Reporting for duty.
Enjoying a local brew now - Summit Saga. Very nice and hoppy. For the weekend, I have alternative choices:
1. Homebrew pilsner that I started in January and brewed extra hoppy. Had one pint last weekend and the head held through the entire glass; each sip leaving a foamy ring. My only complaint was that it is a bit thin. Just the ticket for spicy brats and homemade sauerkraut.
2. DAB - a Dortmunder style beer. I have mourned to loss of Dortmunder Union bier for over a decade now. It seemed to me as a young beer drinker that that beer was as close to perfection as possible on this earth. Malty and yet clearly hopped. Very good memories and this is . . . well, quite similar. I think my tastes may have grown to favor more hops and less malt. Still, it has enough appeal that I may try brewing a batch this fall.
Finally, my barley crop is doing OK but broadcasting the seed was a poor second to drilling. The strain is Conlon - a two row barley from NDU in the late ‘90’s (I think). High productivity and excellent malting characteristics from what I read. The hops vine, too, are doing very well and loving all the rain; this year we’re close to Seattle’s climate. Unfortunately, my clay soils are a mess for every other kind of planting since tilling is impossible with this muck.
Prosit!
I harvested 20 lbs of barley last week, winter two row Conlon from 300 of my 400 sq ft. The rest was planted thre weeks later and so is lagging a bit. I think I could have done more if I really had taken better care to fertilize better. Next year. I have Nugget, Cascade, and Magnum hops in pots til I can get the spot ready. Magnum grows fast!
I have a Belgian Trippel made from the recipe on White Lab site. I have really been trying to clean up my wort with grain bag and hop bag and was initially disappointed with an OG of 1066. I Had tried a single step mash at 150 f instead of the step infusion I had done previously. I decided to check a gravity while I was bottling an ale I had done with WLP 090 I recovered from the last bottle of my second ever brew which I had brewed the day before the Belgian. I had done both at 150 f and the grav on that one was low as well 1036. Now I am quite happy. The Belgian has a grav of 1000!!!! The ale has 1002. They are both clear as can be already. The Belgian gets another five weeks in secondary then five MONTHS in the bottle. I think I will give bottles as Christmas presents. LOL. Think on it. 1066 to 1000. 9%.
I just pitched yeast on a batch of Mead the same day. Adventures in brewing!
Beer is how we know God Loves us.
I did two lagers before it warmed up and layered in the garage at 40. I also made homemade sauerkraut from the cabbage that grew over the winter. Heaven on Earth! Pressure cooked ribs, taters, and homemade kraut with a homemade Pilsner! If Heaven is better, why wait? LOL. More beers to brew is why.