Kangabroo

Hello devoted readers,

I know its been a while, but here's the skinny. I promised a video from my last brewing session, but that never happened, as I couldn't get it edited properly, it might still happen, but it probably won't. In the meantime, I've brewed another beer (well, its currently brewing actually). It's called Kangabroo, as I was trying to channel the Australian no-nonsense attitude to beer, and trying to create something that was both simple, while also a bit daring. Both tame, and wild. Both filled with creamy malts, and stinging with pungent hops. Ferocious like the Kanga, cute like the roo....kangabroo.

In reality, the original intention of this brew was to be a clone of Magic Hat's Roxy Rolles, but I couldn't find a great recipe, and the hops I wanted weren't available, and I wanted to shoot from the hip a little, but I think it will turn out well.

Brewing
Date: 1/8/09
Name of beer: Kangabroo
Type of beer: Hoppy Amber
Quantity: 5 gallons
Homage Beer: None. I gave up drinking for the month of January. I figured a homebrew would be the best way to fall off the wagon early in February.

Ingredients:
6.6 lbs amber malt extract
1 lb crystal barley
1 oz chinook hops (bittering)
1 oz simcoe hops (finishing)
American ale liquid yeast


Process: Same process as has been documented here in previous posts. Nothing really to note other than it boiled over a bunch of times and created a real mess. I read up in the latest issue of Brew Your Own how to avoid doing that, but alas, the magazine was about a week too late.

Original Gravity: 1.035
Yeast Temperature: 76° Fahrenheit
Preliminary Taste: Fairly nondescript. The simcoe hops really shine through though.

Bottling
Date: 1/17/2009
Color/Clarity: This beer was a pretty dark, earthy clay color, I'd describe it as a dark copper. It didn't seem too cloudy, maybe a little hazy, but I'm fairly confident that it'll clear up by drinkin' time.
Final Gravity: 1.012
Taste: It already tastes delicious. I honestly thought that if I were to pump it with some CO2 and drink it right there it would be quite enjoyable. I'll taste another one on the super bowl (2/1/09) but I'd say it'll be ready a week afterwards. The hops are very pronounced, and the malt was sweet (but not overpoweringly so). I think I might actually get it pretty close to what I was going for.
Bottle Count: 48 bottles, but more like 52 if each one was normalize to 12oz
Helper: Kevin helped with the bottling process, which was oddly his first time doing so, but the bottling went more smoothly than ever, which is a credit to him. I had no helper for the brewing, but I guess that's to be expected when you brew on a Thursday morning.

Anyway, I'll post back soon once I've tasted it (I know I always say that and never do...but just wait and see...but don't hold your breath). Thanks for keeping up.

JJ