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Linux and Beer Brews

This beer is definitely one of the best ones that I have brewed. The bitterness is nice and not too sharp, but seems to finish a little too strong. Once the beer warms to room temp, the bitterness does not seems to fade away. I am hoping that the bitterness characteristics will blend some with age. I like the subtle fruity flavors from the Nottingham yeast. It allows the malty profile to shine through. It could be a bit more malty though.

I found the following calculator and used it to figure out what the ABV of my FSS is(or should be) after bottling

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/blending.asp

The adjusted ABV should be 4.2 % based on the SG of the beer before I added the priming solution. The SG measurement of the primed beer seems to have been off by quite a lot.

I bottled the FSS this evening. I siphoned off 4.65 gallons @ 1.008 @ 77F (1.010 corrected) 4.6% ABV. I used 2 quarts of water (pre-boil measurement) combined with 4.3 ounces of corn sugar for my priming solution. After dilution SG was 1.009@75F. This should give 2.2 vol CO2 once conditioned. Total bottled was 53 bottles, 636 oz (4 short of 5 gallons exactly). The only thing that I have not been able to figure out is how much the .45 quarts of water diluted the beer. I have been trying to figure out the ABV after dilution, but I have not been able to work it out. Maybe Miftik with her GoogleFoo skills can dig up an answer(or formula).

On a different note this beer is darned tasty. The aroma and flavor from the EK goldings is right there. Bitterness is good as well as the nutty malt flavor. I can’t wait for it to age (but I must)

The krausen has fallen completely. I removed the blow off tube and installed an airlock. Airlock is bubbling at a rate of one bubble every 6 seconds.

The krausen has peaked and is slowly receding back down. Bubbles are still coming from the blow off tube at a rate of 3 per second.

Looking for a few things today I ran across the Random Beer Name Generator on www.strangebrew.ca I decided to name my latest brew Flying Squirrel Special Bitter. I hope the name is not already being used somewhere.

The beer is actively fermenting now. Observed clumps of yeast being carried up by CO2. Krausen is high, about 4 to 5 inches, but is not in danger of blowoff.

The yeast on the top has fallen into the wort. The krausen is starting to come up, but I don’t think I will need the blow off tube. Temp on the freezer was set down to 64 F.

Just checked on the brew. It is starting to bubble. There is still a lot of yeast sitting on the top. Signs of foam starting to come through the yeast layer. Freezer temp 71F.

No bubbles being made, however there is a nice looking colony of yeast forming on the top of the wort. Should start bubbling in a few hours. Bumped the temp of the freezer up to 70F @ 8:30 AM (Almost 2 hours ago). I forgot to set it last night to tis temp. Had I done this, it may have already been bubbling.