2008 Pale Ale

This was originally posted on my personal blog in 2008…

I brewed a Pale Ale this past weekend. It might be close to an IPA, but I’m not sure. Here’s the recipe…

Steeped .5 lb of Crystal 40L for 24 hours in 5.75 gallons of hot water from the tap
Brought up to 155F and let sit at that temp for 30 min.
Brought to a boil and removed grains.
1 oz. Cascade hops A.A. 6.3%
Boiled for 30 min.
.5 oz. Cascade hops A.A. 6.3%
2 cups of corn sugar
2 cans of Alexanders Sun Country Pale Malt Extract
1 tsp Irish Moss
Boiled for 15 min.
.5 oz. Cascade hops A.A. 6.3% Boiled for 10 min.
.5 oz. Cascade hops A.A. 6.3%
Boiled for 5 min. and removed from heat
Cooled the wort and added Muntons Gold yeast at around 79F
Gravity = 1.066

I’m planning on dry hopping (my first experiment with dry hopping) with .5 oz. Cascade hops A.A. 6.3% after a week in the primary and let sit for another week in the primary before transferring over to the secondary. Again, I’ll let you know how it goes.

Television Extravaganza

I’ve got a lot of TV watching to do (and no time to do it). I’m trying to catch up on a few of the shows that have been recommended to me by friends (and I have actually gotten into – sorry Lost fans). Aside from watching the Olympics late into the night, I’ve been trying to catch up on Weeds and Mad Men. Both are already several shows into their new seasons and I’m trying to make my way through the previous seasons. Fortunately, I’ve been able to record the new seasons for future (hopefully soon) viewing. On top of all of this, I’m also anticipating the new seasons of a few shows that I’m already caught up on, including Entourage and Greek (one that I’m almost embarrassed to admit). There’s a lot of TV coming and I’ve got to find the time to watch… there’s nothing worse that listening to folks at work talk about a storyline I haven’t reached yet.

Brewed a Pumpkin Porter

Finding the time to brew (and do other household projects) has been tougher and tougher, especially now that our 1 year old daughter is mobile (and loves to climb). Keeping an eye on our 1 and 3 year old has forced me to start brewing in the evening until late into the night (or morning). Well, Sunday night I got a chance to brew a pumpkin porter. I’ll post the recipe here shortly, but it was based on one I found in Extreme Brewing by Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head.. I was just happy to brew again after about a 8 week hiatus.

1 gallon of water
60 oz of pure Libby’s pumpkin
Boiled it for 20 minutes
Let sit for 2 hours (not by choice, the kids were acting up)
Added 1 gallon of water
Brought to 156 degrees and added crushed grains in grain bag:
1 lb Briess Chocolate Malt – 6-row Lovibond 350
1.5 lb Briess 2-row Pale Malt Lovibond 1.5
Added 2 tsp of gypsum
Maintained the heat between 153 – 157 degrees for about 45 minutes
Removed the grain bag and strained some of the pumpkin out (as best I could)
Added 4 gallons more water and brought to a boil and added
1 oz Kent Goldings (product of UK) pellet hops A.A. 4.8%
Boiled for 40 minutes, then added
3 lbs Muntons Plain Amber Dry Malt Extract (color 20 EBC)
3.3 lbs Muntons Light Liquid Malt Extract (color 8-12 EBC)
.5 lbs of Lactose
1 oz Ken Goldings (product of USA) pellet hops A.A. 4.5%
2 tsp of Irish Moss
Boiled for 10 more minutes and added
.5 oz Cascade pellet hops A.A. 6.3%
.5 lb corn sugar
1 tsp Allspice
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg
Boiled for 10 more minutes and removed from heat.
It cooled down slowly over 24 hours.
Original Gravity = 1.074
Shook the carboy vigorously and added Coopers Dry Ale Yeast – 7.5 grams

It started fermenting today, so I’ll try and keep you updated on its progress. I’m still debating adding 15 oz. more of pumpkin and 1/4 teaspoon of each of the spices to the secondary. Your thoughts?

Craig was the Mole

I was wrong in my thinking that Nicole is the Mole. Last night was the finale of the Mole and it turns out that Craig was the mole. They showed the “hints” they gave revealing who the mole is, but I thought it was pretty confusing. The hints they gave actually directed you to who the 3 finalists would be, not necessarily who the mole was. Unlike previous seasons where the hints were fairly obvious, these were very well hidden, only to be figured out by those hardcore fans who owned a magnifying glass and a TiVo they could use to go frame by frame. Maybe I’m just a little sentimental about the first time the Mole was on, but I thought it used to be better than it has been this season… or maybe it was just that Anderson Cooper was a great part of the show.

Nichole is the Mole

My wife and I were avid fans of The Mole when it was first on ABC (I guess about 8 years ago or so). We were very excited when it came back on this season. This season has been a little different than we remember (the people seem to be characatures than real people). However, we still enjoy the show. Every episode, my wife and I try to guess who we think the mole is. Last night, I’m convinced they gave away a hint. Right before the first commercial break, you hear a whisper of something like – “I’m gonna get you.” I’m pretty sure it was Nichole’s voice. We’ll have to wait until next week’s finale to know for sure, but I’m convinced it was her.