House Ale

I've only brewed this one once, so I'm not really sure I'm ready to call it my house ale, but I like it enough in its simplicity that I certainly can see brewing it on a regular basis.

This is a basic pale ale (or, more accurately, a "special bitter") with a beautiful copper color and a refreshing hoppiness. And even though clarity has little, if any, effect on overall flavor, I particularly like how clear this turned out. Perfect for any meal or occasion (ideal serving temp: 50-55^oF).

Jim's Pale Ale
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 2.5 gal
Estimated OG: 1.044
Estimated FG: 1.012
Estimated IBU: 31.0
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Mash Grains
3 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt 60L

Extracts
1.75 lbs Extra Light Dry Extract
1 lbs Amber Dry Extract

Hop Schedule
1.00 oz Challenger [7.00 %] (45 min) 23.2 IBU
0.50 oz Williamette [5.80 %] (10 min) 2.1 IBU
0.50 oz Williamette [5.80 %] (1 min) 1.8 IBU

Misc
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min)

Yeast
Burton Ale (White Labs #WLP023)

Mash Schedule
Single Infusion, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 3.50 lb
75 min @ 150.0 F

Bottled
bottled with 4oz of fructose

St. Patrick's Day Oatmeal Stout

Those of you who also stop by my other bog, from Archaea to Zeaxanthol, may remember that I have recently begun brewing my own beer. My second brew, an Oatmeal Stout, just happens to be ready today (honestly, I didn't plan it this way!) It turned out pretty good if I may say so myself. I'm not much of a stout connoisseur, but I'm very happy with this brew. I think it might be a tad too bitter - not sure if it's the hops or too much roasted barley. Maybe both. I'll have to try experimenting with amounts when I try brewing this again. For you home brewers out there, here's my recipe:

Oatmeal Stout
Method: Partial mash
Batch size: 5 gallons
Boil size: 2.5 gallons
O.G.: 1.054 F.G.: 1.015

grain bill
1 lb pale malt (2-row)
1 lb roasted barley
8 oz crystal malt (60L)
8 oz chocolate male
8 oz flaked oats

extracts
1 lb Amber dry malt extract
4 lbs Pale liquid extract

hops
3 oz East Kent Golding (45 minutes)

yeast
Irish Ale (White Labs, #WLP004)

bottle priming
4 oz turbinado sugar

1. Mash the grains in ~4.5 quarts of water at 155°F for 60 minutes
2. Sparge with ~2 gallons of 180°F water
3. If necessary, add water to achieve 2.5 gallons
4. Proceed with standard extract and hop boiling (per hop schedule above)
5. Ferment 2-3 weeks at ale temperature (65-75°F
6. Bottle
7. Condition (at least 3 weeks at room temperature)
8. Drink

Stouts (as well as porters and most ales) are best served at ~55°F, which can be achieved by storing in a cool cellar or by placing room temperature bottles in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. Most heavier beers, like stouts, are supposed to continue to improve with age - 3 weeks in the bottles is considered by some still too young to drink. I do think that the beer I first brewed tastes better now than it did when I first tried it, so I imagine this stout will taste even better in a month or two than it does now (if there's any left!). Happy St. Patrick's Day!