Last month, I brewed a few beers that were just outside of my comfort zone, all-grain Hefe and IPA, a Berliner Weisse and a honey porter in which I added some Orange Zest to. Finally, I did a 5 gallon batch of fresh local hard cider from Apples picked a few miles from my house.
This is a photo I took of all of the beers happily stowed away in the cellar which is currently keeping at around 60-65 F.
Today, I took a sample now that it’s been about 10-14 days since brewing. Here are a few notes:
- Russian Imperial Stout, FG is almost close to the 9.5% expected ABV but I’m going to let this mature for another month before kegging (adding in Blue Bottle Coffee directly to the keg)
- Honey Porter w/ 3 Oranges Zested. It’s still a bit weak up front in mouth feel but the oranges are just a tad bit too harsh. Going to let this mature for another 2 weeks before kegging.
- Berliner Weisse, it has the characteristics of a nice low ABV german beer with just a hint of tart characters. Expected finishing was in January so it’s about where I expect it to be. Going to leave this one alone for quite a long while
- All Citra IPA – Weaker mouth feel than I had hoped for, nice Citra notes..added 3 ounces of Citra for dry-hopping directly to primary. Will cold crash and keg in about 10 days.
- Hefeweizen is finished and hit a lower ABV than I expected. It’s an all-grain batch and I didn’t get the proper mash temp and feel like my BIAB method is failing me but I went ahead and added the 3 pounds of frozen raspberries and will let it sit for another 10 days
- Hard Cider was coming along nicely. Has that same taste it had last week when I heated it and added cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. Expected ABV is around 7% and it already has a sort of boozy finish. It’s only been fermenting with Champagne Yeast for 9 days so I’m going to give it another 2 weeks before kegging.
I was hoping to keg the honey porter and cider today but they’re just not done yet. Guess I’ll have to live off my Saison and Galaxy IPA for another 2 weeks.
Where did you get that bottle rack that your using to store some of the bottles horizontal? I’ve been looking for something just like that.
It’s this – http://www.amazon.com/J-K-Adams-Hardwood-40-Bottle-Natural/dp/B00028X32M/ref=pd_sbs_hg_6.
You can build it any way you want. It arrives sort of like a lincoln logs set so make it as tall or wide as you would like. Order 2 sets and combine them to fill up your entire wall. I’ve had mine for 2.5 years and love it.