another brewing session, another piece of equipment sacrificed

I brewed again last night. This round it was an IPA. I have been wanting to do an IPA since first getting my brewing kit.

IPAs tend to have a citrusy flavor due to its high hop content. To increase the effect, I decided to add a bottle of RealLime lime juice and the zest and peel of a lemon. I added the juice to the water that was brought to a boil and the peel and zest to the grain bag.

The "Learn to Brew" DVD that came with my brew kit suggested tasting the ingredients that you use to brew with to get an idea how each impact your beer. I have been doing that all along but this kit offered stronger, more prominent ingredients.

I have used the Caramel 40L  grain before so was familiar with that, but this kit also had a Victory malt. It had the taste and texture of grape nuts.

There also were Cascade and Columbus bittering hops. The Columbus bittering hops are the strongest I have tasted yet. Wow, it had me reaching for my beer almost immediately.

The brew process went rather smoothly. I think I am getting the hang of this.   LOL

I brought it up to steeping temperature and once it hit 160* I put my grain bag in and swirled around. The malt was then added, stirred, and stirred and stirred. Then add the hops and continue to stir. The bittering hops boiled for 55 minutes then I added the flavoring hops for the final 10 minutes of the boil.

Then set it in the ice bath, added a gallon of water and stirred it all around to achieve the cold break. Once down to 80*, I racked it into the primary fermenter. I was surprised of the color.

I have drank a few IPAs in my time, but never in a clear glass. I just always drank from the amber-colored bottle it came in.

The color resembled that of caramel or butterscotch. I would have thought it a more translucent yellow color. I realize it will clear up after fermentation, but I thought it would more resemble a lager than a dark beer. We shall see in a few weeks, I guess.

Once it was racked, I took a sample for an OG reading and found it to be a 1.080. HOLY CRAP! The highest I have had yet was 1.045, and the paper in the kit says it should be between 1.061 and 1.065. Hmmm!

Then we, of course, tasted the sample. Ummm, not so sure how good it was as by this time of night I was pretty tipsy from the beers I had been drinking.

The last time I racked beer (my bock) I wound up breaking my hydrometer. It obviously has since been replaced. Last night when I was in cleanup mode, I accidentally dropped the thermostat and you guessed it ... broke it too! DAMMIT! I need to be more careful.