Rats in the Attic: The Bottling

The saga continues. I gave you the recipe, talked about the brew, even let you know when I transfered. Now, Rats in the Attic is out of the closet and into the bottle, which is being kept in the same closet.

About 10 days prior, I added an ounce of cascade hops to the secondary. I had intended to bottle this weekend at the 7 day mark, but that didn’t happen. A few extra days in the secondary never hurt anything. It wasn’t until Tuesday night that I was able to get the brew into the bottle and sneak a first taste of my summer pale ale.

Considering I’ve brewed this beer about 5 times now, I think it goes without saying that I like this beer. Each time I’ve brewed it, I’ve played with the ingredients a little, changed a boil time a bit, trying to perfect my own little pale ale. As far as an extract version goes, I think I’m done.

Straight out of the bottling bucket, this pale ale is nice and sweet. It appears to be more orange than gold and the dry hopping really adds to the aroma and flavor. The lemon zest and cascade hops play off the sweetness and keep the beer light and refreshing. One thing I noticed though, is this really a pale ale? For all of my worry about a low specific gravity, I’m thinking I may have brewed an IPA. Either way it tastes fantastic and I’m anxious to try it after 2 weeks in the bottle. Also, I love the sparkle in the beer of all the yeast.

Total take from this batch, 10 16-oz EZ cap bottles, 20 22-oz bombers and 6 12-oz bottles. Not a bad haul if you ask me.

Pictured: My bottling station