There has been a LOT happening in life, so I haven’t been able to brew for a while. But when I did my last order from https://www.mrbeer.com, I kept in mind that March would be here before we knew it. Thus, it was appropriate I ordered an Irish Stout to have ready for St. Patrick’s day.
The brewing started back on 2/6 and was a super simple recipe and rather uneventful. Just one can of HME, two booster packs, and the yeast. My only comment on it all was just how dark the HME was. We all know stouts are black but this HME (and its ensuing wort) was the blackest of blacks. Into the fermenter it went and the wait began.
The 10-day mark hit this Wednesday and I took a small sample. (Recall that what you’re looking for here no sweetness and it should taste like a flat beer.) I didn’t pick up any strong sweetness in the taste, but it’s better to let it go for a few extra days rather than bottle it too early.
Two days later, surely it’s ready!? Took another sample and, yep, no hint of sweetness. And while it’s probably my mind playing tricks on me, the flavor seemed to improve just a tad.
Time to clean and sanitize all of the bottles, caps, and bottle rack. More waiting… for them to dry. The bottling process was also quite uneventful.
Time to work on creating the labels!
Stay tuned for an update in about 2-3 weeks when it should be ready for tasting after all the conditioning!
