Home Brewing

[Root]

I brewed up a Tripel yesterday. Wow, such a delicious wort. 11 pounds of fermentables. OG 1.083, IBU 28. Potential 8.6 abv.











Woke up this morning to find a blowout. Happy yeasties are having quite the party in there.

[Todd]

Todd, the IPA looks great. How long did you condition the saison ginger beer?

I recently had a ginger beer and it was delicious.
http://lefthandbrewing.com/beers/good-juju/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/418/1876/

My last beer was an American Hefeweizen and came out way better than I expected. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of it, and won't until July 2nd. Tomorrow, I'm brewing up my first Tripel. I'm excited

The Saison was bottled around the end of April. So it's been conditioning for a month or more. I was going to enter it in a contest but by chance, life got in the way, and I didn't get to attend the function. It is not my best beer. I mean I think it's great. It's VERY spicy! I think it would have gotten hammered for the ginger. I love ginger and don't mind strong spiciness, but I know it would shock some pallets.

I have a Hefe too. It has been bottled almost two weeks. Trying one June 21.

Glad yours turned out good.

A Tripel or Strong Belgian Pale ale is definitely on my radar. Might even be my first all grain batch.

[buenijo]

I started a batch of mango wine recently. I decided to give it a try after I found a very good mango juice product at some local Asian food markets. The juice is based in mango puree and cane sugar with no weird preservatives. I'm inordinately curious about how it will turn out - unfortunately, I won't know for some time. Anyway, I think fermenting quality fruit juices that are readily available is a good idea. I've never tried mango wine, but damn I love mangoes! It seems like it would make a good wine - we'll see. Generally, I've found that people who don't care for wine (grape based wines that is) often like wines from other fruit sources, or from honey (i.e. called "mead"). These wines are generally more mild.

Anyway, I encourage people to start a brew project with wines since it's so much easier. Mead is about the easiest thing out there, but a fruit wine can be nearly as easy when sourcing from a suitable commercial juice product. For example, I only added the mango juice, sugar, nutrient, and pectic enzyme to a carboy. I sulfated, waited 24 hours, then pitched a dried yeast. It's fermenting very strongly. After this it's a matter of periodic racking to remove sediment and to clarify, then bottle and age. I know of few things so simple that yield such a desirable product.

[NoOneButPaul]

I've always wondered how much better liquor could be if we let moonshiners loose into the market... I'd love the same revolutions we've seen in beer over the last 30 years to happen in liquor. Problem is it's a lot more dangerous...

[Root]

I started a batch of mango wine recently. I decided to give it a try after I found a very good mango juice product at some local Asian food markets. The juice is based in mango puree and cane sugar with no weird preservatives. I'm inordinately curious about how it will turn out - unfortunately, I won't know for some time. Anyway, I think fermenting quality fruit juices that are readily available is a good idea. I've never tried mango wine, but damn I love mangoes! It seems like it would make a good wine - we'll see. Generally, I've found that people who don't care for wine (grape based wines that is) often like wines from other fruit sources, or from honey (i.e. called "mead"). These wines are generally more mild.

Anyway, I encourage people to start a brew project with wines since it's so much easier. Mead is about the easiest thing out there, but a fruit wine can be nearly as easy when sourcing from a suitable commercial juice product. For example, I only added the mango juice, sugar, and pectic enzyme to a carboy. I sulfated, waited 24 hours, then pitched a dried yeast. It's fermenting very strongly. After this it's a matter of periodic racking to remove sediment and to clarify, then bottle and age. I know of few things so simple that yield such a desirable product.

Mango juice sounds like a great idea! +rep

I made some cherry wine out of Black Cherry juice, apple juice concentrate and brown sugar. It's ok in small batches but after few sips, it stops tasting good. I think it just needs to age a few months as it was over 12%.

[Root]

Here's a pic of my wheat ale. Bottling up my Tripel today. So good. So wheaty, lol

[tod evans]

Mango juice sounds like a great idea! +rep

I made some cherry wine out of Black Cherry juice, apple juice concentrate and brown sugar. It's ok in small batches but after few sips, it stops tasting good. I think it just needs to age a few months as it was over 12%.

