Dark times at home.My homebrew haven is no longer the retreat it should be. Unbelievably, there’s nowt to drink. Or next to nowt.
An unbelievable state of affairs I know, and I’m doing my best to get my house in order, but last night I had to resort to commercial ale. Actually, it’s no hardship, and while some brews remind me why I like to brew my own, others simply inspire me.
And it’s not a complete homebrew drought, it’s just that I don’t have much ready; I have half a keg of the something I’m saving that to take to friends at the end of the month. I also have 5 gallons of an IPA conditioning, 5 Gallons of Schwarzbier lagering and 10 gallons of another IPA fermenting. So plenty of beer, just nothing ready. Well, nothing other than the Simonds, and that’s not really a quaffing ale.
So I cracked open a couple of wheat beers. Not my usual poison of choice, but unless you try these things you never know. I only brewed 5 gallons of the Simonds because I convinced myself it wasn’t my type of beer, and how wrong I was. So I’m not about to dismiss the wheat beer, just because it’s something I wouldn’t normally pick.
I was impressed with the clear wheat beer. Not because of the clarity, but it genuinely tasted nicer. A fresh, well carbonated beer with banana up front and definite hints of clove in the finish.
I didn't think much of the other, and while neither will become regulars in my shopping trolley, I probably would buy the Kristall again, most probably at some stage during the summer.
So, what I need to do now is get another brew on PDQ. A lowish gravity ale that I can get ready quickly, to restore some order and plug the gap I currently have. If things go well this week, maybe I'll fire up the brewgear again on Friday. Until then I have jobs to do up the allotment. It's going to be a busy week and work will simply have to wait until the weekend.
Expect an allotment post real soon.
I am in a similar position. Lots of beer but none to drink (well OK, half a pin, but you get the point).
ReplyDeleteAnd expect a certain amount of derision if you are enjoying a beer with amber malt in it. You see? You are turning. It'll be brown malt next... Maybe not.
I agree with you about boughten beer. Some is clearlt inferior to your own but some makes you think, "how can I make something like that?"
My situation is opposite, I have loads of beer in. Problem is from now on Im brewing at home so I have to sort a few things before my next batch. Looks like I might well be in a drought period in not too long.
ReplyDelete@mentaldental I'm expecting a few jibes over the Simonds. It's one of the best tasting beers I've made and I can't believe I only brewed a 5 gallon batch. See you on Tuesday for a taster!
ReplyDeleteI am going to miss real wheaty beer. I love it. I love everything about it. Have you ever brewed a gluten free batch?
ReplyDelete@Beth - you're not the first to ask this. Ali mentioned a gluten free batch, but it's not easy to do on a homebrew scale http://plot66.blogspot.com/2011/03/homebrew-review.html#comments
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