58128054-d580-4e66-a6d5-a4f6ad59490b.jpgAs I indicated in my previous post, it is time to pick up the pace on the brewing in preparation for next year's competitions. I'm getting to the point where I'm doing so much that I will probably have to kick brewing in the head one of these days. But for now, we brew.

The first brew of the autumn was completed two weeks ago and as I type I am procrastinating about getting the finished beer into bottles and barrels. I went back to basics and used a recipe from Hughes, Home Brew Beer. I need to make a Belgian Golden Strong Ale and the book has a recipe for a great many styles.

The grain bill is 88% Belgian Pilsner Malt, 7% Carapils and 5% Aromatic Malt. Saaz hops go in at the start of the boil and Tettnang in the last 15 minutes. Also Belgian style candi crystals are added to the boil to raise the gravity.

So how did it go? The process itself didn't go too badly. I suspect I mashed the grain at too high a temperature and I will be paying more attention to this part next time. There is a formula to calculate the water temperature to mix with the grains - calculating the strike temperature. I also did not hit the gravity I wanted - well under. The point is that the wort tasted ok and so I'm going to let this one go and see how it turns out.

That's if I can get it into the bottles today.