Homebrew Batch #2

I finally am getting around to getting my next batch of beer started: Honey Sage Ale! Shaun and I had picked this out back at Christmas time, and had gotten all the malt and yeast and so forth way back then. Unfortunately, even though it is refrigerated, I learned beer yeast also has a limited shelf-life. I ended up going back to the beer store for another package of yeast after the first one fizzled and didn't do much. The next yeast started working within hours and produced so much blowoff gas and scum that it filled the tube and water container that it was piped into. It also stopped fairly quickly - within three days - and has been developing a nice layer of thick sediment at the bottom of the carbouy while the golden colored liquor mellows and begins to clear. In another week or two I will check the SG and see if it's ready to bottle.

Step 1: Sparge - After soaking the malt for an hour keeping the temp between 144-152F, I used the big sink seive to catch the malt when pouring off the liquor. It was soooo much easier than trying to do it a little at a time with my hand-held seive.

 Step 2: Boil for an hour, adding hops a little at a time. Then add the honey and sage and set it in an ice bath to cool to 70F.

Step 3: Fermentation!