Tag: Homebrew

Beers, ciders, meads

stoutmakerLeave a comment

Been busy brewing and stuff the last few weeks. Brewed twice at the local Homebrew shop for club demos and to replenish the sample stocks there. I even took the Mash and boil on a road trip brew.

Oh road trip brewing with this Mash and boil is soooo much less hassle. This is gonna make for some summer traveling. I will have to make a little checklist post for this. 

Also I have really been exploring the cider and mead side of things. I just kegged up a lower gravity (7%) Saison mead. And bottled a higher gravity (9%) Blueberry cider! Oh,, almost forgot the Farmers Market cider. Each week at the local market I bought “something” and froze them for the end of season cider. This year it was apple/red currant/strawberry/sour cherry/raspberry/beet ciderIMG_20181114_143905_687.jpg

As good as these new forays turned out, I may have to split time being a brewery and a cider mill. I think its fun for a lot of reasons. First being,, there is more involvement it feels like. With beer you do your 4 hour thing and you dont look at it for a month.  With these quick ciders, I can piddle around with the whole fruit/veg prepping, staggered nutrients, degassing, bottling… things like that. Might be a turn off for some,, but its puts me back in touch with my products, like the old days!

Take a look at this Blueberry cider!

  • 3 gallons apple juice, fresh pressed or cheap stuff. They both work 
  • 2- containers frozen concentrate blueberry/pomegranate mix
  • 2 lbs sugar
  • 3 tsp nutrient (split)
  • US-04 or any English strain yeast
  • Mix everything and 2 tsp of the nutrient. shake it up hard to oxygenate. A day after fermenting add the other 1 tsp of nutrient.
  • After 3 weeks bottle or keg @ 3 volumes

 

Pale! Ale!

stoutmakerLeave a comment

Well finally back at brewing! Mostly because A keg is possibly needed for an event next month.

I’m not really sure when it’s needed so I’ll get it ready just in case.

Somewhat under the wire, so a pale ale is the answer. Plus I have a crap-load (just under a shit-ton) of hops that are just sitting there.

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I added that dose of black pat by habit, Don’t need it, and wont do anything other than darken the color. And I just happened to have some Notty in the fridge.

Felt good to get back brewing. Would brew more if I could drink up some of this, or give it away,, but that’s a whole other post.. Not today though

Hot day lager brew

stoutmakerLeave a comment

Took a road trip to John’s house for a 10 gallon split batch of Mexican Lager. Started in the morning before the heat got up there.

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Rice hulls are needed for this one36758498_1774458879334231_1803360474423623680_n

Look how compact this bed got,, but those rice hulls saved it!36701132_1774458929334226_1117230940557410304_n

That corn was trying to boil over!36713568_1774458972667555_2323666384757719040_n

Starting the chill 36729303_1774459036000882_6286606947563077632_n

wouldnt be a brew at Johns without an strafing run36654608_1774459012667551_2075224980773142528_n

we made it!36735803_1774459086000877_7210144853164818432_n

UPS drops off 3 more beer kits!
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Almost forgot the recipe

10 gallons yet unnamed Mexican Lager

  • 11 lbs Vienna
  • 3 lbs pilsner
  • .75 lb 60L crystal
  • 4 lbs flaked corn
  • 2oz Tettnang @60 (see below)
  • .5 oz saaaaaz @30 (see below)
  • 34/70 lager yeast

(the recipe called for only the 2oz of 6% Tettnang hops, but the ones we had were only 3.7% so we threw in the extra 7% Saaaz to make up a few of the IBU, plus will add some flavor at the 30 mark)

Oh,, this was also going to be a taste experiment. John is fermenting as a usual lager would call for.  And I’m going to use the same 34/70 yeast in my half, but just gonna let it roll at my basement temp of 63 degrees and keg it up at my usual 4 weeks.