Monday, October 17, 2005
Kegging Witches Brew
A cloned version of Pendle Witches Brew was kegged yesterday. After letting it set in the secondary for a month it was kegged with a final gravity of 1.011. The original gravity was rather high at 1.092 as compared to the target OG of 1.051-1.052 which is cause to wonder if my original reading was incorrect. If accurate, this batch yields 10% ABV while 5.1% is expected. The clone-brew recipe is in Beer Captured by Tess and Mark Szamatulski. A sampling of the portion taken for a hydrometer reading revealed an amber brew with an aroma of sweet malts and earthy hops. It started on the sweet side and finished dry and hoppy. This is close to the target character sans an aroma of fruit. The strong hop aroma may have overpowered any fruit notes.
I'm not sure what to brew next. After going at it for two years of brewing largely ales I'm ready to expand a bit. The November issue of Brew Your Own has a few articles on mead which may be worth a shot. Also, stouts and porters may be in order as I haven't yet done a dark beer and they would be welcome in the coming winter months. The upcoming Nov. 12 Brewtopia Festival in New York may provide inspiration.
Stay tuned,
- John
