I’ve been a bit delinquent in posting lately. I got overwhelmed with the number of pictures that I took in Panama (both on vacation and my subsequent business trip) and a variety of other adventures.
Maybe I’ll just wipe the slate clean and start with today…
Today I brewed a batch of chocolate stout. (No, I don’t use actual cocoa - I use chocolate malt. It results in a bitter/dark chocolate flavor, which I enhance dramatically with the use of vanilla beans in the fermenter.)
George hung out (and helped) from mash-in to clean-up. Here he is holding the hose as we pump the bitter wort into the fermenter (after it ran through the plate chiller).
Like sausage, perhaps not everyone wants to see how beer is made. For example the hops (pellet and whole) leftover in the boil kettle - especially after making a stout…
In addition a couple of George’s homebrews (a Belgian strong dark ale and a Russian imperial stout) and a bottle of Kriek from the (going on five years) defunct Oud Beersel brewery in Belgium) we had a Russian imperial stout from Drake’s Brewery (in the shadow of the Oakland airport).
Very tasty…
George and I added a few extra screws to the fermenter stand. Now it is actually somewhat stable…
Here’s the final batch strapped down and ready for some serious fermentation…
When I can find my (pipe-hanging metal straps with holes) I will set up a better clamp system…
I made only a couple of "oops-I’m-an-idiot" kinda moves. All in all, a great day….
