Root Beer Beer, Love Potion, The Kegerator and More

I haven’t posted in quite a while, but that doesn’t mean things haven’t been happening. In fact a lot has been going on.  Here are a few quick highlights.

• I brewed and have been drinking the first rendition of The Love Potion which is the Honey Ace Saison base beer, but I added fresh rosemary and bay leaf to it.  I’m trying to perfect this recipe in time for our wedding next year.  The results have been fantastic, but the next time around I’m going to add even more.  I really want the rosemary to come through in the nose and add a slight after taste to it as well.  In this version, it’s there, but not as prevalent as intended.  Admittedly, I erred on the conservative side not wanting to over do it, but I can definitely step it up for future batches.
• I also brewed a Belgian Dark Strong Ale and added 4 liters of Root Beer to it.  The Root Beer is an interesting addition that adds a sweet spiciness that’s very pleasant (more on both of these later).
• Perhaps the biggest news is that I bought a kegerator!  It’s awesome!  The kegerator I got has a double tap so my plan is to keep two beers on tap at all times.  I was a little nervous when the delivery guy showed up with a pallet jack, but we managed to squeeze it into the apartment.  I was worried that it was going to be too big, but actually it’s made the kitchen more versatile and adds quite a bit of counter space.  It’s all set up and I have the Root Beer Beer on tap right now.  I kegged my pilsner yesterday and it’s currently conditioning.  It’s such a satisfying feeling being able to pull a tap handle and have delicious homebrew come out.  It really is a beautiful thing.  Not to mention not having to store, de-label, clean, sanitize and fill all those bottles is a huge time and space saver.  I’ve been purging my “collection” of bottles and it’s freeing up more room than I imagined.  In fact just getting rid of all those bottles as freed up enough space to order two more kegs (I’ll have 4 total). I’m ordering them this week so they’ll be here in time to keg the batch that’s fermenting right now.
• The other huge advantage to the kegerator is that I can keep a better eye on the fermentation.  Prior to getting the kegerator, all of my fermentation was done in my closet.  In the cooler months when we kept our apartment between 64-68 degrees anyway, it wasn’t a big deal, but now that we’re in the summer months, the closet has experienced temperature fluctuations beyond preferred fermentation temperatures.
• I also brewed an Imperial Black IPA called Black Sabbath yesterday.  It’s currently fermenting now.
• Oh!  And, a friend of mine is hosting an art show the first weekend in August and asked if I would want to “sponsor” it.  I’m pretty excited, and have started thinking about what I want to make, right now I’m leaning towards a Red Rye-PA which I’ve been wanting to brew for a while now.  If anyone is interested in stopping by to try the beer and check out some pretty amazing art it’s being held at Phantom located at 48 west 25th street 10th floor on August 2nd @ 7pm.

I guess that’s it for now.

Cheers!