Before getting to the next step in my most recent home brewing adventures, I need to draw attention again to the beer review posted yesterday. Please be sure to take a look at the comment from Travis at Dunedin Brewery confirming my suspicions of the bottle I opened and also clarifying their bottling process. I was never going to shy away from their brews based solely on that sample (anyway) and I have every intention of giving the Red Head Red Ale another shot. A nice response like that directly from them is very much appreciated.
Moving on . . .
Fortunately for me (and likely for you reading this), there is less explanation necessary as I go through each (rather basic) recipe of home brew since it has been written here previously. As my equipment evolves, my methods become more complex, and my ingredients get a bit more adventurous I will need to go through things in more detail. For now though, if you are interested in the specifics of racking the wort from a primary to secondary fermenter check out the video in “Pumpkin Ale – Part 2” on the “Brewing” page above. In this post I will simply highlight the specifics of these two brews to keep you up to date on what is happening.
Chief of Sanitation checking out the setup
Just sit back and watch
The IPA was the first to be transferred. It came in at a specific gravity of about 1.0111 giving it a current ABV of roughly 4.26%. The original gravity of this one was lower than expected so this was not exactly a surprise. As I tasted the sample taken for hydrometer use I did notice some nice hop aroma and flavor, though not as prominent as hoped. My thought is that the carbonation will certainly amp up the hop aroma, but I am not sure where the flavors will end up. Though fermentation has seemingly not continued, this beer is currently clarifying in the secondary fermenter. Maybe I will bottle this one a day or two ahead of the Pale Ale?
Before
After
Job well done!
The pineapple, grape, and Cayenne infused Pale Ale was next to go. Before starting, I boiled about 1.5 cups of light brown sugar in roughly 2.25 cups of water for a few minutes so I could add it to the mix. After cooling, that went into the secondary fermenter so that it would be thoroughly mixed in during racking.
Just floating around
All that is left
Since I had to deal with quite a bit of fruit floating in the wort, I decided to take the specific gravity ready before it was added to the brown sugar. It clocked in with about a 1.0101, giving it and ABV in the neighborhood of 5.67%. It may gain or lose some with the addition of the brown sugar and I will just have to wait and see. The sample of this one had a pretty clean aroma, light body, and slight sweetness. I really did not have much of an idea of what this one would turn out to be, but it was a bit lighter on the palate than I would have guessed.
I could not bring myself to eat one.
Everything is back into the bathtub and if all goes well I plan on bottling sometime this weekend, which will likely be followed shortly thereafter by another two batches. It seems I am a bit addicted and I am OK with that.
Back to the bathtub with you!
There is one last thing as a note to myself and also a warning to others. It is not a great idea to put your head anywhere near the bucket directly after taking the lid off, especially with a lot of fruit in the mix. It will clear your nostrils, and your head in a hurry, possibly taking a few brain cells out with it!
It also needs a "Don't put your head over it when opening" warning!
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