beer fairy

It is perhaps not as complicated as we thought. Beer changes over time. The Paradise ale is flagging, while thwe stout continues to gain flavor and the Hilo Red grows in promise. We need to focus on consistency within one batch. The color of the new brown ale is amazing--a balance between hops and malt flavors? Stay Tuned! (What shall we do for the new Label? My recent laptop breakdown kinda presents a challenge.)

Jim, drop the other shoe!

So, how did the second bottle taste? Does the beer fairy visit only my house?

Not so STOUT

After seeing Michaels post and picture of our Big Island Stout I couldn't wait to give it a quaff. Unfortunately, a very uneven beer. Very little head and a flatness seems to indicate that I go a bottle that was not as highly carbonated as the one photographed. Color was a dirty brown as opposed to a chocolate shading I would have expected from a Stout. Much like our first batch-some bottles were good and some barely drinkable. I am sure the short fermenting cycle is the cause for the lack of consistent quality.

Hopefully bottle 2 will be a winner.

I think the Hilo Red is going to rock. Great color, nose and it was fermenting 18 hours after we pitched. Hi ho Hilo, away . . .

STOUT!

My first bottle of Big Island Stout was quite good. The carbonation level of the first bottel was high (I'm hoping we have no bottle bombs). Obviously, the final priming and bottling is a huge piece (and the honey/DME combo a fine choice). In our first batch, certain bottles are pretty good, and others are dishwater. Seems to me that I can tell which is which when I pop the cap--high carbonation, good beer; poor carbonation, dishwater. The second bottle of stout was not as carbonated, and ultimately less interesting. We have got to improve aeration and mixing prior to bottling. I'm worried about the Hilo Red for this reason. We can do a more reliable job next time.

An ominous start to making this batch of Hilo Red-I broke the hydrometer and could not find our backup airlock. Not to fear, Michael o'neilled (o'neilled-synonym of macgivered-to fabricate out of materials at hand) a custom airlock seen here. It works perfectly and has a soothing ringing effect as the glass jar beneath the can tings against it during the fermentation process. Oh the smell of highly hopped wort . . .

Concerned about the island stout. Fermentation took 30 hours to commence and stopped after 36 hours. Will transfer to secondary fermentor this weekend and cross our fingers.

priming our stout

I've read some blogs about using corn sugar vs. DME in priming before bottling. The most authoritative and convincing items I've read describe how corn sugar is 100 per cent fermentable, and the DME is not, which will change flavors and perhaps leave a kreusen in the bottling. Still, more and more recipes are using DME for priming, and I'm seeing more and more brewers announcing that they will move that direction. The say that DME give better beer texture, head, mouthfeel, or "smaller bubbles." In the interest of island adventure (yet lacking the guts to go on a Kauai boar hunt), I would propose a stout priming of 2/3 or 3/4 DME and 1/3 to 1/4 Alameda honey. I think the honey might go well with the stout, still remaining fully fermentable, and the DME will provide the vaunted mouth feel and good head. (One should never discount the value of good head.)

Proposed label for new red ale

This is shows red ginger ('awapuhi 'ula'ula) superimposed over a stylized image of Rainbow Falls in Hilo. Here's hoping the beer merits the label.