With the fermentation phase complete, I will be bottling my IPA in the next day or so. Then the wait begins for the conditioning phase. In the meantime, you might enjoy looking at this: ‘Drinking with George’ Which might make the perfect Christmas gift for anyone that loved, ‘Cheers.’

While my American Devil IPA is busy fermenting, I decided to taste some other IPAs so my palate will be prepared for my creation. I started with Michelobs Rye P.A. This was quite good, without some very good hops taste, but not much after taste. It paired very nicely with the chili that we had for dinner. I liked sipping the beer with it’s full bodied taste, then sliding down a spoonful of the spicy chili.

I had one very happy tummy by the end of dinner. Added Bonus: another bottle is chilling in the fridge for my nightcap!

I just realized that I started my first batch of beer when we began Daylight Savings Time. Now, we are falling back and I just put down my second batch of beer. I chose a premuim brew pack, the American Devil IPA. I’ve been getting quite fond of IPAs lately. The extra hops seem to apply to my palate!

I’m going to make sure that there isn’t another span of 8 months between brews! I retrieved the last bottle of my first batch from my friends fridge today and downed it while I was brewing this IPA. It was a good reminder of how worthwhile this hobby is!

I let the first bottle of beer chill for about three days, then popped it open. The first taste was splendid. It had a very good flavor, not robust, but subtle. The beer paired nicely with the sweet and sour beef that my wife made for my birthday. It will be interesting to compare the taste at the end of this week. Then finally I’ll chill the whole batch and share with some friends!

The carbonation phase is nearly complete, I’ve managed to keep my hands off of the beer this long, so you’d think I’d be able to let it condition for a couple of weeks longer. No. There is a very scientific point here that must be observed. 

The question is what, exactly, the conditioning does for the beer. In order to answer this question, I will start chilling one bottle tomorrow. After it has chilled the recommended two days, I will collect data on the taste and quality of my beer. In the same manner, I will collect data after the first and second weeks of conditioning. 

Following the second week of conditioning I will do a lot of data collection!

Thanks to all those who have voted for my next batch of beer. The stout currently holds a strong lead! I will leave the voting up for another week. Go to the interact page to place your vote!

With the beer in the bottles, sitting on the shelf, I find myself pondering the deep, hard questions . . . like ‘What will I brew next?’ I don’t want to be selfish, so I created a poll! Go to the interact page to voice your opinion on this weighty subject.

I will bottle the beer tomorrow! I can’t wait. Too bad it needs another two weeks for carbonation and then another two weeks for conditioning. Oh well, maybe that will give me some time to make these cool carriers:

check out the original pics here – Thanks to www.homebrewtalk.com

As you can see, the beer is much clearer now. Just a little foam left on top and a layer of sediment on the bottom. Check back tomorrow to find out how the taste test went!

I decided to take a quick peek at my beer before work this morning. As I was backing out, I hit my head on the stairs. So this is Friday the 13th? We will see how the rest of the day goes. At least the beer appears to be doing what it is supposed to do. I’ll just keep my head down and try to get through the day.