My complete decent into the EAC world is complete. I've always been somewhat of a beer snob since I've been enjoying microbrews and homebrewing. A month ago, I went to the local minor league's dollar beer night. I was barely able to choke down one Miller Lite. Weird, I can usually stomach BMC if I want to get drunk. I'm in college, and it is the cheapest way short of a $10 handle of Zemkoff.

Last night, I poured a pint of my India Brown Ale straight out of the fridge. The beer was extremely bland and watery. Remembering what it tasted like at bottling, I let it warm up for an hour. Simply delicious. My roomate was utterly confused when I told him I was letting my beer warm up in response to his query of why my beer was just sitting on the counter.

So I'm saying goodbye to all BMC (except PBR when I have to) and saying hello to warmer beer and full beer snobbery!

This is my first post to the blog. Hopefully someone will find it interesting.

I brewed a version of an Amarillo SMASH this weekend. Here are the specs:

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.42 gal
Estimated OG: 1.064 SG
Estimated Color: 5.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 47.6 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
12.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 100.0 %
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [7.00%] (60 min) Hops 24.2 IBU
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [7.00%] (30 min) Hops 18.6 IBU
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [7.00%] (5 min) Hops 4.8 IBU
1 Pkgs American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) [Starter Yeast-Ale
1 Pkgs Scottish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1728) [Starter Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 12.00 lb

This is a simple SMASH using Maris Otter and Amarillo. I split the batch into two parts. I am using Wyeast 1056 on one half and Wyeast 1728 (Scottish) on the other half. We decided to turn this SMASH into a yeast experiment. Who knows if the Scottish Ale yeast will turn out good. If it does, then I'm on to something!

Overall, the day went well. I figured out the probelm I was having with the new Cooler MLT I built. For the first two batches, it drained very slowly. I found out that the hose connecting the manifold to the outlet was getting crushed. My simple fix was to cut a small length of wider diameter thicker hose, cut it down the middle and wrap the connecting hose. It worked like a charm.

I also used my new burner and boil pot for the first time. I've been doing all grain for three years and just upgraded to a propane burner! This is one of the best investments I have ever made.

I'm looking forward to this beer!

For my next batch, I'm thinking about doing another version of my Scottish Pumpkin Ale. This will work out great since I can wash the yeast from this batch!