Okay, so I’m all prepped (pretty much) for the brewday tomorrow. The plan, for me at least, is to brew up a nice Scottish 70/-; I’m aiming for an OG of about 1.038, but will probably go over. The plan is to go with Golden Promise for the base malt (a Scottish malt for a Scottish ale), and add a bit of roast malt (ground really fine) at the end of the mash–just in time for sparging. That should provide color, without adding a lot of roasty bitterness/astringency. We’ll see how that goes. Not much in the way of hops–3/4 ounce of Kent Goldings at 60 minutes, just for bitterness. Finally, I’ll ferment as cool as I can arrange (I may even empty out the lagering chest)–probably around 60F–with the Edinborough strain of yeast.
Then there’s the second batch: a nice Barleywine. This one looks to be interesting–it’s a ‘guest brew,’ being brewed by/with a friend of mine. The recipe itself is from a friend of hers, and it will be a real test of the new mash tun–it takes a whole lot of grain. It should be interesting.
Also, I’m expecting a couple of friends to show up (other than the Barleywine Brewer mentioned above)–one of whom *may* brew something; he might even be bringing someone new to watch. The other one is interested in beginning to brew himself; I’ve been trying to drag him to a brewing session for about 2 years or so now. Finally, success! My evil plan comes to fruition! (heh heh)
I’ll post more on this tomorrow, after brewing a bit.