This is the reason you back up your computer

So, yeah, my laptop died. Well, it's not officially dead, but it's in the "Computer Hospital", getting a brain transplant. And as the title indicates, I didn't back up and/or print hard copies of my recipes. Now, we take decent notes, but not always when we're transferring and such. This came into play tonight while transferring over the Rising Sun Sisters, Ginger-Sesame Red Ale (MB0023) and Oiwai Ginger-Peach Red Saison (MB0024).

I transferred the Oiwai first, racking it onto a pound of dried apricots, split. Yeah, the one night Justin's not around, I have to cut a pound of dried apricots in half. Do you know how many dried apricots there are in a pound? I lost count after fifty. At any rate, the FG of this guy got down to 1.010, which was much lower than expected, and gave a very dry, alcoholic flavor with predominate ginger notes and mild hints of peach, which should be kicked up by the apricots.

So why apricots? Well, during an e-mail exchange with Johnathan from Monday Night Brewery, he suggested that, through trial and error, they found out the peaches don't really impart a "peachy" flavor, and I trust them, 'cuz they're from Georgia. He instead pointed me towards apricots, saying that they actually give a much more "peachy" feel to the beer, so I'm taking his word for it.

I then racked the Ginger-Sesame Red Ale over to secondary, on 4 oz. of candied ginger, referring (thankfully) to this post for the needed quantity. I knew I put all this time into this for a reason! The FG reached 1.019 this go 'round, which I'll have to (hopefully) compare to my notes when I get my laptop back. This rendition of the Rising Sun had a much stronger sesame nose, with toasted, roasted, and nutty notes. The candied ginger should only add to the nose.

In other news, The Missionary Position (MB0018) and The Actual Missionary Position (MB0020) are now officially carbed up, but will need some serious time in the bottle to mellow, as they're both really hot right now, but surprisingly drinkable, as I have had one of each this evening. Full tasting notes to come in about a month or so.

Cheers,

Dave