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| Label Inspiration: From Maine Beer Company. Their beers are rally great. I wanted to pay tribute to someone with the bunny as well. The name "Something Else" comes from me telling them someone I wanted to name the beer after them. They said no, name it something else. So I did. |
Mr. Beer’s Northwest Pale
Ale (plus my own hop and DME additions)
Dry brewing yeast
.25 oz Falconer’s Flight hops (10.0%-11.0%)
.25 oz Warrior hops ((15.7%)
.25 Simcoe hops (12.3%)
7.5 oz Brewmax Pale DME Softpack (1 package from Mr. Beer)
ABV: 6.5% SRM 5 (1-6, pale
ale), IBU: 43 (31-70 noticeable bitterness)…SRM and IBU totals should be more
d/t the DME and hop additions (IBUs might drive it up to 45 or so)
Brewed the
beer on December 27, 2014. I followed the Mr. Beer instructions in terms of
preparation/sanitization. I then added the DME softpack to the 4 C of water
that I placed in my brewpot. Once it started to boil, I added the Warrior. Five
minutes later, I added the Simcoe. After 10 minutes of boiling, I added the
Northwest Pale Ale HME and took it off the stove right when it started to boil
again. I then added the Falconer’s Flight (at flameout).
Next,
I placed the wort in an ice bath in the sink, making sure
that the ice water was at least even with the wort level in the pot (this time
it was well over it). I let the wort get to about 90 degrees and then I poured
it into the LBK. The keg already had 4Q of cold (cool) water in it, but after I
added the wort I brought the overall level up to 8.5Q.
Bottled beer on January 19, 2015. Final temperature was around 65 degrees.I used the bottle wand to fill the bottles and also used mostly 16 oz. bottles (11.5 16 oz. bottles and 4 12 oz. bottles). I left a little more in the LBK than I wanted to, but I had already sealed the last 16 oz bottle and the spigot was already pretty clogged with trub so…
I
tasted it and it was flat (obviously) a little bitter and hoppy, but not bad. I
am hopeful that this will be a good one. I will let this sit for 3 weeks and
will put them in the fridge after that.
Conditioned
beer on February 8, 2015. Stuck it in the fridge.
First taste-
February 9, 2015. Just one day after being in the fridge. Nice amber color,
nice head (poured a half-full glass in the IPA glass and it had about an inch
head at first. Creamy head. Smells a little hoppy with bready undertones, but
the aroma is difficult to tell. Bitter finish, complex flavors up front. Nice
carbonation. Medium-to-full bodied. Overall, I am VERY pleased with this beer at this point,
especially after only one day in the fridge. It’s a little cloudy and I’ll wait
for a few weeks to see how well it all settles down and settles in terms of
flavor before I give my final assessment.
February 19,
2015-
The beer is VERY carbonated and that may be the cause of some of the
off-flavors I am tasting. I have noticed that some of the aroma is more evident
when you pour the beer into a glass and let it breathe a little. More aroma is
present and the hoppy aftertaste is more noticeable as well.
February 21, 2015. The beer is not really getting any better and, in fact, has gotten nastier. Could be infection, could be sanitation (lack thereof), could be ingredients.
NOTES: I had some issues during the boiling process and with the fermentation temperature. I didn't try to make a MO clone but it didn't turn out at all like I had planned...
Overall
score: 3 out of 10
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