After a very short summer and a long and hard winter, I have finally gotten around to brewing again.
I had meant to do it much sooner, but a bunch of different things got in the way. Not the least of these things was the fact that I spent most of the coldest winter months without any heating as the central heating broke down in my building.
In such a situation there was little I could do to keep the wort at a decent temperature for fermentation to happen smoothly, short of wrapping the barrel in blankets. Blankets which I needed to avoid catching pneumonia. Don't get me wrong, I love beer, but it's no good to brew it if by the time it's done I can't get out of a hospital bed, let alone drink.
I was therefore forced to wait until we got heating back before I embarked on what is just my second home brewing experiment ever.
On this occasion I chose an amber ale, which I began on February 2nd. This type of beer is apparently a good option for beginners as it is relatively easy to brew. The only problem here is that although I by no means dislike amber ales I tend to favor stronger beers, both in taste and alcohol content.
Given the slightly disappointing IPA I brewed last time, I decided to try to up the flavor and the alcohol content using what Mr. Beer calls a Booster, which is basically additional sugars so that the yeast can defecate more alcohol.
Now Amber Ales are already malty in themselves, so after adding the Booster and considering I had to add more sugar for carbonation, I was a little concerned drinking the beer would give, if not sugar highs, at least lows and their subsequent headaches. That made me take the decision to add a little less sugar (a quarter teaspoon less) for the secondary fermentation, in hope of evening it out.
I wasn't that concerned with what it would do to carbonation levels, since I figured amber ales were already a little less foamy than for example your average IPA, so there was no sense in using the same amount of sugar. I was wrong.
After about two weeks of secondary fermentation, I can honestly say the beer is almost still. For the first few minutes you get something between an inch and half an inch of foam, but that quickly disappears leaving you with the thinnest of layers on top. There is also no sparkle at all on the tongue.
Mind you, this doesn't really hurt the taste or the body. It is pretty malty sweet but also strong and robust and with a nice crisp end. I've had a lot of beers which tasted worse than this one. In fact, I've had worse beers than this one not just in their taste but overall.
It made me proud. It's not much of a feat, I know. I, unlike the brewers of these awful concoctions I tried, would never attempt to sell it to the public, but I am more than happy to drink it myself.
Maybe next time I'll succeed in combining both taste and carbonation in a beer. Then I'll show everybody.... or even let them try it.
Given the slightly disappointing IPA I brewed last time, I decided to try to up the flavor and the alcohol content using what Mr. Beer calls a Booster, which is basically additional sugars so that the yeast can defecate more alcohol.
Now Amber Ales are already malty in themselves, so after adding the Booster and considering I had to add more sugar for carbonation, I was a little concerned drinking the beer would give, if not sugar highs, at least lows and their subsequent headaches. That made me take the decision to add a little less sugar (a quarter teaspoon less) for the secondary fermentation, in hope of evening it out.
I wasn't that concerned with what it would do to carbonation levels, since I figured amber ales were already a little less foamy than for example your average IPA, so there was no sense in using the same amount of sugar. I was wrong.
After about two weeks of secondary fermentation, I can honestly say the beer is almost still. For the first few minutes you get something between an inch and half an inch of foam, but that quickly disappears leaving you with the thinnest of layers on top. There is also no sparkle at all on the tongue.
Mind you, this doesn't really hurt the taste or the body. It is pretty malty sweet but also strong and robust and with a nice crisp end. I've had a lot of beers which tasted worse than this one. In fact, I've had worse beers than this one not just in their taste but overall.
It made me proud. It's not much of a feat, I know. I, unlike the brewers of these awful concoctions I tried, would never attempt to sell it to the public, but I am more than happy to drink it myself.
Maybe next time I'll succeed in combining both taste and carbonation in a beer. Then I'll show everybody.... or even let them try it.
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