Posted on 11/16/2012 3:33:37 PM PST by Red_Devil 232
Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!
Happiness is a bubbling airlock! And a Cold Brew
BEER
Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers. I did not get to start my 5 gallons of Hard Apple Cider until Tuesday of this week. I used 5.5 Gallons of Musselman’s cider and added 2 lbs of corn sugar along with two cups of raisins that were boiled in 2 cups of water, to soften. The raisins along with the water were then processed in a blender until it was a very fine mush. This mush was added to the 5 gal. of cider as a nutrient for the White Labs WLP715 Champagne yeast I used. Boy did I get a very active ferment after 24 hours! I decided to use a blow off tube. Today it is still bubbling strong with a nice formation of white bubbles at the top of my carboy. The fermentation looked like the Cider was boiling! I am happy with this! How happy am I? As happy as Gallagher smashing grapes at a farmers’ market!
I hope all of you and your Brews and Wines are doing well. Stop by and share what you are brewing or let us know what your favorite brew, wine or spirit is.
It’s going to be a busy beer day for me. First up, bottling 5 gallons of cider and 5 gallons of the Chocolate Coffee Stout. Next up, I have to keg the 20 gallons I brewed 2 weeks ago. I need to get them on gas ASAP since I am bringing them with us on our Thanksgiving/fishing trip on Wed.
I almost want to brew this weekend but the idea of leaving beer to ferment while I am away is not appealing. I have had things go wrong before and it’s just not worth the risk.
Happy Brewing everyone!
Cheers,
knewshound
He’s been brewing for some years now, and does all types of ales, beers and such. He hasn’t done meads yet, but I’ve mentioned it. He doesn’t brew specifically for high alcohol content - it’s just that certain brews end up that way. ;)
He’s very particular about the flavors, and ends up sounding like those people who discuss “notes of” this and that. He’s the same over cigars - though he doesn’t make those thankfully. I confess that my eyes glaze over when he gets talking about that stuff.
He makes wine also. Does a few really nice ones. Those I do partake of and enjoy.
Yep! You are going to be very busy.
I do not like to start a brew or a cider when I know I will not be around to watch it. Like a need to put a blow off tube on a vigorous ferment. I totally did not expect to have to put a blow off tube on the 5 gallon batch of cider I made on Tuesday, but I welcomed the healthy ferment. By the way, it is still fermenting nicely today, although just a little slower. I still have the blow off tube on and it would be very difficult to count the bubbles per min.
I have up on airlocks and bubblers, just not worth the anxiety to me.
I use aluminum foil and call it good. I am more time based since I have such tight fermentation control and go more by eye to gauge when it’s done. If the krausen has dropped and it looks clear, I give it a gravity reading and go with it. If I am within a couple of points of my projected gravity I keg it. If not, I keep it warmish and let it finish.
I tend to be more production based than most home brewers I think. I brew right to the legal limit and have got this down to a pretty regular schedule now.
Meanwhile, back to bottling cider.
Cheers,
knewshound
Yep every once in awhile one of those unexpected high gravity brews will sneak through. High gravity = high alcohol content. They usually are planed just to see what the brewer can do.
I may try a wine or two just because this mead I made last year is tasting mighty good! Mead uses the same principles used in wine making and ends up as a honey wine. I am seriously thinking about making a Blueberry mead in the near future.
I do like seeing the bubbles.
Lol, I do know what you mean. Since I made the fermentation chamber, the doors are always closed so I have to upset the temp control to look.
Since I have to mess up my ever so carefully controlled environment, I just gave up.
After cold crashing brews and having the bubbler liquid sucked back into the carboy, it seemed only logical. There were lots of anxious moments waiting to see if I contaminated the whole batch.
Good times, good times...
Cheers,
knewshound
Since I have to mess up my ever so carefully controlled environment, I just gave up.
After cold crashing brews and having the bubbler liquid sucked back into the carboy, it seemed only logical. There were lots of anxious moments waiting to see if I contaminated the whole batch.
Good times, good times...
Cheers,
knewshound
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.