Mild out the bottle

Almost one month ago I put together an English Mild recipe as a session ale. Cracked the first bottle during my boil today. As expected, nice deep reddish brown when held to the light. Easy drinking, crisp and malty to all get out. The carbonation was kept LOW, with only an ounce of table sugar added at bottling. This is supposed to mimic the mouth feel of a hand pulled ale. The carbonation is noticeable on the tongue but fades quickly. Does not taste like a cask ale but I did not have high hopes for that. The aftertaste has a noticeable twang to it. I am not sure if its honey malt or hops. I don't mind it but could also do without it. Overall I am enjoying this beer in its youth and expect it to get better in the next week or two.

Recipe - American Stout

This is my first go at any Stout style. Stout is not my favorite style, this is due to many horrible commercial examples I have had. Lately I have been real selective in sampling and have found many examples I appreciate. This recipe is a basic stout but it the precursor to a russian imperial stout that I will brew in month. If the RIS turns out good by summer time, I will brew a second one for BMG but with a yet to be determined fruit secondary.

About 45 minutes into my mash the apartment smells incredible. Nice roasty smells about. The boil smells fantastic, more chocolate roasty aromas. My neighbor better appreciate this.

I always have issues with head retention on my dark ales. I accented the base 2 row with 1/2 pound carapil and 1 pound munich. I am hoping this will kick in a little to the body but more so the head. I know many people use flaked oats but I do not appreciate the chunky mouth feel it imparts. Recipe follows..

Basic American Stout

9 lbs 2 row
1 lbs Munich
8 oz Carapils
12 oz Roasted Barley
12 oz Chocolate Mount
8 0z Caramel 40

30 minute protein rest at 130F
60 minute sach rest at 152F
Rinse Out/Mash out at 168F

SG .048
OG .055
FG .013

.75 oz Magnum 90 Minutes
.5 oz Cascade 15 Minutes
.5 oz Cascade Flame Out

Wyeast 1056

Screw your yuppie apartment!!

My latest domicile has many modern conveniences. We have faucet taps that extend into spray nozzles. Very convenient for washing dishes but horrible for attaching immersion chillers. i have been running a hose from the out door spigot, up the steps and into the kitchen. This works well but is a small pain in the ass, no big deal. Now that it is 11F, running hose is problematic...and I am sure my landlord would not appreciate me running his spigot this time of year. This has put a temporary hiatus on brewing. I am thinking of leaving my kettle outdoor over night with the lid on tight. Anyone with experience with unique wort chilling methods PLEASE chime in. Thanks!

Hop Soup.. FWH

First Wort Hopping the IPA with a blend of Centennial and Cascade.

FFF Alpha King when treated as a session beer...

FFF Alpha King has been getting some serious non beer bar penetration. I wrongly assumed the location of my wife's office party would have poor selection but open bar is open bar.. Enter "The King". 4 hours of Alpha King on the house is a wonderful thing! I woke up early to start my brew day feeling a little dazed but otherwise great. My wife's office throws kick ass partys...

Home Brew Protection Badger!!

This afternoon I cracked one of my Scottish 70 Shilling ales, what a treat. This beer keeps improving with age, unfortunately I have less than a case remaining. The malt flavor has become full and flavorful throughout the nose to mouth. It is tough not to dig into a beer as soon as possible. I love the taste of fresh beer but most times its important to give the beer time to peak. I will just need to brew more IPA to enjoy while the other beers serve time.

Update.. Mild Recipe

My last IPA appears to be a huge success. I am down to 12 of 25 bombers, I have only enjoyed two myself! Selina brought some to the office, hopefully I will get feedback from her co-workers. Today I am bottling the Big Hef, I am excited to try this one!

Keeping a session ale around has been critical lately. We are running low on the Scottish session, which keeps getting maltier with age. I wish I would have let it condition for a month before putting them in the rotation. This week I am brewing up a 3% English Mild for those times when you need a low alcohol beer with FLAVOR. I am trying to keep the final gravity around 1.011/.012 by mashing at 158F and doing a 90 minute boil. Due to the low starting gravity this should be at terminal gravity at 3 days.

Fresh's Mild

SG: 1.037
FG: 1.011
ABV: 3%
IBU: 22
SRM: 16

UK Mild Ale Malt 7lb 0oz
US Caramel 120L Malt 6.00 oz
UK Pale Chocolate Malt 4.00 oz
Canadian Honey Malt (Gambrinus) 4.00 oz
UK Black Malt 2.00 oz
Mash 158 60 minutes, sparge 180


US Goldings .75 oz 5.5% alpha 60 minutes
Irish Mosss 1 t 15 Minutes

Wyeast 1028 @ 64 degrees