what a mess!

WooHoo! Yesterday the UPS man came and dropped off a 7.5 gallon brewpot. I have been doing partial boils since getting the kit, but have read so much about how much better a full boil batch tastes and have been wanting to try it ever since.

I found one online for about what I paid for the 5 gallon pot I already have. I wish I would've found that in the first place. Oh well, have it now so that is all that matters. 

Dad wanted to head over to pick up some more fish for his aquarium, so we spent the first part of the day running over to Knoxville and doing just that. On the way back we stopped and got some beer and ice. I made dinner, then set about cleaning up and prepping to brew.

We got some Rogue Dead Guy Ale to drink. I have had that before and they are good, just expensive, so it doesn't happen often. I am going to have to do some checking on the  ABV (wasn't listed on the label), though.

I had three of those, two Fat Tire beers, and five Icehouse before the night was done. I was pretty schnockered!

I wasn't planning to get that buzzed prior to brewing .... but I did.  It had to be the Dead Guy Ales!

Anyway, this batch was a clone kit of a Left Hand Milk Stout. I have had it before and it is pretty tasty. A few weeks back, I got Dad a six of Terrapin MooHoo Stout (which is a chocolate milk stout) that was excellent! So I ordered some extra chocolate malt to add to the grain bag.

With the 1/2 lb. chocolate malt i added, there was 5 pounds of grain to steep. This should be one excellent brew!

This was also the first batch I have done where it suggested steeping for a sustained period. Usually 20 minutes is sufficient, but this kit suggested a 45 minute steep. Like I said, this should be one excellent brew.

I added the rest of my water, my extract, Irish Moss, and the first hop addition and continued boiling and stirring for the next hour. Then one more hop addition for 10 minutes and then the ice bath.

I was wondering if I would be able to achieve a fast cold break since I was now doing a full 5 gallon batch. I am happy to report that I was able to do just that. It got down to 90* within 20 minutes and another 5 or so more it was at pitching temp.

I pitched the yeast and shook the hell out of the carboy and set it in the closet to let the yeasties do their thing. My OG was 1.060 and the kit suggested ~ 1.066 so I am definitely in the ballpark with that.

Of course, I tasted the wort sample. It was good, but too sweet to really gather any idea what the beer will be like. I can't wait to try it after it has fermented.

Then cleanup! Oy, damned sloppy drunk! I made a hell of a mess.

I didn't have any boilover issues, but was slippy while stirring. Also kind of missed the trash can when emptying out the grain bag. So today I get to clean off the side of the oven and the wall where I missed the can, as well as the brewing equipment I used.