Beer Making -- 1986

13 November 2011

1986 was my second year of beer making. While I thought I made a batch of beer during Christmas Break 1986, my log shows I didn't aking anything until June.

Beers Made in 1986

Beer	Started	Bottled	Yield
Batch 1986-01 : John Bull Canadian Beer	05 Jan 1986	10 Jan 1986	5
Batch 1986-02 : Unnamed Light Ale	28 Aug 1986	13 Sep 1986	5
Batch 1986-03 : Glen Brew Scottish Heavy	14 Sep 1986	28 Sep 1986	5
Batch 1986-04 : Unnamed Amber Ale	07 Dec 1986	17 Dec 1986	5
Total Made:			20 gallons

John Bull Canadian Beer

I experimented with lighter ales.

Ingredients:

Malt	John Bull Canadian Beer kit
adjuncts	2 cups crystal malt, 1 lb dry malt
water salts	Brewstart (lager)
sugar	7 cups corn sugar
yeast	John Bull (included in kit)

Beermaking Actions

Tasks	Date	SG
Started. Boiled 45 minutes	05 Jun 1986	1.043
Bottled.	10 Jun 1986	1.012

Final Notes

Yield	55 bottles
Alcohol	4.190%
???	No tasting notes. I recall this one was not all that remarkable. After this I generally made ales. Not necessarily a fair assessment against lagers, but my taste at the time.

Unnamed Light Ale

This one came out GREAT! It prompted me to get experimental.

Ingredients:

Malt	2 cans Munich Light-Bavarian Malt Extract (unhopped)
hops	1 oz fuggles, 1 oz hallertauer
water salts	Brewstart (amber)
yeast	Red Star Ale Yeast

Beermaking Actions

Tasks	Date	SG
Started. Boiled 75 minutes.	08/28/1986	1.030
Bottled.	09/13/1986	1.005

Final Notes

Yield	54 bottles
Alcohol	3.379%
06 Nov 1986	Very good, "draft" quality.

Glen Brew Scottish Heavy

I have no memory of this one ...

Ingredients:

Malt	Glen Brew Scottish Heavy kit
adjuncts	2 cups crystal malt
water salts	Brewstart (amber)
sugar	9 cups corn sugar
yeast	Red Star Ale Yeast

Beermaking Actions

Tasks	Date	SG
Started w/crystal malt in cold water, brought to a boil and strained. Malt & sugar added, boiled 1 hour.	09/14/1986	1.048
Bottled.	09/28/1986	1.009

Final Notes

Yield	53 bottles
Alcohol	5.271%
???	No tasting notes for this one, either. NOT a memorable beer.

Unname Amber Ale

This one taught me to be cautious in adding hops! I had NO idea whutinhuheck I was doing!

Ingredients:

Malt	Bermaline Malt Extract
adjuncts	2 cups crystal malt, 1 lb amber dry malt
hops	2 oz hallertauer, 3 oz fuggles, 1 oz tettnanger, 1 cup Brews Gold leaf hops
water salts	Brewstart (amber)
sugar	2-1/2 cups sugar
yeast	Red Star Ale Yeast

Beermaking Actions

Tasks	Date	SG
Started cold crystal method, then all hops but Brewers Gold. Boiled 1 hour, Gold added, boiled 10 minutes.	12/07/1986	1.029
Bottled.	12/17/1986	1.007

Final Notes

Yield	52 bottles
Alcohol	2.973%
15 Jan 1987	Too bitter to drink!
20 Jul 1987	Still too bitter! IIRC this one never lost its bitterness. We drank it after having several of something else.