Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Diagnosis Beer, and other plots

I think I know what went wrong with the last batch.

I used honey as a priming sugar. For anyone who's tried to mix honey into anything, much less a not-hot thing, you know what I mean when I say that it probably all sunk to the bottom. Where all the trub is. So it probably didn't all get poured into the bottles, explaining the flatness. Womp womp. Lesson learned.

Lesson so learned, in fact. I'm trying to use my spanking new installation of Ubuntu to its full potential, and got an app called Symphytum. Seriously simplified my recipe-keeping and note-taking. As Palmer says in How To Brew:

The difference between a good brewer and a lucky brewer is documentation.

In the mean time, I have the green light to upgrade to a five-gallon bucket. Looking into a citrusy, back-porchy pale ale for the coming Spring. I can taste it already.

If you're reading this, you're probably thinking about similar thoughts (I hope, because fear not, Spring will be here soon enough). What kind of beer do you think of when the flowers bloom? What does it taste like? Yardwork? Lemonade? The first bonfire since October? I'm honestly curious: leave a comment.

3 comments:

  1. Honey. That makes total sense. Plus, I'm not sure what the difference in fermentability is between honey, corn sugar, and malt. I tend to use DME instead of corn sugar, but it's a personal preference.

    While I do tend to be a stout head, there is something to be said for a saison. Belgian beers and there floral notes can really be a nice touch in springtime. And, since it's the season of flowers, if you can get your hands on this:

    http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1628/18630/

    You're really set. Had a bit at GABF a couple of years ago and was floored.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You sure the funnel didn't mess with your carbonation? You did say it got very aerated while pouring. Granted I've never made beer myself, which it does sound like fun, but I would imagine that didn't really help any. Just a guess.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If I had used a racking cane, and pulled it up from the bottom with a siphon instead of pouring it, I might have sucked up most of the honey on the first couple of bottles. That could have ended badly...

      Regardless, honey might not have been the best choice.

      Delete