSS]

I know these'll be really tasty, and the guys at Princeton Homebrew gave me props for my foresight...these'll have about a month to get good 'n' ready.

Came in right around 1.046

JuniorSenior RyePA Returns!

Mm...fresHops

Brewed up one of my favorite AG recipes this week, my delicious JuniorSenior rye pale ale, which I first brewed back in July of 2010.  Brewing went really well, and the only real difference in the recipe this time was that I used some whole hops from fresHops.com, and the new Rebel Brewer Pub Ale strain from White Labs.  Brewing went really well, the wort tasted absolutely delicious, and better still, I established a compost set up that made for some really easy and stress-free cleaning of my mash tun.

The recipe is a totally original bit-o-this, bit-o-that, quintessentially homebrewerish kitchen sink recipe that I crafted on the train from Boston back from Andover.  Rather romantic, I suppose.  Here's how it stacks up [5.5 gallons]:

Target OG: 1.052
Target FG: 1.013
Target IBU: ~40

6 lbs American pale malt
2 lbs Rye malt
1 lb wheat malt
1 lb Crystal 60°L
8 oz Aromatic malt

1 oz. Amarillo [10.8%AA]@60
1 oz. Amarillo @5
1 oz. Amarillo @1
1 oz. Amarillo, dry-hopped for 12-14 days.

WLP250 Rebel Brewer American Pub Ale Yeast [woohoo!]

Yay composting!

One of the best things about brew day was that I didn't dread/avoid cleaning my mash tun, thanks to a decent shovel and a new composting set up that I fashioned from a trash can.  It's so great to just be able to scoop up the grain with no messiness, and it's green!  Furthermore, it will make amazing fertilizer for my hop plants this summer.  Circle of life...make-a-the-world-go-round.

Get ready for next week, when I start brewing some Irish beers to stock up for St. Patrick's Day.