Back from the Dead

Good news, everyone! Though most people who should know this know this, I passed my PhD screening exam--the reason for my disappearance late last year. Since then I've done such fun things as visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory in Tillamook, OR, the land of cheese, trees, and ocean breeze, watched, in person, Oregon handily dispose of Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, and spend $700 replacing the cam-shaft position sensor in my car. Happy New Year!

In even better news, I'm making beer today. Earlier this year I took a stab at brewing a new style: English Mild. It turned out so well that the entire 5 gallons hardly lasted a week! Even though I overshot OG by 4 points the beer stilled weighed in at 4.1%, making it quite sessionable. What's more, the beer is dirt cheap and ready to drink inside 14 days from pitching the yeast, carbonation time included. Check it out:

English Mild

Grain:
5.5# Marris Otter
0.75# English Crystal 55° L
0.27# English Chocolate

Adjuncts:
0.31# Brown sugar

Hops:
5 AAUs Fuggles (60 min)
0.5 oz East Kent Goldings (10 min)

Yeast:
WLP-002 - English Ale

I wanted to mash at 152°, though I think it was closer to 150°. The fermentation happened between 64.5-65.5°--very stable for a water bath fermentation. The end result? A beer that delivered a roasty sweetness with just enough esthers and EKG flavor to keep it interesting. It was one of those rare brews that hit the mark on the very first try. So precisely, in fact, that I think this recipe has made it house offering status. It may even edge out my Bitter as the go-to cheap, fast, drinkable crowd pleaser. I'll see if I can recreate the magic today, but my money is on this Mild being a regular presence in beer fridge.