Mellody Brewing

Boom, boom, boom

Let me hear you say, "way-o, WAY-O!"

Looks like my formulation for fresh yeast bottle conditioning is working. I did have one casulty. All the other bottles seem good, my guess Is the bottle just had some structural issues. I put one bottle in the fridge to check the status, I'll let you know how we are doing soon.

Bottling Session Ale

I can't describe how excited I am about this beer. After bottling I poured some to check final gravity and color. It's all where I want it to be, and more. The color is perfect, like a golden triple but when tasted it's fruity and light with no strong alcohol taste. This should finish a bit drier, with lots of carbonation after bottle conditioning. The abbey yeast used in both primary and bottle fermentation ahould add good aroma and complexity to a simple beer.

I'm refermenting this in the bottle with fresh yeast, let's hope none of the bottles explode and I did my calculations right. I'm scared to leave the bottles for the holiday weekend. I placed them all in a sealed Tupperware storage container just in case. Keep your fingers crossed.

Keg Aged American Triple

 After three months in the kegorator I finally poured the last of my American Triple. Surprisingly, it was still good if not better then before. I should have bottled this. I thought after my months of laziness this beer had turned south for the winter; but man, it's still good, flavorful and smooth. My friends all raved about this brew so it will definitely be on the brew schedule again soon.

The Hop Store Haul

Rye With Me Baby

I'm headed out to prepare for this weekend's brew session.  It's going to rain, snow all day and night so it's perfect brewing conditions.  We'll be getting some beers to sip while we brewing, starting the first fire of the season and settling in for a few hour brew session.  I've decided to make a Brown Ale, but with flaked rye and it will be dry hopped.  I may also add a few more fun things after the boil to see what happens.

Watch for brew day live blogging later and pictures.

American Triple Checkin

Transfered the triple today and boy does it look and smell great. Taste is right where I hoped as well, nice sweet taste with subtle carmel taste and hop profile. This will be a very sessionable triple just as I wanted.

Brew Day Update: Stuck in a fermenter with you

Yes, my first batch in almost a year and I make a rookie mistake...I didn't prep my yeast.  I didn't make a starter and with such a high gravity beer that was a big mistake.  We had active fermentation for about three days, then it just died.  I'm pretty sure it had to do with the cold temps in the apartment tied with a bad start to the fermentation.  So, I consulted with my local home brew shop owner and a few boards and decided first course of corrective action was the electric blanket to warm the beer back to ideal fermentation temp - 65-75 degrees.  That brought some small bubble action, but not enough.  Before we repitch more yeast, tonight I added Yeast Energizer.  Yup, a magical mixture of yeast nutrients that should jump start the process...think of it as a shot of speed or something I guess.  We'll see what happens.  We now have yeast energizer and the electric blanket at work - let's hope we get more bubbly action soon.

Sunday = Brewday

That's right, tomorrow's officially a brew day.  We have all ingredients and will be making home made Belgian style candi sugar tonight for the beer.  This beer should be interesting, as I had to substitute a few ingredients that I planned on using due to availability.  I'm brewing what I'm calling an American Triple.  Belgian style triples are golden in color with a sweet flavor and a dry and spicy finish.  I am replacing the hops with American grown hops for one thing, and a few other surprises.  This will also be slightly lighter and will be cask conditioned and available on draft during the Mellody Brewing Apartment Concert in November.  I may bottle a few to save some too, we'll see if there's enough.

Watch tomorrow for some brewday updates and pictures.  We'll be brewing in the apartment - going back to a partial grain recipe and process since I will be boiling stovetop.  

Mellody Brewing - Brown Ale

According to BeerAdvocate.com, a Brown Ale is, "spawned from the Mild Ale, Brown Ales tend to be maltier and sweeter on the palate, with a fuller body. Color can range from reddish brown to dark brown. Some versions will lean towards fruity esters, while others tend to be drier with nutty characters. All seem to have a low hop aroma and bitterness." I've never been one to seek out a Brown Ale, or Nut Brown, thought back in the day I was a huge fan of Newcastle and an other brown ale that we used to drink all the time in Baltimore whose name is escaping me at the moment.  Anyway, it's a style that I think when done right, is a very sessionable and drinkable beer.  This will be the extract beer we'll be formulating over the next few days, and maybe brewing this weekend if it's cold and snowy as predicted.  If you want to come and join in the brew day fun - let me know.

The ingredients will include:

Grain Bill: Amber Malt, Dark and Medium Crystal, Pale Chocolate Malt

Extract: This is a tough one - but we'll see what the store has.

Hops: Fuggle

Yeast: British Ale

This is probably a better winter beer, but who the heck cares.  According to the groundhog from hell, we're going to be in winter for a while so, buckle up.

C Clef Coffee Stout

A good friend of mine is slightly obsessed with stouts.  Milk stouts, chocolate, coffee, breakfast, you name it - he likes it.  As I wrote in What's Pouring the other day, I've decided that Mellody Brewing's next beer will be a stout, and not a breakfast or bourbon or imperial stout, as these are clearly all the rage right now.  I'm thinking a coffee stout.  One were I'll roast my own beans for addition to the recipe.  I'll spend Sunday Night Research today looking at recipes as well as how to roast my own beans.  This will be a great addition to the coffee/beer bar idea we've been floating around as well.  A product that lasts the entire day in essence.  The clef is also something I'm exploring from a branding perspective, having the beers fall in a clef range or something to match their style.