Jun 16 2008
German Alt Brew Day – Homebrewers Notebook
It may seem that I’m a relentless homebrewer based on the fact that a mere two days after I bottled my stout I started another beer. But don’t assume anything yet. We’re only two brews into this second homebrewing phase of my life so my enthusiasm may peter out soon.
Anyway, today’s brew: I ordered the extract German alt kit from Northern Brewer a few weeks ago and today was it’s day of reckoning.
The brewing went OK – no major hitches. Well, none until I was cleaning up. The kits come in these substantial little cardboard boxes. When I picked this one up to throw it in the recycling stack in the garage I noticed that it seemed a little heavy. I opened it up and there was a pound of dried malt extract.
By now I had already boiled the wort. The carboy was full and cooling in a bathtub full of cold water. I couldn’t re-boil it; that would screw up the hopping schedule. So after cursing to myself and staring at that damned plastic bag full of brown powder for about 20 seconds I decided to just dump it straight in.
If you’ve ever dealt with DME you know that it’s very fine and likes to clump. The barest amount of moisture will make it form into solid little rocks. And that’s exactly what it did when I dumped it the carboy – it formed three or four dozen little malt balls in the wort which, eventually, drifted to the bottom.
Once the wort was cooled down sufficiently I pitched the yeast as usual. Will this affect the brew? I have know idea but it will be interesting to watch.
