On Tap (28th Dec 2009)
Its been a fun Christmas break so far, made even better by having the chance to drink a few of my own ales in the process. Its also been an exceptionally busy week in the workshop moving ales from carboy to carboy and into bottles plus brewing a new one so its time for the last “On Tap” update of 2009.
Primary
- Swampswill 6X (1 day) – my first attempt at a true Wadworth 6X clone, only doing a 2.5 gl batch as an experiment which should yield just under a case. Seemed to go without a hitch with the colour and OG on the money. Yeast is active and all seems well.
Secondary
- Lord Fatbottom Ale (3 days) – ABV after the primary is a stunning 13%. Viscous hoppy barleywine, the sample glass alone gave me a buzz. 3 days of a 6 month rest down
Bottle Conditioning
- Abbots Special Ale (3 days) – this is my first attempt at a Greene King Abbot Ale clone. I have this finishing in a keg pressured with BeerGas. Should be ready before New Year.
- American Style IPA (3 days) – nice hoppy IPA, not quite an Imperial but its close. In the bottle, sample was beautiful. I will have a couple of six packs up for grabs in a couple of weeks if anyone wants some.
- Chiswick ESB (3 days) – version 1.0 of my Fullers ESB clone I covered in an earlier post. A week in the secondary has altered the flavour somewhat. The colour still matches the 16 SRM but we will have to wait and see how the final product tastes in 2 weeks when I sample a bottle, it seems a little too sweet. Not as optimistic as I was last week.
- Dogfish Head 90 min IPA clone – (1 month, 1 week) 1 month and 3 weeks to go
Drinking
- Kentish Best Bitter (4 days) – Turns out to be a gem, great with the bubble and squeak on Boxing Day. Wish I had more, only 9 12oz bottles left as most where either sold or given as gifts. Covered in more detail here.
