Old Father Ale - started 2/6/2013

          I have decided to do my first flavored beer. I am using Best Brews American Cream Ale as my base. Then adding elderberry juice and oak chips.

• Elderberry juice 96 oz.
• Oak chips 4 oz.
• 5 cups of Sugar
• Lactose 1 lb.

American Cream Ale by Brewers Best

Contents of Kit:

• Ingredients
• Grain bag(s)
• Priming Sugar
• Bottle caps
• Brewing Procedures

Ingredients consist of:

Fermemtables

• 3.3 lbs Light LME
• 2.0 lbs Pilsen DME
• 1 lb Corn Sugar

Hops

• 2 oz Willamette
• 2 oz Aroma

Yeast

• 1 Sachet

Also will need:

• 4 gallon Brewing Pot
• 5 gallon Fermentation bucket and lid
• 1 Air lock
• easy clean sterilization solution

While the 2.5 gallons of water is boiling. I cleaned and sterilized the fermentation bucket, lid, and airlock. Once the water was at a gentle, rolling boil added the 3.3 lbs of Light LME. Continuously stirred extract into water as it returned to a gentle rolling boil. Added the DME, Corn Sugar, Lactose, and Sugar. Once that boiled I added oak chips to boil for 5 minute boil.

Cooled and added to the wort to the fermentation bucket then filling to 5 gallon mark.

2/10/2013
Add the Elderberry juice to a cleaned sterilized fermentation bucket. Then siphoned the American Cream Ale into the new bucket. The ale had an amazing smell. It was sweet and very aromatic. I could tell just from the smell the alcohol levels are a lot higher than my first American Cream Ale. It looks like this batch is going to be VERY purple. I can't wait to try this beer.

2/13/2013
OK this brew is still just bubbling away through the air lock! it started picking back up on 2/10 when I added the Elderberry juice in the secondary fermentation bucket. And it is STILL bubbling away. I take that as a VERY VERY good sign!

2/24/2013
Bottled this brew today. I am hoping that with aging and carbonation the brew will taste better. There is a heavy taste of Elderberry but much like the first Cream Ale it seems to be a bit off on taste. I added the but lactose but there does not seem to be a sweetness to it that I was expecting. There ended up being 57 bottles in total. In about a month I am hoping that the Old Father Ale will be ready.

4/24/2013
I have let this brew sit longer because it wasn't carbonating very well. It has now reached a nice level of foam when drank. Though it has a nice dry smooth taste, it did not turn out sweet like I had waned even using the lactose which does not ferment. I believe this is because the elderberry juice was so tart and concentrated that it over powered the delicate level of sweetness the lactose should have provided. So will have to try this again to see how it turns out. But everyone who has tried it seems to love it!

6/14/2013
There are still some bottles felt and I have to say this beer is aging nicely! And WOW does it have a ton of kick to it!!!