August 13, 2006
Call It A Learning Experience
Well, I just brewed my first all-grain batch of beer. Called the “Victorious Boilermaker IPA” due both to my use of 0.5 lb of Victory malt, and the fact it is brewed for a Purdue/Notre Dame viewing party, it was going to be a hop-bomb of an IPA. Overall, things seemed to go alright, but for one thing. I didn’t really hit anywhere near my target numbers. I expected that I’d produce a beer roughly in the 8% range. I’ll be fairly lucky to hit 6%. Normally, as long as it tastes alright, I wouldn’t be too worried about the alcohol content, but I figured a hop profile and bitterness based upon the higher content. I’m a little worried that this will be quite unbalanced. My calculations have it as a little over 110 IBU’s. This is even bitter for an 8% beer, but at 6%, it’s going to cause some puckering. We’ll see how it turns out.
On the bright side, I’ve started drinking the High Sierra Pale Ale. I’m a little worried I’m going to drink it all before my wife’s friends come to visit. The stuff is incredible. It is by far my best batch yet. It’s got a nice floral hop aroma up front, due to the Cascade hops, and moderate bitterness well balanced with malty caramel sweetness. All this perfectly masking the 6% ABV. Everyone who has tasted it so far think it’s great, including my neighbor who thinks it tastes exactly like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.
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Brad, Glad you are having fun with your beer making.