Fuck that. Post all you like. Self promote your ass off. It's not like you have a law blog or anything.
Not exactly homebrew, but brewing related. Planting 4 varieties of hops tomorrow. Hoping to see some of the old strains that grew around here take to the climate.
What we can't talk about whine making? It's actually something Id like to try. Grandpa's on both sides of my family were into it but by the time I came around they didn't do it anymore and the big glass bottles were used as novelty piggy banks. My grandpa also cut down both rows of whine grapes a few years back so he didn't have to deal with them. If anybody here is into it I'd love to know some good places to start. Starter kits and the like.
I've got my first batch of Australian chardonnay brewing right now. I did a regular kit and so far it's easier than beer brewing. The guy at the store told me he does it for sheer cost efficiency.
If you'd seen what a few glasses of wine did to the hot, lonely grad students at the wine tasting I went to last night, you'd retract that statement in a fucking heartbeat. It's not all stuffy, boring, pseudo-intellectuals who take part in the stuff. Is it really possible to do this in a small apartment/dorm, as it was said on here before? The whole process sounds a little too easy, all things considered. I do plan on trying my hand at hard cider soon, like the girl above me. Worst-case scenario, I'm out 30 bucks. If it's as inexpensive to do as you guys all say it is, I can't see any reason not to make your own, versus buying it in stores. But I suppose that's the case for just about any other endeavor.
Pro tip: When buying cider, even "fresh" from an apple orchard, make 100% sure there's no potassium sorbate in it. It will not ferment. Sometimes, potassium sorbate will not be listed on the label. I found that one out the hard way. 6 gallons of apple cider down the drain. Literally.
Since I was asked I'll post it here... I'm growing a Cascade, Kent Golding, Centennial, and a locally provided BossHop. The first three rhizomes I obtained from Northwest Hops about 2 weeks ago. Need to get them in the ground before they spoil. Starting small with a planting of a half dozen of each type. I'm hoping at least half of them make it.
If I were to buy cider from the store, is there any way I can be certain that it won't contain potassium sorbate, if the label won't even say as much? Is there I way I can look up a particular brand online and find out?
Potassium sorbate prevents yeast from reproducing. It does not stop the fermentation process. Consequently, you can grow the yeast up in a starter, and pitch it into the cider, and still get hard cider. That's somewhat difficult to do in volumes of 5+ gallons, but it's easier to do in gallon batches.
Well I just finished starting the fermentation on my first batch ever. It is a hefeweizen, made from a starter kit. I'll let you guys know how it turns out in about two weeks.
A question for those that brew: Do you prefer using all grain, or extract? From what I've read, using grain gives you more flexibility when coming up with new formulas. But what about the quality? If I were to follow a recipe for a Pale Ale using a good brand of extract vs. grain, would one necessarily taste better than the other? I'm interested in brewing with grain but don't know if it's worth the extra effort, or if there's more potential to screw it up.
All grain brewing allows you the ability to make beer better than anything available commercially, however it is a reasonably complex procedure and you need more kit and as such I would recommend starting with extract brews. It lets you get a feel for the processes rather than jumping in boots and all. Kits make average beer at best, I haven't used one in 5 years. Use dry malt extract and fresh or pelleted hops, boil the whole lot (hops need at least a 50 minute boil to extract bitterness) steep some specialty grain (500g of crystal is good) and use good yeast and you will get a beer better than most commercial beers. You can do this sort of brew in about 1.5 hours. It's my go to brew when I want to fill a keg but don't feel like showing off. Instructions are freely available online.
I really recommend finding some recipes and trying them out rather than just throwing something together. The recipes will call for what specialty grains to steep, how long and what temperature, and what hops to add when. 50 minute boils on hops are for bittering hops, but there are flavor and aromatic hops that get added at other points in the boil. All grain is fine, but definitely start with extract recipes. Just start to understand how the beers are put together. You can add more complexity - and to some extent, some freshness - to beers using all grain, but if you've never brewed before, good extract beers will blow you away so take it one step at a time. If you use a reputable brewing shop, everything you buy - including the extract - will be pretty fresh so your beers are going to turn out well. It's like cooking. Using recipes will give you better starting points for what kind of flavor combinations work together, rather than just guessing. And if you haven't cooked before, start by making a good pasta sauce and understanding flavor profiles before you jump into making the pasta from scratch.
I bottled my first batch of home brew this morning, and it tasted a little yeasty. It fermented in the primary for a week, and the secondary for another week until today. Is that kind of flavor normal for this stage, or did I fuck this up?
Don't ferment based on time. Ferment based on hydrometer readings. Ferment in primary until the hydrometer reads close to the expected terminal gravity, each day for at least three consecutive days. If it's not close to terminal gravity, and it isn't stable, then it isn't done. They hydrometer knows all, they're cheap, and easy to use - why guess? Each beer is different. A week in primary is often not enough, and moving it to secondary too early can cause stuck fermentations. You can move it to secondary if you feel it's necessary, to let it age for a couple weeks, AFTER the gravity is near terminal and is stable. A couple things. First of all, yeasty beer can happen when the beer isn't done fermenting because there's a lot of yeast still in suspension that haven't dropped to the bottom of the tank. Also can happen when you don't let the beer sit long enough after the fermentation is done. Additionally, beers almost always taste a lot different fresh out of the fermenter. So what was your final gravity reading before bottling? Was it close to the expected terminal gravity? All that said... RDWHAHB is good advice with all beers. Most beers improve with age - IPAs are an exception because the hop flavor disappears with time, but even IPAs improve with patience. If you didn't take gravity readings, then let the bottles sit in a place where you won't have anything ruined if one explodes. Wait three weeks. Refrigerate one for 48 hours. Drink. Is it good? Great. Is it not? Wait two more weeks and repeat. If it's terrible after 8 weeks or so, it may be a lost batch, but never throw a beer out before a couple months have elapsed. Lots of my batches, the best beers were the last ones I drank.
As well as beer I’m a bit of a coffee head, recently added a new bit of hardware to the arsenal of good coffee brewing. A “Vacuum coffee maker”. I also have an espresso machine (you can see in the background) and an insulated stainless plunger (French Press to you seppos) plus a burr coffee grinder to finish the picture. I’m very impressed with this new bit of kit, it makes a brew somewhere between espresso and plunger coffee and can make a very strong cup without any bitterness. Most importantly though is it’s awesome fun to use. It might be the novelty factor but if I had to keep just 1 coffee making apparatus I think it would be the vacuum. If you’re a coffee freak get one now. <a class="postlink" href="http://coffeegeek.com/guides/siphoncoffee" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://coffeegeek.com/guides/siphoncoffee</a>
Ive looked into similar stuff myself. Ive seen a lot of those vacuum coffee makers here in China but they charge a shit ton for them. My old boss' friend used to roast his own beans in a mini-roaster. Even getting shitty grinder will step your coffee game up. I couldnt believe the difference between preground and fresh ground. Iv gotten into trying regional coffee drinks. I got one of those stove top espresso makers for Cuban style coffee and Ive picked up a cup top Vietnamese drip coffee maker (Ill have to find the actual Vietnamese blends when I get back to the states as they are rare and coffee in general is amazingly expensive in china). I have a coffee press and a Krups espresso machine, the Krups is terrible though but I don't have the cash for something more elaborate.