Archive for category Beer
Home Brew – Apfelwein
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Experiments, Home Brewing on April 2, 2012
One of the very first things I ever brewed was an German Applewine or more appropriately Apfelwein. After doing some traveling around Germany with my wife I developed a taste for this dry, apple based wine and found some recipes upon returning home. Its pretty simple; Apple Juice (or cider), sugar and yeast.
I had a gallon of apple juice remaining from the Cyser I made a few weeks ago and knew that if I did not use it I would end up pouring it down the sink. Seeing as no one was interested in apple juice I took some initiative and began the process of turning it into to booze.
Apfelwein -
- 1 Gallon of Apple Juice
- 0.5lbs of Table Sugar
- 1 package of EC-1118 Juice
OG – 1.069
Estimated FG – 0.996 (9.5%ABV)
This stuff is awesome. I don’t know why I do not make it more often considering how cheap and easy it is too make and how delicious the final product turns out.
Home Brew – Breakfast Ale SG taken
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Home Brewing on March 31, 2012
Grabbed a quick reading from the Breakfast ale I whipped up last weekend and found it sitting exactly where I wanted it, 1.012. This is good news considering my last few batches ended up with a higher FG than I was aiming for. The current ABV is about 4% and it smells just awesome! I think I plan to have this bad boy in bottles next weekend if I have enough available.
Beer Review – Phillips Skookum Cascadian Brown
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Beer Tasting on March 29, 2012
Name: Phillips Skookum Cascadian Brown
Origin: BC, Canada
Style: Cascadian Ale (6.5%)
Apperance: A darker ale that is the colour of cola. It pours with a nice, big, soft looking head. When held to the light it shines ruby red.
Taste: It has a pleasant toasted malt and chocolate aroma, with just the slight hint of oranges. The flavour starts with bitter cocoa but is followed up by sweet raisins, chocolate and a mild citrus from the hops. Finishes with a bitter cocoa and citrus taste that only lingers slightly.
Mouth Feel: A medium bodied, easy drinking dark ale.
Final Thoughts: 4.0/5 – A very nice example of a very unappreciated style. There are not many Cascadian ales on the market currently, but they rarely disappoint!
Beer Review – Phillips Growhop Chinook IPA
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Beer Tasting on March 27, 2012
Name: Phillips Growhop Chinook IPA
Origin: BC, Canada
Style: IPA (6.5%)
Apperance: Crystal clear amber ale. Medium foamy head, decent retention.
Taste: Pine-like hop aroma. Big citrus hop flavours, with just a mildly sweet malty base. Not as bitter as its brothers.
Mouth Feel: Filling, but easier drinking then Kyrpton and Hopcircle. Bitter hop flavours are not such a punch in the face as the others.
Final Thoughts: 4.0/5 – This is a really nice IPA. Great hop flavour that is not as overpowering as the others. Non-hophead safe.
Home Brew – Wine Kits are easy
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Home Brewing on March 26, 2012
I got another wine kit for a friend and threw it together yesterday morning. So much easier then beer, though it contains way more additives and chemicals. The OG was 1.086 for 23L of must. There yeast I pitched that came with the kit was EC-1118 and was not expired but I have reservations about its health. I rehydrated it in a cup of warm water but it just sank to the bottom. I pitched it anyway and will give it another day to see if anything happens. If not I have another pack on hand which I can toss in.
This morning I also went to check out the Boggart Breakfast Ale and it is fermenting away nicely. My basement is once again full of fermenting goodness.
Home Brew – Boggart Breakfast Ale
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Home Brewing on March 24, 2012
I wanted to get one more brew in before my son’s birth but missed it by a day, so the ingredients sat around for the past month waiting to be transformed into delicious beer. I have had my mind on a light ‘breakfast’ ale made with oats. It’s tough for me to make batches larger then 4.5 gallons and I wanted this to be a 6 gallon, so I am going to top off the final product with 1 gallon of cooled distilled water I purchased from the store.
Boggart Breakfast Ale
Grains/Adjuncts
- 6 lbs Pale Ale Malt
- 1.0 lbs Rolled Oats Malt
- 1.0 lbs Carared Munich Malt
- 0.5 lbs Pale Chocolate Malt
Hops/Herbs
- 0.5 oz Chinook @ 45 min
- 0.50 oz Chinook @ 20 min
- 0.5 oz Fuggle @ 10 min
- 0.5 oz Fuggle @ 5 min
Misc
- 1 tsp Yeast Nutrient @ Flame out
- 1/2 tsp Irish Moss @ 10 minutes (for clarity)
- 1 Gallon Distilled Water, cooled (topped off)
- Nottingham Ale Yeast
Procedures
- Unconditioned malt, milled once
- Brew-in-a-Bag
- Single Step Mash, ~150F-153F, 60 minutes, 4.0 gallons
- Sparge, 1.5 gallons, 170F
- 45 minute boil
- Partial Boil (topped off with 1 gallon of cooled distilled water to lower the OG)
- No chill
Beer Profile
- Style: English Mild
- Batch Size – 6 gallons
- Actual OG: 1.041 (Eff: 82%), Estimated FG: 1.010 (4.0% ABV)
- IBU – ~35
Beer Review – Phillips Krypton Rye IPA
Posted by bradinator in Beer, Beer Tasting, Photography on March 19, 2012
Name: Phillip’s Krypton Rye IPA
Origin: BC, Canada
Style: IPA (6.5%)
Apperance: A very yellow ale, though a bit more cloudy then the Hop Circle. Nice, foamy head with very good retention.
Taste: Lots of grassy hops in this IPA. A malty base, followed up quickly with a very bitter, floral hop flavour. Some notes of pepper are also detected.
Mouth Feel: A filling ale just like its brother. Chalky mouth feel from the high IBU.
Final Thoughts: 3.0/5 – This is an IPA with lots of hops, but this ale does not balance out well. The lack of sweetness really made the hops overbearing and almost (I hate to say it) unpleasant.
