My Homebrew Journal

Pale Ale II -- September 2004
Partial mash recipe.

Chimay -- May 2002
Yeast starter from a bottle of the real thing. Bottled June 2002. I thought this had turned out disastrously, but turns out it just needed to age more. September 2004 and it tastes great.

Black Butte Porter Clone -- February 2002
Bottled April 2002. Fabulous. Drinkable a month after bottling, but improves on waiting. I found a bottle of this in June 2004. Boy, was I excited! It doesn't usually stick around for more than 4 months. It was still great.

Cinnamon Mead -- January 2002
Basic Sweet Mead with Wildflower Honey and Cinnamon. Pitched yeast from secondary racking of the Traditional Mead. Racked June 2002. Fully fermented, but tastes dry and bitter. Overly cinnamon bitter. Completely undrinkable.

Traditional Mead -- October 2001
Basic Sweet Mead with Fireweed Honey. Racked January 2002: tastes about as sweet as an Eiswein. Racked March 2002 (sugar added). Racked June 2002. SG 1.040. Less sweet than before, but still quite sweet.

Winter Pale -- October 2001
My first attempt at all-grain brewing; a 3-gallon batch. A hoppy NW pale ale recipe, something like Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. We'll see how it actually turns out... it smells awfully yummy. It came out very nice.

Yeast Cultivation -- October 2001
Originally from a British Ale Yeast, and used to ferment the Stout II. Yeast taken from the primary fermenter and succesively washed in 3 jars half full of sterile water.
I've decided to store the yeast in the fridge and wash it in acid for 90 mins before pitching in the new wort.

Bitter Bear -- October 2001
This was a variation on a Boddington's Bitter recipe linked here. I think I should not use Alexander's malt extract for this. The wort tasted and smelled a little too fruity. I liked the bitterness level, though. Also my first try at yeast washing with boiled, cooled water. The finished product tastes insipid. Boring. Smooth, but completely lacking in bitterness or bite. I wonder if a change in ion concentration would improve the recipe? As it turns out, some people really like it.

Stout II -- September 2001
The wort seemed a wee bit over-hopped. I'll have to see how the final product tastes. It fermented super-fast. It seems to not be fermenting in the secondary fermenter very much... I wonder if it's done? It was done. It has a lovely burnt caramel overtone. And it's not over-hopped at all. I think the caramel flavors will age nicely and be perfect in spring. Love this one! All I have left is maybe a gallon in the keg, which I plan to bottle soon.

Pale Ale -- June 2001
This turned out really nice and smooth. My favorite to date. I got rave reviews from Jeff Hunt on this one.

Sweet Cider -- October 2000
Apple cider fermented with sweet cider yeast. Takes forever to ferment with this yeast. Cider racked and reracked.... yeast pitched and repitched... 6 months later it almost seems ready for bottling.

Dry Cider -- October 2000
Apple cider fermented with dry cider yeast. Conditions in the bottle for a long time. Very dry. June 2002 and it seems almost ready to drink. September 2004 and it is finally ready to drink. At least the 12oz bottles. It's tasty. I don't think I'll have the patience to make Cider again. It just takes up valuable storage space.

Stout -- September 2000
Yummy.

Hefeweizen -- August 2000
Tasted awful on bottling, but palatable after 3 months in the keg. Wolfe thought it was fine the whole time.

IPA -- August 2000
A little on the hoppy side. Good after 1 month in the bottle, but so much better after 4 months.

Black Butte Porter Clone -- June 2000
A little harsh and smoky, but good. Add a little gypsum next time.

Golden Ale -- April 2000
Yummy... encouraging. A little chill haze.