Sunday, March 22, 2009

California Summer Ale Bottled

This afternoon I (with the assistance of my buddy Matt) bottled up the California Summer Ale - the final yield was 41 bottles. Three of these were 22-oz., and 11 were 18-oz. So, that's a lot of beer! The brew has a nice hoppy taste and a golden-copper color. Can't wait to see how it turns out after a few weeks of carbonation and conditioning!

This will likely be my last batch until next fall - the daytime temperatures in my apartment are just a little too warm now. Fortunately, I've got a nice supply of home brew laid away in my closet.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

California Summer Ale Update

Tonight I transferred the CSA into the secondary fermenter. The beer has a nice light color, but is nowhere near settled yet. I've read that this strain of yeast has low floculation, so we'll just have to see how the end result looks in terms of clarity.

Right now, the gravity reads 1.010. Slightly lower than I was expecting, so I double-checked the temperature and my measurements, and all is correct. This gives me about 3.3 percent alcohol at present.

The taste of the beer so far is light and mildly hopped. It promises to be very good in the end!