Doctor Duvel

I'm like a sommelier, but for beer.

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Location: Upstate New York, United States

Favorite Beers: Orval, Samuel Smith, Duvel, Hennepin, Oude Gueze, Chimay, Dogfish Head, Anchor Steam, and anything made by Trappist monks.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Making RyePA

Thanks for the comments on the last post everybody. The new sanitation measures seem to be going pretty well--more will be clear in a few weeks, but the Star-San switchover has been smooth and certainly makes me feel better. And I'm being more careful with those blasted carboys...

Today, too apathetic to tackle either a Pilsner (decoctions...) or a second version of my Old British Beers super-huge Imperial Stout (ridiculously unwieldy mash amounts), I just threw together a batch of Denny Conn's RyePA. I resisted making this beer for a long time, just because everyone else was doing it and I write my own recipes 85-90% of the time. But Jeremiah brewed a batch that was so damned yummy I couldn't resist the temptation and ordered a few pounds of rye and the right crystal malt to make it happen. Boil is underway.

Some amount of brewing apathy is setting in lately. I didn't really feel like it today, but am trying not to let my kegs go dry. Sometimes this feels like a chore. I need to either slow down and brew ten batches a year less (not such a big deal) or take six weeks off sometime in the spring and focus on other things.

As a post-script, the Belgian-style ale in the Saranac winter box is pretty good. Needs a little more carbonation. Most places that don't specialize in Belgians are, I think, loath to screw with their process and give these beers the extra little bit of priming they need. But they sprung for a good yeast, crafted a nice, nutty malt foundation, kept the hops in the background--all the right general priorities.

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