Rack #13

Tonight I racked #13, the Daily Bitter. The gravity had dropped nicely about .04 units, which translates to about 5.2% alcohol so far. It could drop a little more in the next week before bottling. The taste was good. It is amazing (but probably shouldn't be) how much of a positive difference Maris Otter malt makes in the flavor compared to the amber or light extract I was using before. The beer does need a little more time to smooth out, but I expect this to be an awesome beer... maybe I will need to brew another batch of this before too long.

Another brew activity for tonight has been related to yeast. From the beginning, I have been picky about the yeast I choose to brew with... meaning I have paid more than necessary in order to get premium liquid yeast cultures for my beer. In the past, I have spread this cost out among several batches by brewing several beers in a row, pouring the new wort on top of the yeast left over from the last batch. With this batch, I once again bought the good yeast, but I only brewed one batch. So in order to maximize the value of my yeast, I am attempting to save the yeast from the primary fermenter for future batches. My methods are less than spectacular, but I am trying to at least keep things sanitized so that in a few weeks, when I brew again, I can try to use the yeast again. My method has been to pour the yeast into sanitized vessels and refridgerating. In a couple of weeks, I will add my yeast to a starter to re-vitalize and hopefully keep healthy for another go-round. We'll see how it goes.