Using Matt's homegrown hops, we threw together an all grain IPA recipe this past week, and we pushed to get to brewin' this Thursday evening.
(Matt's Cascade homegrown hops)
Brent was unable to attend the brewing event this week, but contributed with a new piece of equipment for the mash tun to help with the sparging process:
Rain was expected, but up through the sparging process not much had really fallen. Just as the hops were added to the boiling wort, ready for 60 minutes of alpha acid extraction and saturation, the rain came. Matt and I never even considered giving up on the brew, and began taking turns holding an umbrella.
In search of a better brewing method, Matt recommended we fix a broken patio umbrella that was standing collapsed and useless only a few feet away. After a few short minutes of turmoil, we had prepared a more relaxing solution.
A few minutes later, a pizza was delivered from Bishops and we enjoyed a pepperoni and onion pie while being warmed by the steam from a sweet wort with beautiful boiling hops. Not a bad time.
Here are the stats on the beer:
We were shooting for a 1:1 GU to BU ration, and had decided this IPA would do well around a GU of 58. The OG turned out a bit lower than we hoped at 1.042, but not terrible. We used enough of Matt's cascade hops to in theory put us around 58 BU's. The brew should be plenty bitter, but I'm really excited to see how the homegrown hops contribute to the aroma and flavor.
