Birth of a Beer...

[Goaldeje]

That sounds amazing. There is a vineyard up here that offers almost exclusively mead, we went with some friends a couple of months ago for the first time and were very pleasantly surprised. Really nice, easy drinking. I normally hate all the pumpkin flavors that pop up around Thanksgiving, but they had some Pumpkin Spice mead that was amazing, and really good with Thanksgiving Dinner.

 

[Lovethebeer]

I lay claim to the Wheaty beers. All of them except the fruited ones, nasty! I'm also a sucker for a good Belgium beer, love Delirium Tremens.

View attachment 1111

You should also try Duvel and Don de Dieu. Other excellent strong pale ales.

 

[Boone]

I have a recipe for Delirium Tremens although I've never brewed it...First beer I ever made was a dark wheat beer (Dunkelweizen)...

 

[Boone]

That sounds amazing. There is a vineyard up here that offers almost exclusively mead, we went with some friends a couple of months ago for the first time and were very pleasantly surprised. Really nice, easy drinking. I normally hate all the pumpkin flavors that pop up around Thanksgiving, but they had some Pumpkin Spice mead that was amazing, and really good with Thanksgiving Dinner.

I read a comment about how meads could be 'rough' when young, and that you needed to wait at least a year. I really didn't know what they meant by 'rough' until I tasted mine. The alcohol was pretty evident in it, not saying it tasted bad (how bad can honey wine taste) but you could almost taste the hangover in it. I think it will mellow out nicely and be amazing next fall. I'm thinking I'm going to do a 'melomel' - using local blackberries - next summer. Basically, that's a mead that you siphon onto a bunch of fresh fruit.

I was at a party about a gazillion years ago in New Jersey (new year's eve I believe) and the host pulled a giant glass decanter off the shelf - thing must've had 3 gallons in it. It was some kind of alcohol that he'd made and it was about 1/2 blackberries, 1/2 alcohol. Without a doubt one of the most amazing things I've ever tasted.

 

[tshile]

Get on the stick, son. Seriously.

I don't remember the last time I had less than 3 cases in the house at any given time.

I know. Since i started I've never been out of beer for more than 3 or 4 days while the keg is force carb'd.

I really dropped the ball here. Too much remodeling going on taking priority I got a hole bunch of new shit to use for chirstmas too (blichmann burner, false bottom, nice probe thermometer, some other stuff). Ugh. Maybe next weekend...

I did get the collar for my keggerator put together today though.

 

[tshile]

5 gallons of mead, 5 gallons of Imperial Stout, 5 gallons of Winter Warmer in the closet, and almost brewed a lager today

I'm going to start lagering when this keggerator is finished. It'll have its own shelf for holding a carboy for lagering.

cannot wait...

 

[tshile]

I read a comment about how meads could be 'rough' when young, and that you needed to wait at least a year. I really didn't know what they meant by 'rough' until I tasted mine. The alcohol was pretty evident in it, not saying it tasted bad (how bad can honey wine taste) but you could almost taste the hangover in it. I think it will mellow out nicely and be amazing next fall. I'm thinking I'm going to do a 'melomel' - using local blackberries - next summer. Basically, that's a mead that you siphon onto a bunch of fresh fruit.

I was at a party about a gazillion years ago in New Jersey (new year's eve I believe) and the host pulled a giant glass decanter off the shelf - thing must've had 3 gallons in it. It was some kind of alcohol that he'd made and it was about 1/2 blackberries, 1/2 alcohol. Without a doubt one of the most amazing things I've ever tasted.

are you aging it in a keg or a carboy?

 

[Boone]

I siphoned into a secondary glass carboy a couple of months ago. It's just sitting there in an unplugged kegerator in my closet. When you open the door, it smells like heaven I'm going to be 'bottling' it in Ball widemouth pint jars like moonshine (5 gallons is about 40 of them). And to do that, I'll have to make sure there is zero fermentation going on. Only dilemma I have is whether or not to 'back sweeten' with honey for flavor. You add some chemicals to ensure all yeast is dead if you do that, then add the honey. I made a 'semi-sweet' mead, but I don't want it to be too 'dry'. We'll see. I'll probably do a taste test in 6 months or so and see if it's good as is or if I want to sweeten it. You can also make a carbonated version, but I think the non-carbonated sounds better. My biggest concern is that this is going to turn out amazing and I'll have to wait a year for more

 

[Boone]

I'm going to start lagering when this keggerator is finished. It'll have its own shelf for holding a carboy for lagering.

cannot wait...

