Spring has been very much in the air for the last week at the Bicycle Brewery, and Southern California's famous sun has even made a welcome appearance today after several days of "May Gray" and "June Gloom". As if on cue, breaking through for the first time yesterday were a trio of buds from my newly planted cutting of Cascade hops. It was the largest of the four rhizomes I put in the ground a week ago, so it is no surprise to see it show up first. I've got fingers crossed that its smaller cousins--one rhizome each of Challenger, Hallertauer, and Sterling--will be making an appearance soon as well.
I've continued to enjoy my IPA on tap, while also brewing, fermenting, and kegging, my latest: the "ordinary" Bicycle Bitter. True to style, it promises to be an easy-drinking pub-style ale, with a balanced mix of all-English flavors contributed by the Maris Otter barley malt (plus a little Crystal and CaraAmber), the Goldings hops, and a classic ale yeast from London. Here are the vital statistics:
starting gravity = 1040
finishing gravity = 1011
ABV = 3.7%
IBUs = 30-35 (approx.)
calories = 219 per a proper 20oz. British pint
It's an especially appropriate beer to make over the
Brew Year's holiday, because it checks in just a few ticks below the old 3.2%-by-weight alcohol limit, which is about 4% in the new money (i.e., by volume). What is the Brew Year's holiday? On April 7, 1933, the end of national Prohibition was initiated when FDR signed a modification of the
Volstead Act that redefined 3.2% beer as not an "intoxicating liquor" and thus not subject to federal enforcement of the 18th Amendment. By the end of the year, national Prohibition came to a full end with the repealing 21st Amendment, although still to this day there are many parts of the United States --this means you
Alabama--where Prohibition of some sort remains in place.
Cascade buds
Originally uploaded by petemorris. 
