Really happy to find this place. I discovered the BN about two weeks ago and got hooked by the Jamil show. Now I've gone through all the archives and started into the Sunday Session archives. I feel like such an expert now even though I only have about 10 or so batches under my belt.
My last three batches have been AG, so I'm really trying to dial-in my process, and I'm finding myself "tasting harder" than I ever have before to detect flaws, not that they're particularly hidden or little. I was thinking of brewing a sub 1044 OG American style bitter for my trial batches so I won't get too hammered with all the difficult tasting work that needs to be done. Would an English ale yeast be better for such a style than a California? I have a freezer with temp control for fermentation, so I was thinking about using the English and fermenting at 65 degrees to keep ester production down, and let it finish out at 1012 or so. I don't want the beer too dry like my other batches have been where I used Cali and mashed at 150. Should I mash higher too? I was thinking 154-156. For ingredients I plan on using American two row, crystal 15, Magnum, Cascade, and Amarillo and dry-hopping with Amarillo or Amarillo and Chinook in the keg. Anyone have any thoughts on recipes (10 gallon)?
I should probably reposted the above paragraph on the All Grain board, I really just intended to introduce myself here, but, as usual, I got a little carried away talking about beer. Anybody from Columbus?
