YAY!!!!

I LOVE SIMCOE!!!!

These hops are the shiznit (for lack of a better term).  They have an amazing aroma and flavor, and a bitterness which is strong, yet not overpowering.  Definitely the best beer I've brewed so far, and the only one I would actually order in a bar.  The Willamette is in bottles, and I am looking forward to getting it chilled.  I have brewed the last of the experiments, the Amarillo, and it will hit the fermenter in a matter of minutes.

SIMCOE REPORT:
Bitterness: Strong, accumulating bite which stays with your tounge throughout the drink.
Flavor: Grapefruit...that's pretty much all there is to say
Aroma: See "Flavor".  Very nice, very much like grapefruit juice.

Here is what happened today:

25 c Pocono Springs bottled water brought to rolling boil.

1 lb Muntons Extra Light DME stirred into pot.

Wort brought back to boil, and .20 oz (1.64 AAU) Amarillo hop pellets added.  60 minute timer started.

At 45 minute mark (15 min left in boil) .20 oz (1.64 AAU) Amarillo hop pellets added to boil.

At 55 minute mark (5 min left in boil) .20 oz (1.64 AAU) Amarillo hop pellets added to boil

At 60 minute mark, brew pot is removed, covered, and placed in freezer to cool.

When wort reads 70 degrees F, wort transferred to fermenter, and 11.5 g Fermentis brand Safale us-05 also added to fermenter.

Fermenter closed and shaken for 1 min

The World, and the Beer, Is Flat

I'm a little late in posting this week.  No real excuses, just plain lazy.


I brewed the Willamette batch, and bottled the Simcoe.  I also cracked the Columbus.

The Columbus beer has a similar bitterness to the cascade, but not quite as intense.  The flavor, I feel, is the weakest of the three I've tried so far, but the aroma is the best.  I tried a new method of bottling, or rather priming.  I used priming tabs, but not enough.  The beer has no head whatsoever, and the carbonation is almost nil.  Full report on the Columbus, and the brew day for the Willamette follows.

Columbus:

Bitterness: Lingering, back-of-the-tongue bite.
Flavor: Not unpleasant, yet not highly present.  Mild sourness.  Grapefruit-like.
Aroma: Light, pleasant, citrusy scent.

Willamette Brewday:

24 c Pocono Springs bottled water brought to rolling boil.

1 lb Muntons Extra Light DME stirred into pot.

Wort brought back to boil, and .20 oz (0.96 AAU) Willamette hop pellets added.  60 minute timer started.

At 45 minute mark (15 min left in boil) .20 oz (0.96 AAU) Willamette hop pellets added to boil.

At 55 minute mark (5 min left in boil) .20 oz (0.96 AAU) Willamette hop pellets added to boil

At 60 minute mark, brew pot is removed, covered, and placed in freezer to cool.

When wort reads 70 degrees F, wort transferred to fermenter, and 11.5 g Fermentis brand Safale us-05 also added to fermenter.

Fermenter closed and shaken for 1 min