Keg of a best bitter in my “extra” fridge (and some homebrew and Michigan craft brew in bottles.)

The best bitter turned out OK.  It had a great hop profile but a bit thin on mouth feel  and under carbonated so I am modifying the recipe.  The breakfast stout got better with time. Turned out well and I will more than likely make it again.  At present I have a Baltic Porter in the secondary fermenter.  It should be nice and chewy with an ABV of 9%.

I have a Best Bitter (British Pale Ale) brewing and will bottle soon.  I call it a best bitter but is is somewhere between. I used Fuggle hops…maybe too much as Qbrew indicates that it has an IBU of 42 which makes it closer to an ESB.  (I like hops so this doesn’t bother me.)  The batch turned out to be 3.9% ABV less a standard Best Bitter and in the range of an ordinary bitter.  Needless to say it was a good tasting pub ale…yes I sample throughout the process.  I am calling it my “Leaders and Best Bitter.”

I have a “breakfast stout” (part milk stout and part oatmeal stout) conditioning.  The lactose gives is a residual sweetness, the roasted barley and chocolate malt give it chocolate and coffee flavors.  I used Kent Golding hops… initial taste bottling it was good…a little green but good. (5.5% ABV) Maybe next time I brew with a bit of coffee from one of the three great local roasters in Ann Arbor.  (I’ll keep the bacon and eggs out of this breakfast.)

IPA is bottled and conditioning.  Brown ale should be ready by my birthday (June 6) so I will more than likely sneak one even though I’m brewing like crazy to be overly stocked for my family to come for the 4th holiday.  I now have a lager in the fermenter, with a bit of honey.  Should turn out to be 4.1% ABV … the lowest of the 3 batches.  (It’s not as much beer as it sounds.  I brew small batches.)

Saturday: aforementioned brown ale bottled.  Now it needs to condition for a while.

…And while the family was asleep, I brewed the IPA.  It is now fermenting.  Finishing with Cascade hops as Sierra Nevada is my brother-in-law and sister-in-law’s current favorite.   Should be really hoppy.

It is hard to find really good tortilla chips at the store.  Doritos-type chips are really not that good.   The ones from Ann Arbor Tortilla Factory chips rock.  Especially their lime.  I have not purchased another Tortilla chip brand since.

I brewed another batch of beer this weekend in preparation for a family get together in July.  This was a Brown ale (mix of nut-brown and creamy brown.)  Time (7 weeks or so) will tell how good it is.