Home Brew List

Just finished and IPA/Lager, Lager, Pale Ale Rye HB, 10 gallons of Pinot Grigio. I am into the final stages of the pinot, 8 more days of clarifying, 14 days of polish and clearing then it's time for the bottle. Ready to drink early march, prime time to drink will be in May.

Updates

Hops: My hops only produced a few cones, with the 60 plus days of 100+ temps it seemed to fool my hops into flowering too early, by the end of August the vines were already turning brown. The Willamette got to about 7 feet and the Nugget to about 3 0r 4. I am hoping they have a good root structure and will produce very well next year.

Beer: I have converted a small dorm fridge into a lager box for our first attempt at making a lager. The fridge still hovers around the low 30's, so we have put it on a timer to try to regulate it better, it seems to be in the high 40's low 50's now. If the wort we put in a few days ago doesn't show any signs of life since it was too cold, we will repitch with some fresh Lager yeast.

Ale: We made ten gallons of a light beer and are pitching each one with a different yeast and different fermenting temps, ale and lager. both will be dry hopped with fresh Cascade hops.

Whiskey: I am hoping to finally start the corn whiskey project once the temps drop into the lower 80's, so that makes short term moonshine by winter, and putting it in oak for about a year. I am hoping to get into a cycle so I can age it for three years and always have some on hand.

Pictures and more updates soon.

Homebrew: Belgian Style White

White, Whit, Wit, Wheat Belgian Style. Last night we bottled about 19 gallons of bier. Brian and Travis were on hand to go through it quick. With the addition of El Keggo, it makes it easy to cook up 10 gallons at a time. 6 1/2 cases of 12 oz bottles, and 27, 22 0z bottles. Plus a few corkers, for a one year aging.

Baby Brew

So Instead of doing cigars to announce my upcoming son's birth, I have decided to brew 20 gallons of beer and hand them out instead. It is going to be a Belgian style white beer and I plan to use some Satsuma peels from Breaux Bridge in December.

Homebrew

I just made a Firemans 4 style brew and a Magic Hat #9 with a brewing buddy Travis. As well as picked up some Satsuma Oranges from Louisiana to use in a Wit Bier. I will post pictures when we pour.

Bottled Pinot Grigio and started a Cabernet

The Pinot has cleared up very nice over the past weeks, it has developed a fruity, crisp taste that should develop nicely over the next few months. It should be at it's prime during the wedding. 23 bottles total, half is for the wedding.

The final few inches of the Pinot carboy was remixed for the final time with the Fig wine and should be ready to bottle in a few weeks.

In addition Chantal and I have started a fresh batch of Cabernet Savignon.

Pinot Rerack and Figrigio Wine

The specific gravity finally dropped below .01 and I made the first re-rack of the pinot. There was a 2 inch layer of sediment on the bottom and probably a half gallon of left over wine from moving from an 8 gallon to a 6 gallon carboy.

If you notice another bottle in the original picture, that is a fig wine I try to make every year from Uncle Phillip's fig tree. This year I got behind on the batch and was getting ready to dump it in the compost pile. Instead I re-racked the Fig wine into the Pinot's original carboy. I am going to keep it on the same racking schedule as the Pinot. So if all goes well we will have a Figrigio to try, or at least a Figrigio to dump in the compost pile.

So we have a batch of Pinot looking good, and a second batch of Figrigio to speculate about.

Park's Pinot Grigio

A friend of mine just recently announced his engagement and wedding plans in November. As a gift I am making him a batch of wine for his wedding. His fiance asked for a Pinot and that is what I will try to deliver.

Jan 2, 2008. Combined grape juices, bentonite and water in an 8 gallon carboy. SG 1.085. Yeast started to ferment within 24 hours. Check in 5 - 7 days and rerack to 6 gallon carboy.

Jan 8, strong bubble for last seven days, clouded up after the first two. Rerack Jan 9th.

Homebrew: Cream Ale

Cream Ale

2 1/2 lbs 2 - Row
3/4 lb. Crystal 40L
1/4 lb. Carapils
45 minute soak in grain bag at 155 degrees.
4 1/2 lbs. Extract Pale Ale
1/2lb. Malto Dextrin
1 oz Willamette Hops for 60 minute boil.
1 oz Fuggle Hops for the last 5 minutes of 60 minute boil.

