trbig
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2013
- Messages
- 337
- Reaction score
- 96
Hi everyone. My name is Tod, and I am not an alcoholic... YET. lol.
Not really a noob.. but sort of. I used to do a lot of home brewing several years ago, and for some reason got out of it. All my beer making stuff sat out in the shed for @ 13 years, and I recently got a wild hair to get started in it again. After going through all my stuff, I realized that time had taken its toll. All I could re-use was my trusty bottle capper. So, all new stuff with two fermenting bins. I've never used a secondary, so I can get out two different batches at once. In the last two weeks, I've made batches of American light lager, a Mexican Cerveza, a Bock, and now a cider batch is working. The light and the Cerveza are bottled, while the Bock is in cold crash right now.
Speaking of the cider, I pulled a recipe off of here for an easy batch... 6 gals apple juice, 2 cans frozen apple juice, 2 lbs brown sugar, and I started some EC-1118 @ 8 hrs before I mixed it. I boiled the sugar and a gallon of the juice for @ 20 minutes, then added to the mix. My beer mixes usually bubble really hard for one or two days, then taper off. This stuff went strong for 4 days, and today, the 5th, is still going @ a bubble a second through the airlock. I plan on back-sweetening with some Stevia.. or maybe even see how much I need for my bottles, then when I go to drink it, add that much Stevia into the glass first before pouring. That way, people that like a dry cider can enjoy also. My wife likes it sweet.
Nothing fancy in my beer making. Just LME kits, though I do add more sugar/dme than you guys do. I have to make runs down to my fellow Texans to get their beer at 6% alc, and that's what I try to make my home brew get to.. at least. I know many of you don't care what the ABV ends up being.. you're all about taste, but when me and my UN-sophisticated buddies get together for a few beers, we don't talk about the subtle tastes of oak, try to guess which country the hops came from, or which aftertastes linger as we sip out of crystal glasses with our pinkies out. It's more the neanderthal, "Man, I got a good buzz!" And if that good buzz happens to come from a beer that tastes PRETTY GOOD, then I'll settle for that for now.
A couple things, and sorry, as you can see, I tend to get long-winded sometimes. When you guys test the gravity, I see you put the beer into a vial first, then float the hydrometer in that instead of in the bucket. These last batches I've run, after done, have been VERY carbonated still. I'm fermenting on the cool side at @ 67 degrees American. So.. since this carbonation would affect how high the hydrometer floats, do you shake the fizz out of it first?
And lastly.. just wanted to give a note of encouragement to those that think they've made a bad batch. While many don't have the space or supplies to wait so long, I once made a very dark beer, that after being bottled for @ a month, was one of the WORST beers I had ever tasted. It was so bad, I thought I got some bad yeast. It got shoved to the back and forgotten for at LEAST 2 years. After re-discovering it, I thought I'd give it one more try. That horrible beer seasoned up to be probably the BEST beer I'd ever had. So... PATIENCE Grasshopper. If you get a bad batch, set it to the side and try it again after a while if you don't have to have those bottles (Or that keg) for a while.
Not really a noob.. but sort of. I used to do a lot of home brewing several years ago, and for some reason got out of it. All my beer making stuff sat out in the shed for @ 13 years, and I recently got a wild hair to get started in it again. After going through all my stuff, I realized that time had taken its toll. All I could re-use was my trusty bottle capper. So, all new stuff with two fermenting bins. I've never used a secondary, so I can get out two different batches at once. In the last two weeks, I've made batches of American light lager, a Mexican Cerveza, a Bock, and now a cider batch is working. The light and the Cerveza are bottled, while the Bock is in cold crash right now.
Speaking of the cider, I pulled a recipe off of here for an easy batch... 6 gals apple juice, 2 cans frozen apple juice, 2 lbs brown sugar, and I started some EC-1118 @ 8 hrs before I mixed it. I boiled the sugar and a gallon of the juice for @ 20 minutes, then added to the mix. My beer mixes usually bubble really hard for one or two days, then taper off. This stuff went strong for 4 days, and today, the 5th, is still going @ a bubble a second through the airlock. I plan on back-sweetening with some Stevia.. or maybe even see how much I need for my bottles, then when I go to drink it, add that much Stevia into the glass first before pouring. That way, people that like a dry cider can enjoy also. My wife likes it sweet.
Nothing fancy in my beer making. Just LME kits, though I do add more sugar/dme than you guys do. I have to make runs down to my fellow Texans to get their beer at 6% alc, and that's what I try to make my home brew get to.. at least. I know many of you don't care what the ABV ends up being.. you're all about taste, but when me and my UN-sophisticated buddies get together for a few beers, we don't talk about the subtle tastes of oak, try to guess which country the hops came from, or which aftertastes linger as we sip out of crystal glasses with our pinkies out. It's more the neanderthal, "Man, I got a good buzz!" And if that good buzz happens to come from a beer that tastes PRETTY GOOD, then I'll settle for that for now.
A couple things, and sorry, as you can see, I tend to get long-winded sometimes. When you guys test the gravity, I see you put the beer into a vial first, then float the hydrometer in that instead of in the bucket. These last batches I've run, after done, have been VERY carbonated still. I'm fermenting on the cool side at @ 67 degrees American. So.. since this carbonation would affect how high the hydrometer floats, do you shake the fizz out of it first?
And lastly.. just wanted to give a note of encouragement to those that think they've made a bad batch. While many don't have the space or supplies to wait so long, I once made a very dark beer, that after being bottled for @ a month, was one of the WORST beers I had ever tasted. It was so bad, I thought I got some bad yeast. It got shoved to the back and forgotten for at LEAST 2 years. After re-discovering it, I thought I'd give it one more try. That horrible beer seasoned up to be probably the BEST beer I'd ever had. So... PATIENCE Grasshopper. If you get a bad batch, set it to the side and try it again after a while if you don't have to have those bottles (Or that keg) for a while.
