Never Trust the Weatherman

On Friday night last weekend, I checked the weather. Rain was forecast for our area Saturday night and Sunday morning, clearing off by Sunday at noon. I tentatively scheduled my brew day for Monday. The rains would come in the afternoon, the guy in the suit said, so I made a starter for my DeStruisse/Paxton Old Archaic beer. (I made a couple of changes in the recipe. First, I added a pound of flaked rice to make up for my brewhouse efficiency. Second, I can't get Pannepot around here, so I used the dregs of an Ommegang Abbey Ale. I also made it a single infusion mash, because I can't do math, and I wanted to be finished at noon.)

Saturday morning dawned cloudy, and I checked the forecast. Rains would start at 6 pm. Sweet! I lit the fire on the kettle and doughed in by 9 am. I spotted a dark cloud to the north of town, and kept an eye on it. I finished my mash and started my first batch sparge when it began to drizzle. I finished the second batch sparge as it started to pour. So I moved the essentials up to the porch for the boil.

So I boiled for 90 minutes, while I sat inside and watched TV. I got everything cooled off, and the beer in the fermenter just as the sun broke through the clouds. We didn't get any more rain.

The predicted gravity was 1.074, and I recorded a 1.060. Oh well, Macht's Nicht, I suppose. It should still be good.