So Far, So Good....

As of yesterday, both the porter and Cali common are chugging along nicely. The porter is developing some great chocolate notes along the way, and the common is clearing up and cleaning up with age. Granted, the common has only been in secondary about a week now, but it's still coming along pretty well.

Next up is the German Hefeweisen, which I think I need to do quickly due to the rising temperatures.

California Common and the Quest for Pork

Today was a two-fer: start smoking a slab of ribs at 10:00 in the morning and start heating the water to brew at 11:00. As the 3-2-1 method that I use for ribs works out nicely when you have other things to attend to, I had no problem finishing up my brew day before the ribs were done, and I was able to whip up a batch of barbeque sauce on top of that.

All told, aside from the White Sox blowing a lead against the Blue Jays, the brew session went pretty well. Last night I made a wort for the starter (see below - my attempt at washing yeast) and as soon as I pitched the washed yeast into the wort the airlock starting bubbling like mad. One thing I keep forgetting, though, when making a starter: NEVER add yeast nutrient to hot wort. GUARANTEED boil-over.

The Cali Common came out a little on the low side of the expected gravity (1.046), but it was within range. My one concern will be fermenting in the garage as the temp was up around 75°F an hour after pitching. (Update: As of this morning. 6/5/07, thanks to my leaving the garage door open last night, the temperature in the garage dropped tremendously, and the Cali is now down to 67°F. In addition, nothing was stolen. Whew.)

An update on the Survey Porter - it's still in secondary. Next up is a Hefeweizen.