Golf Trip '12

I am brewing this beer to serve at the 2012 annual golf trip at Myrtle Beach. Not being able to think of something I thought everyone would really enjoy, I decided instead to brew something that would get everyone drunk. This is a very robust porter that should turn in at around 7% ABV. The chocolate, honey and molasses used in the brew should give it a sweetness most will be able to at least suffer through if not really enjoy.

If the beer is not drinkable, it was still an exciting experiment. Not having brewed a beer this high in gravity, I was not prepared for the vigorous fermentation about to take place. I have read about "blow off tubes", which alleviate overpressure in fermentation tanks when dealing with high gravity beers. Well, about 5:30 AM two days after brew night, I am awakened by a loud hissing sound coming from my closet. As soon as I realize it is something to do with my beer, I jump out of bed, into the closet to see "krausen" (the foam/bubbles created during fermentation) spewing from the air lock on my ferment bucket. This is in my closet, so several shirts now have black sleeves! (of course I'd be brewing a dark porter not just some light brew) I check it out a little closer and the lid to this bucket is bowed up like the Superdome roof, getting ready to blow off!! Luckily, I store my brewing equipment in my closet with the fermenters and had some siphon tubing handy. Remembering the "blow off" method I'd read about, I removed the air lock (which spews this $hit all over me and the closet) and stick the tube in the lid of the bucket to relieve pressure. This worked, but dude, it was close to disaster! A few minutes more and that bucket lid would have blown, painting my closet in beer. Needless to say, that could have been the end of my homebrewing days as the wifey would mos def have cut me off!!

Anyway, the beer made it through fermentation without any other hiccups. I am moving it to the secondary fermenter Saturday, 1/21, dry hopping it 1/24 and bottling/kegging it 1/28. This will give it 6 weeks to condition prior to being tapped at the 2012 annual golf trip. Hopefully it is palatable. If it is, look out Dirty Myrtle, Golf Trip '12 will be creating quite a "buzz"!!

Cheers!