Batch No. 8: Empress of Blandings Best Bitter (v2)

(Yes, I am re-using this label design. Before starting this project, I knew I wanted to come up with a few different "regular" batches, and use the same label for them, each time. I will never again make just the plain ENB ale (the beer that used this label originally, so I re-used the design for something that hopefully will be made again. It was too good a design to never use again.)

Formula: Bewitched Red Ale HME + 1 lb Amber DME, Mellow Amber UME, 1/2 oz Fuggle Hops: Safeale 04 British Ale yeast
Brew Date: January 30, 2011
ferment time: 21 days
Bottle Date: February 20, 2011
conditioning time: 4 weeks
Open Date: March 20, 2011
Original Gravity:: 1.052

Brewing process:
- Brought 8 cups water almost to a boil, added 1 lb Amber DME
- dissolved all and brought it to foam over
- reduced heat, added 1/2 oz Fuggle hops for 25 minute boil
- added Mellow Amber UME for last 10 mins of boil
- at flameout, added 1 can Bewitched Red Ale HME
- added to cold water in keg, topped off to 8.5 Q with cold water and pitched Safeale 04 British Ale yeast*

* This is my first batch without using standard Mr Beer yeast

Batch No. 7: Midlands Mild Ale

Formula: Midlands Mild recipe: Bewitched Red Ale HME + 1 lb Amber DME, 1/2 oz Fuggle Hops, 1/4 Cup Molasses
Brew Date: January 22, 2011
ferment time: 21 days
Bottle Date: February 12, 2011
conditioning time: 4 weeks
Open Date: March 12, 2011
Original Gravity:: 1.046

Brewing process:
- Brought 8 cups water almost to a boil, added 1 lb Amber DME
- dissolved all and brought it to foam over
- reduced heat, added 1/2 oz Fuggle hops for 20 minute boil
- removed Fuggles and added 1/4 cup molasses at flameout
- added 1 can Bewitched Red Ale HME
- added to cold water in keg, topped off to 8.5 Q with cold water and pitched yeast

* Serious temperature problems for the kegs. Up around 80 due to heating pad. Raised kegs off of the pad, but still high, so turned the heating pad off.
Worried about this batch and Victorian Bitter (previous batch).

Update: 13 February
Bottled today. The draw for the hydrometer was very cloudy, but I think it cleared up as the bottling went along.
A brighter, clearer beer. I don't think it's going to be "the one", but it should be a lighter, less dense beer in a month's time.

Batch No. 6: English Victorian Bitter

Formula: Victorian Bitter recipe: Golden Lager HME, Mellow Amber UME, Palisade Hops
Brew Date: January 8, 2011
ferment time: 21 days
Bottle Date: January 30, 2011
conditioning time: 4 weeks
Open Date: February 26, 2011
Another attempt at the English Ale. I think this is going to be more of an ESB, or extra-special bitter, and not nearly as creamy or malty as I was hoping. But we'll see.

Update: 24 January
Had some pretty severe temperature issues for the first two weeks of fermenting (very cold basement and then too-hot heating pad.)
The fermenter was very cloudy 13 days in. It's since settled a bit, but it tastes nasty. Theoretically, after 15 days the brew should be ready to bottle, and it's . . . Not.
Very concerned, but I'll let it go a few more days, then cold-crash and bottle.
If it still seems wonky, I may only bottle half the batch. No point wasting bottles.

Update: 29 January
On some sage advice, I'm going to rack the Victorian Bitter to a secondary (slimline) today and pop it in the fridge for a few days. That should settle it out a bit and hopefully clean things up.
That way I can have an empty keg to brew this weekend, and then I can bottle that batch (batch-prime!) mid-week.
I still may only bottle half the batch. I can save my bottles . . .

Update: 30 January
Bottled a dozen bottles today. Final taste was . . . not bad. I don't think it's going to be my final English pub ale, but it'll be fine. It'll be beer.

Batch No. 5: McCullough Extra Stout

Formula: St. Patrick's Stout + Creamy Brown UME
Brew Date: December 26, 2010
ferment time: 20 days
Bottle Date: January 15, 2011
conditioning time: 6 weeks
Open Date: February 26, 2011

Starting to think ahead seasonally, I brewed up a St. Patrick's Day Irish stout at the end of December to give it time to mature before March 17.
Named it after my maternal Irish family.

Batch No. 4: Manhooset Golf Club Ale

Formula: English Nut Brown Ale HME+Creamy Brown UME+Goldings Hops
Brew Date: December 16, 2010
ferment time: 18 days
Bottle Date: January 3, 2011
conditioning time: 4 weeks
Open Date: January 31, 2011
Rating: 6

Another variant of the English pub ale. This time Creamy Brown instead of Mellow Amber, and Goldings instead of Fuggles.

Update: 31 January 2011
Had a preview taste of this over the weekend. It's almost identical to the "Anglers' Rest" - English Nut-Brown Ale, but with the Creamy Brown unhopped malt extract, rather than Mellow Amber. I was hoping that this would be, you know, creamier, but it came out about the same mouthfeel, but not quite as good as a flavor.
I don't know if that is due to the Creamy Brown, or due to the Goldings hops instead of Fuggles, or due to it being slightly young.