Catching up

Time to catch up on whats been going on, and get set for a couple weeks on vacation. Brewing continues.

Here is a rare behind the scene view of Johnnycakes Brewery. Not many get a chance to pay homage.

The cider is in the green bucket. It's been about 6 weeks so far, and hopefully Ashley and Mary can help taste test for sugar additions before it goes to bottle in a few weeks. Probably split half and half still & sparkling. The primary in the back has the Whitehouse Honey Ale going to secondary Saturday. Bottled the Pumpkin Ale about a week ago. I labeled 2 bottles from the middle of the bottling bucket for the Barley Legal competition. Sure wish I could be there, but vacation's much better.

The cooler will be doing lagers this winter. Northern Brewer had a 2 for 1 sale on Better Bottle carboys so Franz got the 5's and I got 6's so we can swap. Hoping that 6 with the other style air lock just might fit below the sliding doors. Looking at Pilsners, tasting the Victory Prima Pils this week. NB has a couple kits that would make a quick adjustment for the recipes I found. Might even find a lager Calvin likes, a Yuengling knock off?

Brewing up a beer Saturday that I read great reviews about, the Innkeeper from NB. A light Ale with low ABV so they drink nicely. We'll have to see how that goes. Found a great image online for the caps.

Still have the Dead Ringer IPA on the shelf from an August buy 2 sale. Sounds like an after vacation brew. That's going to be a very busy time. Hmm too much too soon maybe... No post vacation brew till the rest is in bottles. The Innkeeper goes right to bottles after the primary, it's light. And the Honey Ale will be ready for bottles, too. Then probably time for the cider. Wow, lots of bottles and all custom caps, yea. I'm thinking the 22 oz  Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier Naturtrüb bottles Jim gave me for the cider. It drinks better from a glass anyway. Hopefully I'll have enough 12's for the other 2. Could be close.

Also got a yeast starter kit with the new carboys. The IPA kits came in at 90+ temps, and the Chinook was OK, the Dead Ringer is still waiting. The starter kit ought to be just the ticket, and great for making every pitch a success. I should stick to dry yeast in the summers to be safe.
Brew haha.