Any homebrewers out there? Let us know what's currently fermenting in the pot.
Mother's in the kitchen washing out the jugs,
Sister's in the pantry bottling the suds,
Father's in the cellar mixin' up the hops,
Johnny's on the front porch watchin' for the cops.
The Grand Experiment continues...
I thought I'd give an update on my activities during last weekend's holiday celebration. We brewed the English Pale Ale Saturday afternoon. Everything went pretty smooth. I tried to take a hydrometer reading, but the wort that I poured out of the fermentor was pretty thick. My hydrometer maxes out at 25% potential alcohol and that's about where my reading was. I guess we'll wait and see what the second reading brings. Anybody know the best way to take the first reading? We also tasted the Raspberry Wheat for the first time. I was very impressed, if I do say so myself! The raspberry and the wheat complimented each other nicely. The beer was very clear, had a great color and good carbonation. I'm looking forward to sharing it to see what others think.
Had you added water to the wort to make 5 gallons before you tested? That may be the issue.
I'm looking forward to the Raspberry as well...
I dunno. Maybe you needed to stir.
I opened a porter last night from the questionable batch, and it foamed over my hand, and then did something I had never seen before...
it sat in the sink and continued a slow, steady foaming over for at least 5 minutes.
Anyone had a similar experience ever? Any thoughts on what's up with that?
I've seen it happen. Could be the batch is infected.
Over-priming?
Another distinct possibility, Andy. But this one's got some off flavors, so that's why I went with infection.
Jack brought me a new one to try, his favorite recipe.
He calls it a Chocolate Dunkelweisen, but says it might more accurately be called something like a Chocolate Doppelbock.
He uses many #'s of fermentables (I'm scared to ask for exact measurements), but for all that it is really light in the mouth - until the aftertaste rolls in, and in, and in...
I quite liked it! :)
Once I get going on my own I might have to try brewing it, I have some ideas to use a higher grade of chocolate - he's using Hershey's baking chocolate and there are some really high cocoa count unsweetened chocolates out there that are tons better...
That actually sounds kinda good, and I don't like beer!
Jack just likes to say Dunkelweisen. :)
I'm more of a Dobbelbock man, myself.
Don't like beer, Artemis? What does a huntress drink when returning from the successful hunt?
Chocolate martinis!
Never could get the taste for beer, I've tried, only one time I ever drank a whole beer and liked it was in college- I was already wasted and nothing else was left to drink.
Good dark espresso, vanilla vodka, touch of Kahlua - ice.
Obviously, we need to get you drinking better beer. :)
Expresso martini, hmmmm sounds good! Speedball!
Some of the Raspberry or Honey beers always sound good, but they still have that "beer" taste.
Sweet toothers, I swear.
I want a drink like me - bitter, cold, red and with a big head. Pass the IPA.
I want a drink like me - bitter, cold, red and with a big head.
ha!
Gonna brew much now that you've moved into the basement Austin?
I actually have a little of the equipment, but I don't intend to stay there for long - plus the kitchen is upstairs, and my ma's six dogs have pretty much as much run of the house as they want. I know sometimes you need the hair of the dog, but really now...
Anyway, Hayden's got some of the set-up, too, so maybe we can get together and put some of his garage to use (for something besides rehearsal space.)
I picked up a six on sale last night and really liked it. Clean and sharp like a regular Beck's, but with creamier mouth feel and a little heavy.
I'm gonna' look for a knockoff recipe.
Last night, I bottled the Mild Ale, transferred the EPA to secondary, and transferred the Cream Ale to secondary. Whew!
I was searching the internet for something for a label for my recently bottled Mild Ale. According to dictionary.com, amiable is a synonym for mild. Since there's an Amiable who's near and dear, Amiable Ale was born.
That has a nice ring to it Frosti. Lunatic Fridge cranks out another classic!
We went camping with the family this weekend. It was supposed to be the family homebrew fest. But my uncle cancelled on the trip at the last minute. But my brother and I both brought some. I brought the Amiable Ale and he brought an English Pale Ale. Both were well received. We drank his entire party ball.
Finally(!) bottled the EPA. However, I've got a bad feeling about it. I hope I'm just being paranoid, but I fear it's infected. My fear was not strong enough to make me toss it out, so we'll see...
On what do you base this fear? Any overt physical characteristics, or are you merely going on "vibes"?
There was sort of a "film" over the top of the beer. But it smelled OK.
if it turns into a skunky beer for ya that you don't wanna drink, bring it over my way. my brother has a problem with grubs eating some of the plants in his yard.
Will do. It'll be a couple weeks before I know...
ahh. we'll have plenty of skunky beer to have gone through by then anyway.
Lucky grubs.
Has anybody here been making beer using the Brewmaker "Irish Stout" kit...and what are you now using as a substitute. Perhaps more importantly, is the replacement up to snuff ;-D
Thanks
I couldn't tell you b g, I've never used the kit. Have they stopped making them?
BTW, welcome.
Thanks, I am a Sympatico refugee, but have been home brewing beer for awhile...and yes, the company first stopped making their Heineken imitation, then their Corona, and now their Guinness...er, Double Extra Irish Stout ;-D they obviously could not use the names for legal reasons. Only the latter really matters; I have dummied up an acceptable Corona replacement by trial and error, but their Guinness was She Who Must Be Obeyed ;-D favourite, so I must find a solution. Anybody else that brews an acceptable Guinness approximation?
