Michigan Real Ale

An experiment: naturally carbonate the Common in the keg. I expect an interesting carbonation. A touch of authenticity. Commons where krausened on packaging which resulted in a naturally carbonated and often highly carbonated "real ale". Though my technique does not involve drawing krausen from fermenting beer, it does provide the necessary sugars to naturally carbonate the beer.

equipment:
- small pot (I use a 3 quart pot)
- stove

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 3/4 cups light dry malt extract

Process:
- draw 1 1/2 cups water into pot and place on stove and heat over medium to medium-high heat.
- as water heats, stir the water to wet the inside of the pot. this helps against burning the extract on the side of the pot later on.
- add the 3/4 cups dry malt extract and stir thoroughly. stop stirring when all the clumps of extract dissolve.
- boil for 8 minutes.
- sterilize the lid of the pot by placing it onto the pot and continue boiling for about 2 minutes. be sure it does not boil over. as foam increases, lifting the lid usually reduces it. heat lid enough to sterilize the surfaces.

Then prepare your keg as usual and add the solution to the keg prior to racking the beer into the keg. Purge oxygen as usual after filled and then pressurize to about 3 PSI. Monitor for high pressure for about a 2 week period and purge as necessary. Beware: pressure could reach dangerous levels during this period. Proceed at your own risk. (This is actually untrue ... I would not purge during conditioning ... or any time until enjoying. Conserving the note for nostalgia).

Notes:
In this case, I dry hopped 1/4 ounces of Nugget. Nugget has quite a earthy flavor for an American hop. I am interested to see if I can capture some of that in the aroma.

I estimate between 1 to 2 weeks aging period. Hoping to have it on tap for Christmas celebrations.

After notes:
By the way, the California Common or "Steam Beer" is amongst the most fitting beers to brew in Michigan. It has a long season, assuming you ferment in a basement. Basement temperature is between 55 and 65 from late November through March. Brave the cold. Beer some beer. Every Michigan brewer should brew Common.

Here is the first draw from under high pressure. Silky smooth topped with a frothy head. Very nice.