October 10, 2009
Today I wet-hopped the E.S.B. with 10 pounds of Warrior. They smelled great!!!! They were also huge. Some of the cone were as big as my thumb and very sticky with luplin (the yellow resin that contains the alpha & beta acids and the oils of the hops). I can’t wait for this beer to be on tap. It should be up in 2 to 3 weeks and it will be about 7% ABV. That is a little bit higher than last years batch.
Today I also brewed the Dog River Organic Pumpkin Ale. That is a big pain in the butt to make. The mash was very thick & sticky with 95# of organic pumpkin pulp. I cut back slightly on the cloves reducing it from 3oz to 2oz. It also has 1 pound each of cinnamon & nutmeg. I will be adding vanilla beans to the serving tank. I smelled & tasted really good going into the fermentor with a starting gravity of 1.058.