I haven't tried a stout yet. I've been working my way up to it, but something interesting always seems to come up first.
I once assisted in the assembly of a pretty acceptable stout flavored with mexican vanilla and cinnamon, but that was ages ago and I was just following directions from someone who actually knew what they were doing.
Hmmm, well, it's all personal taste. I cannot stand Stout but SWMBO loves it...and doesn't like my lagers ;-D
Thanks, but this is flavoured with Fuggles for a finishing hop...and our own unknown variety as a boiling hop. I have tried other kits, and added malted grains hoping to add to the body, but the results have not made the grade - SWMBO doesn't mark on the curve ;-D
How about oak chips?
"I made a decent Foster's lager once" - do tell!! Still have a recipe floating around?
And I just gotta' ask - why didn't you stick with the Aston-Martin for 007?
Actually, we tried burnt oak years ago, it wasn't bad, but nothing to write home about. No, what I am beginning to fear is that Brewmaker's stout may have been an uniquely high quality malt, she is complaining that her latest batches were thin/bitter. What is missing here is body, something like maybe unfermentable solids/ residual sugars/ something along that line...which was why I was fooling around with the grains, and hoping that somebody else had already solved the Guinness mystery ;-D
Wanna make a light homebrew? Try beano tablets in your primary.
This is actually interesting and makes me want to try it. However, I was disappointed in that he never mentioned anything about the effect it has on the taste of the brew.
Tour de Fat, New Belgium Brewing Co.'s "Ballyhoo of Bikes and Beer" that has raised money for scores of cycling non-profits during the last four years, hit a bump in the road July 19 in Santa Cruz, Calif. After city officials first approved the event, Police Chief Steve Belcher rejected alcohol sales, citing the dangers of drinking and cycling. The event went on as scheduled, still raising money for local clubs. Proceeds from the beer sales were to have benefited the Santa Cruz Hub for Sustainable Transportation and Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz, both nonprofits. "This was a plan for responsible drinking in a contained area," said Rick Graves, coordinator of the Santa Cruz Hub. "It's not like we're a bunch of frat boys getting people drunk and sending people off on bikes." Belcher apparently disagreed. "First of all, a municipal code prohibits the sale of alcohol at the park, so I couldn't legally sign off," he said. "But I also don't think it is a good idea to have alcohol at a transportation-related event."
http://www.realbeer.com/news/articles/news-001976.php
This is probably not the greatest idea in the world. But it still sucks to see it closed down. It's been a bad year for beer and bikes. Our annual Tour de Bar was not held this year either.
More beer news:
SUMMER HEAT SENDS GERMAN BEER SALES SOARING
German brewers, battling a seven-year trend of lower beer sales and terrible first half of the year, find themselves with a new problem - beer sales are so robust consumers are worried about shortages. "Brewers are working around the clock. Overtime is common, people are working weekends, and breweries are on triple shifts," said Erich Deterichs, managing director of the German Beer Brewers Association. Consumption was down 4.4% in the first half of this year, in part because of anew bottle deposit law, but sales jumped 9.3% in June compared with year-earlier levels. "The weather has skyrocketed overall demand. There is no better alcoholic thirst quencher than beer," said Jochen Schmitt of the Berliner-Schultheiss Brewery.
LAWYERS DENY ALCOHOLICS ABOUT TO SUE DRINK MAKERS
A report that 12 alcoholics in Scotland are to sue the drinks industry for failing to warn them of the dangers of addiction has been denied by the solicitors involved. A newspaper reported that the addicts, aged between 18 and 60, claimed their lives had been destroyed because they had not been warned of the risks involved in drinking. It was thought that the lawyers involved would use the same arguments used in America during the successful prosecutions against U.S. tobacco firms in 2000. However, Cameron Fife, a senior partner at Ross Harper, said that there had been a misunderstanding. He said: "We were contacted by a couple of people regarding a claim on these grounds. However, we advised against it. Those involved would have had to get legal aid, and in this case that would have been very difficult."
WATER WOES THREATEN BREWERY
The Pittsburgh-Post Gazette reports that the local water utility wants a court order removed that keeps it from turning off the water for Pittsburgh Brewing. Without water, the brewery will not be able to make beer. The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority has asked a judge to dissolve a court order preventing the agency from terminating service because of more than $3 million in unpaid bills. Pittsburgh Brewing obtained the injunction in December after receiving a termination notice. The parties agreed to negotiate a settlement after Pittsburgh Brewing promised to pay monthly water bills on time. Although it has paid its water since December, the brewery has not paid its sewer bills, and the PWSA is seeking more clout in ongoing negotiations.
Good article on yeast, lots of info.
Purchased this evening, the makings for a Winter Warmer:
Specialty Grains
0.75 lbs. Simpsons Crystal
0.25 lbs. Crisp Chocolate
Fermentables
9.9 lbs. Gold Malt Syrup
Boil Additions
1 oz. Northern Brewer (60 min)
1 oz. Styrian Goldings (30 min)
1 oz. Kent Goldings (1 min)
Yeast
Wyeast #1728 Scottish Ale Yeast. Ideally suited for Scottish-style ales, and high gravity ales of all types. Flocculation: high. Apparent attenuation: 69-73%. Optimum temperature: 55-70.
sounds pretty good!
I bought a stainless steel ladle for a stirring implement. Still have to get a couple of fermenters though. this is your first batch in a while, right?
First one since I don't know when. Sometime in the spring.
don't you think?