I've got probably 150-200 gallons of wild cherries I've been wondering what to do with...

Did you try distilling any of the wine?

[Root]

I've got probably 150-200 gallons of wild cherries I've been wondering what to do with...

Did you try distilling any of the wine?

No, but that's my next option if the taste doesn't improve by September. I've got a bottle of some terrible homebrew white wine that I'm gonna practice distilling with before I mess with mine.

[Todd]

I made my first all grain Dubbel right after July 4. Took most of the day but I learned alot.

I learned I do not have the proper temperature gauges. The lab thermometer was 13 points higher than the digital thermometer. Started to freak out because a couple of degrees is a big deal in All Grain. So I went with the digital and I'm glad I did. Also learned that you keep sparging and don't stop until you get the amount of water you want. Almost let the grain bed go dry and got stuck.

Starting gravity was 10 points lower than what I predicted, aound 1.062, but higher Alcohol content doesn't really bother me. The beer finished around 1.006, so I think the digitial is more accurate and I will still get around 7.3 ABV. I bottled this beer yesterday. The sample was good and I didn't detect any issues. First of August I will open one up for a taste.

I am aweful at taking pictures of me making my beer. I get so into the process and hyper focused that I forget to take any photos. I usually brew by myself, so no one around to take pics.

[presence]

The headspace between your cork and your wine is called ullage.

Lesson Learned:

NEVER

ferment with your wine touching your rubber stopper.


Just poured good wine down the drain; tasted like


rubber band ball

[presence]

Super stoked! I gave one of my neighbors a quart of 8% homebrew applewein last week. Yesterday, while I was away, his son dropped off a pint of 80 proof strawberry juice

[Todd]

So Root...how did that triple come out.

[presence]

ULLAGE

The headspace between your cork and your wine is called ullage.l

A bit more on that...

When I primary I put 4.5 gallons in a 5 gallon air locked vessel

When I secondary in gallon glass, I leave 1/2" below the rubber stopper.

If I have extra secondary that doesn't fit in gallons I have a variety of sizes from pint to quart, to half gall, 1/3 gallon, 3/4 gallon etc. that all have the same sizes as my gallons (6's and 8's) Anyway no matter what size secondary vessel keep 1/2" of ullage. Too much = stale. Too little = rubbery.

When I bottle I keep 1/4" ullage using a sanitary shot glass to perfect how full my bottles are after final racking. The first 48 hours I keep my bottles up right to seal the corks... then I keep them on their sides.

[presence]

CIDER YEAST

These are the yeasts I've tried so far with cider; most batches @ 8% 1.060 to .999

Favorite:
"Eleven Eighteen" Lavin 1118 - Cheap, Quick, Excellent, Clean, Dry; very wine like

Very Good:
"Bottom Lager" Brewferm Lager - Fruity - Best Taste, effervescent
"Notty" Nottingham Ale - Fruity - Very flavorful, effervescent

Good:
"Cote" Red Star Cote des Blanc - Strong, Extra Dry, Smooth
"Oh Five" Safale 05 - Nice Refreshing, very "beer like", effervescent
"Wild" All Natural - Sweet, Flavorful, not as strong ABV as others.

Fail:
Safale 04 fair/meh
Lavin 1116 blah



About 20% of my juice sat out overnight to press and has a bit of a smokey taste from the low lying wood smoke, which imparts an interesting flavour.


atm...

I'm sitting on

115 @ 750ml under cork
9 gallons in secondary
4.5 gallons in primary


bloop bloop bloop

This is a good hobby


Cheers!

[presence]

When I primary, I use a piece of food grade clear tubing into a plastic gallon jug; I fill the plastic gallon 1/3 full with sodium meta. I have a long tubing brush that I wash with between uses. I fill primary containers only 4.5 / 5 gallons.

[presence]

oh $#@!... almost broke federal law

A little over 100 gallons last year @ 8%. Lucky I don't live alone!

