Homebrew Tasting: Scottish 60/-

Appearance: Brilliant. I used my gelatin procedure. The color is dead on.

Aroma: Malty as expected for a Scottish ale. I would like a bit more of that sweet honey/caramel smell but on a low gravity beer it is about where it can be expected.

Taste: The taste starts out fantastically with rich sweet malt. I was very pleased with the amount of flavor and caramel flavor. But then the taste finished with a bit of chalk or mineral taste. Maybe salty, but felt more "minerally". See my thoughts on my water profile below. This taste was fading over the course of a week until Diacetyl hit, I would have loved to see where this beer was going. (see my homebrewtalk thread for more info)

Mouthfeel: Medium-light. I think this is where it should be. The low carbonation helps give it a touch more body. These small beers are tough because they are not the norm. Everyone that tried it thought it was easy to drink.

Drinkability: To me this is by far one of the easiest to drink beers. And I believe this is also one of those "Universal" beers. What this means is when I served this beer to a group of people (they had very different tastes) everyone liked this beer enough that their glass was empty in less than 5 minutes. This beer went quickly.

Notes: 
1. I think this beer is getting very close. Using the Scottish yeast did provide a bit of an earthy or almost smoky taste, but for the most part was very clean. It really let the malt shine through.
2. I will next time not use gelatin and let the beer sit in the keg a bit longer. I may even change over to priming in the keg then pushing to smaller kegs for the fridge.
3. For my water profile, I will dilute even more with distilled water to really get some soft water and then I will add my chloride salts after fermentation.

Brew Session

Dreg Series: Mikkeller It's Alright Scottish Ale

This is tough to admit, but I have had a couple batches of beer go bad. Good beer, too. And when I mean bad they some how turned into Diacetyl bombs. I have yet to figure it out, but I believe it is somehow related to my gelatin procedure. I have posted in HomeBrewTalk thread to get to the bottom of it.






Well, in an attempt to salvage my Scottish 60/- (which turned out pretty nice for the 1 week before it went to the Diacetyl side) I decided to add some Brett. I know that Brett can break down diacetyl. This is a very important point in Lambics and other wild beers that contain Pedio because Pedio likes to produce diacetyl. So unless you want a sour buttery beer than you need to have both present.

I have been holding onto this bottle of Mikkeller It's Alright. I haven't read the greatest things about the beer, but I've read it described as basically a Session Orval. To me the nose was tart with a touch of funk. But the taste hardly followed the nose, it had a crisp breadiness to it. The mouthfeel was light (I'm sure due to the Brett eating everything) even with the high carbonation. This beer was very easy to drink and would be a great gateway beer for people new to Brett beers.






I added the Scottish 60/- to a gallon container and had to keep shaking to get the CO2 out of solution. Eventually, the beer was up to room temperature and most of the CO2 had off-gassed. The bottle had a good amount of yeast and it looked pretty fluffy. The Scottish 60 finished at 1.010, so I'm not sure how much the Brett will have to feed on.





Day 2 Update

Day 10 Update

Undercover San Diego: Valley of the Moon

This is not technically a San Diego destination, but it makes a great day trip. It should take an hour to an hour and half to drive there. And the hike can take anywhere from a 4 - 8 hrs depending on how far you drive and how much exploring you want to do. It is pretty easy to get there especially if you have a good map (see below). Drive on 8 East and exit at In-Ko-Pah Park Road. Take 2 quick rights and continue south a few hundred feet on the frontage road to a dirt lot on the left. Once you enter the lot, take an immediate left onto the dirt road. Check out the Interactive map for the Valley of the Moon.


View Valley of the Moon Hike in a larger map
Now, you have a decision to make.
1) If you have a high-clearance vehicle (4WD would be helpful) you should be able to drive the 3 or 4 miles to the Valley of the Moon.
2) If you have a small passenger car or don't feel comfortable with the rough roads (which are rocky, rutted and steep for the first mile) there are a few turnouts to park on the road.

Check out the pictures below and make your decision. We parked at the first big turn-out because we were there to take a hike. (see White Explorer, click to enlarge pictures)

The hike up the hill is pretty steep, but that does mean downhill on the way home. When you make it up to the saddle you will see a spur trail marker on your left. I recommend taking this down to Smuggler's Cave and then walking through the wash to meet up with the Jeep road.


The next big fork in the road you will see a sign "154/155". To the left goes through more rocks on your way to the Valley. To the right leads you to the steep trail up to Elliot's Mine. Trust me GO RIGHT. The steep climb is worth looking through this old Quartz Mine which some maps call an amethyst mine. (click to enlarge pictures)

The mine has 2 entrances the lower goes about 100 ft and after a tight squeeze leads to the other (higher on the mountain) entrance. From here you can easily duck into the main mine. The mine has one large room to the left and then two more dead ends that are worth exploring to the right. Make sure to remember your head-lamps.

From the mine entrance take a right (East) and proceed down the trail and you will get to a great overlook of the Valley of the Moon. We then hiked down the side of the hill till we met up with the Jeep Rd again. You are now in the Valley of the Moon. So get out your lunch or climbing gear or crash pad and enjoy.

We did a bit of wondering through the canyons. The rock formations are truly amazing and are impossible not to climb around on. To get back to your car simply follow any Jeep Rd that is going west or print out the Valley of the Moon Google map.

Here is my Father-in-Law's Travel Pod Photo Album
(With way more pictures of the caves and rock formations)