Brew Batch #166 Sparkly Roo

I have quite a few recipes that I'm comfortable with and brew well even to win medals during comps but it's time to branch out and do some styles that I like and intrigue me but I'm not necessarily comfortable with. Hence Sparkly Roo, an Australian Sparking Ale. OG 1.044+0.000 @69F on a little White Labs Australian yeast and a smattering of Pride of Ringwood hops. 

FrostBalls 5K

 

In 2013 it was Gingerballs and since then any winter running has taken a slide but for good reason. I spent a year November 2021 in a soft left ankle brace and 2 new swanky orthotic inserts in my other shoes during workouts and days off to correct TTS. So, at this point I'm just thankful to be able to run this far. 38:48 was the time for 4miles and normally the winner takes a stout but it was 8am. Maybe just maybe Hotballs 10K will return this year. Funny how you take the little things you enjoy so much for granted. 

Brew Batch #165 I Like Big Oats v1.1

I mean the color is a wonderful white to light yellow opacity! FG 1.006-0.001@53F to give 6.56%. So, I missed the 7% target, but I guarantee no one will be able to tell the difference. ILBO v1.0 came in at 7.6% but was also one of the last batches done at OTB. It has a nice pineapple-y dank to it. For fun I'll be entering it into Coconut Cup in Miami fresh just to see if I can grab some bling in FL finally. 

Funk You, Funk Me. Funk it for Always...(that's the way it should be)

After pulling a long-awaited sample we have some tasting notes. It was a broad and diverse panel of palates and experience. We all agree that the tannins of the oak are coming through but we all pick up some slight differences in the aroma ranging from peach to banana to apple. There's some slight tart-ness, which our BJCP judge, identifies as acetic acid, possibly produced by acetobacter since he also picks up apple wafts. There's a miniscule pellicle at best but that's not indicative of anything as depending on whether it's Lacto, Pedio, Brett or Aceto and the temps it's been stored at since they may all vary on pellicle production. So, in the hopes of stalling ANY further aceto, if it's in there, I pitched a fresh WL Brett Claussenii. Let's let it crowd Le' Arthur a bit more and pull it again closer towards the 1-year anniversary of 3/31/22. 

Brew Batch #165 I Like Big Oats v1.1

Starting Groundhog Day off right with a slight tweak to a previous favorite. The only change here is Denali whirlpool and DDH instead of Calypso. Calypso at these levels kind of "pined" it up last time. OG 1.054+0.001@80F. Missed that one big time by night stirring as much I guess, but it should yield a solid 6 as opposed to a 7% abv. And all done before 9am. Learned that technique early on just haven't started applying it until recently. 

Brew Batch #164 Reinke's Revenge 2021 CoVid Edition (cont'd) Alpha variant

Reinke's Revenge Alpha α aka B.1.1.7 variant hit the keg this afternoon with a fine FG 1.040-0.001@52F to yield a 11.8% sipper. Since we're highlighting the wonderful world of CoVid variants with Reinke's Revenge going into our 3rd year, what could be finer and more appropriate than taking the Fuggles already used in the recipe and dry-hopping it to death (or at least ventilator for a while). Looking at Omicron tweaks for 2022, but what could be more American.....and yet South African🤔

Brew Batch 163 Reinke's Revenge 2021 CoVid Edition (cont'd) Delta variant

Well, that CBB multi-generational pitch it it's job. FG into the keg was 1.028-0.001@54F makes it a great 12.2% sipper. But that would only make it Reinke's Revenge and since this is Delta we'll be commemorating this virus laden hell we're all living in with some Bhut Jokolai (from India where delta was first identified) and some Carolina Reaper peppers (since it's still the most dominant variant in the US). Gonna have to watch the soak time on these because once "Pirate Bomb" level is met, I'll need to pull those bad boys out. No need in possessing actual fire breathing ability.