Sunday in the brewery
Today I racked the Fifty-fest to a secondary fermenter. (I have another of those fabulous Better Bottle PET carboys, and I cleaned and sanitized it yesterday.) It was a yucky, sludgy mess, but the beer seemed fine, no funny smells or weird floaties. This yeast should only be used for open ferments where you intend to "crop" the frothy mass off the wort. That being said, the worst is over and I expect we'll get a nice, clean brew after a cool week in the closet. Since we'll be out of town, the house won't be

Tappa Kegga Foama
I pulled a couple of pints of MPA tonight, and got one hell of a lot of bubbles. It got so bad with the dispensing that I finally popped the lid off the damn keg. Then I re-set it with the hand-pump and managed a decent draw. The beer is over-carbonated, and my first thought is that I over-primed it a bit. My last few batches have been a little weak on the fizz, so I know I dialed it up a tad for this one. As I pondered further, I realized that I'm dealing with a bizarre yeast strain, and it is entirely possible that the brew is sti

Fifty-fest ferments!
When I checked on the brew at 0900 I saw a very vigorous ferment--the carboy plug had been shoved out by a thick jet of foamy goop! There was a nice sloppy trail of it down the side of the vessel. It was easy enough to wipe up, and I keep the carboy in a big circular plastic bin for just this sort of eventuality. But, wow, what an active wort! They call this strain a "true top-cropping yeast" and I can see why. Looks like this beer will finish the primary fermentation damn quickly. We'll see how it settles over the next few days and then rack it off to a fresh carboy.a.d. XVII Kal. Dec.

Fifty-fest
That's what I decided to call this one. It is batch no. 169, which of course is 13 squared. I had intended to brew it on Friday the 13th, but festivities got in the way. I got a late start today--I didn't fire up the hot liquor tank until a little after 1300 hours. It was an eventful Friday evening, and I was a little fuzzy this morning, so I didn't get my brewing legs under me until the afternoon. Fortunately it was a bright, sunny day, and that took the edge off the cold, wintry air. I used 12 pounds of Gambrinus organic pilsner malt for a base, and brought the bill up to 13 with 1/4-lb. of roast barley

Punch 'n' gro
I activated a 'smack-pack' of Wyeast Kölsch this morning and put it in the hall closet to swell up. I expect it will be ready by Wednesday when I can pitch it into a starter. I'd like to brew with it on Friday.a.d. VI Id. Nov.