Brewing

[duke of new york]

Anyone ever brewed your own beer? I haven't done it in about a year, but it's a hell of a lot of fun if you're into cooking and, of course, if you like beer. I think it's an ideal INTP hobby because it's an inexact science, which caters to our love of improvisation. When you brew, if you follow the recipes exactly, you will (probably) get the exact beer you are trying to make. If you experiment a little or just use rough measurements, you will still (probably) get something good, but it will be a more unique beer. It's quite exciting waiting for a brew to finish that you tried something new with, and it's really awesome when you open a bottle of an experimental brew and it's one of the best beers you've ever had. It can be pretty difficult to make something specific if you have an exact idea of the beer you want to make, but if you just have a general idea of what you want to make and are open to some surprises, it's pretty easy to end up with something that's at least decent. I don't think I've ever made a beer that was just plain bad.

If you have tried making your own beer--or even other stuff like wine or mead (or moonshine?)--tell me about it. Let's share stories/recipes. And if this post was interesting to you at all, I'd recommend giving brewing a try. There is probably a brewing store somewhere near you where you can buy the equipment and ingredients and get advice, and there are plenty of websites that sell the stuff.

 

[lucky12]

Yep. I was a few years ago, I'm afraid the lazy bug has hit me recently.

I made a few plain lagers with saaz and cascades, then I experimented with a porter which was absolutely terrible (didn't fit the ingredient list at all), and a honey lager which was 7% of deliciousness and debuted at my first week of university.

I never made my own mash or anything like that, just from extract. I will do the mash eventually.

I've made shine before too, it was popular with family friends and neighbors. The still was designed by a friend of mine, I can't advise you on that. We distilled some pear based mashes to come up with something similar tasting to Grappa. Or even pear vodka.

I started brewing with a book, "The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing" Charlie Papazian.

I went into a local brewery with my friend who wanted me to brew with him, he started me into it. The owner approached us and told us how difficult it was to brew, etc. Then he noticed we weren't your average high school students from our attitudes. He handed us this book and told us it was what started his business, and I'm certain his main products recipe was derived from a recipe in this book.

 

[the_s_rabbit]

I made a few batches several years ago. The best one I ever made was Corona-like with a honey flavor to it. It was strong too. Everything else I made, I went for really bold flavors and heavy hops and I always added a ton of "fermentables" just to get a higher alcohol content. I never made anything good of that sort. Ever since we moved, all the stuff has been sitting in boxes, buried in the basement.

It is a fascinating and interesting art though, which can lead to great reward. I'd love to try again. I bet I could get a couple neighbors to help out as they too share an interest in beer.

They also have better fine motor skills than I do, which is important.

 

[Ex-User (5841)]

August = annual sumac wine time. It's like alcoholic lemonade with more zing. This is how I do it in the field:

Collect sumac fruit/berry clusters (Rhus typhina and glabra are most common, but you can also use aromatica, and copallina. It also works better if you have a small army of undergrads to do it for you) while it's still slightly sticky to the touch (the rain washes off all the good stuff if you wait too long). Don't be stupid and collect it from along a roadside unless you want something that tastes like car exhaust.

Rub all the berries off of the fruit clusters and pack a 5 gallon bucket (with lid) full of them, add enough cold water to fill it to the brim, and let it soak overnight. Then you need to filter it through something (I use scrubbing sponges on a window screen). You can re-soak the "mash" another 24 hours if more liquid is desired, but I don't recommend it because the flavor will be diluted, and it can't be concentrated by boiling because the heat will destroy it. The first round usually produces about a gallon and a half of juice. Then add a bag of sugar (5lb), stir like hell until it's all dissolved, lid it, add wine yeast and let it do it's thing for about 2 weeks, stirring it a couple times a day.

From there, bottle it in a couple milk jugs equipped with pin-holed balloons, let it sit for another 2 weeks, then cap it and let it sit in the dark (the back of my closet by this time) until next field season (we can usually wait until July 4th to crack it open). You may need to let some air out every once in awhile so the containers don't blow.

 

[Ex-User (5841)]

This is what I mean by scrubbing sponges: http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/i...774-green-scrub-sponges-isolated-on-white.jpg

Clearly you should buy the ones without the soap included, and even then you should rinse them off first.

 

[lucky12]

Hahahahahahahaha. Sumac jungle juice. I love it. I thought I was the only one who picked them off when I went for walks and ate them.

 

[Ex-User (5841)]

Eating them as in swallowing the seeds? Tannins aren't fun you know, just ask anyone who's ever chewed on a green acorn

 

[lucky12]

I meant sucked on them.. Although I have eaten a few

Who would chew on a green acorn?

 

[Ex-User (5841)]

Someone who lost a bet...