Brews #15, #16

Sorry for the delay in updates, work has been kicking my butt lately. Anyways, the MexiCali TropicIPA, brew #15, went off well. The SG was a little low at 1.048 instead of 1.057, but this was my first time milling my own grain. So I think I will have to adjust my grinder. The FG ended at 1.007 bringing the abv to 5.4%. I added in the purreed fruit, 2 mangoes and a peach, and it added an interesting fruit quality, but not as much as I hoped. I also went with cognac soaked oak chips rather than the tequila, which came through really strong at first but seemed to mellow out over the past week. I entered this beer into the BeerNuts homebrew competition, so we will see how it goes.

Next brew is this Saturday, at Dr. Gonzo's Emporium in Worcester. He is hosting a homebrew day, for which I will be bringing samples and brewing on site. I'll be "contract" brewing for a friend. Ricky, formerly part of our 6-strings/Meat Robot brewing crew, will be purchasing the ingredients and assisting the brewing, then taking home most of the beer. He was not a beer fan before, and we've introduced him to beers he likes, the Grey Lady being one of them. So initially we made a clone, but if you read back in the posts you can see how bad that went (way too heavy on spices). However, he loved it this way. So we're doing it again, this Saturday about 2PM.

More updates to follow later. Still to brew this summer will be a super heavy beer for the winter, either big imperial stout, or Belgian quad. Also attempt at an ale version of an Oktoberfest.

Updates and Brew # 15

Kegged the Ayaz Ayaz Heart-y Hopemeal Stout, and blended 2/3 with the Bourbon Goatmeal Stout, so it has a slight bourbon flavor, and tasty, and the other 1/3 by itself. It racked at 1.015 bringing the abv to 5%, so it's really drinkable. Lighter in color than I expected, but a nice creamy oatmeal body and taste.

Next up is Brew #15, soon to be called MexiCali TropicIPA. It will be a tropical fruit IPA, with a touch of mango in the secondary, and tequila soaked oak chips, as well as some agave nectar, etc. The hops list includes Chinook, Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe, Williamette, and Citra... all the citrus fruity hop varieties I can pack into it. It should weigh in around 1.065 for about 7% abv, and 75 IBUs. Should be a really interesting beer. Brew happens this coming Saturday, July 24 around 1-2PM.