The IIPA (now being re-dubbed Old Ale), while tasty in it’s own right, is not quite the light summer beer that inspires easy drinking.  I bit too high on the % for that.

 

So it was time to make another beer and the ingredients for a clone of the Great Lakes Brewing Co.’s Edmund Fitzgerald were already purchased.

 

The brewing went off without a hitch.  Brian and I started at about 9am at his place.  The mash went a little long because we got the sparge water going a little late.  At the end of the boil my gravity was right if the volume was a bit short.

 

After 24hrs the beer was still not fermenting.  I don’t know what it is but of late the White Labs tubes just have not been living up our expectations or previous experience.  Chip has been recommending the dry yeast packets from Safale for a while now and it seems that he has been right.  I had Brian pitch a packet of the British Ale yeast and it was strongly fermenting after just 4 hours.