It's been awhile

So this is obviously my first update in awhile...law school has kept me busy. But, now that finals are over, I finally have some free time.

My Nightshade Ale (blackberry-blueberry wheat) didn't turn out half bad. It's a very fruity beer, and tastes almost more like a soda than a beer. It's definitely something I'd have to be in the mood to drink, and not just something I'd reach for when I have a beer. Interestingly, the ten pounds of fruit I used in this batch lended a much stronger flavor than did the ten pounds of fruit I used in my sour cherry beer from awhile back (Charlie Papazian's "Cherries in the Snow" recipe). In this batch, I used frozen fruit, whereas in the cherry beer I used canned cherries. I'm guessing there's some kind of difference there?

My imperial stout seems to be coming along nicely, too. It's been sitting in secondary about a month and a half now (I think), and has been aging over vanilla beans the entire time. I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out. My original plan was to let it sit in secondary all summer, but since I won't be around I'm a little hesitant to leave it fermenting in the high temperatures without any way to check on it. So I think I'm going to bottle it in a week or two, and then let some sit here to age and take a few bottles home with me.

I won't be brewing anything else until the fall, so my posts over the next few months will probably be few and far between. For my next batch, I'm planning on doing a pale ale/IPA, with an emphasis on citrusy hops. I wanted something I could just go to whenever I was in the mood for a beer, and that flavor profile seems to fit the bill.

Home for the Holidays

So I'm in New Jersey at the parents house for a few weeks. More likely than not I'll head back down to NC in time for the new year, and I'll start brewing again. My 'Chocolate Thunder' Porter will also have been in secondary for a little over a month, so I'll probably bottle that. If you've been reading, then you know I'm really excited about this beer. Part of that excitement is because its the first batch I'm brewing where I came up with the recipe, and the other part is when I tasted it, it tasted amazing.

Of course, being at the parents house means I don't have a whole lot to do, and I've had plenty of time to think about recipes, and what I want to brew next. Originally, my plan was to brew two stouts - a raspberry/chocolate stout, and an Imperial Stout. I think I'm definitely going to hold off on the Imperial Stout. I love dark beers as much as anyone else, but with my porter about to be bottled, and a raspberry/chocolate stout planned for Valentines Day, I think I'd rather try to make something lighter, or at least a little different.

Before I get to that, I was thinking more about the raspberry/chocolate stout. My original recipe and thought process had it being a very full-bodied, full-flavored stout (almost like an imperial - the other reason I didn't want to brew an imperial stout as well). But, I was sipping on a Youngs Double Chocolate the other day, and it hit me - a stout in that style with raspberry as well would taste pretty frickin amazing (or at least I think so), so I've shifted my focus. I think the raspberry/chocolate stout is going to be more in the style of a dry or sweet stout (i.e. like Youngs), rather than an Imperial. I'll post the recipe when I start brewing.

While that stout is brewing, I'd like to have something else going as well. I've come up with lots of ideas, and as much as I would love to brew all of them at once...that's not exactly an option. Every time I think I have something, I come up with something else I want to try. The most recent idea I've thought of is what I call my "Nightshade" ale. Not really sure why, since nightshade is a poisonous flower, but I like the name. I plan to brew it with blackberries and blueberries, with a little bit of honey to balance out the tanginess of the berries. I don't know if this is the one I'll brew right away with the stout, but right now I'm leaning towards it.

Not sure if I'll get another update in or not while I'm home, but in case I don't, I hope everyone has a happy holiday season :) I'll definitely update again as soon as I bottle my porter.

Until next time...