I bought the ingredients for an Amber Ale back when it was 100 degrees every day. So, a while ago. I haven't brewed a whole lot lately. I guess there is always something going on. I've had to purchase more yeast since the first purchase of yeast actually got too old. It been so long I don't even know what the grain bill was. I've just got a bag a grain. I do remember getting inspiration from the Brewing Classic Styles on the shelf. I also remember we didn't have the hops we wanted. So, I grabbed some substitutes. Below is the best guess I have for the gain bill and hops.
8lbs 2row
1.25lbs Munich
1lb C40
0.5lb Victory
2oz Pale Chocolate (200L)
0.5oz German Magnum 12.4% 60min
0.5oz German Magnum 12.4% 15min
1oz German Northern Brewer 9.6% 1min
And that takes us to the yeast. For the yeast I chose the steam yeast. I made a starter over a week ago. Then I put it into the fridge until now. I guess we'll see if that matters at all. I just pulled it out of the fridge and decanted the beer on top and swirled up the rest. It's right now next to me, warming up.
WLP810 - Dec 31 2015 - Lot 1019471
WLP810 - Oct 3 2015 - Lot 1016663
That last date it right. Sue me! Also, we are using Crystal Geyser water.
12:50 - I've got ice and water. I've boiled the O2 stone. I've calibrated the thermometer and the hydrometer. I think we are ready to begin. It's been a long time since I've brewed. I hope I remember.
1:37 - Had some problems with the mill. It wouldn't move any grain through. I think I need to take it apart later and figure out what is going on. Going to dough in now.
3:49 - Well into the boil now. Pre-boil gravity was 1.040. A little lower than I had planned. So I held off on the bittering hops a little. Other than that things seem to be going well.
5:40 - All done. OG is 1.050. It tastes bitter. So I think I screwed that up. I also managed to keg the Jacob split batch. It is cooling and carbing now.
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Apple wine
A couple of weeks ago I decided to try and make some apple wine. I bought some apple juice from the store. It was pasteurized. That's it. Nothing else added. I got two gallons.
The idea was to freeze condense the juice to make a more concentrated juice. I've made apple cider in the past but it comes out too tart and dry. I've tried to halt fermentation by chilling the cider to 35F once I reach the desired sweetness. That only slows the fermentation process down. It doesn't stop it. So you get what you want for a couple of weeks.
I took the two gallons and put them in two, one gallon pitchers and put them in the freezer. After about six hours the water began to freeze. After that every hour or so I would pull the pitcher out and scoop out the ice and then put the pitcher back in the freezer. At the end of the day I took what was left (a little less than a gallon) and boiled it for 10 mins. I added some holiday spices and put it in a one gallon fermenter.
It now sits in Ellie's closet. I'll report back when I taste it.
The idea was to freeze condense the juice to make a more concentrated juice. I've made apple cider in the past but it comes out too tart and dry. I've tried to halt fermentation by chilling the cider to 35F once I reach the desired sweetness. That only slows the fermentation process down. It doesn't stop it. So you get what you want for a couple of weeks.
I took the two gallons and put them in two, one gallon pitchers and put them in the freezer. After about six hours the water began to freeze. After that every hour or so I would pull the pitcher out and scoop out the ice and then put the pitcher back in the freezer. At the end of the day I took what was left (a little less than a gallon) and boiled it for 10 mins. I added some holiday spices and put it in a one gallon fermenter.
It now sits in Ellie's closet. I'll report back when I taste it.
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