The Conservative Cave
Interests => All Things Edible (and how to prepare them) => Topic started by: Flame on June 22, 2008, 06:24:54 PM
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Mr Flame got a beer kit at Christmas....we've used it a couple times to mix up a batch. made some more today....omg, the smell was divine!! It was a amber lager type, german inspired thingy (we use the mixes you can buy, and mox and match and add our own stuff). We added honey to this one for extra fermentation.
It will be ready to try in about 3 weeks to a month.
Anyone else make beer?
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I have brewed beer before; We used a 20 gallon fermenter that would run for a week then into bottles for the second stage, which was intended to be 3 weeks but "quality control" samples often turned that into 2 weeks.
We used the "beer" kits that our local brew shop sells, they have a whole wall in the store dedicated to the cans of brew mix.
Friends of mine did similar but made a keg system up, thus sparing the second stage ferment and the tiresome bottle washing and filling procedure.
Presently I run 2 25 liter fermenters, but they ferment a basic sugar wash that comes out to about 15% w/v (the yeast packet claims 20% but I've yet to see that). That is run through a ... "refluxing water purifier"... and comes out at 94% w/v. Flavors are then added.
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Beer is good. (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/eatdrink055.gif)
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Mr Flame got a beer kit at Christmas....we've used it a couple times to mix up a batch. made some more today....omg, the smell was divine!! It was a amber lager type, german inspired thingy (we use the mixes you can buy, and mox and match and add our own stuff). We added honey to this one for extra fermentation.
It will be ready to try in about 3 weeks to a month.
Anyone else make beer?
I've been brewing for over 20 years. One thing, watch the honey as it can give the beer a "cidery" flavor, not very "beerish" tasting. Make sure you measure the gravity of the wort so you have an idea of the potential alcohol content so you dont go too high and kill the yeast. I prefer to use more grain rather than just add a fementable.
I never use extracts anymore.
Here's a recipie I use, it produces 5 gallons of beer, or 2 cases; 15 lbs of 2 row pale malt + 1lb of crystal malt, crushed. Do the hot water starch conversion, using about 6-7 gallons of water total (you'll need a book to tell how if you dont know how, but it's REALLY worth it). Add Cascade hops, 2oz during the boil (wort), 2oz at the very end. Let the "end" hops steep for 1/2 an hour. Cool with a wort chiller to prevent chill haze. Pitch with a pre-packaged yeast, the kind where you break an internal bulb to start the yeast. These seem to have a high alcohol tolerance, say 8% or so, and work quite well.
Do a 2 stage fermentation. Make damn sure the fermentation is done, lots of fermentables in this beer. Give it a week at 65-75 degrees. min. Bottle when it's "run out" and let it bottle condition for about a month, maybe more.
This beer is seriously good, like Newcastle only with balls, big balls. :-)