We're bottled! Last night, Joe and I pumped 30 22oz bottles plus two 750ml bottles full of our special brew. Because it'll be ready so close to Halloween, and to fulfill one of Mario's long-standing dreams, we're tentatively calling it "Fear Beer." It's not because we added antifreeze to it, or that there's some exotic strain of bacteria that'll make you deathly afraid of being anywhere that's more than 15 seconds from a toilet.
We started out with an Oktoberfest recipe--two speciality grains, some bulk malt, and Special and Sterling hops, and added our own harvest of Cascade hops towards the very end of the boil. Why stray from the recipe so carefully prepared by Nancy at Home Sweet Homebrew? A little because we were pretty drunk by that point, but mostly because homebrewing is about making something you can't get anywhere else.
Joe and I tried a little last night, and the results are definitely favorable. Of course, we had it warm with almost no carbonation, so once the yeast eats the priming sugars and the beer gets chilled, I think we'll have a very rich, malty festbeir with that little extra bite from our hops.
Not bad for the first time! Special thanks to Greg for helping with the brew, and to Becky for helping clean up. Look for our next brewing notice, where we'll be making a Christmas beer with chunks of real reindeer. Tis the season... Until then, cheers!