Dark and Wheaty with a Nutty Aftertaste . . .

I bottled the dunkleweizen last night, with the help of my lovely wife. It looks and tastes great, with a dark malty flavor and a nutty aftertaste (perhaps of almonds). I am very excited to see how it turns out. If it holds up to the carbonation process, the beer should be quite good.

Last night marked the first time we used my new "auto siphon." This is a neat device that is basically two racking tubes inside each other. The inner one is fitted with a gasket and you and pull it in and out like a syringe. You submerse the whole siphon in water then draw the inner tube up and out. Then you push the inner tube down and the pressure from this action pushes the liquid up and out the middle racking tube and, PRESTO, you have a siphon (works very similar to a syringe). It as the easiest thing in the world and I did not have to try to start the siphon by mouth, which is always dicey and may not be totally "germ-free" (though I have heard of some who "rinse" their mouths with scotch or vodka before starting the siphon. If that is not an excuse to drink booze, I have never heard one). You can find out more about the auto siphon here on the Northern Brewer site (http://www.northernbrewer.com/siphon.html). Just scroll part way down to the Fermatech Auto Siphon entry.