In early September I brewed a "Sticke" version of a Kölsch-style beer. My son and I tried the first samples of the finished brew last night. It is definitely well-balanced and yummy. This keg I will serve as-is, but the other keg I'll probably dry-hop for an extra bit of "umph" & aroma.
This past month, I've also brewed a Scottish Ale and a Mocha Imperial Stout. The Scottish will be going to tertiary conditioning tonight, and the stout will be in the primary until at least tomorrow.
The Mocha Imperial Stout is an experiment, like many of my beers. At the end of the boil, I used 6 oz of Scharffen Berger Unsweetened Cacao Nibs and 5 oz of (ground) Starbucks Café Verona Coffee for this 8-gallon batch of Imperial Stout.
Inventory:
In the past month, I've run out of 2 Belgian styles: my Strong-Dark, and the Saison.
I'm also down to the last of the Oak-aged Whisky Barrel Imperial Stout that I brewed on Dec 26, 2005. It is almost perfect, so I bottled some for posterity. The Hop Harvest IPA is doing fine. It's slightly unbalanced and overly-hopped (to me), but my friends always go for that tap handle. I still have about 3 pints of the May 5th Big Brew Day "Poor Richard's Ale" (18th-century period beer) left. I need to feed it to my neighbors (or drink it myself), to give me some tap room.
What to brew next? I have the heavy styles covered. I think I need a lighter brew on tap. I'm thinking about a lager; specifically a crisp, slightly-hoppy Northern German style Pilsener. More than likely, I'll brew another couple of Saison's, though.
Any other suggestions?
This weekend, I'll take a keg of the "Sticke" Kölsch and the IPA to a race that I will be supporting.
I plan to run in the Heartland 50-mile trail race with a couple of trail-running buddies. Afterward, my friend Raul and I want to set up a "gypsy" aid station about 4 miles from the finish line of the 100-mile trail run event, (which will still be going on for many hours after we finish the 50). We're going to call it the "Mirage Aid Station." There will be hot soup, food, water, loud music, half-crocked aid station volunteers, and 2 styles of ale on tap. What more could an ultrarunner want at mile 96 of a 100-miler?
