Whelp Pale Ale's First Days

We cooked up the wort for Whelp Pale Ale on Saturday.  We had 5 hop additions during the boil and now it smells like hops in my office as the beer begins fermenting in the carboy.  I have filmed the stages of the creating the beer, and when I edit it I will try to get it on youtube and post a link.

I also like that my first comment from PPS_Kevin is on the post about the homebrew.  I kinda like that.  It sounds like at least one guy at Privateer Press likes his ales so full of hops that it kinda hurts.

And it Begins

I am not beyond using vague titles to lure people in.  So you might ask what exactly is beginning. I'm glad you asked.

Whelp Ale ingredients are scheduled to arrive today and the brewing process will start tomorrow.  I am going for a very Western U.S. type of pale ale with hops, hops, and more hops.  There are 4 hop additions during the boil and once I transfer to secondary fermentation dry hopping will occur.

This will not be a beer for the timid.  If all you drink is coors or bud this is probably not your beer, in fact it could make you cry.  If, on the other hand, you like your beer to reach out and give you a little slap before you take that first taste this is the beer for you.

I am still looking for ideas for artwork.  I'm good at making the beer, but not so good at making the artwork for the bottles.  It will be at least 2-3 weeks before it is bottled and then an additional 2 weeks before it is carbonated enough to drink.  

A six pack is headed to Dallas for suggesting the winning name.  John will get to try a few because we always tend to have homebrew when we get together and play on Saturdays.  

Warmachine/Hordes Themed Homebrew, and the winner is.........

We have a tie! There was a tie between Harby's Jailbait Pale Ale and Whelp Ale. I think that I am going to make the tie breaking decision and go with Whelp Ale. I just think there are a lot of opportunities to have some fun with the whelps for the label design.

Now that I have mentioned Whelp Ale and label design if any of you happen to be artsy and creative I would love to see what you can come up with for a beer bottle label for Whelp Ale using the images of Whelps.

Dallas not sure if you drink or not but I do believe you just won yourself a six pack of homebrewed pale ale. It will be several weeks before it is ready for consumption, but it will be a lot easier to deliver it to you than to mail it.

Time for a Poll!

Well I have received a fair number of ideas regarding Warmachine and Hordes themed brews. For this poll I want to stick with strictly pale and amber ales, so for those of you that suggested names that are not on the poll you may see them on another poll for another time of beer.

So for the list of contenders.

Grim Angus Albino Pale Ale
Crippling Grasp Ale
Feora's Fire Amber
Harby's Jail Bait Pale Ale
Reclamation Amber
Fire of Salvation Amber Ale
Whelp Ale

The poll will be open for about a week and the winner will be the style of beer I brew in celebration of Utah legalizing homebrew. The beer will receive the name of the winner of the poll and I will work on getting some artwork to match. I am still considering sending a sixer of the brew to the person that came up with the winning name, of course that is still illegal, so I might send a sixer of "books".

So vote early and vote often. Enjoy!

Warmachine and Hordes Themed Homebrews

I mentioned in a my previous post that Utah has finally legalized homebrewing, well as of July 1st. But I think I should have at least one or two batches made to celebrate the significant occasion. I mentioned that I would like some ideas on Warmachine or Hordes Themed names for either an Amber Ale or a Pale Ale and I already received a few good ideas.

Below are a few of the names I have received so far from my creative readers:

Grim Angus Albino Pale Ale
Trollblood
Toruk's Special Brew
Witches Brew (With artwork of the Coven, but I bet I would have to get permission on that one)

Right now my favorite is the Grim Angus Albino Pale Ale, but I would love to hear more ideas of names or artwork. Keep sending your comments with suggestions and when I get enough names I will put up a poll and choose a winner. I may try to ship a 6 pack to the person that came up with the winning name, that is of course if that person drinks beer.

H.B. 51 Passes the Utah State Senate

Woohooo. All that is left is the governor's signature and I can legally make my tasty homebrew in Utah instead of having to make it in Idaho, or at least say I make it in Idaho.

I am considering talking to the organizers of the Box Elder County fair and see what their thoughts of having a homebrew competition are. I think I'm going to fuel my jacks with some tasty homebrew.