Teach a Friend to Homebrew

Saturday, November 1, was teach a friend to homebrew day. I only had one friend over who had never brewed before, and one who does partial mashes. The day had it's glitches with a mill that wouldn't crush the grain at first (turned out to be a loose screw), and a way missed OG (1.043 instead of 1.053). But we still ended up with ten gallons of beer, albeit slightly different from what we had set out to brew (Southern Sky Amber Rye). I used this batch as an opportunity to try a brew with two different styles of yeast to see how they affect the beer. Five gallons were fermented with Wyeast London Ale 1028, and the other five with a packet of Nottingham dry yeast. I took our first hydrometer samples this past weekend and was impressed with the differences. The Nottingham yeast produced a smoother, more malty product, with the hops being nice and subtle. The London Ale yeast let the hops shine through very nicely. Their flavor really popped. But it's early, and time will be the ultimate judge.