Today was bottling day. I have to say I was a bit nervous. Not to bottle, but because I would be able to get to taste the brew from my measurements. Bottling went fairly smooth, except for one incident, I tipped over bottle over for a second, and now I have 2 sample bottles.:-) The first one was because there wasn't enough to fill it at the end.
The measurements came out as a kind of surprise, the beer (as it is called now, still no name) came out a little stronger than I was expecting. It ended up being 6.8% alcohol by volume and 194 calories per bottle, for those counting calories. I was expecting to be closer to the 6%, but the higher octane could explain the taste. It had a really bitter taste. It was hard to say whether that is from the higher alcohol content or that it just turned out to be a really bitter beer. I just hope that after 4 weeks in the bottle the bite goes a way a little. I can say it didn't taste as well as the day we brewed.
So now I wait....4 weeks, 4 weeks to be able to try it and see if this is something that could work or I have to tweak or worse, start over. So in time we shall see what this comes of. If anything it has been a great learning experience and the future batches will be better...I hope! :-)
So for now, grab a brew and lets wait to see what happens. Stay tuned!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Racking the brew
So yesterday was the day to rack the beer to secondary. At first I thought I had done something wrong, but now that some time has passed, I think a lot of sediment got though to secondary. More then I have ever had in the past. So when it is time for bottling I will have to be careful to get out all the liquid and leave the sediment behind.
I have tried really hard to have a good clear bottle of beer. It does make for a better presentation and you can drink all of it. No wasting! :-)
So far things still seem to be good. The beer has bubbled all week, so we are making alcohol. So, so far so good when it comes to the brew.
After talking with Kristen, the name of the brewery is still up in the air, but we thought it would be best to wait and taste the beer to give it a name. Since it really doesn't fall under any style it is going to be tough to name before we taste. So lets hope the tasting goes well.
So next is bottling...that is next weekend. Lets hope that goes well and then.....we wait....
til then, sit back and enjoy a brew!
I have tried really hard to have a good clear bottle of beer. It does make for a better presentation and you can drink all of it. No wasting! :-)
So far things still seem to be good. The beer has bubbled all week, so we are making alcohol. So, so far so good when it comes to the brew.
After talking with Kristen, the name of the brewery is still up in the air, but we thought it would be best to wait and taste the beer to give it a name. Since it really doesn't fall under any style it is going to be tough to name before we taste. So lets hope the tasting goes well.
So next is bottling...that is next weekend. Lets hope that goes well and then.....we wait....
til then, sit back and enjoy a brew!
Sunday, March 18, 2012
The Brew!
Ok, so yesterday I finally brewed my first recipe. To start off with , I made my first mistake before I got started. I realized it when I was on my way back home from getting my ice to chill down the brew. As I was driving home it struck me....I didn't start the yeast starter!!! This was not good!! I bought a liquid yeast to do with this (I love a liquid yeast and how the beer turns out with it) and I totally forgot to do the starter. I needed a couple of days to actually have the starter go. I was having almost a panic attach because of this, but then I just said ah the hell with it and I'll just pitch it as it is. I wasn't thrilled about it, but, I had no choice. I told everyone I was doing this recipe this time so I couldn't change at the last minute. So once I came to that conclusion, I had already put my sheet together with all the instructions and a place for notes so I could write in what I wanted or needed to along the way.
I had to wait until 3pm, because Kristen wanted me to wait for some of her friends and I had one of the guys who worked with me coming over and of course my mentor brewer Kris was coming over.
All the ingredients were out and I organized them, so it was time and I was ready to go. I knew once I started I would have all kinds of advice and peanut gallery help with this. I wanted to have the DME and Candy Sugar dissolve before I turned on the burner, I was hearing "hey if you light it warm water dissolves things faster", but I just kept doing it the way I wanted, I stuck to my guns!
The brew went though fine, we hit no issues and I was able to stay on track pretty easily. After I was done and taking readings, I realized...there is nothing to compare this too. Was the reading high, low, just right....no one knows. So I offered anyone and everyone to tasted the hoppy sugar water and I was surprised it tasted really good. I also liked the color (yes should have taken a picture) so I was pleased with the brew so far.
I was asked what type of beer this was I am making, but I didn't know how to explain it. It was really a blend of all the beers (that I had brewed) I liked and the parts of those beers I liked. Mostly they were Belgian beers, but it wasn't really a Belgian beer. Then I thought back to my number 1 problem...what is the name of my brewery? Then what do I name the beer? 2 questions I have to solve and I only have 6 weeks to do it! I guess it is time to get input. I've already asked Kristen and she doesn't seem interested in helping, so I'll have to ask others. Stay tuned!
I can say the fermentation process is happening, so that is good! I will have to see how things are when I move to secondary and I will be really interested in the bottling time. That way I will be able to taste and check all the readings. The taste will be interesting.
