Brewing Again!

I celebrated the completion of my MBA studies by brewing a nut brown ale (brand new kit!). The recipe (Keystone):

6.6 lbs. Muntons Amber Malt Extract
1/2 lb. Munton & Fison Crystal Malt 60ºL
1/2 lb. Munton & Fison Carapils Malt 20ºL
1/4 lb. Munton & Fison Chocolate Malt 338ºL
1/2 lb. Briess Victory Malt 25ºL
2 oz. Willamette Hops (Bittering)
1 oz. Willamette Hops (Finishing)
Wyeast #1098XL British Ale Yeast

Planned: OG - 1.052 FG - 1.013 Alcohol content 6.0% w/ five gallon yield

The original gravity was on target. The brew went in on January 2 and continues to happily ferment in the glass carboy at 68ºF. Planning to bottle this weekend.

I learned the hard way over the past year of inactivity several obvious (but nonetheless heartbreaking) truths about old brewing supplies:

• Weevils eat specialty grains
• Liquid yeast dies, and dry yeast can too
  
• Liquid malt goes stale
• Hops in the fridge smell like the fridge

So the solution is... never stop brewing!