One Saturday several weeks ago, I needed a beer to be that exclamation point at the end of my week, something that would both excite me and provide finality to the slog that preceded it.

The strong ale is bottled and, while I had my doubts, this one’s going to be worthy of serving to the not-so-polite company I often keep.
Here’s the stats:
FG: 1.024
ABV: 7 % (or so)
IBU: I dunno, maybe 70?
As it sat in the secondary, the hops mellowed and the smoked malt came forward a bit. When Bryan and I bottled this, it seemed perfectly balanced (so glad I used the UK Phoenix hops) but we’ll see how it ages. Only thing I’m worried about is carbonation. I measured this at 1.028 10 …

Damn. This one just doesn’t want to behave.
After three days, nothing. No bubbling. No action. So, I went and got some tried and true Coopers dry yeast, took the lid off my fermenter, gave it some music and pitched. Next day, I get home from work and hear this high-pitched wheezing, open my closet door, and see this:

Ugly. Could barely eat, I was so upset. This is going to be a good beer, but like the Black Stallion and my dog, Franco, it needs some special attention. So I racked …

I’d intended to make this my first all-grain brew, but impatience made me chicken out.
It’s still cold here, in mid-winter, and so a Belgian strong ale seemed the way to go. Though not strictly Belgian but definitely strong, I figured on an Arrogant Bastard clone. Even that, however, got derailed with the strained hop situation and a few specialty malts I couldn’t find. So, I took a look at what my homebrew store had to offer, grew a pair and put together something I think is going to be pretty …