xmas brew update

Been a couple of weeks since my last update. Didn't get a chance to update last week due to a friend's birthday party, which made me forget to bottle up the Ol' St. Nick's Christmas brew. And since I didn't bottle it OR start a new batch I figured why even update the blog. So I actually bottled up the Christmas Brew last night and it smelled quite nice. Definitely reminded me of the smell of Christmas, with all the spices and whatnot. Like I mentioned previously, it may not turn out that good since there was no temperature guage on it and it was out in the sub freezing temperatures a couple of nights, but I figured why the hell not bottle it up and try it out.

Now, as for how I plan on handling the freezing temperatures in the coming months. Maybe I'll stick with lagers and some lager yeast, or maybe I'll continue to use the oil-filled radiator heater that I bought at Walmart to keep the temperature semi-constant. (I've been keeping an eye on it over the last couple of weeks, and although it has been keeping the temperature above 64, it unfortunately is not keeping it steady. I've seen it as low as 64 and as high as 72.)

I usually try to keep 2 batches going simultaneously (well, overlapping actually) but I can only fit one keg in the cooler I'm using, so I will have to wait until this Strawberry Blonde has completely fermented (by next week hopefully) before I start the next batch. Up next: Purple Daze. Will begin it next week.

Oh, and lastly, I forgot that I threw the Black and Blueberries in the fridge yesterday as well. 2 weeks conditioning and they should be ready. We'll see how they turned out in the sub-freezing temps.

Strawberry Blonde Round 2

Bottled up the Black and Blueberry Bock today even after the last 4 nights of near sub freezing temperatures with no temp control on the keg beside it being stashed in an ice chest. Sneaked a little taste before bottling and it tasted alright. 'Twas clear too, so hopefully it'll be ok. Tasted the Christmas Ale as well, but that one didn't seem to be ready, as it was slightly sweet and still very cloudy. Not sure if this one is gonna make it.

Speaking of sub freezing temperatures, made a trip to the store today for an oil-filled radiator heater to keep near the kegs to keep the temperature constant. Hopefully it will do the trick. The heater does feature a thermostat, but unfortunately it doesn't have an exact temperature gauge, so I'll have to keep an eye on it. Small price to pay to keep my home brew flowing.

Finally, on to the Strawberry Blonde. That home brew was such a hit with my wife and friends that I figured I'd have to make another batch. I'm really looking forward to this one again. Just hate that it's gonna be another month and a half before I can taste that sweet goodness!

That's it for now.