Updates galore!

ESB: Still tasting like an IPA, but smoother.
O-Fest: Dumped and prepping a new batch.
Brewing on deck: Steam Beer, O-Fest, and an Imperial Stout.
Fermenting: "Gold" ale with different yeast strains in the different carboys. I plan to add some Strawberry mead I brewed last year to see if I can make a hybrid worth drinking.

Otherwise brewing marches on. I've had a good bit of success with the new brewery. Efficiency is stable around 78% and I've almost zoned in a good thermal mass on my mash tun (so as to get correct strike water temp that will give me the mash temps I want). I judged another competition in Mooresville, NC, and was pleased with the scores for my beers even though I didn't win any ribbons. I DID win 2.5lbs of hops and $75 in gift certificates. One could argue that's a better haul than ribbons anyway!

ESB

well it seems I have generated something the Anti-Hop doesn't have much of...a hoppy beer! After several samplings, right now this ESB is tasting more like an English IPA! Now it tastes good, but I hope a few more weeks in the cooler will mellow it down to a more style-appropriate level...

ESB and O-Fest Blues

Every once in a while even the best homebrewers have to throw a batch out. I am sad to say, the O-fest will be gracing the gutter with it's presence. With a starting OG of 1.056 it should have finished fermenting around 1.018, but after over a month it never made it below 1.032. I really don't know why it never fermented, but hopefully it will help my grass grow...

Moving on. I just kegged (secondary) an ESB I brewed a few weeks back, and it fermented out just awesome. It was sharply bitter, but that will quickly mellow into the smooth bitterness of an English ESB. Here's a shot of it being transferred to the fermentor (a 13gal carboy).

Finally, my hop garden is flourishing. All plants have begun their trip away from the earth, and I will be training them over the next week to climb the trullesses.