Must Brew More
Not finding the tome to brew as much as I should. Have been busy with a few other things. I do have two brews lagering so it’s not all bad. I only like to do two at a time as that is all I have complete temperature control for.
I am currently drinking an experimental pale ale that has turned out very nice. Fairly plain malt bill, bittered with Magnum. I then added some NZ Saaz B at ten minutes and Hallertau at five and one. Has come out as a very nice and easy drinking beer. It is very approachable whilst still having some interesting flavour. The other beer I have on at the moment is my Foreign Extra stout. I make this beer every winter and it is one of my favorites. I use a significant amount of dark brown sugar in it which I think gives it a great flavor. The hops are not really detectable and are just there to provide bitterness and balance. If I have some of this beer left I may enter some competitions with it.
In progress I have two lagers at the moment. The first is a Schwarz beer. This recipe is very similar to the one that took gold at SABSOSA a couple of years ago. Had to make a change to the yeast though as Wyeast discontinued the North American lager yeast. I also made a Bohemian style Pilsener. Used German pils malt and a little German carrapils. Was bittered with Magnum and has lots of Czech Saaz in the finish. Both these beers have been made with Wyeast 2001, Urquell lager. Should produce a good result for both beers. Unfortunately I did not have time to do a decoction when making the pilsener.
Both of these beers are currently being lagered at 4C. This is as low as I can get with my setup. Though with the winter weather the way it is they may be getting cooler. I am planning to bottle both batches next weekend. Given the extended lagering they will probably need a reasonable amount of time to bottle condition so probably won’t get to drink for another four weeks. In time to be coming out of winter.
Next up is an American pale and something else I have not decided on yet.