As this is the first brew-day since Santa visited it’s my first chance to play with some of the presents he gave me:

Counter-flow wort chiller.

Inline oxygenator

New pump.

I’m not expecting any particular problems but the day always ends up running long when I have new toys. Hopefully the new wort chiller will help shorten the process in the long run as it should speed up that part of the process compared to an immersion chiller. I’m hoping that it will save some water as well, though I don’t tend to have any water wasted as I reuse the water from chilling for cleaning and rinsing the kettle & mash tun.

As an experimental new brew, I’ve scaled back my IPA recipe to make a more quaffable but still aromatically hoppy American pale ale. I had planned to use solely Amarillo hops but MoreBeer was out of stock on them as they’re still waiting for their supply from the 2011 harvest to arrive. I’ve gone with Columbus for bittering & Cascade for flavor/aroma. If they have Amarillo or Centennial in stock by next week then I dry-hop with one of them, otherwise I’ll go with more Cascade.

I found 21st Amendment’s Bitter American in Whole Foods last night. I’ve enjoyed it before at their brewpub before but I hadn’t realised that they had started canning their seasonal brews. Somewhat reminiscent of Stone’s Levitation, BA is a hybrid of a British-style premium bitter and a West-Coast IPA. Quaffable at 4.4% abv it still packs a wallop of hoppy goodness, I’d love to try it on cask at some point.

The can design is also very cool, and canning rather than bottling is ‘the way forward’ but cracking open a can never feels as special popping off a bottle top. It is easier to fit more beer in the fridge though

It says it’s organic so it must be good for me. Right?

A black IPA from the excellent 21st Amendment brewery in San Francisco. Very tasty indeed. It has the citrusy hoppiness of a West Coast IPA but paired with a delightful chocolatiness from the dark malts. I bet it would be great with sausages. And everything else come to think of it.

Bonus marks for identifying the other style of beer in shot.

Stone’s fantastic Levitation Ale is their version of a session beer. It’s similar in many ways to an English special bitter except with a big hop character. Not overly bitter though some might find it too hoppy for a session. Not me though. Goes well with pork scratchings too.

I started this compact journey of the soul drinking beer in Boston & commenting how English it tasted. IPA’s based on East Kent Golding & Fuggles rather than Cascade, Chinook & Centennial. Of course the irony of this is my well known love for the citrusy Pacific hops in these situations. Not that I won’t make an exception for 60 Minutes whenever the opportunity presents itself.

And then I arrived back in Britain. Where serving a pint involves a bit of elbow grease, or those of you Atlantically-challenged, the operation of a beer engine. At which point the beer in Boston tasted just like the beer in California. There is just some special about the way we serve beer in the British Isles, but especially the North. A hand pump is without doubt a better way of serving beer but it only fulfils it’s true potential when operated with a skilled hand & more contentiously a sprinkler. That little gadget on the end of a northern hand pump may look like the most miserly water-saving showerhead but it’s impact is closer to that of gravy on roast potatoes – it bring the flavour out.

I guess I still haven’t told you anymore of what I’ve drunk over the last few weeks or how it was but I think I’ve given you the ambience. And that first pint of Bushys was like finding an oasis after an eternity in the desert.