Also happening soon is the much awaited bottling of the 2005-6 "First Snow" old ale. I've stuck with the base malt bill I've used previously, but tinkered a bit with the hops to see if I couldn't coax a little more flavor out of the beer once it's been aged sufficiently. As part of the final conditioning, I floated a single vanilla bean in the carboy. I anticipate that this will seep just enough vanillin into the beer to give the illusion of mild oaking without overpowering the nose or otherwise feeling forced.
With Johanna's wine still conditioning and the Wit planned for Saturday's HKAB, the closet will not be completely void of carboys. Still, we hates us the lonely carboys, so if you've ideas you'd like to pursue please speak up. Left to my own devices, I'll just brew more bitters and maybe try my hand at mead.
