Here are some recipes... (all for a 5 gal. batch) enjoy...
Oatmeal Stout:
6.6 lb Light unhopped malt syrup
1 lb crystal malt 80L
0.5 lb Black Patent malt
0.5 lb chocolate malt
0.5 lb flaked oats
0.5 lb roasted barley
1.5 oz kent goldings hops
1 tsp irish moss
pacific ale yeast
Honey Wheat Ale:
4 lb pale malt extract syrup
2.2 lb bavarian wheat malt extract
3/4 oz kent goldings hops (bittering)
5 lb clover honey
0.25 oz kent goldings hops (aroma)
burton ale yeast
Lavender/Juniper Gruit:
2 lb cara-pils malt
1 lb crystal malt
0.5 lb flaked oats
6.6 lb pale malt extract syrup
1 lb wheat dry malt extract
2 tsp irish moss
2 oz dried woodruff
1 oz dried lavender
1 oz dried juniper berries
0.5 oz dried rosemary
This is just to give an example of what goes into a few different beers. I try to reuse as many ingredients as possible in beers made around the same time to cut costc a little. If you are curious about any other recipes let me know and I'll post it or find out about it.
p.s.- I expect to make the gruit on Monday or Tuesday. That is actually, Mel wants to make her first beer. I will be instructing her as she makes it. I'm really excited about this one and can't wait to have a taste.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Bottling time!
So it took longer to get around to all of the bottling that was needed than I expected. Mel and I bottled a lot of alcohol yesterday. We started with her first batch of mead, and its looking great. I had a little taste when I was siphoning it into the bottling bucket, and was surprised to find it actually palatable. Normally, I can't stand the taste of mead or even any wine for that matter. It comes in at around 11% alcohol which is right where it should be. It will only be about 6 more months until it is conditioned and ready to drink. I impatiently look forward to it.
Secondly, we bottled my oatmeal stout. This fermented for a little over a month. The stout is very similar to a beer I made about a year ago and loved. This time around I added flaked oats to the mix as well. This should improve the mouth feel and accent the roasted barley a bit more. Hopefully, the oatmeal stout will be ready to drink in a couple weeks. One of the few people to try the original stout from last year was my friend Eric in Oregon. When I called him earlier he flipped out about it. Apparently that was the first beer he had that wasn't of the Bud, Coors, Miller variety. He is only 21 and already becoming a "beer snob," so I suppose I've already managed to make my own small impact in a world consumed by corporate beers.
I find it hard to believe that so many people's taste in beer is of the watered-down, mass produced variety. I preface this by saying "If that is what you really like, than by all means enjoy it." But when there are so many other options out there why not find a local beer. They are most often just a dollar or two more than Bud or Miller or what-have-you.
For example:
I grew up in West Virginia, there wasn't much of a choice there when I was young. Now however, the grocery store has a lot of choices. My favorite being a beer from the state by a brewery called Mountaineer Brewing Company out of Martinsburg, WV. They make some really good brews including an IPA, porter, stout, and so on.
I lived in Chicago for a while and there were so many choices there. Especially if you check out a chain called Binny's. Of coarse there is Goose Island. They make an amazing oatmeal stout and the best wheat beer I've had to date, 312. In fact, a 312 box is still the wallpaper on my phone.
After Chicago I moved to Portland, Oregon. I only stayed there for a year and a half (maybe a little less actually). I still regret not making it to every brewpub in the city, but every little place I found had at least one great beer. Like the Chernobyl Stout at Tug Boat Brewpub, Bridgeport's IPA, the lavender ale from Root's Brewpub, the IPA from Amnesia, or anything at the Rogue brewpub.
I recently moved to New Orleans. I haven't been here long, but I have already found a really good local brewery. NOLA brewery. I've been pestering them for a job since before I got here. In my humble opinion, their IPA is one of the best. Its called "Hopitoulous" which is a play on the name of the street where they are located.
My point is this...
Have some pride in where you are from and what you drink. Personally, I like beer. I don't like beer that tastes like funky alcoholic water. Think of beer like you think of food. Fresher the better right? To me, most local beers are the equivalent of food from a fine dining type place, while Bud, Coors, etcetera are the same as McDonald's or Burger King. Also, If we all start drinking, eating, thinking locally it will go a long way towards many great things like improving the local economy, cutting costs due to fuel, cutting carbon emissions, and just plain improving our day to day lives as well as our earth.
Secondly, we bottled my oatmeal stout. This fermented for a little over a month. The stout is very similar to a beer I made about a year ago and loved. This time around I added flaked oats to the mix as well. This should improve the mouth feel and accent the roasted barley a bit more. Hopefully, the oatmeal stout will be ready to drink in a couple weeks. One of the few people to try the original stout from last year was my friend Eric in Oregon. When I called him earlier he flipped out about it. Apparently that was the first beer he had that wasn't of the Bud, Coors, Miller variety. He is only 21 and already becoming a "beer snob," so I suppose I've already managed to make my own small impact in a world consumed by corporate beers.
I find it hard to believe that so many people's taste in beer is of the watered-down, mass produced variety. I preface this by saying "If that is what you really like, than by all means enjoy it." But when there are so many other options out there why not find a local beer. They are most often just a dollar or two more than Bud or Miller or what-have-you.
