Well, I have had a chance to taste the fruits of my labor and they taste good. Success and if I can, I’d say I’m impressed. I’d actually pay money for a six pack of this stuff. It has a resemblence to Lakefront Riverwest Stein but it isn’t right on. It has a sweet front end and a slightly higher hoppyness on the finish. I’ve shared my brew with about 5 folks and they all have good things to say, even those that don’t generally drink fully flavored beers (aka-prefer really cold light beers). There is a nice flavor to it with a natural grain taste, which makes you appreciate the higher quality ingredients. The exciting thing is that, with no disrespect to John Bull Lager malt/hop extract kit, I didn’t even buy the creme de la creme of ingredients, so it only gets better in my estimation.
I’m happy I got a good brew under my belt for the first experience. Understanding the process a bit more makes me eager to try steeping the grains and hops and trying other types of beer. I felt that the cleanliness factor could be the wild card spoiler. Microbiology is some crazy stuff and us egocentric humans take for granted simple chemistry in our daily lives. One thing folks have commented on is that the alcohol content is definitely there. Since the bottles are 20 oz and it is an unfiltered beer, you really need to pour the entire bottle at once, into multiple glasses or a big one for yourself. Otherwise, the dead yeast and protein on the bottom sediment will get stirred up and cloud the beer. I’ve heard that it doesn’t taste good and isn’t bad for you to drink.
So, now to decide what type of beer to brew next, but more importantly, it is time to just enjoy my first batch.
So, I got around to posting an update about the racking and bottling experience that occurred on July 30th, eight days after I made my brew and let it ferment in the carboy.
I heated two cups of water to a boil and stirred in 3/4 cup of corn sugar into the water. I then poured the sugar water into a six gallon, food grade bucket. With sanitized equipment, I siphoned my beer from the carboy to the bucket. The flow of the accruing beer blended with the sugar water mixture. The additional corn sugar will give the remaining yeast in the beer a little more food when it gets sealed up in my bottles. This provides carbon dioxide as a bi-product, thus creating the carbonization, as well as raising the alcohol content of the beer. While siphoning the beer from the carboy, I was careful not to suck up any of the sludge on the bottom. You don’t want that sludge, or trub as I’ve learned, as it can hamper the taste while sitting in the bottle. I believe it is dead yeast and protein. I ended up leaving almost an inch of beer and trub in the carboy.
Next, I lifted the bucket up on the counter, got my siphon going into by bottle filler tub (rigid tub that has a spring loaded valve that opens when you apply pressure to the bottom of a bottle and closes when you lift up). This was a little messy for my first time. I quickly called in Kelly to help rotate in the bottles and cap them while I filled them. After getting the hang of a few bottles, it was a breeze.
I siphoned off a sample into a glass for a little taste. It tasted like flat beer. A little sweet and the hops were just about to the max of my preference. I can appreciate a hoppy brew but I prefer beers such as dark lagers, porters and stouts. A few of my favorites are Highlands Oatmeal Stout (North Carolina), Allagash Black Stout (Maine), East Side Dark (Milwaukee), Anchor Porter (San Francisco).
Now, I just need to let it set in the bottles for about three weeks. I’ve received a post suggesting that I don’t use the plastic bottles from Mr. Beer. It was stated that over time, scratches from cleaning utensils inside the bottle will cause locations for bacteria to harbor, thus rendering certain effected bottles ruined. That makes sense and I’ll keep that in mind when tasting. I can’t return them now, so I’ll just cross my fingers.
