Engine Brew

I've managed to complete the great-fuji engine project. As of this writing the engine has been re-assembled, installed. About 500 miles logged thus far and generating a $1500 cost save. A portion of the proceeds has been donated to charity.

As far as brewing is concerned. The cider I made has been bottled, some as wine the rest in the traditional bottle-conditioning manner. A small amount was put aside for a non-carbonated sample; I tried it out last week. So far, I'm concerned about some off-flavors that may be a result of second yeast pitch, the relatively high fermentation temperature and the "adds". I used cinamon, clove, nutmeg, honey and allspice in the "wort". Unfortunately, I think these items settled out for the mostpart and didn't add a lot in the way of flavor. It is possible that an extened conditioning stint will rid the cider of the off-flavors but it's hard to say for sure. I may open a bottle tonight and check, but I may have to wait until summer to roll it out for general consumption. New Years is still the goal, so I'll have to play it by ear.

My lager seems to be going great. Temperatures have fallen here in the mid-west bring the carboy temp down to the middle of the lager-temperature band. Given the yeast profile, I should have been there all along. This is my first lager though so expectations are low. Other good news, I might be grabbing my parents old fridge. A new fridge upstairs means our current firdge can move to the basement, allowing me to lager year round.