Oatmeal stout homebrew

 I have to say, that after having high hopes for this batch of homebrew beer, it has been just a little bit dissapointing so far. As a lot of you may know, we have been experimenting with homebrewing our own beer, not only to save money, but to try and create a beer that is enjoyable to drink. Our latest attempt was with Mr Beers Sticky wicket oatmeal stout.  This beer is very dark with a tan head that dissipates quickly with some lacing. The smell is of roasted grains. Mouthful is smooth for such a dark beer, an added benefit of the oats used to make the LME. Taste is of typical flavors associated with stout including coffee, bitter chocolate and toffee.
  We stuck a bottle in the fridge saturday, and after chilling for most of the day, it was ready to crack open. Me and teri tested it, and it was one of the most wonderful beer's we had made so far. It had a dark, creamy taste, with just a hint of chocolate, and was real nice to sip on, while cuddled up watching TV. The next day, we stuck 2 more in the fridge to enjoy that evening, and they were nothing, absolutely nothing like the first bottle. The second and third had that weird, fruity taste, and were not enjoyable at all.
 not sure what the difference is, since we followed the recipe to the letter this time, and even with having the brewing keg in a warmer spot, and after bottling, and being stored in a warmer spot, we are still getting the same results. After the first one we had sipped on, we had high hopes, but the last 2 were just sad. not sure how 3 bottles from the same batch, made and stored in the same way can all have different results, but that is what we ended up with.
 I am hoping that if we let the last of the batch (9 bottles) brew for the rest of the week, that maybe, just maybe we will end up with the same as the first bottle we opened. That was So good.
 Keep your fingers crossed.
 More information on homebrewing can be found here.

Christmas Eve and Homebrew beer

 Well, here it is Christmas eve, and tonite we get to open up and consume our homebrew beer. We have been waiting over a month now for this stuff to ferment, and after making some changes to the fermenting process, believe that this time we got it right.
 The main problem we had, was that the beer just wasnt getting warm enough to ferment properly. THis last batch we moved the bottles up into the cabinet above the stove, and that seems to have made a tremendous difference in the end result. We tested a bottle last night, and it seems like we are right on the money this time.
 The batch we made this time is a Canadian wheat beer. We did it in two stages, the first stage in a little fermenter, for two weeks, then in a 5 galloin glass jar for two weeks, then into the bottle. I also add a cup of sugar to the batch when i move it to the glass jar. I didnt put any sugar in when it was bottled, as before the beer was coming out a bit sweet, even after all the fermenting is done.
 Here it is, Christmas eve, and tonite after the kids go to bed, me and my sweety Teri will be able to kick back, dim the lights, light some candles, put on some soft music and enjoy the fruit of our labors.
 This is going to be such a great christmas. Thanks for reading, Theron

More information on the Mr Beer kit can be found HERE !