Every carboy or bottle of homebrew has a story. It’s written by the passionate, dedicated individuals of the craft. Those individuals are in tune with the delicate intricacies of the brewing process, the taste, smell and color of their beer, and the complexity. They love the challenge of brewing their own beer and they crave the sweet, bubbling sounds of fermentation. Here in Hailey, we love brew days. We enjoy the entire process and preparation of them; the cleaning, boiling, sparging, more cleaning and sampling. Brew days are exciting and we always look forward to them.
This past week, we brewed our very first frosty pumpkin beverage, dubbing it: Wagon Tipper Ale. Unlike HellFer Stout, a nice recipe from Northern Brewer guided us through the brewing process. We slightly modified the recipe by adding Libby’s Canned Pumpkin Puree (both regular and pumpkin pie flavored) and a dash of Vermont’s finest maple syrup. Aside from the extra additions, we followed it pretty diligently.
Brew Day: Equations, temperatures, notes and love.
E hard at work checking temperatures and makin’ final calculations before brewing begins.
The harvest gods kept an eye on us throughout the evening. We missed temperatures by a few degrees and nailed them, too. We chatted a bunch, brainstorming new beer ideas and future adventures, and we sampled our other homebrews: Vision Quest and HellFer Stout. All the while and so cocoon-like, pumpkin and hops took over the garage, filling it with the incredibly sweet and intoxicating smells of fall…
A zesty combo: maple syrup and cluster hops.
Just over four minutes before we add Hopunion and Land of Joseph to the boil.
Rob is psyched! Clarifying the beer, one small pot at a time.
Brew night and homemade pizza = awesome!
Now, we have this seasonal beverage bubbling away. We check up on it daily. Just shy of Halloween, this tasty treat will soon be ready to carbonate and serve. We plan to host a Harvest Party (costumes preferred), tap this fine beverage from pumpkins, and enjoy the great company of friends. You’re all invited. Details to come soon.