Friday, April 07, 2006
Pale Beer Time
Well, the summer is coming, so it's time to brew some pale beers. After next weekend's 20 gallon batch of Black Honey Ale, I'll be set for dark beers for a while. Fortunately that one is good any time of year, but I am decidedly light on light beer right now... 5 gallons of Amarillo Pale Ale in a keg and just under a case of bottles is pretty much it. Well, I have another case or so of Belgian Wit, so that's not too bad.
So, my brewing schedule is looking like the following:
I think that'll probably carry me through the summer and perhaps even then some. My heart breaks because I have a Scottish and Scotch Ale as well as a Porter I want to brew, so maybe I'll be able to sneak them in sometime. I really love dark beers... Formulating them, brewing them, tasting them, drinking them... Its all heavenly. The porter should be exciting since I'll be using specialty grains from one place - Malteries Franco-Belges. It'll use some Caramunich 120L, KilnCoffee, KilnBlack, and a touch of a few others... I can almost smell the wort boiling right now...
My hops are shooting up like mad. Some are well over 2 feet already. I've got shoots coming out all over the damn place. I'll probably wait a few more days and then prune back so only the biggest 3 or 4 shoots remain... (at least on the Cascade and Nugget). My Liberty hops are sucking yet again this year, but perhaps they just need better placement. If they fail to do well I'll move them to the side yard next spring.
So, my brewing schedule is looking like the following:
- 20 gallons Black Honey Ale
- 10 gallons Saison Sevier
- 10 gallons Wheatopia (wheat w/ fruit in secondary)
- 10 gallons Horizon Bitter
- 10 gallons Tupelo Honey Ale
- 5 gallons Hell's Bells Belgian Pale
- 5 gallons For Whom the Bell Tolls Tripel
I think that'll probably carry me through the summer and perhaps even then some. My heart breaks because I have a Scottish and Scotch Ale as well as a Porter I want to brew, so maybe I'll be able to sneak them in sometime. I really love dark beers... Formulating them, brewing them, tasting them, drinking them... Its all heavenly. The porter should be exciting since I'll be using specialty grains from one place - Malteries Franco-Belges. It'll use some Caramunich 120L, KilnCoffee, KilnBlack, and a touch of a few others... I can almost smell the wort boiling right now...
My hops are shooting up like mad. Some are well over 2 feet already. I've got shoots coming out all over the damn place. I'll probably wait a few more days and then prune back so only the biggest 3 or 4 shoots remain... (at least on the Cascade and Nugget). My Liberty hops are sucking yet again this year, but perhaps they just need better placement. If they fail to do well I'll move them to the side yard next spring.