§ 25.205 Production. (a) Any adult may produce beer, without payment of tax, for personal or family use and not for sale. An adult is any individual who is 18 years of age or older. If the locality in which the household is located requires a greater minimum age for the sale of beer to individuals, the adult shall be that age before commencing the production of beer. This exemption does not authorize the production of beer for use contrary to State or local law.
(b) The production of beer per household, without payment of tax, for personal or family use may not exceed:
(1) 200 gallons per calendar year if there are two or more adults residing in the household, or
(2) 100 gallons per calendar year if there is only one adult residing in the household.
(c) Partnerships except as provided in § 25.207, corporations or associations may not produce beer, without payment of tax, for personal or family use.
(Sec. 201, Pub. L. 85-859, 72 Stat. 1334, as amended (26 U.S.C. 5053))



http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/27/25.205

That law is $#@!ed up. I think I'd get sick if I didn't have at least a gallon a week.

[Suzanimal]

oh $#@!... almost broke federal law

A little over 100 gallons last year @ 8%. Lucky I don't live alone!




That law is $#@!ed up. I think I'd get sick if I didn't have at least a gallon a week.

An adult is any individual who is 18 years of age or older.

So you can make beer at 18 but you can't drink it.

[presence]

Most excellent store juice batch!

Store bought organic apple juice (plastic half gallons @ $2.59 / half gallon),
1 cup organic thompson raisins per 5 gallon,
5 cups organic evaporated cane juice (sugar) (1.060 SG)
1 TBSP molasses
1 @ 1118 Lavin per 5 gallon,
4oz organic lime juice per 1 gallon.

no added sulphites beyond "sweeting" bottles before bottling.



15 gallons bottling this week

Half of it we're hopping w/ Warrior pellets for 4-5 days before bottle.




drinkin' on the rocks 'cause it ain't cold yet!

[Todd]

oh $#@!... almost broke federal law

A little over 100 gallons last year @ 8%. Lucky I don't live alone

!That law is $#@!ed up. I think I'd get sick if I didn't have at least a gallon a week.

Who gives a Shat. I just told a police officer friend of mine that I home brew. She asked me if I would sell some to her.

Most local authorities don't even know it's illegal to sell it...much less how much you can make. No worries.

[Todd]

So my Belgian Tripel turned out good. Not Excellent, I'm still working out my bugs and I'm my worst critic. Root kind of inspired me to give it a try.

It's really spicy, with citrus. Alcohol is a little too present though. I like it a bit more subdued so that it sneaks up on you. That probably came from me fermenting way too warm. I'm cabable of making some decent high octane brew that has little noticeable alcohol.

Head retention is not up to par and I'm having a bit of issue trying to lock down why with my All grain recipes. It's the second one I've done and neither have retained a good Belgian creamy head and I had a good amount of wheat and oats in this recipe which should encourage that. It's still conditioning, so maybe letting it carbonate more over the next few months will make a difference. It's based off a recipe for tripel karmeliet brouwerij bosteels I found on a homebrewing site. It's a bit darker than what I was going after. I haven't had a Karmeleit and am trying to get my hands on one to compare, so I have no idea if I was close.

[IMG][/IMG]

Here's the recipe if anyone's interested. I'm going to be changing a few things for next go around. Probably dropping back the Pilsner and increasing the wheat malt and adding some flaked wheat. I'll probably try another yeast too.

All Grain
5 gal; OG: 1.072 FG: 1.012; IBU: 20.5; Color: 4.7: Yeast WLP 530 90 minute boil

12 lbs Dingemans Belgian Pilsner
2 lbs German Wheat malt
.5 lbs Flaked Oats
1 lbs Blonde belgian candy sugar or Sucrose (table sugar) added at end of boil when you turn off burner.

.5 oz Styrian Goldings 90min
.5 oz Styrian Goldings 45min
1 oz Saaz 15min
1 oz Saaz 5min
1 oz Saaz Dry Hop
1 oz Sweet Orange Peel 5min
2 Star Anise 5min
1 oz Coriander crushed 5min

Yeast: WLP 530
Mash at 152 for 90 minutes.
Ferment for 2 weeks in primary at 74 degrees. Secondary for 1 month at around 56 degrees. Bottle and condition for at least 2 months.

