Brown Ale maybe not a bust?

So the Brown Ale that went into bottles early this week looked much better than previously thought. Despite the inital fermentation coming up and thru the airlock then the following week minimal bubbles evident we still got a good smelling and looking brew. It will now just be a matter of time until we know if it is any good. Wait till you hear about our original and terminal gravity. The alchol content was amazing at 7.9%! Maybe it was that secret ingriendient?

How we solved colder fermenting tempertures without taking over the fridge in the kitchen!

Okay so the pilsner requires colder fermenting tempertures so we decided to build a cooling cabnient. We found a small window airconditioner from a friend, an old cabnient and $13 worth of siding foam board and we have a cooling cabnient. It has worked amazingly well these past couple weeks. Check out some of the photos of our creation.

Fail, funny, but still a Fail

Red Ale Alcohol Content

I just figured the alcohol content of the first Beer.  The Red Ale has an alcohol content by weight of 3.3%.  It has a by volume content (which is standard in home brews and non U.S. means of measuring) of 4.13%.  Respectable for our first, but hopefully the next will be higher.

The alcohol content was determined by subtracting the Original Gravity (OG) from the Specific Gravity (SG).  This amount was then multiplied by 105 for the Alcohol by Weight (abw).  For example with this beer:

(OG-SG) x 105 = a.b.w. , or (1.0475-1.016) x 105 = 3.3075, or 3.3%.

To determine by content by volume we multiply % a.b.w. by 1.25 for the amount:

3.3 x 1.25 = 4.13% b.v. 

Another way is to take the difference of the OG and SG, multiply by 1.05, then take that number and divide by the SG, but that's a lot more work for relatively equal results. 

For a standard comparison here are some alcohol contents, by volume, of some popular brews:

Anchor Liberty Ale - 6.0
Blue Moon - 5.4
Bud Light - 4.2
Corona Light - 4.5
Heineken Light - 3.5

So the beer is on the low end of the alcohol content spectrum, but it's a starting point for comparison.

Neophytes Path

The first brew:

On May 31st we stepped off the cliff of normalcy and became the brewers we brag about today.  Our first beer, Dry Hopped Red Pale Ale, was quite an experience.  The preparation and learning was a curve, but our first beer was deemed a success by both us and our fellow testers. Beer brewing is not for the fly by the seat of your pants kind of guy. There is much more science, practice and learning curve to it. We certainly have something to learn about brewing craft beer, but that is what this journey is all about. So we invite you to join us as we brew, drink and explore the world of beer brewing. I am sure we will make mistakes and have set backs in our journey, but what is a journey without a bit of adventure. So sit back, reach for your favorite brew (as long as it isn't one of those bland mass produced ones) and join us for this incredible journey into the life of Brew.