With batch 1 of the 2012 in the fermentor it is time to enjoy a 20oz reward & catch up with the Giants vs Packers game. I had managed to watch most of the first half in stolen moments during the day so I should just about have the energy to watch the remainder before the day’s toil catches up with me.

All the new equipment seemed to work pretty well, thought there’s a few tweaks to make to get everything working perfectly. I managed to spill some wort thanks to a tubing mishap when connecting the wort chiller to the fermenter (operator error) but as new-equipment mistakes go it wasn’t too bad. Gravity was bang-on target & the wort passed the taste test with flying colors so it’s all in the hands of the yeast now.

Next at the plate is a fantastic California hop-bomb. AleSmith IPA is a tremendous beer. Great hoppy taste & aroma without any harshness to the well balanced bitterness.

A quality English Ale next. Malty, fruity, complex. The dog liked it too when some spilt on the floor as I opened the bottle. Good dog 🙂

Just had a bottle of Sierra Nevada Kellerweis. Very tasty. With being fresh I think it actually tasted more like a proper German Hefe than the real ones that spent weeks on a ship getting here.

After several attempts at the brewing of the year being cancelled due to weather or hangover I’m finally getting to do the first brew of the year today. As seems to have become tradition I’m starting with a batch of my favourite – Amarillo IPA.

My other opening day tradition is to make at least one cock-up. I can’t wait to see what it’ll be this year.

Oh man, what a busy time the last couple of weeks has been, both in my blog life & real life. I’ll try to catch up with everything as well as I can, as soon as I can, keeping in chronological order.

Today is Yorkshire Day, a celebration of the greatest county on Earth and home to many of the world’s finest beers. Cheers.