Andrews Drive Amber--Amber Ale

12/17/2018--made a 2-liter 1.050 starter and pitched yeast at 0030. The stir plate is turned up high and the starter smells more beer-y than the US ale yeast. It gonna be a good recipe.

The cooking thermometer is reading 3 degrees higher than the kettle probe. I decided to adjust the mash temperatures down 3 degrees and see what happens.

Pre-boil is 13.6/1.051. Just over 7.5-gallons for the boil.

12/18/2018--14.4/1.057 to the fermentor. Pitched yeast at 0100. Decided to ferment this one in glass so it was a little messy and it didn't get to aerate for the full hour--it was spitting foam. It aerated about 25-minutes before I pitched the starter. Hooked up a 3/8" blow off tube--I'm curious to see how messy it gets. I will also be washing the yeast afterwards so the glass should make that easier. Time will tell--it is always an experiment.

I started with 7-gallons of water for some reason--read: brain fart, so I added 1 gallon just as the wort was hitting its hot break. It went smooth so far as the boil is concerned, i.e, no boil overs. I might try that again with the next batch--it is a lower gravity recipe too.

Also, I want to complete my hop boils next time and then keep on for 15-minutes to sanitize the chiller and let the whirlfloc work its magic.

12/25/2018--Swapped out the blow off tube for an airlock. The fermentor smells like ass! It smells like 2 asses! Is this a glass carboy thing or a batch gone bad? I suspect it is the decaying shit at the top of the carboy. Time will tell. Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew--or 4, LOL.

1/26/2019--2.8/1.011/6.04% ABV to the keg. Kegged with gelatin. Kegged 3 batches of beer. Mixed 3-sachets of gelatin with 3-cups of filtered and boiled water. Used 1-cup of the hydrated gelatin in each keg. Smells good, looks clear already, and tastes different--in a good way--than what I'm getting used to.

2/20/2019--This keg has been in the keezer for about a week now. It is still a bit under carbonated for my tastes but it is drinkable. Another week will do it justice. It is also still a little hazy--tiny bit. Again, another week will do it justice. I'm going to enjoy 2 pulls tonight.

I'm getting familiar with this hop signature as I bought a pound each of all but the Ahtunum--those were a freebie from the Homebrewers Association. This still has some Finland malts. I bought some more bulk 2-row (2nd 55-pound sack) and some bulk 6-row and some bulk corn grits and some bulk quick oats. I'm guessing those will be the basis for all of my beers this year.

This does taste decent though. It has a good copper color to it and I can detect the Blackprinz and the crystal 100. I honestly have to say that I cannot envision buying any more Viking malts--not even a little bit impressed when compared to American (Rahr) 2-row or 6-row. I guess I like a common man's ale.

3/3/2019--Brilliant and well carbonated. This is good beer. I think I'll drink it.

4/29/2019--The keg spit last night. All gone. It was decent but I think that Viking malt was off somehow. Also, the latest Zymurgy says I may be boiling for too long.

Moving forward I'm going to use higher amounts of fresher bittering hops and cut my boil times down. I'm also going to use all of the bulk hops I bought to experiment with dry hopping. I've been reading that hops do not store well and that once the package is opened the acids begin to degrade. I'll be buying hops in 2-ounce increments from now on and using them immediately after opening.