Second Weekend?

[BeerBlessings]

Hey all,

Who's going to be around second weekend?... Particularly Saturday for the tailgate??

I fully expect to have a 5-gallon keg of homebrew for tailgating. This is my Spiced Irish Red, and my favorite ale recipe thus far..

[Athena]

YUM! I'll be there Saturday, but don't know about the tailgate...I really have to motivate myself to get up earlier, but the ale you described is reason enough.  Will Kate be there in the AM?

[Rahne]

unfortunately not going to make it Saturday have to walk the North East Fireman's Parade for Wild Rose Faire.  Would have liked to try that recipe sounds good.  Just found out this weekend that I don't hate all beer, just the cheap nasty stuff.
We will be there on Sunday with the kids this time. A little less relaxed for me, but they love it.

[April]

Hey all,

Who's going to be around second weekend?... Particularly Saturday for the tailgate??

I fully expect to have a 5-gallon keg of homebrew for tailgating. This is my Spiced Irish Red, and my favorite ale recipe thus far..

i am very sad i will miss that... 

however, i may be up for week 3!  plans are pending...

[Scarlett]

Hey Dave!  There's a 50/50 chance I'll be there on Sunday with the family in tow. 

[mumsies]

I am heading out in the morning, plans to stay til Monday...that way I get to hang around for pub sing Sunday too..woo hoo.

[Capt. Morgan]

You mean I may actually get to see you this weekend? 

[Morwyn]

We (myself and the Brad) will be there on Saturday! 

[BeerBlessings]

Oh, btw, the Spiced Red Ale recipe... I am willing to divulge most of it afterwards, but I want to see if people can pick up on what spices are present... Hint: There are three of them.

And I say "most of it" because I keep playing with the amounts of the spices to find the balance that I like the best. Granted, I haven't had a bad one yet, but I'm looking for the balance where no one overwhelms the other two.


Oh, and if you can't make it to the tailgate, I hope to have a growler with me throughout the day at various stages of "filled". So, you *should* still be able to get a sample, but I can't say you'll get a full mug or three.

[Athena]

We (myself and the Brad) will be there on Saturday! 

Yay! See both of you tomorrow!

I really must get there early to partake of the ale. 

[GypsyWriter]

The ale sounds intriguing, Dave.  We (myself, Tracie & Matt) will definitely be there, but not sure about tailgate.  Can't wait to see everyone tomorrow!

[TheFerret]

I'll be visiting tomorrow from Minnesota. My R/F pin lives on my towel favor holder (I always know where my towel is!) Hope to meet/see people tomorrow!

[BeerBlessings]

*sigh* the Spiced Red Ale is done before it's time..

I have to tear apart a valve to find the culprit, but I suspect a bad o-ring. A slow leak caused a large loss of beer into the plastic "barrel" holding the keg Saturday night through Sunday. Sigh. I was going to try to bring the rest next weekend...

However, it did get some good response. A good number of people playing The Guessing Game, and only a few people were able to get all 3 spices.


The recipe started out as an Irish Red Ale.. The hops were dropped a little bit, and the 3 spices were added: Cinnamon, ginger, and clove. I'm still searching for that "perfect" balance of the spices, and plan on varying the hops the next time around. A spicer, more floral, hops will help add to the spice mixture... Cinnamon adds a warmth at the onset, and gives a nice introduction to the clove, which adds a lot of flavor to the body of the beer. The ginger gives a slight cooling effect in the aftertaste.

In this batch, both the cinnamon and ginger are subtle, and were only picked out by those that really liked either one. It was weird.. The big cinnamon fans surprisingly picked it out right away, but almost no one else even picked up on it. (To tell the truth, if I didn't know what I put in it, I wouldn't suspect cinnamon either.)

This spice balance, as long as my memory serves me properly, since I'm lazy and haven't looked up my records:
1.25 oz stick cinnamon, broken into pieces
4.5 oz fresh grated ginger
6 whole cloves

Next time around, I plan on:
~1.75 oz stick cinnamon
5.5-6 oz fresh grated ginger
6 cloves
And a change in hops.. I want to try Cascade next time.

[Rahne]

Sounds good. Sorry I missed it.

[Athena]

That was really good ale, thanks for letting me sample it! Now I really wish I would've made the tailgate so I could enjoy a mug or three.