Wow! Went to check it this morning to make sure it was bubbling properly and…. was it bubbling!!! It exploded and sent the air-lock flying!!! I cleaned it up and re-sealed with a new rubber stopper and airlock. Let’s hope that nothing got contaminated…

After the HUGE success of our Hoppy Birthday, we embark our second brewing journey. This time a Honey Porter using the recipe from the White House brewmasters [link], as prepared by the brewmasters at Northern Brewers.

The process went a lot smoother than last time (by that I mean that we didn’t overboil the wort!). We used a mix of whole grain and extract. Cool stuff.

    

Brewed: White House Honey Porter

Original Gravity: 1055 (recipe calls for 1054)

Brewmasters: Ariel, Steven, Andres, Beny, Bernardo, Jaco

On TV: Nets at Hawks

Dinner: Sicilian Oven Pizza

Drank: “Hoppy Birthday” (the last 2 bottles!), Doghead’s “90 minute IPA”, 5 Rabbits’ “5 Vultures”, Two Brothers “Sidekick Extra Pale Ale”, Terrapin Brewery’s “Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter”, Ariel’s Belgian Saisson.

Lessons learned:

• The filter in the funnel sucks. Should use a strainer next time.

We opened up 2 bottles tonight. The beer is fantastic! Even Maxi P. drank it!

Approved by the Principal!

look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: great | overall: 5

I had to open the marked bottle and taste it in order to see if we needed to add more yeast and prolong the conditioning.

Wow! What a surprise when the top popped open and a cloud of cold fog emerged from the bottle. Mmmhhhhh…. the smell of hops.

The beer was a lot clearer than I expected, but the taste was just as hoppy and crisp as the smell. Loved it! Had to share a sip so I walked over to Andres’  to watch him sample it in his boxers. Priceless.

 

BTW. My VP of marketing (Debs) vetoed all of the names I had come up with and gave me strict orders to name it Hoppy Birthday. Both a celebration of Steven’s and mine, as much as the birth of a new beer.

 

Oh well. I guess I shouldn’t complain about these kind of problems… So many names… only 1 gallon of our first ever brew…

You can always add an idea in the comments as well.

Tonight we took the wort out of its nice cool and dark little hiding place and bottled it (after adding the priming sugar). It was good enough to fill up a six of 16-oz bottles.

 

Brewed: Rye IPA

Final Gravity: 1018 (aiming for 1008)

Brewmasters: Steven and Jaco

Taste notes: VERY hoppy, but great aroma and not too bitter.

On TV: College Hoops (Buckeyes vs Golden Gophers. Go Buckeyes!)

Drank: Shiner’s Wild Hare Pale Ale.

Lessons learned:

• Carbonation at room temperature! Don’t throw the ales in the fridge (lagers maybe. ales no)!
• “After priming and filling, the newly bottled beer should be stored at 70-75F for 2-3 weeks or until fully carbonated. After this time the bottles can be chilled or stored below 60 degrees to stabilize the beer”. [source]
• Depending on carbonation achieved, we may have to open one bottle and taste it. If it needs more carbonation we do what it says on the website: we add some dry yeast to the other 5 bottles and let them condition for an extra 1-2 weeks.

I ordered the thermometer that I was missing from Northern Brewer and a couple of extra kits for our next sessions:

• West Coast Radical Red [link]
• White House Honey Porter [link]