Sunday, February 15, 2015

Bitter Valentine

Despite the title, yesterday was wonderful at my house.  Steak, asparagus, chocolate covered strawberries and a nice sparkling wine followed by a liter of Amber.
But I'm making an IPA today and I need a clever name.
I'm not sure about Bitter Valentine but that's what it's going to be.
 The brewery is cold.  Arctic air has covered Nashville so problems with hoses freezing and kettle cleaning will persist.  No worries.
This is a completely new IPA.  The old recipe was OK, decent I guess.  But I really want to make one that shines, so I started from scratch.  Here's the recipe.
 A couple of new grains but new hops too.  I'm switching from California Ale yeast to London ESB to give it more of a British groove.
I hit the mash temp well and only lost one degree by the end of it.  150 was the target.  I want this beer to be a little thinner.  I increased the boil to 70 minutes to drive off DMS.
 I'd like to fill a couple of spots in the beer room with IPA to round out my available inventory.

Next I'll make Moose Highland, my Goose Island IPA clone.
Good beer to you.