Thursday, February 18, 2010

Second (good) thoughts on my Nick Adams Ale

As per usual, time heals all. Not that there was anything wrong with my Two Hearted clone-ish Nick Adams Ale to begin with. It has just gotten better in in possibly every way. It is now almost a month post bottle, and the beer has really smoothed out. All the great Centennial flavor is still there, but there is a really satisfying complexity that I cannot quite describe.

However, one thing is for sure; using dry malt extract, in this case Kreamix, for the bottling instead of sugar is a big improvement. The beer has an incredible full and silky mouthfeel that seems to get to every little tastebud without being at all astringent or harsh. It still has a huge bite, thanks to the five ounces of Centennial hops, but there the creaminess eliminates any of the wincing notes. I think it is sort of akin to drinking milk after eating a really hot pepper.

And the head! Wow. It is seriously like a meringue. It stands up tall and stays put the whole way down the glass, leaving great lacing. I have yet to have a beer that doesn't have a layer of head left at the end of the glass.

All in all, very enjoyable. Although I think I might put the rest of the bottles in cold storage (back stairwell) so that they don't over carbonate. I really like it just where it is.

Angry Ale

Despite a long break from brewing (a month, ouch!) I am back at it with a new batch. This time I am trying a Surly Furious clone kit from the good people at Midwest Supplies. The recipe as follows:

6.6 lbs Gold LME
3.3 lbs Amber LME
1 oz. Warrior (16.4%) @ 60 min.
1/5 oz. Amarillo (8.6%) @ 20 min.
1/5 oz. Simcoe (12.2%) @ 20 min.
1/5 oz. Amarillo (8.6%) @ 15 min.
1/5 oz. Simcoe (12.2%) @ 15 min.
1/5 oz. Amarillo (8.6%) @ 10 min.
1/5 oz. Simcoe (12.2%) @ 10 min.
1/5 oz. Amarillo (8.6%) @ 5 min.
1/5 oz. Simcoe (12.2%) @ 5 min.
1/5 oz. Amarillo (8.6%) @ flameout
1/5 oz. Simcoe (12.2%) @ 5 flameout
1 oz. Amarillo (8.6%) Dryhop (1 week @ 1 week)
1 oz. Simcoe (12.2%) Dryhop (1 week @ 1 week)
1 oz. Ahtanum (4.5)% Dryhop (1 week @ 1 week)
White Labs Dry English Ale Yeast
1 tsp. Irish Moss at 15 min.

OG 1.061 @ 78%F

I really love this beer, and although it is becoming slightly easier to find on tap in Chicago (maybe up to a whole 4 bars now?), you still can't find it in cans. So, besides being a nice new test in homebrewing, it will be an awesome beer to have in the fridge. I cannot wait to see how this turns out.