California V White Labs Pitch yeast.

Unfortunately I ran out of time when I started my new business and this batch of supplies had to be frozen or stored, probably degrading the value of the flavors. This deserves a re-do with fresh ingredients to really appreciate it. Beer still turned out to have a good flavor with good carbonation.

Notes: "Home brew: taste, after discussing it with another home brewer, we think the taste is coming from the plastic buckets. Glass will be the main fermenter until a larger setup is acquired.

Czech Pilsner, or the Sophie Pilsner

My brother is having a little girl, so in honor of her arrival I am dedicating this batch to her. He is naming him after our grandmother Sophie (Oehl) Dybala. My Grandmother contributed a mustang wine recipe and a beer recipe that I plan to use in the future. The recipes were found in a Czech Cookbook written by my mother.

Czech Pilsner

1/4 lb. Crystal 1o L
2 1/2 lb Bohemian Pils 45 minute soak at 155 degrees.
5 lb Extra Pale Extract Boil
1 oz German Magnum Hops for 60 minute boil.
1 oz of Saaz hops the last 5 minutes of the 60 minute boil.

California Labs Pitched yeast.

6/19/06: SG 1.10

SG 1.013 at bottling, I got a late start on this is the season, the temperature is a little warm for brewing. Nice refreashing Pilsner, I will be sure to crack one open when she is born, and distrubute the rest to family.

Mustang Wine, Local Grapes

The back fence of my current office has a large spread of ripe mustang grapes. A co worker and I have decided to pick a cooler full for me to attempt to make some mustang wine.

This is a recipe from my Grandmother, the notes warn that if it has been a rainy year the wine will have less of a punch. This also calls for a cheese cloth to be placed over the open fermenter to keep the flies out, thats' how it was done on the farm.

10 lbs of sugar
Grapes, crushed, leave skins.
1 or two yeast packages.

Ferment 10 days, rerack then bottle.

This produced a high octane grape wine, this is probablt better suited to drink in the deer blind to stay warm. Next back I will cut back on the sugar and try to mellow out the flavors.

Mr Beer Recipe

I was given a couple of small cans of Mr. Beer as part of a gift package. This isn't something I would normally seek out to brew but I have some empty carboys, so why not. It contains a bag of pre mixed goodies and a can of malt extract. Very simple boil and add mix, cool, ferment, prime, bottle. The recipe does not come with priming sugar, so the 1 1/4 teaspoon per 20 oz bottle to prime or 3/4 teaspoon per 12 oz bottles. Mixing it per bottle can cause some discrepancies in carbonation, might even get some explosions out of this one.

The Pale Ale and the Wheat Ale were used.

Bottled May 24th.

Notes: No explosions, some bottles opened with little carbonation and a few with thick foaming heads. Not my favorite beer but I still good enough to drink all of it. Can kits don't produce the flavor and body that you get from a mash or mini mash recipe.

Wedding Wine: Chardonnay

This is the second of the wedding wines for my wedding, October 29th.

Chardonnay Vinters Reserve Kit

Kit comes with a bag of Chardonnay grape juice and required ingredients.

May 5th: SG 1.085

June 1st: SG 1.000, re racked to secondary fermenter.
June 18th: Whipped to drive out co2. Re Rack add oak chips for flavor.
July 4th: Bottled

Notes: Tasted august 18th, sharp bite when served very cold, nice and mellow when served at 55 degrees.

Wedding Wines: Shiraz

What no beer? My fiance and I have decided to make some of the wine for our wedding guests to enjoy, along with the other beverages offered.

Shiraz Vinters Reserve Kit

Kit comes with a bag of Shiraz grape juice, essentially you get the liquid without the picking, de- stemming and pressing.

SG 1.081
3 tsp bentonite. 24 - 48 hour ferment

March 14th: SG .990, re racked to secondary fermenter. lower sg than expected, possibly due to late re rack. Nice buttery smell from fermenter, slight haze in wine.

March 20Th: Re rack and add 1/4 teaspoon of Potassium Metabasulfite for storage.

