Homebrew

[Booney]

@Booney
Are you in countdown mode for bottling day?

You ******* bet I am!!! Saturday at "high" noon.

[Booney]

Well, the Cisco Kid goes down an absolute treat!

With 6 cartons the deal ( 144 stubbies ) it's a bit of hit and miss as far as the actual quantity goes. You make 50ltr of beer ( 50,000ml / 330ml = 151.5 stubbies ) and depending on how much you waste in each bottle fill ( you turn the tap off and have around 10-15ml in the tap to "bleed" out ) and how much you drink while bottling it depends on what you get.

I had 4 schooners, my driver mate had two, some lads across from us doing their first batch had one each and two lads next to me had one each, so, say, 8-9 schooners. With bottles of varying levels I ended up with 150 stubbies.

I'll post some pics of the brew tomorrow, but it's a full bodied pale ale, not very hoppy, a little malty and comes in at 5.8%.

[mighty_tiger_79]

if there isn't much hoppiness to the beer than it will only get better with age.

store it in a cool dark place if possible to allow for bottle conditioning!

[Booney]

if there isn't much hoppiness to the beer than it will only get better with age.

store it in a cool dark place if possible to allow for bottle conditioning!

The tip from the blokes who run it is to not store it at all, but to get it in and keep it in a fridge from the get go.

So it's bottled cold, it went straight into foam eskies ( the Crisco sort of ones I've got ) at the place and my fridge now looks like this.

[mighty_tiger_79]

nice looking fridge!!!!

interesting advice.........

[Booney]

nice looking fridge!!!!

interesting advice.........

They maintain ( as did some other people there with more experience than me ) that as you bottle it cold, you keep it cold. With no preservatives they say it is best to not let it get up to room temperature at all once fermented.

[mighty_tiger_79]

fair enough.

I guess the main thing is that the bevvy is enjoyable even though it lacks the hop you were looking for and that you enjoyed the process!!

[mighty_tiger_79]

currently the stock lists are

Stout - from May 2014.
36 PET bottles
56 335ml bottles
Primary for 3 weeks

Belgian - Leffe style #1
Primary 3 weeks
bottled july 9th
15 bottles - PET

Belgian - Leffe style 2
Primary 3 weeks
bottled july 9
15 bottles - PET

Belgian Ale
bottled july 21st
primary 18 days
18 - PET bottles

Blonde
bottled july 26th
primary 3.5 weeks
44 - 335ml bottles

Blonde
bottled sept 21st
primary 4 weeks - 16 PET bottles

Munich Lager
bottled sept 21
primary 4 weeks
19 Pet bottles

European Lager
bottled - September 21
primary 4 weeks
47 PET bottles


Coopers Draught experiment
added golden and maple syrup
bottled November 12
primary 3 weeks
19 PET bottles

TOUCAN - coopers Lager and blonde
bottled November 22
primary 4.5 weeks
39 - 335ml bottles

Coopers Lager
bottled oct 20
primary 3.5 weeks
28 PET bottles

also have 22 750ml bottles of white wine which is for the neighbours big party next april, but have another 40litres of it ready to brew.


plus I have some gear to put down some others

Dark Ale
Munich Lager
Blonde - x2

Cara Munich 500g
Chocolate grain - 500g
carahell 1kg
Munich - 500g

60g Amarillo
60g hallertau
60g saaz
12g cascade

looking at a busy weekend of brewing coming up.
will do the Dark ale with some of the choc grain and perhaps some of the Amarillo hops which should then be in prime drinking age by the time we enter the cooler months next year!

[mighty_tiger_79]

Brewed up a Munich lager
Munich grains 1kg
500g dextrose I had leftover from a wine
60g saaz
60g hallertau
W34/70 yeast
23litres

Just a simple white wine kit also

[The Ash Man]

I chucked my chocolate stout on tap at home for a taste today.
Absolutely magnificent and threw out a 10.8% after being kegged for over 2 years.
Disconnected the lines, will be great for winter.
Got a black rock cider on now that is really tasty

[mighty_tiger_79]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm now I'm thirsty

[Booney]

So after polishing off my 150 stubs of Cisco Kid ( Sierra Vevada Pale Ale ) I've laid down 50lt of Interstellar Lager ( Stella Artois ) for my second batch at U Brew It.

Bottle in a week from now, can't wait. Nice summer lager, hint of honey, should be around the 5.2% mark.

[mighty_tiger_79]

Nice Booney, hopefully you have enough of the hop bite in it to stop it going down like lolly water as the commercial Stella is


I got a Craft Beer Calendar from the neighbours and I have to Brew up the beer of the month!
Will be getting gear this week for January.

[mighty_tiger_79]

Also put down a dark Ale kit, Malt, chocolate and type 2 Munich grains steeped along with a cascade finishing hop also steeped.
Been in the fermenter for just under 2 weeks.
Smells delicious.
Will definitely be a nice winter beer in 2017

[Booney]

Nice Booney, hopefully you have enough of the hop bite in it to stop it going down like lolly water as the commercial Stella is


I got a Craft Beer Calendar from the neighbours and I have to Brew up the beer of the month!
Will be getting gear this week for January.

I added an extra bit of hops to the batch. One of the owners suggested doing so, just to make it a bit more full bodied. He does still expect it to be a bit of a "summer smasher" though. Exactly why I picked it, to be honest.

I'm doing a IPA in two weeks to over lap the "Stella". I'll buy another batch of bottles and a mate and I will share it doing 3 cartons each at a time.

Might even do a ginger beer or a cider for Mrs.Boon at some point.

[mighty_tiger_79]

Sounds like you're hooked

[Booney]

Sounds like you're hooked

Sounds like it, because I am. I ran out of my Pale just before New Years and they're right, no hangovers with the "home" brews but after a dozen or so Stella's on NYE I was shithouse the next morning.

[mighty_tiger_79]

No hangovers, but homebrew can cause more than normal farting according to science.

The bro in law has this issue every time!

[Booney]

No hangovers, but homebrew can cause more than normal farting according to science.

The bro in law has this issue every time!

Haven't encountered that, although, to be fair, I fart loads anyway.

[mighty_tiger_79]

Cider can be made easily and cheaply just using the homebrand apple 3l apple juice containers.
Pour out a Cup of juice
Pour in 1 Cup of Malt/dextrose and add a yeast. You can add a champagne yeast and it turns out really dry or an Ale yeast and it turns out quite nice.
When putting the lid back on, only half tighten the lid to allow for the pressure to escape.
A week on the kitchen bench and she' ll be ready to drink.

If you have a sodastream machine you can carb it up that way.

This comes out at 10%

Alternatively you get one of those 15l water containers with a tap.
Fill it up with apple juice, Malt and yeast.
Give it a few days on the kitchen bench and cold crash it in the Fridge, where it slows down fermentation.
This will be around the 7% mark.
It will naturally carb up.