Thursday, October 03, 2013

In the HOPper

This weekend, I keg the Wheat Ale I brewed, and in another week, I keg the Saison.  Those ought to turn out fine, and perhaps we'll hold a few bonfires and invite people to help drain the kegs ASAP.

This is important because of the next 3 beers I have coming-up:

1) Spiced Pumpkin Ale.  This will be my first attempt at a pumpkin ale - including using real pumpkin in it.  Going for a hint of pumpkin pie, not this-beer-is-too-sweet pumpkin pie.

2) Bourbon Barrel Porter.  I brew porters frequently; most notably my Maple Syrup Porter.  In this, I have some bourbon barrel oak spirals that I will put in the fermenter to infuse that bourbon-y character I'm after.

3) Spiced Winter Ale.  Nice basic copper-colored Brit "bitter" brewed with beautiful, aromatic mulling spices.  Looking forward to this one!

More details as they come, but you should all at least be informed of what my kegs will contain this Fall/Winter.


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3 comments:

  1. Bob4:23 PM

    Oh yeah.

    I like the sound of the Bourbon Barrel Porter and the Spiced Winter Ale. That would be faves of mine.

    How do you place the bourbon barrel oak spirals into the fermenter? Boil them first? Use sterilizer on them?


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  2. Noah8:22 AM

    There are several schools of thought about how to treat oak spirals or cubes. The consensus seems to be around steaming or boiling them for a few minutes before you put them in. Some folks even boil the water that the cubes were steamed or boiled in, cool it, and add it to the fermenter with the chips because the water has imparted a little oak flavor as well.

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  3. Bob7:24 AM

    I wonder if charing them ahead of the fermenter would kill everything, then again maybe the carbon residue might not be good for the flavor.

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