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Brew #2

Started 1-6-2002

This time I wanted to make a porter. I found a recipe in the Mr. Beer book called "Rascally Raspberry Porter" and went out to the Grape and Granary to get the ingredients. They had almost none of them. The only thing they did have was the can of Mr. Beer Englishman's Nut Brown Ale syrup. I asked one of the guys behind the counter for advice on how to complete the recipe. The resulting infusion of knowledge regarding all things brewing nearly stunned me. I can't possibly put it all here. In addition to the supplies I purchased for the porter, I also picked up a book - Home beermaking : the complete beginner's guidebook - highly recommended by the store clerk for beginners like myself.

1 can Mr. Beer Englishman's Nut Brown Ale syrup.
1 lb plain dark roasted malt extract.
1/2 ounce Willamette hops
1.75 fl ounces of Wyeast brand liquid brewers yeast (can't remember which strain)

I made many mistakes while making this beer, but because of the knowledge imparted on my by the store clerk, I was able to identify my mistakes and plan to correct them in the future.

The Mr. Beer can of liquid malt extract had the bittering hops already added. Therefore I decided not to boil the wort for the whole hour. I boiled it for about 10 minutes using the same basic procedure as the Mr. Beer instructions. (ie boil 6 cups, add to cold water, etc) To make the wort boil faster, I covered the pot. Big mistake. The resulting boil-over resulted in the house smelling like a brewery that had suffered a fire. Not that I mind that, but other people in the house did. Also, I may need to rent a sand-blaster if I'm ever to get my stove back to it's original color. But, I got the wort back under control, boiled it (uncovered) for 10 minutes, then removed it from heat and added the hops. After that, I pulled the yeast out of the freezer, and read the directions. Hmm, "do not freeze" was one of them (oops), also, there was some kind of "priming" procedure - locate the bubble in the pack and squish, keep at 75° until packet is at least 1 inch thick. Hmmmm, I wonder how long that's supposed to take? After 20 minutes the pack didn't seem to be any thicker, but I could hear a fizzing noise coming from inside, so it must not all be dead. I went ahead and mixed the 6 cups wort, and 4 quarts cool water and yeast. Then I realized I had forgotten to top off the fermenter. The yeast went into a solution that was probably too hot for it! I quickly added the remaining amount of cool water and prayed for my yeast. I stored the fermenter on the top shelf of my kitchen cabinets, which maintains a fairly constant 63°.

After two days, the fermenter has about 1-2 inches of krausen, so the yeast must have survived! Let's hear it for quality yeast!

Bottled on 1-15-2002 using 21 12 oz glass bottles. Added 1 tbsp table sugar to each bottle for priming. The taste of the uncarbonated beer is very promising!

Early taste on 1-20-2002. Why must I wait 7 days? Five should be good enough, right? Even in the (brown) bottle, I could tell this beer was much clearer than Brew #1. Opening a bottle resulted in a slow steady stream of foam. Pouring into a glass confirmed the beer was quite clear. The taste is rather good, but there is still a mild sweet taste (unfermented sugar). I'm not sure if it's the priming sugar or the wort that isn't finished fermenting, but after a few more days, this beer should be very good. The head stayed strong during this glass's short life. Is it too early to claim success? I think not! (I'd post pictures of my victory dance, but luckily none were taken.)

Second early taste on 1-21-2002. Just checking to see if the sweetness has attenuated yet.

1-22-2002. OK, it's been seven days. It was tough waiting that long. Drank three of these babies to check alcohol content. This beer doesn't seem particularly strong in that department. Also, I think I figured out the sweet taste. My theory is that there is not enough hop bitterness in the beer. The hops in the liquid extract may have needed a good boil to add bittering. Also, since I used powdered extract instead of the recommended Mr Beer booster pack, I should have added some hops to counteract that as well. Live and learn.