I drew the first few pints off my new cornelius keg last night - they were fantastic! I kegged the Midwinter Porter I brewed back in January. I wasn’t very satisfied with the last two dark beers I’d brewed - my mocha porter and stout both came off too malty, in my opinion. So with the Midwinter Porter I made sure to ferment them in the warmest part of the house and I gave it plenty of time in the primary. I racked it directly into the keg from the primary. It has a very pleasant, “clean” taste. I force carbonated it and that worked well. It is less carbonated than my bottled beers, but it really works for this style.

I brewed the steam beer this morning and pitched my yeast starter. There’s already some activity after less than 4 hours. Very cool!

All in all, a good beer weekend!

The next beer up for me is going to be a california common/steam beer.  I’ve actually never had this style before, but it sounds interesting.  This recipe is based on one I got from The Bearded Brewer.  I modified his recipe from a partial extract and changed the hops around to fit with what I had on hand.

California Common
7.5 lbs Light Malt Extract
1 lb 40l Crystal
1oz No. Brewer hops @ 60 min
.5 oz No. Brewer hops @ 30 min
.5 oz Cascade hops @ 10 min
.5 oz Cascade hops @ 2 min
.5 oz Cascade hops dry hopped
Czech Budejovice Lager Yeast (WLP802)

Based on this article from Main Street Homebrew Supply I decided to try a yeast starter. I’m hoping it will improve my beers. Regardless of the outcome, it’s always interesting to try something new.

I made a half gallon starter using about a half pound of dry light malt extract and a pinch of hops. I’m going to be brewing a steam beer, so I pitched the White Labs Czech Budejovice Lager Yeast (WLP802). I wanted to use the San Francisco Lager Yeast, but Main Street was out and I wasn’t patient enough to wait for them to get it back in stock.

My first IPA is happily fermenting away right now.  This is also the first recipe I’ve put together myself.  Granted, it isn’t the most complex recipe ever, but it is mine.  This beer was inspired by Full Sail Brewing’s Wreck the Halls seasonal.  They describe Wreck the Halls as a cross between a bitter and an IPA.  There’s not a lot of detail from Full Sail on how they brew it, but I did find that it is about 6.5% ABV and it is brewed with centennial and cascade hops.  This is my shot at it.  Ths is also something new for me in that this is the first beer I’ve dry hopped.

Regime Change IPA
9lbs Extra Light Malt Extract
12oz 60l Crystal
8oz Carapils
2oz Centennial Hops (1 oz @ 60 min, .5 oz @ 25 min, .5 oz @ 5 min)
2oz Cascade Hops (.5 oz @ 15 min, .5 oz @ 10 min, .5 oz @ 0 min, .5 oz dry hopped)
California Ale Yeast (WLP001)

The name is inspired by recent events at work.  If it were on a label, I imagine some text saying “Big, bitter, full-bodied and totally in your face.”  My co-workers will understand.

I kegged my first batch of beer tonight. I put my Midwinter Porter into the keg that I got for Christmas. It went pretty smoothly, but there were a couple of hiccups. The place I got my keg (not my normal homebrew shop) didn’t give me very good instructions. They failed to show me how to adjust the pressure on the regulator. After spending 15 minutes trying to figure out why it wouldn’t pressurize the keg more than 10 psi, I finally went online and found some instructions. After I figured that out I didn’t have any problems.

I’m going to let the keg sit for a couple of weeks to make sure it is fully fermented. I’m very excited to try this beer out!

The Bearded Brewer put up a provocative post today - Hop Madness.  Or at least provocative out here in hop heaven.  It’s a short step from heresy out here in Oregon!  He’s taking issue with some of the extremely hopped IPAs and over the top “imperials” (stouts, IPAs, etc.)  Personally, I enjoy a well hopped beer, but I understand where’s he coming from.  I think our tendency as Americans to take everything to excess is getting out of control.  Bigger is not necessarily better.  We also don’t tend to be very good subtlety.

My last several beers have been pretty big and malty and I’m very interested in trying something a little more…sensitive.  We’ll see how it goes.  Anyway, it was good post and a worthwhile read.

I had the opportunity to head out tonight for a couple of beers with some coworkers. We met at the Cornelius Pass Roadhouse in Hillsboro. I started out with their seasonal, Sleepy Hollow Nut Brown Ale. I’ve had it before, but it’s been a couple of years. I enjoyed it in the past, but this time it tasted a little off - it had a sour taste, not overwhelming, but still noticeable. For the next beer I went back to my McMenamins’ standard, their Terminator Stout. It was excellent, as usual.

I opened the first bottle of the porter I brewed at the beginning of December last night. It was excellent! The last few beers I brewed (Mocha Porter and Stout) seemed too sweet to me and I was pretty disappointed with them. The reviews from friends and family were excellent and I ended up giving most of those beers away. Anyway, it was a little of a relief that this beer turned out so well.

My Midwinter’s Porter is just about ready to go into the keg. I cleaned the keg out yesterday, so I’m just about ready to go. Good stuff!

I’ve been thinking about the beers I want to brew over the next couple of months. I’ve brewed a string of dark beers and now its time to start thinking about springtime and summer. My next beer is going to be a big IPA - I’m going to try to create my first recipe inspired by the Full Sail Wreck the Halls seasonal beer. I’ve been reading a book recommended by Kevin at Main Street Homebrew - Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels to help me put my recipe together.

I also plan on brewing another batch of the Lake Sabrina Pale Ale - that’s been one of my favorites that I’ve brewed. I’m also thinking about brewing some type of Belgian ale - maybe a saison… As summer gets closer I’m also contemplating a kolsch, but we’ll see.

My Christmas present this year was a cornelius keg kit. I picked it up yesterday and I’m very excited to keg my first batch of beer. The Midwinter Porter I just brewed will be my first draft beer.

I’ve been getting really tired of bottling over the last several months. The worst part has been cleaning and de-labeling bottles. But I just picked up some Straight-A and that stuff is great! Labels come off in a snap! So I’ll just have to brew more to keep my bottle supply filled and my keg.