Honey Nut Brown Ale - Midwest Supplies Kit

OH BREWING DAY, oh brewing day... I find the most odd things to be therapeutic. For example, making Gumbo, the hour it takes to make the perfect Roux while you are constantly stirring and stirring while getting arm cramps. Yes, this to me is like making beer. The one hour boil, no kids, no wife and not a worry in the world except when I have to get off my ass to get another beer. From start to finish, 2.75 hours and a six pack of peace and relaxation without a single distraction, exactly the same as making a good Gumbo. So what do making Gumbo and home-made-beer have in common? Absolutely nothing except these are my two things that I do when my kids and wife know to stay away (unless one of my little princess want to play Princess and the Frog and add hot sauce to the gumbo) as daddy is having his "time" and I can drink as much beer as I want without feeling the pressure of having to answer to the wife when I decide I am done.

I had to jump in on the Christmas specials at Midwest Supplies as I needed some basic essentials that are just a ton cheaper to purchase from Midwest than anywhere else like Star San, a big old 8# bottle of PBW and a World Vineyard California Pinot Noir wine kit. I was only $5 away from getting my free bottle opener so of course I had to add a beer kit. I decided to stay with the whole brewing with local honey and chose the Honey Nut Brown Ale.

Midwest's selection of malt gives this smooth brown ale a hint of nutty flavor, while the honey delivers a sweet finish. The ingredients for this recipe include:
6 lbs. Amber liquid malt extract
2 lbs. Minnesota Clover Honey - REPLACE WITH MY OWN HONEY ON BREW DAY
8 oz. Crystal 10L Malt
4 oz. Chocolate Malt specialty grains
1.5 oz. German Northern Brewer bittering hops
0.5 oz. Willamette aroma hops
1 tsp. Gypsum
1 tsp. Irish Moss, yeast
priming sugar and a grain bag

I decided to purchase the yeast just a day prior to the actual brew day at the local shop, Grapes and Grains so I could ensure it was as fresh as possible and didn't hang out in the back of a UPS truck for four days.

One thing I did was swapped out the MN Honey it came with for 2 pounds of local honey I had in the pantry from the mountains of Western North Carolina. I also added it with just 2 minutes remaining on the boil rather than the recommended 30 minutes.

I am getting ready to bottle this beer this weekend as it has already spent two weeks in the primary and has been in the secondary now for about 3 weeks. When I sampled a few ounces on racking day, it was actually drinkable and I was tempted to poured myself a pint, but I didn't cave as I was already enjoying a home-brew at the time that was actually carbonated.

My starting gravity was a little higher than what it should have been registering in at 1.063 (more than likely due to the late addition of the honey) and it was already down to 1.010 at racking.

I cannot wait to try this beer in about two-three weeks as I still have yet to have a kit turn out spectacular from Midwest. Not sure what it is, but 100% and I mean 15 out of 15 kits from Northern Brewer have turned out fantastic and so far from Midwest, 1 had to go down the drain, two were just about headed for the drain and the last one was just OK with a bad after-taste. I'm sure it is brewer error, but I still find it odd.

Now for my New Years resolution, no more kits in 2012 and only original recipes utilizing at least one or two fresh local products in each batch.

Cheers to Micro Beers...