The current production list: Cider #1: Aging for about one month. ~13%ABV. Made with cider, dark brown sugar, and candi syrup. Started out with a harsh alcohol taste with some other odd flavors, but it's really mellowed out.
Cider #2: Aging for a week. 11.5%ABV. Made with cider and orange blossom honey.
Honey Ginger Saison, rev 1.1: I'm using a bit more (double) honey than last time to see how it affects the final product. It's got a potential alcohol content of 8.5%, slightly stronger than the original batch.
Last night (or early this morning depending on how pedantic you're feeling), @thrax, @humerusmeg, and I sampled both the Honey Ginger Saison and Cider #2. Both seemed to go over pretty well.
Joe brewed some Ginger Saison kit that his friend helped him with. I'm helping him bottle it tonight. Curious to see if he screwed up his first homebrew or not (especially since he brewed without me!).
So...it appears I've developed a sensitivity to gluten . I had suspected it for some time but pretty much confirmed at ICNY that we are no longer on speaking terms (though brief visits are ok for now).
What does that mean? A few things: - In the short term it means MOAR CIDER! I'll be experimenting. Be prepared. - I'm also switching entirely to White Labs yeast. The gluten content in their yeasts are no higher than 12 ppm in the vials and 2 ppm in a batch of gluten-free ingredients. - I hope to at least have a gluten-free version of Hoppy Ending ready for Expo. - I've been experimenting with a clarifying agent that results in beer with reduced gluten levels (<10 ppm). The current batch of Honey-Ginger Saison is the first experiment. Seems to work ok on me but I haven't tried more than one pint at a time because strong and sweet beer (though a 50/50 mix with one of the ciders is OMGAWESOME).
So...anyone have requests? I can't guarantee it'll happen, but I'll certainly consider it.
2
midga"There's so much hot dog in Rome" ~digi(> ^.(> O_o)>Icrontian
So, Joe's ginger saison turned out. Super ginger-y... We aren't big fans of this beer, though, so we gave most of it to his friend who bought the kit.
On Saturday we brewed an Oatmeal Stout. Our first time brewing beer together! Awww. Smelled so good. But.... Sunday night the bucket exploded and Joe got beer on his ceiling and wall. The yeast was going crazy and getting foam stuck in the airlock. Joe's first solution was to scoop out some of the foam, which calmed it down. It isn't bubbling nearly as much.
Has anyone had their beer bucket explode during fermentation? What did you do? Should we do (or should we have) done something differently as a solution?
My second batch of beer did that. The solution is to use a blowoff hose. Fill a bucket with some sanitized water and run a hose from the carboy stopper to the bucket, making sure the bucket end is underwater. The carboy end should be inside the carboy, but only enough to secure it in place.
This allows any escaping foam, hops, and other stuff to leave the carboy without clogging an airlock (the cause of the explosion).
I just tried my first home brewed beer. Even though it was an APA that I forgot the bittering hops in, it is delicious. Slightly sweet, no bitterness (obviously) but not undrinkable at all.
Just bottled our Oatmeal Stout, and from the gravity readings, looks like it will still be good! About 6% alcohol, and tasted it and it has a great flavor - pretty sweet. Can't wait to taste it in a week or two after it's carbonated.
Now to decide what's next.... I want an IPA, but Joe hates IPA's. Maybe I can still talk him into it since he has all this Oatmeal Stout to drink... haha! Or maybe a cream ale in preparation for Spring. Hmm...
One reason I try to buy my ingredients locally as much as possible: I'm getting ready to make a batch of mead, as well as a beer and cider recipe that calls for honey. I met a local beekeeper with a booth at the state fair last year and got to talking about bulk orders. We lost contact until I ran into him at the farmer's market a few weeks ago. With one week's notice he was able to get me a 60lb bucket (5 gallons) of orange blossom honey (the same stuff that's used in the honey ginger saison and the ICNY cider) for $220. To get the same amount from my go-to online source would have cost $358 shipped (a 12lb jug would be $77 with shipping).
The guy was rather excited to hear this bucket's intended purpose. I promised to bring him a sample of the final products
I have only had mead a couple times in my life, but on one occasion it was so delicious and that was the secret according to the brewer, local honey. They say honey never spoils but fresh honey has a floral presence that you don't get from a Sue Bee jar.
I almost had a blowout yesterday. I made a steam beer on Sunday and pitched a 1.5l starter of WLP810. Yesterday I came downstairs to find my airlock clogged and enough CO2 pressure to be hissing like a steam vent. I don't have any blowoff tubes, so I added some Fermcap-S and that brought the krausen down immediately.
Hooray for Fermcap - saving my floors since 2012.
0
midga"There's so much hot dog in Rome" ~digi(> ^.(> O_o)>Icrontian
From what I understand, you shouldn't use Fermcap-S if it's not going into the boil. They make non-silicone based antifoam agents for those applications.
From what I understand, you shouldn't use Fermcap-S if it's not going into the boil. They make non-silicone based antifoam agents for those applications.
That doesn't seem to be indicated from the description on this random site I pulled up, but I am in no way an expert:
Prevent boil overs on the hot side, add 2 drops per gallon for a nice rolling boil. On the cold side, Fermcap keeps the krausen in your fermenter to 1/2 an inch. Fermcap works very well for brewers who use a carboy for primary fermentation. In a 6 gallon carboy there is no need for blow off tubing when you use this product. Use only two drops per gallon at the start of fermentation. If you add Fermcap during the boil you do not need to add it again in your fermenter. Used in the fermenter, it increases the bitterness of your beer (retained IBUs) by about 10%! Enough for about 20 batches. Keep refrigerated. Size: 1 Oz.
