Graphics courtesy the Beer Labelizer.
Seriously, it was pretty nasty yesterday, but I had to get in my Burning Man brew session; I’d already put it off at least a month longer than I should have. From last year’s burn I learned two important facts:
- Having ice cold beer on the playa is essential.
- Keeping a keg ice cold on the playa is foolhardy.
So this year I’ve decided to bottle-condition – in plastic bottles, no less. I’m leaving August 9, and I’m sure that three weeks rattling around in a hot car trunk will be plenty of time for the beer to carbonate, even if it isn’t a great idea otherwise. But that means that I have less than five weeks to take a 7.2% ABV lager from brewing to bottling. I have some reservations, but what are you going to do?
Anyway, the brewday went off without a hitch. I under-estimated my efficiency slightly, and ended up with an OG of 16.7°P (1.069). I had to chill the wort in my kegerator overnight to get it down to pitching temps, then this morning I aerated, pitched, and took a sample to conduct a fast ferment test. Normally I don’t bother, but in this case a few extra days of lagering could really make a difference, so I need to get the beer out of primary as soon as it’s ready – hopefully no more than about 10 days from now. I’ll do a short diacetyl rest, then lager it at 0°C for as long as possible.
I also racked my properly fermented Oktoberfest into a keg to make room, and man oh man is that tasting good.
Wait, are you saying “pretty nasty” is 93° F with 66% humidity (102° F with the Heat Index)? Here it was 102° F with 48% humidity (107° F with the Heat Index) what would that qualify as? “Regular nasty?” “Really nasty?” My personal choice is “fuckin gross outside!”