Bottling Day 3, and Brew Day 4 and 5!

I put the Nut Brown in bottles today.  It was much clearer than I had expected, but I think that is due to the increased amount of yeast I used.  The hydrometer reading tells me it should have an ABV of 4.9%.  The traditional Mr. Beer refills are usually 3.7% ABV.  Also, based on the ingredients and final gravity readings, this brew would be classified as a Blonde Ale, not a Nut Brown.

Once that brew was in the bottles, I had 2 empty LBK's at my disposal.  I decided to brew a wheat beer, and more specifically a witbier, in one keg.  In the other, I wanted brew an Amber Ale.  Also, this time I had planned to use no Mr. Beer ingredients at all, and only those I purchased from the home brew shop.  Here are my ingredients for each recipe:

This time I added two new elements to the brews: hops and crystal malt.  Hops are used for adding aroma, flavor, and bitterness (to balance sweetness).  As with yeast, there are many, many varieties of hops so you can match the flavor and bitterness with the style of beer you are brewing.  Also, hops impart different levels of flavors depending on how much you use, how long you boil them, etc.  I chose pellet hops for my new brews, and the varieties I needed for my recipes are Willamette (fruity, floral), Cascade (bitter, citrus flavor), and Saaz (cinnamon, earthy).

Crystal malt is barley that has been roasted to bring out the sugars from the grain. Adding this ingredient to a recipe imparts sweetness and toffee or caramel flavors into the brew.  Using crystal malt involves steeping the grain in hot water to bring out the flavor.  You simply put the cracked grain in a muslin sack and steep it for 30 minutes or so.  It's a delicate process, though, because if the steeping temperature is too high, off flavors can make it into your brew. 

 The witbier also required some interesting ingredients:  Corriander seed, orange zest, and orange juice.

The good thing about the witbier (besides the taste) is the quick turnaround time.   I found a recipe that has the beer brewed, fermented, and carbed in roughly 20 days.  The Amber will take far longer, so the timing will be convenient for bottling and carbing between the two brews.  The staggered schedule will also put me on a better cycle for brewing, since I will be bottling and brewing on different days and I'll be able to keep the process going without waiting on a keg to be empty.