April 7th: Bottled, 24 750 ml, 2 1.5 L bottles.

Homebrew: Northwest Pale Ale

3/4 lb Crystal 60L 15 minute soak. I have the home brew store mill it for me.
1/2 lb Crystal 90L 15 minute soak.
7 lb Pale Extract Boil
1 1/2 oz Perle hops for 60 minute boil.
1/2 oz Perle hops add the last 15 minutes of 60 minute boil.
1 oz of Tettnang hops the last 5 minutes of the 60 minute boil.

California Labs Pitched yeast.

Notes: First time using a pitch yeast, activity was slow so I added some more yeast, yeast and hops volcano after two days. re racked, SG 1.01. No yeast problems after re rack.

Feb 26: SG 1.01
March 14: SG 1.01, re rack and primed.

47 12 oz bottles.

Notes: Despite the yeast explosion no bottles exploded and the beer developed into a great tasting pale ale.

Muntons Canadian Style Mix

The last of my can mix beers, picked this up at Austin Home Brew Supply.

Notes: use a secondary fermenter after 3 or 4 days.

2 lbs light DME
Can mix of malt, boil to combine sugars.


Oct 13th: SG 1.040
Oct 18th: Transferred to secondary fermenter SG 1.011.
November 11th : SG 1.010 Re racked and primed for bottling.

25 20oz bottles
3 12 oz bottles

Mutons Nut Brown Ale

This batch is primarilty from a can of ale mix. I purchased it from Austin Home Brew Supply

3.5 liters water
2 lb corn sugar/light DME
1 can nut brown ale mix.
Boil to combine sugars and malt mix.

Add to primary, fill to top.

SG at 75degrees 1.044 + .002 = 1.0145 Sept 5th.
SG 80 deg 1.012 + 0.0025 = 1.0145 Sept 12th
1.008 is the target.

SG 1.008 Sept 14th, still of activity.
SG 1.008 Sept 16th.
SG 1.008 Sept 17th.

Re Racked then mixed with priming sugar. 32 bottles.

Sept 28th, slight sediment in bottom of bottles.
taste test: Chantal - sweet nose, buttery taste.
Curtis - slight carbonation, seems light in body, needs to sit longer to carbonate.

After about two weeks until we ran out, this beer poured with a nice thick head, typically a finger width. Only a few bottles poured a little flat. Not bad from a can mix and a quick easy brew.

Next batch we will try with a secondary fermenter after the initial yeast activity.

Fig Wine Recipe 2004

Variation of a peach wine recipe from a Czech cookbook, interestingly enough, my mother helped put the book together and my dad submitted the peach wine recipe. I remember them making in in the project room in a dark closet, and it had the ripe sweet fermenting smell.

The figs were picked from Uncle Phil's tree in Cedar Park.

Recipe:
2 1/2 Gallons of water
9 lbs of sugar
4 quarts of figs, I used roughly 8 pounds.
3 lemons, cut up.
4 lb of raisins.
1 package of yeast.

Boil sugar in water until dissolved and allow to cool.
Combine all ingredients (figs, sugar water, lemons, yeast) in a large brew pail or crock container.
Mashing the figs while combining releases some of the natural sugars and yeasts. Add enough cool water to bring to 5 or six gallons.
Enjoy a cold beer.
Stir every day for seven days.
The original recipe called for a cheese cloth placed over the container to keep out the flies, this leaves you open to wild yeasts and the possibility of an off flavor. I used a brew pail with a airlock, trying to keep exposure to a minimum when I stirred it.
On day seven add the raisins and let sit for 21 days.
Re rack after 21 days, there will be a large floating cap of raisins and figs with lots of sediment. This is OK, most will be left behind after the first rack.
Re rack every few days until SG has leveled out and the sediment is gone.

Notes:
July 18th Start Batch
July 25th Raisins
Heavy yeast activity, first rack on August 20
re rack august 28th
re rack Sept 5th.
Bottled Sept 12th.

SG 1.15 15 - 19% alcohol
This batch has a strong alcohol smell with a golden amber dolor. Nose of fruit, peaches and apples, very light body.