Thoughts on 2008 batches #1 and #2

April 7, 2008

My thoughts on batch #1 were pretty clear: don’t shake the starter.  I’m still cleaning yeast and malt off surfaces in the kitchen, and the ants that are constantly scouring my kitchen for tidbits sure liked a couple of stray splatters I missed.  I also realized that I had taken my OG reading incorrectly, so I’ll have to slightly adjust it.

Batch #2 turned out very well indeed.  I used nearly ten pounds of malt extract, about half a pound of dry malt extract (leftover from the starter), three types of hops, and two tablespoons of cocoa powder.  Then I went crazy and tossed three chilis de arbol into the primary fermenter, hopefully for a nice heat to the beer.  I don’t want a chili-flavored beer, nor do I want somethingextremely spicy, but I want just a little bit of heat to balance out the swet and bitter.  And if all five gallons turns out to be undrinkable, I’ll have five gallons of a really great marinade of chili base at my disposal.  At least it won’t go to waste.

I ended up with an OG of 1.09 on that batch.  That’s going to be an awesome batch of beer, one way or another.

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