I have a kegerator (which I don't use much, since I live out in the boondocks - no pun intended - and although I prefer kegging my beers, it's not as practical as bottling for me) and a wine refrigerator I took all the racks out of and use as a lagering fridge. I don't lager often, although I don't know why as some of the best beers I've ever made were lagers. Just be patient - you have to give it time...

 

[tshile]

oh wow that sounds really cool.

i don't know if you've tried to keep anything in a carboy for that long before, but you may have to top off the airlock from time to time.

 

[Boone]

oh wow that sounds really cool.

i don't know if you've tried to keep anything in a carboy for that long before, but you may have to top off the airlock from time to time.

Good thought. I am such a lazy brewer, probably because I've never had a problem of any kind. I know some guys who only use Vodka in their airlocks. I just use some water with Starsan in it. I actually have a beer in secondary right now and the airlock isn't even tightly wedged in the carboy. It's just kind of sitting there. I should probably fix it, but I figure, what are the odds I'll have a problem? I have taken the Relax, Stop Worrying, and Have a Homebrew mantra to heart.

 

[Boone]

I'm going to become more adventurous in my brewing in the coming year. I've been toying with the thought of making a beer with homegrown tomatoes and spices. I may take a crack at it next summer.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

I'm going to become more adventurous in my brewing in the coming year. I've been toying with the thought of making a beer with homegrown tomatoes and spices. I may take a crack at it next summer.

Tomato beer, huh? Something like a Chelada?

 

[Lanky Livingston]

This is pretty cool, for those of you with a man cave:

Pop Chart Lab --> Design + Data = Delight --> The Bountiful Breweries of the United States of America


This one also:
http://popchartlab.com/collections/prints/products/the-magnificent-multitude-of-beer

 

[Lanky Livingston]

Don't know if this video came from this thread, but that video reminds me of this:

 

[Boone]

Bought a Northern Brewer extract kit. It's called Hopquila Double IPA. Tons of Mozaic hops, and you add the best tequila you can find in the secondary. Gonna hit up the big brother for that addition as he is a Tequila connoisseur. I don't do extract beers often, but this one sounded intriguing. I'm gonna need a bigger closet

 

[tshile]

Bought a Northern Brewer extract kit. It's called Hopquila Double IPA. Tons of Mozaic hops, and you add the best tequila you can find in the secondary. Gonna hit up the big brother for that addition as he is a Tequila connoisseur. I don't do extract beers often, but this one sounded intriguing. I'm gonna need a bigger closet

I've been getting their ads about this one. Let me know how it turns out.

A good tequila certainly sounds interesting.

 

[Neophyte]

Bought a Northern Brewer extract kit. It's called Hopquila Double IPA. Tons of Mozaic hops, and you add the best tequila you can find in the secondary. Gonna hit up the big brother for that addition as he is a Tequila connoisseur. I don't do extract beers often, but this one sounded intriguing. I'm gonna need a bigger closet

Hence the reason I put a third bay on the garage of the new house.

 

[tshile]

i made my own recipe this morning for an american stout
made my first starter and it's on the stir plate, going good
going to spend the morning in the garage making it, the afternoon watching football and finishing the kitchen ceiling

 

[HOF44]

Bought a Northern Brewer extract kit. It's called Hopquila Double IPA. Tons of Mozaic hops, and you add the best tequila you can find in the secondary. Gonna hit up the big brother for that addition as he is a Tequila connoisseur. I don't do extract beers often, but this one sounded intriguing. I'm gonna need a bigger closet

You need this Tequila. Corazon Aged in George T Stagg Barrels