11.27.2009

Christmas Never Came

As has been documented recently, FBB has moved to a new locale and is now settled at "The Villa" in North Park, San Diego, home of nhc and gp. While we took only a short break from the brewing process during our move, we have nothing to show for our most recent efforts in our new location.

The idea was that we'd brew an awesome holiday ale that we'd call Ghost of Christmas Future. This was actually the first beer we ever named when FBB was just a good idea. Unfortunately, after 2 attempts, we have nothing to share.

So what happened? We don't know, but we've got some ideas. A couple nights ago we chatted with Lee, brewmaster at Blind Lady Ale House, who we've blogged about before here. He confirmed our most likely suspicion. In our attempts to make a heavy, hoppy seasonal ale we were overzealous with our boiling hops, creating a beer so bitter it is barely drinkable. Our first attempt, Red Ale III, was bottled but never enjoyed. Our Red Ale IV, a very similar recipe to Red Ale III, remains in secondary. We are unsure if the uncarbed and unpromising taste is worth any more effort.

In short we've got 10 gallons of extremely bitter beer. Perhaps Ghost of Christmas Future is an all too appropriate name.

We move on. Tomorrow we will brew our first porter, hoping for better days. It is unclear when we will venture back into the red ale world. Experience tells me it won't be long.

-jkr

11.18.2009

North Coast Night


North Coast flights at Blind Lady Ale House in Normal Heights. Red Seal on cask. Great pizza. Friends.

In other FBB news: This week there will be bottling of Red Ale #4 and the brewing of our first Porter. Looking forward to it. -nhc