BATCH #1

RHODE ISLAND RIDGEBACK ALE

(SCOTCH ALE)

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GRAINS STEEPED 16 MINUTES (OFF HEAT AFTER INITIAL BOIL)

80% OF HOPS AT 35 MINUTES

20% OF HOPS AT 0 MINUTES

ADDED IRISH MOSS AT 15 MINUTES

LEFT 20% OF HOPS AND IRISH MOSS IN THE PRIMARY WORT

TOOK 45 MINUTES TO COOL WORT TO 80�

TOTAL 5.5 GALLONS WORT AND TRUB

23 MARCH 2004

            This recipe kit is from Double Springs Homebrew Supply, a company which I do not recommend dealing with.

      BREW

I made some slight modifications and stirred it up as described above.  At the ten-hour point there appears to be a good seal around the blow off tube, and the fermentation is going nicely.  There is a bubble exiting the blow off tube every six seconds.

24 MARCH 2004

            All bubbling stopped less than 24 hours after the start.  The temp climbed today, but the brew never got above 72�F.  I put on the airlock and waited.

25 MARCH 2004

      TRANSFER TO SECONDARY FERMENTOR

            Still no activity, so I transferred it to the carboy.  I tasted a little tiny bit.  Not terrible.  By late in the evening there was one bubble every seven minutes in the airlock

26 MARCH 2004

            Around noon there was one bubble every three and a half minutes.

27 MARCH 2004

            Mid morning there is one bubble every six minutes and fifteen seconds.  Moved the carboy to the kitchen counter in anticipation of bottling this afternoon.  I figure I can move it now to let it settle a bit.

      BOTTLE

            Well, it is in the bottles; 2 half-gallons, six 24 ouncers, and 29 regular bottles.  I also salvaged a pint to drink now.  There was still a little yeast in it that was not settled, so rather than waiting to bottle one last bottle I just chilled it.  It seems OK, a little malty.  I guess I didn�t get the balance quite right with the hops, but that will give me something to shoot for!

            The final alcohol by volume is about 5.5%, right where I expected, so that is good, too.

30 MARCH 2004

            I got greedy and tried one.  It was one of the last bottled, and therefore had some yeast.  Overall it cleared well.  It is very dark, more like a porter than a scotch ale, with a very malty flavor.  I think the few I kept in the fridge will be harder to judge, but given the sediment level in them I wanted to be sure they didn�t explode!  The cold will keep the flavors from settling and balancing, as well as keeping the carbonation pretty low (though there was a little �shish� when I popped the top).

            Overall, if this beer is decent after three days in the fridge, the others should be great after a week or more at 50�!  (There were five beers in the fridge; all the rest went into the chilly room of the house.)

05 APRIL 2004

            Still has very little carbonation, but the flavors are balancing well.  It was good to get a second batch in the fermentor, then sit back and suck down a homebrew!

07 APRIL 2004

            Opened another after transferring the next batch to the carboy.  This one was very carbonated, with a dense head that lasted clear through.  The only possible differences are the size of the bottles and the mixing of the priming sugar.  I have had poor carbonation in the � Gallon size and the 12 oz size, but the 24 oz is nice.  No explanation I can conjure.  But the priming sugar was boiled, cooled a little, and then poured in.  As I recall, I forgot to mix it in, it just went in and mixed as much as the pour allowed.  I wonder if the sugar settled into some part of the bucket and not others so that some bottles got more depending on when they were filled.

DAYS SINCE

            Wow.  No more carbonation problems, heck, no problems at all.  This batch of beer is a winner.  Some friends tried it, one said, �Palatable.�  One said, �not too bad.�  And neither one went blind.  Therefore, it is a winner.

            After a few weeks I now have a 12 pack and a growler for aging, and there are two regulars and a double in the fridge in case I have company.  It turned out to be a good beer.  In fact, I am going to keep this one to impress the in-laws, as I am a little wary of the following batches.

            Yet more time has passed and this is a great brew.  It is dark, but clear, with a pleasant aroma, a great flavor, and a fine, mild balance of hops and malt, bent slightly toward the malt.  The finish is clean enough that you could enjoy it with fish or chicken, but the flavor can hold its own with a steak.  A miracle.

            After subsequent research I have determined that this beer style is called a 'wee heavy'.

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