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Linux and Beer Brews

I finished bottling for the evening. Total bottled was 5.5 gallons. Nothing left to do but clean up. I have to say that bottles from Bass beer www.bass.com do not cap well (They Suck! and don’t always crimp well). The music from their website is really good. I will toss the other ones that I have not used yet into the recycling bin.

The hops flavor of this recipe definately shines through. Hurray for Goldings. The flavor is definately awesome and true to it’s origins. Mild, flowery and refined. The only thing I would like to change is to use less Northern Brewer hops Maybe .25 ounces less, and go all grain. Well…. maybe some Fall harvest Maris otter and goldings would be nice too.

I started bottling tonight. While I was siphoning, I took a FG measurement of 1.008 @ 74 F; FG is 1.009 Corrected. According to Lee’s brewery Java beer calculator, this batch came out to 4% alcohol (Almost too much for my tastes).

I started bottling tonight. FG is 1.012 @ 72F. 1.013 corrected. 3.7%. 56 bottles total. This style is more of an an American brown than an American amber. The Cascade hops flavor really shines through. Very citrus like. Despite this, it tastes like it is missing something.

SG 1.009 @70F; 1.010 corrected

The SG for this ale is currently 1.011 @ 70F; 1.012 corrected.

SG 1.012 @ 70F; 1.013 corrected. Sample tastes good. Nothing really spectacular. Airlock activity has almost stopped. one bubble every 20-30 seconds.

I took a SG reading 1.013 @ 69 F; 1.014 corrected; I removed the blow off tube and installed and airlock. Fermentation seems to have slowed even more since this afternoon. Sulfur smell is not as strong in the sample that I tasted when taking the SG reading. It should fade in a week or so.

This ale is quickly fermenting along. Krausen has falled and the yeast is happily munching away. After some research, the sulfur smell is related to the hops variety that I used as well as the yeast strain that is used. I guess I hit on the right combination. H2S odors take time to fade, and I noticed that it has already has some from this morning. The current smell coming from the beer is not quite as pungent (although still undesireable). I am thinking of removing the Blow off tube tonight and installing the airlock.

The fermentation is still very active, however I do not see any foam coming down the blow off tube any longer. Also I do not see clumps of yeast drifting up and floating down like yesterday. I did get a strange yeasty sulfur smell when I lifted the lid to the freezer, maybe my nose is playing tricks on me. I did not notice it when i stuck my nose down inside the freezer.

This batch has really taken off fermenting. I am in utter amazement. We actually took a short video of the activity because I have never seen a fermemtation take off like that. If I have the time later on, I will post the video.