So until next time....as the saying goes...relax and drink a home brew!
I had to wait until 3pm, because Kristen wanted me to wait for some of her friends and I had one of the guys who worked with me coming over and of course my mentor brewer Kris was coming over.
All the ingredients were out and I organized them, so it was time and I was ready to go. I knew once I started I would have all kinds of advice and peanut gallery help with this. I wanted to have the DME and Candy Sugar dissolve before I turned on the burner, I was hearing "hey if you light it warm water dissolves things faster", but I just kept doing it the way I wanted, I stuck to my guns!
The brew went though fine, we hit no issues and I was able to stay on track pretty easily. After I was done and taking readings, I realized...there is nothing to compare this too. Was the reading high, low, just right....no one knows. So I offered anyone and everyone to tasted the hoppy sugar water and I was surprised it tasted really good. I also liked the color (yes should have taken a picture) so I was pleased with the brew so far.
I was asked what type of beer this was I am making, but I didn't know how to explain it. It was really a blend of all the beers (that I had brewed) I liked and the parts of those beers I liked. Mostly they were Belgian beers, but it wasn't really a Belgian beer. Then I thought back to my number 1 problem...what is the name of my brewery? Then what do I name the beer? 2 questions I have to solve and I only have 6 weeks to do it! I guess it is time to get input. I've already asked Kristen and she doesn't seem interested in helping, so I'll have to ask others. Stay tuned!
I can say the fermentation process is happening, so that is good! I will have to see how things are when I move to secondary and I will be really interested in the bottling time. That way I will be able to taste and check all the readings. The taste will be interesting.
So until next time....as the saying goes...relax and drink a home brew!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
The beer store visit
Well, as you or if you read my last post. I finally came up with a beer recipe. So this weekend I went to go and get my ingredients to make my beer. Let me tell you it was wild. I have so much to learn about so many things when it comes to beer. I also found out that Saturday morning when they open is a REALLY crazy time there.
So when I walked in, one of the guys working there asked if he could help. I told him I was looking to do my own recipe and was trying to run through my list of what I needed. He walked me back to the back of the store to show me where they had everything separably and I can just get what I needed myself. OK, so when I put the recipe together I did it by other recipe's of beer I brewed, I didn't know it was just all raw ingredients and I had to crack the grains and measure the hops. Like I said, a lot to learn. Lucky for me there was a guy that showed up who has been brewing for about 15 years and he has been to the store a bunch, so much people think he works there. So he was a huge help and showed me a ton of things. I was grateful because if he wasn't there I could still be there a day later! :-)
So I cracked my grains and got my hops, everything was measured, I picked up the other items that I needed and I was ready to go. Now time to check out. Then I get asked, how much grains and what kind....uh I was trying to explain, but I wasn't ready for that, no one told me how this was done. And of course there was a huge line behind me, so I was totally nervous. Well we figured it out pretty quickly and I was able to get out of there without too much pain. Then I was off to my next stop to finish up my shopping.
I did also pick up another kit, an IPA. I have wanted to try one and see how I could do making my own. I have enjoyed the IPA's...as well as many other beers. Sorry Squirrel!! :-)
OK, so now I have all the ingredients, it is picking a date to do the brew. I thought of March 17th, St. Patty's Day, why not to try my first recipe. Maybe we can solve Number 1 and name the beer too!
For now, as the saying goes, relax and enjoy a home brew!
So when I walked in, one of the guys working there asked if he could help. I told him I was looking to do my own recipe and was trying to run through my list of what I needed. He walked me back to the back of the store to show me where they had everything separably and I can just get what I needed myself. OK, so when I put the recipe together I did it by other recipe's of beer I brewed, I didn't know it was just all raw ingredients and I had to crack the grains and measure the hops. Like I said, a lot to learn. Lucky for me there was a guy that showed up who has been brewing for about 15 years and he has been to the store a bunch, so much people think he works there. So he was a huge help and showed me a ton of things. I was grateful because if he wasn't there I could still be there a day later! :-)
So I cracked my grains and got my hops, everything was measured, I picked up the other items that I needed and I was ready to go. Now time to check out. Then I get asked, how much grains and what kind....uh I was trying to explain, but I wasn't ready for that, no one told me how this was done. And of course there was a huge line behind me, so I was totally nervous. Well we figured it out pretty quickly and I was able to get out of there without too much pain. Then I was off to my next stop to finish up my shopping.
I did also pick up another kit, an IPA. I have wanted to try one and see how I could do making my own. I have enjoyed the IPA's...as well as many other beers. Sorry Squirrel!! :-)
OK, so now I have all the ingredients, it is picking a date to do the brew. I thought of March 17th, St. Patty's Day, why not to try my first recipe. Maybe we can solve Number 1 and name the beer too!
For now, as the saying goes, relax and enjoy a home brew!
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