Carb Check, Take 2&

I decided to check my beer again since it had been a couple more days, and also wanted to see if my lack of carbonation was due to the rubber seal on the previous bottle's fliptop cap. So I placed a 12'er in the fridge to chill. That was a couple hours ago. Now it's time to open 'er up and check my results...again.



And as you can see, there is a little bit of lacing (bubbles), but not a lot. I decided to then try another glass, one with laser etching on the bottom to help cavitate more bubbles.


In case you couldn't tell that is a Harp pint glass. It didn't help much however. As for the taste, it is wonderful aside from needing a little more carbonation. I truely feel that one more week in the bottle will finish this brew off nicely, and so I shall push the release date to April 12th. Cheers!!!

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Low Carb Beer

I decided to crack open my 11 oz flip-top tester bottle to check on the progress of this latest batch which I have scheduled for an April 6th release.



The pour shows great color, but look at the head...nearly no carbonation at all.


I honestly am pleased as punch about the beautiful color for my first red ale. It really is red.


But the lack of carbonation is a bit disconcerning. I didn't do anything different from what I normally do and have not had this problem before. Upon drinking, there is a little carb on the tongue, but not enough to work. It looks like I will have to postpone the release date by a week or so the carbonation has a chance to build properly. I will take it to Portland with me and hold it for another week, and hope to release after the guard drill. Until then, happy drinking!

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Now pitching...

Ninkasi Brewing yeast being pitched into 'The Ginger'



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New Beer!

I'm 50 min into the hour long boil of my newest batch, a red ale called 'The Ginger', in honor of all the red-heads that have no souls. It's early indicators give it 7-7.9% abv and it already has a lovely auburn color to it. I was graced with some yeast from Ninkasi Brewing thanks to my former coworker Steve who is a salesman for them. He's also promised to "make sure we're taken care of" when I bring Kender over for a tour and some beers, especially if their expansion is complete by then. HUZZAH!!! Back to the boil!

Finished product!

So here it is, the finished product with label.



To all that get to try it, enjoy! Next up, you ask? We will see...

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Time to test!

It's been just shy of 2 weeks since I bottled, and I filled a smaller bottle to be my tester, allowing me to check the carbonation level and how the beer is developing.





Carbonation is developing nicely. It is definately interesting. Complex, yet smooth. The vanilla is very subtle but that's the way it should be. There is a hint of coffee-like roasted flavor present, and a little more bitterness than I like, but it's not overpowering. Now to try it as a beer float!


The first time I tried this was at Boulder City Brewing in Nevada after a tour of the Hoover Dam during our Red Flag in 2007. A stout with ice cream, also known as a beer float. The vanilla icecream compliments the stout quite nicely, and this version is no exception.

Overall I give his beer a B so far, I'm sure it will grow on me however. I think that it will be ready for it's february 16th release at work.
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First bottle capped

Boiling the caps for five minutes sanitizes them and will help keep the beer fresh.



And as the next picture shows, things don't always go smooth. While typing the last entry, the valve on my bottle filler stuck part way open and the bottle overflowed, creating a big mess. I lost about 16 oz :( of precious beer. Stupid me!


Anyway, back to filling using gravitational technology and a spring loaded push valve. Push the filler on the bottom of the bottle until full, then remove.


Place a sanitized cap on top of the bottle and then clamp the capper on top, pulling on the cantilever arms.





And viola! A sealed bottle of brew. Now comes the hard part...


...waiting for the carbonation to build. It will probably be about 3 weeks before it is finished, but I have a small bottle to test in 2 weeks.

Thanks for following along overthe last month, it has been a joy for me to do.

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