Pinging the list
Good luck with the hard cider. I’m about 2 1/2 weeks in on my first batch of homemade wine.
/johnny
Yuck Mead!!! Try the batch of Brandiwine I am making with an AAC of 17% Ale rules!!!
Evening folks! I’m still at work for another hour but have some cold ones waiting for me at home. Haven’t brewed a batch for a few months but getting the bug. Been drinking Widmer Brothers IPA with grapefruit peel which has been on sale for 10.99 a 12. Fantastic beer at a fantastic price.
Cranberry mead sounds quite interesting. I enjoy mead, though I never quite got around to brewing a batch myself. I remember reading a recipe for a dry, sparkling gingered mead years ago that sounded outstanding. Always wanted to give that a whirl.
I’ve had pretty good luck with the stouts I’ve made over the years, though they’ve been more like rich porters than Irish stout. I just never could get that dry, coffee-like bite that Guinness has.
My son, who studies genetics for his Ph.d, is working on breeding/creating yeast...for superior beer brewing. I always told him to follow what he enjoys in life for work...he’s a beer brewing guy, it turns out.
Who would have guessed he’d end up combining genetics - an interest in science - with beer brewing. LOL
ping
Made hard cider in the 10th grade, in my dorm room closet. Filtered it through a sweatsock. We all got blitzed, but had the runs for the next two days. Decided it wasn’t worth doing again!
RD, I’d like to be added to the list.
I have a altbier in primary right now. Well, close to it. My local brew supply store was out of the German Ale Yeast I wanted to use, so I went with Bavarian Lager yeast.
And I am kinda kicking myself, because I just realized this weekend that my beer fridge in the garage is about 52 degrees Fahrenheit on its warmest setting. Which means I could have been brewing lagers for years to go with my reliable ale recipes.
I completed my first ever 5 gallon batch of blackberry wine with fresh berries from my garden. I started the process in early July with 18 pounds of fresh blackberries. I don’t know if it was beginners luck. but people who have sampled my wine have really had praise. Not dry. Not too sweet.
And it is pretty potent. Cheers!
I’m making my third batch of mead right now. I used some of our Spring honey which is very light and fruity. We made a batch with it last year that was very good, but had too much acid tang in the end. This time we added some Dark French Oak chips for three days in the secondary and then racked it off to another carboy. I think it is going to be a lot smoother this time. It looks like it’s going to have to sit for awhile to let the yeast settle out before we bottle it. The coolest thing was when the oak chips were in the carboy you could see the currents that the fermenting yeast cause to circulate from the top to the bottom.
My wife got me a eight gallon kettle for my birthday and so we brewed out first porter this summer. I’ve been worried since bottling it that it was still kind of flat after three weeks, but it looks like it was just taking longer. We tried a couple of bottles last night (4 1/2 weeks) and it was much better. I’m still trying to decide what to brew next, a chocolate stout or a braggot (beer with honey).
I just finished bottling a batch of Belgian abbey-style dubbel. I used Grand Marnier and cherry chips soaked in Amontillado for two weeks; ABV is 9 percent. I cracked a bottle of an earlier batch last week, and the stuff is really potent, as well as being exceptionally good-tasting with the crystal malt and all the little “hint” flavors. Not the kind of thing for everyday use, but for those special occasions it should hit the spot.
Brewing a smashing pumpkin ale tomorrow. Started in on my Moose Drool clone, beer you make sure goes down smooth... ;-) makes it hard to wait on the next batch!
We are making wine from Muscadine grapes growing wild on our property. It will be ready to decant on Oct. 3.
Interestingly enough, after I read Fr. Z’s post on the Blessing of Grapes for the Feast of the Transfiguration (Aug.6),
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2012/08/transfiguration-special-blessing-of-grapes/
I went out and checked our grapes and they were ready to be picked! (Of course, this is Texas, so YMMV.) This is the first time we have tried this, so we are anxious to see how it does. It sure smelled good - like port - the first week while we were stirring it!