2
midga"There's so much hot dog in Rome" ~digi(> ^.(> O_o)>Icrontian
Sure ... and that doesn't disagree with what is quoted above at all? It just says 10 ppm by the end product, which you could do in any stage of the process, but you can add more before the boil because it will break down.
0
midga"There's so much hot dog in Rome" ~digi(> ^.(> O_o)>Icrontian
Dark Cider:
1.100 SG (4 July 2014)
0.994 FG (18 Aug 2014)
13.91% ABV
Current status: aging in secondary
This is a slightly toned down version of the fabled dark cider in the short keg that was consumed before Expo started. This batch is on about the same schedule as the first, so I'm expecting similarly awesome results.
Mead:
1.100 SG (6 July 2014)
1.040 FG (18 Aug 2014)
7.88% ABV
Current status: aging in secondary
This is my first attempt at mead. It's using the same orange blossom honey from this Expo's Honey Ginger Saison. While the saison didn't retain as much of they honey's aroma as I had hoped, the mead so far has retained a significant amount of the honey's aroma and flavor. This batch is going to be split into two smaller batches - one 2.5g batch of "plain" and one 2.5g batch with a couple extra flavor components.
I have another four batches (of actual beer) planned.
Just completed this year's hops harvest. Last year I got 0.25oz from two first year vines. This year from five vines (one second year...the other didn't survive the winter I guess) the yield was 2.65oz.
Comments
Cider #1: Aging for about one month. ~13%ABV. Made with cider, dark brown sugar, and candi syrup. Started out with a harsh alcohol taste with some other odd flavors, but it's really mellowed out.
Cider #2: Aging for a week. 11.5%ABV. Made with cider and orange blossom honey.
Honey Ginger Saison, rev 1.1: I'm using a bit more (double) honey than last time to see how it affects the final product. It's got a potential alcohol content of 8.5%, slightly stronger than the original batch.
Also IcrontIBEXisGonnaBeAThing.
What does that mean? A few things:
- In the short term it means MOAR CIDER! I'll be experimenting. Be prepared.
- I'm also switching entirely to White Labs yeast. The gluten content in their yeasts are no higher than 12 ppm in the vials and 2 ppm in a batch of gluten-free ingredients.
- I hope to at least have a gluten-free version of Hoppy Ending ready for Expo.
- I've been experimenting with a clarifying agent that results in beer with reduced gluten levels (<10 ppm). The current batch of Honey-Ginger Saison is the first experiment. Seems to work ok on me but I haven't tried more than one pint at a time because strong and sweet beer (though a 50/50 mix with one of the ciders is OMGAWESOME).
So...anyone have requests? I can't guarantee it'll happen, but I'll certainly consider it.
On Saturday we brewed an Oatmeal Stout. Our first time brewing beer together! Awww. Smelled so good. But.... Sunday night the bucket exploded and Joe got beer on his ceiling and wall. The yeast was going crazy and getting foam stuck in the airlock. Joe's first solution was to scoop out some of the foam, which calmed it down. It isn't bubbling nearly as much.
Has anyone had their beer bucket explode during fermentation? What did you do? Should we do (or should we have) done something differently as a solution?
This allows any escaping foam, hops, and other stuff to leave the carboy without clogging an airlock (the cause of the explosion).
It's well within my limited build skills. I've also located some semi-local orchards but crops won't be ready until the fall.
This could be a dangerous thing.
Now to decide what's next.... I want an IPA, but Joe hates IPA's. Maybe I can still talk him into it since he has all this Oatmeal Stout to drink... haha! Or maybe a cream ale in preparation for Spring. Hmm...
I'm getting ready to make a batch of mead, as well as a beer and cider recipe that calls for honey. I met a local beekeeper with a booth at the state fair last year and got to talking about bulk orders. We lost contact until I ran into him at the farmer's market a few weeks ago. With one week's notice he was able to get me a 60lb bucket (5 gallons) of orange blossom honey (the same stuff that's used in the honey ginger saison and the ICNY cider) for $220. To get the same amount from my go-to online source would have cost $358 shipped (a 12lb jug would be $77 with shipping).
The guy was rather excited to hear this bucket's intended purpose. I promised to bring him a sample of the final products
Hooray for Fermcap - saving my floors since 2012.
Oh!
Is anyone else going to the National Homebrewers Conference in Grand Rapids, MI in June?
Time for an update:
Dark Cider:
1.100 SG (4 July 2014)
0.994 FG (18 Aug 2014)
13.91% ABV
Current status: aging in secondary
This is a slightly toned down version of the fabled dark cider in the short keg that was consumed before Expo started. This batch is on about the same schedule as the first, so I'm expecting similarly awesome results.
Mead:
1.100 SG (6 July 2014)
1.040 FG (18 Aug 2014)
7.88% ABV
Current status: aging in secondary
This is my first attempt at mead. It's using the same orange blossom honey from this Expo's Honey Ginger Saison. While the saison didn't retain as much of they honey's aroma as I had hoped, the mead so far has retained a significant amount of the honey's aroma and flavor. This batch is going to be split into two smaller batches - one 2.5g batch of "plain" and one 2.5g batch with a couple extra flavor components.
I have another four batches (of actual beer) planned.
expo2015cantcomesoonenough
Just completed this year's hops harvest. Last year I got 0.25oz from two first year vines. This year from five vines (one second year...the other didn't survive the winter I guess) the yield was 2.65oz.
Gotta plan something around these now
What kind of hops did you grow?
Cascade. Next year I'm planning to add at least one more variety.
with cascade just make a good old american Pale Ale, but feel free to be heavy on the hops.