Chocolate Hazelnut Porter

Two weeks ago Shan (and I) finally brewed up the porter recipe she wanted to make a while back. How far back? Well, I stumbled across the invoice for when we ordered the kit. It was dated January 17th...2007!!! It took us over a year to finally brew that bitch. We vowed to never let that happen again.

Although we had the ingredients for so long, they had been kept in the fridge the entire time and nothing had been taken out of their sealed bags, so I was pretty sure all was well. The only part that was "new" was the yeast. So, brew day went real well. There's a good chance Shan should be considered for President of our club. Sad that for as much as Me, Bri, Denis, Matt and Paul are involved in the beer making thing, it's Shanna and Lauren who are the front runners for Prez.

So anyway, I told you all that to tell you this. We kegged the porter after 2 weeks in primary. To the keg we added the hazelnut extract as well as priming sugar. We didn't "need" the priming sugar, but shan wanted it, and we thought that if anything, it would add a bit to the sweetness of the brew to bring out the chocolate. After about 30hours under 25psi (with several bits of shaking like made) the corny was ready and we sampled the brew. Boy is is tasty!!! The chocolate and hazelnut are noticeable, but very underwhelming, which i think makes it good. There is a presence of both, but not overpowering. It finished at 1020, which puts it right at about 6.2% which is perfect as far as i'm concerned. A good all around brew, to certainly be enjoyed as an evening treat, or a nice sinful snack.

Good Lord....way to stay on top of things Bri

Sadly, but not unexpectedly, I have not updated this here blog in over 3 months...3 Months!!!! That is terrible and unacceptable. Well, maybe not unacceptable, but it is pretty bad.
My lack of blogging mostly coincided in my lack of interest in the "beer thing" that usually defines my existence. I sort of lost touch with my inner brewer and beer geek. I'm still not sure why, other than I usually cycle through things like this. I'll be all amped up about something for a few weeks and then it passes. Then, a few months later, I'll be back into it. This even happens with beer.
So, now I am back on the wagon. I am catching up with my beer podcasts, and Shan and I actually brewed this past weekend, if you can believe that. The last time I brewed was when I was a shitty assistant brewer for Dickens' foray into All-Grain and his very well done mild. Hmmm, did he ever name it?
I did manage to make a batch of cider using D's yeast cake, and it turned out quite nicely. Unfortunately, secondary fermentation did not go as hoped, so the second addition of cider and cranberries didn't really ferment much. I should have added more yeast, but my lack of interest in the whole thing sorta didn't allow for it.
So, like I said, I am back on the wagon, and will hopefully ride it for the rest of the year. My quest for 12 batches in 12 months renews again. So far, as assistant on Shanna's porter and am 1 for 1.