Last night and this morning we finished off bottling the first batch of stout (pretty basic recipe) which had a final specific gravity of 1.011. Now that Denver is socked in with so much snow I'm looking forward to a nice stout.

This morning when the wort temperature got down to the low 70s the initial ABV for the pumpkin ale that we brewed last night was 1.045. We were a little late in brewing the pumpkin ale - ideally it would have been just ready for thanksgiving and really ready for the winter solstice. So, now it will be ready right around Valentine's day. And nothing says romance like a pumpkin ale, right?

I just racked off knadstout1 and it smells delicious. Really though I'm just biding my time until our last IPA is ready because that sucker should be the best yet.

I had Blue Moon Winter the other day - it's very similar to the summer except less citrus flavor and a much strong sweet flavor. We couldn't decide if it was just a really caramelly malt or was some actual caramel or was vanilla. Either way, it's a pretty dang good beer considering the source.

I've got three beers right now - one in each stage. A hoppy trinity if you will.

Brewing

Last night I finished up knadstout1 based on the Beer At Home stout kit. Most everything went to plan, though I boiled the grain bag a little long and added in the fuggles aromatic hops a little early in the boil. The original gravity is 1.048 and I just added the yeast and set that carboy aside. Taking my standard sip from the gravity testing vessel it's a pretty delicious sucker. I'm not very good at knowing what it will be like based upon a sip of the wort, but I have some good hopes for this stout.