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Trying the Burnham Brown Redux.

12 Feb

So, I cracked open a bottle of the 2nd version of the Burnham Brown (which I brewed on New Year’s Eve). I was super surprised by the clarity this time. Additionally, it had a nice foamy head and good carbonation. Better aroma than before, but still reminiscent of the original. The taste is SLIGHTLY more watery, which was understandable because the previous version only yielded 3.5 gallons (because it was my first brew ever and I was still learning!) as opposed to this one which was about 4.5 gallons. Hop bitterness was present but not much hop aroma or flavor.

This is a very drinkable beer that appeals to a wide range of tastes. I believe I met my goals for this specific beer. CHECK OUT THE CLARITY!!! The glass I used is a Rock Bottom Brewery glass and you can actually see the letters from the back of the glass.

The beer still tastes “young”. I am going to condition it for another couple weeks and I think it will be even better.

Burnham Brown Redux

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Posted in Beer + Life

Brew #1: Burnham Brown Ale

22 Dec

I brewed my first batch of beer (all-grain) on October 16, 2009. Here’s how it went…

Recipe:

SECRET!

(This recipe is only secret because I plan to use it for the actual production version for the brewery. I’ll be publishing all my other recipes for those interested.)

Notes:

This was my first day brewing. I based my recipe off the “Awesome Brown Buddy” brown ale recipe found here: http://www.tastybrew.com/newrcp/detail/238

Although I did use most of same grains, I used different proportions of the Belgian Aromatic and Belgian Biscuit grains.

I did use the same type of hops (Goldings), but did 1 oz at 60 mins (instead of 40 mins) and 1 oz at 10 minutes.

Additionally, I used the Wyeast Euro Ale XL (1338) instead of Wyeast Ringwood Ale.

Spent grains, post-sparging

Lessons Learned:

Perhaps it was because I was so nervous about my first brew day, that I made sure to take every step slowly and thus did not encounter any MAJOR issues or problems. The only real problem solved was rigging a suspension using bent hangers for my colander during sparging!

Additionally, it ended up being a VERY small batch (just over 3.5 gallons instead of the expected 5. Due to a minor grain/water miscalculation, I ended up with a smaller than expected boil which of course led to even more boiling off and ending up with 3.5 gallons in the fermenter.