For example:
I grew up in West Virginia, there wasn't much of a choice there when I was young. Now however, the grocery store has a lot of choices. My favorite being a beer from the state by a brewery called Mountaineer Brewing Company out of Martinsburg, WV. They make some really good brews including an IPA, porter, stout, and so on.
I lived in Chicago for a while and there were so many choices there. Especially if you check out a chain called Binny's. Of coarse there is Goose Island. They make an amazing oatmeal stout and the best wheat beer I've had to date, 312. In fact, a 312 box is still the wallpaper on my phone.
After Chicago I moved to Portland, Oregon. I only stayed there for a year and a half (maybe a little less actually). I still regret not making it to every brewpub in the city, but every little place I found had at least one great beer. Like the Chernobyl Stout at Tug Boat Brewpub, Bridgeport's IPA, the lavender ale from Root's Brewpub, the IPA from Amnesia, or anything at the Rogue brewpub.
I recently moved to New Orleans. I haven't been here long, but I have already found a really good local brewery. NOLA brewery. I've been pestering them for a job since before I got here. In my humble opinion, their IPA is one of the best. Its called "Hopitoulous" which is a play on the name of the street where they are located.
My point is this...
Have some pride in where you are from and what you drink. Personally, I like beer. I don't like beer that tastes like funky alcoholic water. Think of beer like you think of food. Fresher the better right? To me, most local beers are the equivalent of food from a fine dining type place, while Bud, Coors, etcetera are the same as McDonald's or Burger King. Also, If we all start drinking, eating, thinking locally it will go a long way towards many great things like improving the local economy, cutting costs due to fuel, cutting carbon emissions, and just plain improving our day to day lives as well as our earth.
Friday, April 9, 2010
a brief explanation...
There are two reasons am calling this project "greenbrewing." Which are: 1. my last name is green (I know, how creative!) and 2. It is my goal to begin brewing organically and with as little harm to the earth as possible.
The thought of starting this entered into my head-noodle very recently when my girlfriend (Mel) started a blog of her own. www.satangoestosing-sing.blogspot.com
You'll hear more about her later. It my goal to have a creative outlet, as well as to learn and teach. I expect to mostly learn.
With that said, I currently have a number of brews in the works. I have recently made an IPA, Mocha Porter, and Chocolate Porter. I have a Honey Wheat Ale conditioning in bottles which should be ready to drink within the week. I also have an Oatmeal Stout in the fermentor, ready to be bottled. Mel made her first batch of mead about two months ago and is about to be bottled as well. It is my plan to make my first gruit tomorrow. This is assuming that i can run out to the herb store and acquire some dried juniper berries. By the way a gruit is a very old style of beer that doesn't use any hops. I love hops as much as the next guy, but experiments tend to be the most fun for me. I will post recipes for these in the near future.
The thought of starting this entered into my head-noodle very recently when my girlfriend (Mel) started a blog of her own. www.satangoestosing-sing.blogspot.com
You'll hear more about her later. It my goal to have a creative outlet, as well as to learn and teach. I expect to mostly learn.
With that said, I currently have a number of brews in the works. I have recently made an IPA, Mocha Porter, and Chocolate Porter. I have a Honey Wheat Ale conditioning in bottles which should be ready to drink within the week. I also have an Oatmeal Stout in the fermentor, ready to be bottled. Mel made her first batch of mead about two months ago and is about to be bottled as well. It is my plan to make my first gruit tomorrow. This is assuming that i can run out to the herb store and acquire some dried juniper berries. By the way a gruit is a very old style of beer that doesn't use any hops. I love hops as much as the next guy, but experiments tend to be the most fun for me. I will post recipes for these in the near future.
Hello and welcome!
After some careful consideration, I have decided to start a blog. This blog is meant to be about beer, brewing beer, my life as it relates to beer and brewing, as well as various rants, raves, compliments, and concerns.
I am 24, and have been a homebrewer for 3 years. I AM NO EXPERT. The majority of the beers I make are from a combination of grains and extracts. I began my journey in Chicago. At the time there was only one homebrew shop in the city. There are however a few more in the suburbs. Due to not having my car in the city (too expensive to park), I walked to the store and called a cab for the ride home with my new homebrewing kit, bottles, and ingredients. I started with one of those beginner kits with pretty much all plastic buckets. My first batch was an American Cream Ale from Brewer's Best. I was hooked. It was delicious.
In the beginning, I was only curious. Curious about beer. I had long loved craft beers and wanted to see if it would be less expensive to make them myself, rather than paying exorbitant prices and taxes. It was most definitely less expensive. As my knowlede and experience grew, so did my eagerness to try new things. This blog is another one of those new things.
I am 24, and have been a homebrewer for 3 years. I AM NO EXPERT. The majority of the beers I make are from a combination of grains and extracts. I began my journey in Chicago. At the time there was only one homebrew shop in the city. There are however a few more in the suburbs. Due to not having my car in the city (too expensive to park), I walked to the store and called a cab for the ride home with my new homebrewing kit, bottles, and ingredients. I started with one of those beginner kits with pretty much all plastic buckets. My first batch was an American Cream Ale from Brewer's Best. I was hooked. It was delicious.
In the beginning, I was only curious. Curious about beer. I had long loved craft beers and wanted to see if it would be less expensive to make them myself, rather than paying exorbitant prices and taxes. It was most definitely less expensive. As my knowlede and experience grew, so did my eagerness to try new things. This blog is another one of those new things.
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