That mead with the Montrachet yeast is in the front hall closet right now, bubbling away.
It’s making the house smell like someone needs to lay off the chili.
Archive for the ‘Brewing’ Category
Peeee-ew
February 4, 2008Cyser-Pyment
February 3, 2008- 9 pounds Trader Joe’s brand mesquite honey
- 10 quarts organic apple juice
- 1 quart Trader Joe’s triple-berry juice blend
- 1 quart Trader Joe’s Concord grape juice
- water to bring total volume to 5 gallons
- Red Star Montrachet wine yeast
OG: 1.104.
Ooof!
January 24, 2008I got my water analyzed by Ward Labs, to see what I’m dealing with when I try all-grain brewing again. Not surprisingly, given the amount of minerals encrusted on the fixtures, it’s incredibly hard, but I am surprised that the carbonate content is low.
It’s actually not a bad approximation of Dublin’s water. Stout anyone?
The tale of the tape below the break.
(more…)
Ordinary Bitter
December 21, 2007Ordinary Bitter (10 gallons, OG 1.040)
9.9 pounds Briess Pilsen liquid malt extract
1 Pound 40L Crystal Malt
1 ounce Columbus pellet hops (13.5% α, 60 min)
1/2 ounce East Kent Goldings whole hops (6.3% α, 15 minutes)
1/2 ounce East Kent Goldings whole hops (6.3% α, steep 15 minutes)
Safale S-04 yeast / Safale US-05 yeast (split batch)
Had some trouble brewing this one — two boilovers in a half-barrel boiler (!) left hops from both boiled additions sticking to the sides and lid.
Also, my damned digital thermometer began lying to me, so I ended up chilling this way below pitching temperature — the S-04 had about 24 hours lag, and the US-05 still hadn’t fired up. I didn’t aerate the wort much, but with the large amount of yeast from the dried yeasts, that shouldn’t matter much.
Black Death 3 still remains to be brewed, although it might be postponed indefinitely for something more in the Trappist vein.
I outed myself as a beer nerd last night
December 15, 2007I was at the company party, which was at an upscale downtown bowling alley. One of my co-workers was drinking a Bud Light in one of those bowling-pin-shaped bottles, but the way he was holding it, I could see neither the label nor the bulge at the top. I thought he had an Orval, and when it was clear he did not, I mentioned that I was about to ask him if they really had Orval there.
I don’t think he knew what the fvck I was talking about, although my pronouncing it “Orville” probably didn’t help any.
Black Death Ale
November 27, 2007This was my ninth batch ever of beer. I’ve tweaked it a bit, and will be brewing it on December 2 soon:
- 6 pounds Briess Pilsen dried malt extract
- 3 pounds Trader Joe’s mesquite honey
- 0.5 pound 40 L crystal malt
- 0.5 pound chocolate malt
- 1 ounce Columbus pellet hops (13.5% α, 60 min)
- 0.5 ounce Cascade pellet hops (5.9% α, 15 min)
- 0.5 ounce Cascade pellet hops (5.9% α, 15 min steep)
- Safale US 05 ale yeast
Projected OG 1.077, 46.3 IBU
EDIT: I am considering dialing back the hops and using Safbrew T-58 for more of an abbey ale (trappistoid?) style.
