Homebrewing
Hydrometer Down!!!
Well, it was bound to happen eventually.
That picture is of my very first (and only) hydrometer. I got that in the starter kit I bought over five years ago, when I began this long and crazy descent into brewing madness. Over the years, I’ve treated this thing with kid gloves – especially as the time [...]
Double the Beer, Double the Problems
The good news: I now have ten gallons of Kölsch fermenting in my chest freezer (which just BARELY fits two 6.5G plastic buckets inside).
The bad news: In brewing my first 10G batch, I completely botched my water measurements and had a generally sloppy brewday.
OK, so the good news outweighs the bad news – assuming the [...]
Finally – LootKölsch is Coming!
In trying to decide what my next brew should be, I contemplated many styles. A pumpkin spice ale is definitely on the list, but I want to wait a few weeks until pumpkins are available before attempting that one. I’d love to do another stout, but I’d rather schedule that for colder weather. I need [...]
Fixing Efficiency With the Barley Crusher (and a Nice Chocolate Porter)
If you’ve been keeping up with the blog, you know I’ve been trying my hardest to pin down efficiency losses in my system. I started keeping meticulous records on water in and wort out numbers, going as far as weighing the liquid to be as accurate as possible. When my last brew session clocked in [...]
Brew Report: California Common
It all starts with a starter. Saturday night I cooked up a 1.25L starter to get my yeast ready for a Sunday brewday. Usually I make my starters a week or so in advance, letting them ferment out completely and then crash-cooling them, but this time I decided to try something different. I’ve read that [...]
Trying to Salvage the Brew Year
Wow – I can’t believe Fall is here already! I had a really crappy summer – the weather ruined just about every weekend I had at home, while wedding planning (T -124 days) took up the rest. I look back now and realize how incredible the odds were that every weekend we planned wedding stuff [...]
Brewing with Star Anise
I came across some star anise in an ethnic supermarket the other day, and picked some up on a whim. I’ve been trying to come up with a recipe to try it in, when it occurred to me that it might be tasty in some beer. I’ve seen mention of it being used in some [...]
Summer Brews – Let's Hear About Em…
With the Fourth of July officially in the bag, we move into the “dog days of summer” phase of the year. What have you guys been brewing up for the hot months of July and August? Are you still making Hefeweizens, Wits, and light lagers? Anyone bucking the trend and making Imperial Stouts or something? [...]
Kegged the Wheat Beer… A Bit Disappointed
Well, you can’t win them all.
I kegged up the summer wheat beer I brewed up a few weeks ago, and I knew I had a problem as soon as I opened the fermentor and the rich smell of ripe bananas washed over me. My first thought was some sort of infection – I had used [...]
The BeerGun is Ordered!
With my newfound desire to enter my beer into some competitions, I needed a way to get it out of the kegs and into bottles. I’ve been messing around with filling growlers and trying out a Carbonator Cap for homebrew portability, but I wanted a way to bottle my beer that would preserve the quality [...]
