What's on tap at New Main?

Well, we let pesky old life get in the way, and now nothing is on tap. Boo. However, we do have a few things in the works to remedy this situation.

Last week, I racked our Russian Imperial Stout, 9*8*7 into 3 separate fermenters for aging. I have a single 3 gallon carboy and two 1 gallon carboys set up to receive different treatments of this stout. I know I want to use some or all of the following: Mexican vanilla extract, roasted chipotle peppers, cacao nibs. The gravity sample tasted great, so I might keep the 3 gallons as the base beer for submission into competitions. That way if anything fouls up on the one-offs, I won't lose too much. Conversely, if those special editions turn out great, they will be something of a special release for anyone we may share them with.

We also made a trip down to Houston to see our great friends for Memorial Day. We spent all day Sunday cooking, eating, playing games, eating, catching up, reliving our glory days at A&M, eating, and... oh yeah! Brewing! My buddy got a brewing kit for Christmas and has been waiting for a chance to dive in, so we brewed up a simple-yet-satisfying 1-gallon batch of an American Wheat Ale. I made sure to check that nothing had gone bad sitting for 6 months, and to my knowledge all the smells and tastes were just right. Checking with our new brewing brother, there was a healthy krausen and some good airlock activity, so beer has been made! Congratulations, Adam and welcome to your new hobby obsession!

We tested a batch of American Pale Ale for our friend's bachelor party coming up in a few months. The test batch turned out great, and there really aren't all that many tweaks I want to make to it. It's brewed to be a crowd pleaser, so it's not crazy on hop flavor or aroma, and it's not even that high in alcohol-just 5.25%. Just a good all day drinker for the lake. When we brew this for ourselves later on down the road, we'll probably throw in some of our homegrown hops for aroma and flavor. Nothing beats fresh hops from the garden!

I do want to get our Rosemary Sage Wit back on tap because it's a great summer refresher, so I may brew that in very soon. I have also been contracted by friends and family to brew up some interesting beers: Peach Wheat, Cream Ale, and a Lager to name a few. The wheels are turning everybody, rest assured.

We are also working on a top secret WTF ingredient to put in our Gose. I'll be experimenting on the stove top next week to brew that one up. If it turns out well, we may submit it at this year's Labor of Love homebrew competition in the Weird S*** category. Yes, that's the name of the category.

We have a much needed vacation coming up soon, so I will probably not post much until the middle of June. We are heading to Portland and Seattle for a week to recharge the batteries and celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. It's no coincidence that the Pacific Northwest is one of America's pilgrimage sites for brewers and beer lovers! I'll try to take some notes and report back on these Texans' experience in that corner of the world.