Kentucky Common - Mongrelized Edition

12/20/2018--Next Common Ale--Using my bulk hops, bulk corn grits, bulk quick oats, and bulk 6-row. Yeast strain to be determined.

5/27/2019--Made a 2-liter/1.050 starter--pitched yeast at 0230.

Started the cereal mash with 3-gallons of water, 3.5-pounds of yellow corn grits, 14-ounces 6-row barley, and 1-TBSP of amylase enzyme. Did a 5 minute protein rest at 158-ish. 20 minutes into the simmer and it's looking good--just like making a big batch of oatmeal. I learned from making steel cut oats that you want a higher temperature early on in the cook and lowered a bit for the last few minutes.

I left about 6.25-gallons of water in the kettle, and it looks like I'm going to have about 2.75-gallons from the cereal mash. Roughly 9-gallons going into the main mash without a lot of additional grain to soak it up. Just another reason for a 2 hour boil. As usual--time will tell.

1.047--Post mash volume is just under 8-gallons.

1.057--Post boil volume is 6.5-gallons.

1.054/13.3--Original gravity in the fermentor--6-gallons--after the yeast starter was pitched. Pitched yeast at 0030.

Next time I'll leave 5.5-gallons in the kettle and it should boil out to 5.5-gallons in the fermentor with a little higher original gravity.

6/6/2019--1.008/2.1 for 6.04% ABV.

Well, it already fermented down better than I expected. And, I remembered this is an historic style that was designed to be packaged and consumed rapidly. Also, I remembered that I was drinking my first keg of Kentucky Common 8 days after brewing it. Also, I remembered that my keezer doesn't have any beer in it. So, I kegged it with 1-sachet of gelatin and tossed it in the keezer.

Ima try and give it a few days to carbonate and cold crash before I start drinking it. But, it did taste pretty darn good already.

I'm going to brew it again within a couple of weeks. Probably before the long anticipated Peleg's Barrel Aged Stout. So, Juicy Banger, Kentucky Common, then, Stout.

6/15/2019--Well, turns out the stout is taking a backseat to Peleg's Barrel Aged Bourbon Ale. So, Juicy Banger and Irish Red Ale--done--Kentucky Common, Bourbon Ale, and finally, Wheat Beer.

I digress. This turned out delicious as expected. I've been drinking it for 3 nights in a row. The first few drafts were hazy but it is clearing up nicely now.

I do not like the chocolate malt for this, or I should say, I think I liked the black malt the best so far with all of my attempts at this beer. I may try roasted barley or black barley eventually. Next one gets coffee malt and Blackprinz--the Blackprinz will satisfy the color requirement but I don't think it has the flavor of regular black malt. This was my first attempt with grits and I cannot see ever going back to the flaked adjuncts. The cereal mash worked well with the Cream Ale and with this beer. I guess this is my teaching beer. I like it well enough to keep brewing it and I'm learning how different malts affect the flavor. Nuff' said--BOOM!