I've fallen and I...am getting up slowly

If you've noticed a lack of updates here recently, good for you for visiting so often!

But seriously, a couple weeks ago I fell down a flight of stairs and chipped my left kneecap.  So we've been taking it easy, lots of me laying with my leg up in a brace.

We bottled the 3-grain Citrus Breakfast Ale a few days ago, and I must say, uncarbed, this stuff tasted like some kind of dry white wine!  It finished out at 1.006 (no wonder it tastes so dry), almost opaque and super light in color.  Funny enough, the citrus fruits didn't lose any of their color, but the grapefruit taste came through great.  It's like a smoother, less skunky version of ruby red grapefruit juice.  I'm extremely excited to taste this one carbed and chilled!

-Myles

3-Grain Citrus Breakfast Ale

Ah, spring is in the air...what better time for a refreshing wheat beer?  And to continue with our breakfast theme, we decided to add oats to the mash.  So here it goes:

Citrus Breakfast Wheat Ale

OG: 1.046

Fermentables
-5lbs Pale Rahr 2-row
-3lbs Wheat malt
-.75 lbsrolled oats

Hops
-.5 oz Northern Brewer 8.5% 60 min
-1 oz Cascade 7.5% 15 min

Yeast
Safbrew US-05

Others
-1 oz dried orange peel 15 min
-1 peeled and separated Ruby Red grapefruit - in secondary
-8 peeled and separated tangerines - in secondary
-4 oz light Belgian Candi Sugar - in secondary


Process:
 First we heated 3 gallons of strike water to 165F.  Then we poured in our grist to land at a mash temperature of 152F, and held it for 60 minutes.

After the mash, we poured our first runnings into a clean bucket, 

Added 2.5 gallons of sparge water,

And replaced the grain bag, sparging for 20 minutes at 175F.  Next we remove the bag again to a drip bucket (gotta catch all those fermentable sugars!), to be added to the boil later.  Combine wort with sparge water, and bring to a boil:

As it came to a boil, we added the nylon bag filled with .5 oz Northern Brewer 8.5% hops.

Then, 45 minutes into the boil, here comes the 1 oz dried orange orange peel and the 1 oz Cascade 7.5%!

Then the usual: cool, whirlpool, pour into sanitized fermenter, pitch yeast, fit with airlock.  It's that simple!

This is where things get interesting.  Two weeks into the fermentation, we popped off that lid (to a wonderful scent).  We had previously peeled and quartered the grapefruit and tangerines, which we added to 170F to sanitize, held for then minutes, then added the Candi sugar.  After the mixture cooled we threw it in the beer.  Can't wait to taste it!

We'll keep you updated, if we don't drink it all first!

-Myles and Carla

The Crick is in the bottle!

We bottled the Sour Cherry Crick last night and I've got to say...what a beast!

 A very pink beast!  The sourness came through great, both in aroma and taste.  It finished lower than I expected, with a Final Gravity of 1.013.  It was a little sour for Carla's taste, but I found it superbly tart.  Uncarbonated it tasted almost like a fine wine to me, very dry, with barely a hint of cherry.

We dissolved 6.2 oz corn sugar in 2 cups of boiling water, then cooled it to around room temperature.  Pour while stirring:

We aimed for the higher carbonation level.  This would be a good one for champagne bottles.

And funny enough, later in the night while drinking sour mash whiskey in celebration, I thought I kept smelling the Crick.  After a couple of drinks I realized I was smelling the whiskey!

-Myles and Carla