[specsaregood]

./

[Todd]

[IMG][/IMG]

So I tried a beer several weeks back called Avery Salvation (Belgian Golden Ale) This Beligan Tripel that I brewed above, that was supposed to taste similar to Karmeleit now tastes very much like the Avery. So if you like that beer, this clone might actually be kind of close.

[Origanalist]

Transferred the Dubbel to secondary tonight. Got a reading of 1.014 for the Gravity. That means I probably have about a 7.5% Alcohol beer. I know it's a picture of my John.. but that's the only place my wife will let me mess around with my brew. LOL......

[IMG][/IMG]

It's all going to end up there anyway.

[Origanalist]

I officially have the bug now. Started my second batch last night and I think I botched it. The kit came with no instructions and I ended up using the instructions for something I thought was similar but I eventually found them on the website and ooops, not so much...

Oh well, I'm going to let it go and see how it turns out anyway. My first batch was a hefeweisen and it's been bottled, I thought it was pretty decent for my first try. I'm already scouring craigslist to upgrade my equipment. The woman is alarmed.. heh heh.

My last batch....Attachment 5269

I'm just doing one gallon batches for now, getting my feet wet so to speak.

[pcosmar]

So you can make beer at 18 but you can't drink it.

you are correct.

[Feelgood]

You are totally boned now, if you have been bitten by this bug. I started doing an occasional brew for $#@!s and giggles to see how it would turn out. Beer was so good, I dont even drink store bought any more. Have turned into a bit of a beer snob. Currently have about 10 cases of beer conditioning. Am about to brew a Baltic Porter. I am now looking at and considering opening a micro brewery in my area. My brews are exceptional and friends ask me for them all the time.

While glass carboys are the norm for most, I would recommend the SS Brewbucket. Much easier to clean and use than a carboy. This is what I use whenever I do 6 gallon batches.

http://www.ssbrewtech.com/products/brewbucket

Need advice, let me know. My favs thus far is called Voodoo that You Do. It is classified as a barleywine, clocks in at 8.7% ABV. One and your good, two and youre done. Have a delicious batch of a Bavarian Weissbeir for Octoberfest. Also have a Pumpkin Lager which should be ready just in time for Halloween.

Currently soaking some oak chips in bourbon to recreate a Lock Stock n Barrel Imperial Aged Stout. Will take a minimum 6 months to age before ready to drink.

Have an Angry Bovine Chocolate Milk Stout conditioning. Ready in 30 more days.

[Todd]

I officially have the bug now. Started my second batch last night and I think I botched it. The kit came with no instructions and I ended up using the instructions for something I thought was similar but I eventually found them on the website and ooops, not so much...

Oh well, I'm going to let it go and see how it turns out anyway. My first batch was a hefeweisen and it's been bottled, I thought it was pretty decent for my first try. I'm already scouring craigslist to upgrade my equipment. The woman is alarmed.. heh heh.

My last batch
I'm just doing one gallon batches for now, getting my feet wet so to speak.

I have a really good and simple Hefeweizen recipe if you'd like it. It was one of the best beers I ever made. PM me if you'd like it.

My experience is the kits are OK, but if you put your own recipe together it tends to turn out better.

I haven't been brewing much this year, because of busy schedules, kids and just plain gaining too much weight from beer

[Origanalist]

I have a really good and simple Hefeweizen recipe if you'd like it. It was one of the best beers I ever made. PM me if you'd like it.

My experience is the kits are OK, but if you put your own recipe together it tends to turn out better.

I haven't been brewing much this year, because of busy schedules, kids and just plain gaining too much weight from beer

Yes, I will. I need to get some more stuff of my own and become more self reliant. The kits are a good first step though.

[presence]

Goal is 10 gallons of apple juice pressed for a lalvin 71B-1122 fermentation today.

[presence]

I officially have the bug now.

YES!

wait till you're sippin' on untaxed $#@!-yeah