Beer

****************************************UPDATE!******************************************************************* (4 Dec. 2012)

The Porter got some weird floaties, but before panicking I checked the lovely interweb, and learned that they are probably normal. So after a couple of weeks in secondary (extended while I waited for some CO2 capsules to arrive to pressurize my pressure keg), I euthanized the rest of the IPA, and transferred the porter to the keg. Just finished a glass, and it is pretty yummy! Although there are a few strains of off-flavor floating around in there. Seems relatively low in alcohol, although I did not test it before kegging.

Time to go shopping for supplies again!

****************************************UPDATE!******************************************************************* (6 Nov. 2012)

I am being brave, and suffering through the IPA. Last week-end I racked the porter to secondary, and it tasted pretty good!

****************************************UPDATE!******************************************************************* (Oct 15, 2012)

The IPA turned out semi-disastrous. Not so bad that I am not drinking it, but not good enough to share with anyone, drink with food, or enjoy.

HOWEVER, yesterday I started a new batch, which is a "clone" of the Oregon beer, Black Butte Porter, made by Deschutes Brewing in Bend.

Hope springs eternal...

****************************************UPDATE!*******************************************************************

Currently finishing secondary in the basement is what I hope to be an American IPA: super-hopped up pale ale. I plan to transfer it to a plastic keg for final aging and carbonation in September.

****************************************UPDATE!*******************************************************************

Although I have not gotten out the carboys in some time, I enjoy creating extract-based ales in the basement. This is a pastime whose allure has not faded in the years since I left Oregon, a place where the risk of contracting "brewer's fever" is relatively high.

At the height of my art, I reached the point where I could use hops, malt extract and specialty grains to create a brew resembling an idea that I had prior to the production -- moving from the "best of beers" towards the "worst of brewers", as Marx might have said. And I can claim to have received that highest compliment to the novice brewer: "You really made this"?