In the tradition of such pioneering homebrewers as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, I have begun to brew my own beer. My initial inspiration began a long time ago, when I first really started to enjoy beer. I thought back to my childhood friend Alex, whose father kept his brewing equipment next to the tennis racquets in their basement. But there were always reasons not to do it. I knew that sanitation was of the highest import, and I feared that I wouldn't be able to maintain such a high standard in my various apartments over the years. Then there was the space issue - I never had any place to keep a couple of 5 gallon buckets. And of course, the set up cost always seemed a bit prohibitive. Plus, where would I be able to find all of the equipment and ingredients? The internet always seemed so unreliable, and never allowed me to ask any questions.
And then I moved to Vermont, where I have ample space, a clean and warm storage closet (aka the brewery), a little extra spending money due to the much more reasonable cost of living, and the kicker, I have the Vermont Homebrew Supply in Winooski, VT, a mere 5 minute drive from my apartment. So obviously, I had to begin. With a little inspiration from a friend of a friend, a fellow homebrewer, I began.
Below, I will do my best to describe each beer as I bottle it.
Date of brewing: 3/12/07
Date of racking: 3/19/07
Date of bottling: 3/27/07
Original specific gravity: 1.060
Final specific gravity: 1.021
Ingredients:
| Belgian Biscuit Malt: | 8.00 oz |
| Crystal 60 Malt: | 6.00 oz |
| Chocolate Malt: | 4.00 oz |
| Amber Malt Extract: | 6.00 lbs |
| Styrian Goldings Hops: | 1.00 oz @60 min. |
| Fuggles Hops: | 0.50 oz @30 min. |
| Fuggles Hops: | 0.50 oz @5 min. |
Yeast: Windsor English Ale Yeast
Primed with: 3/4 cup corn sugar
This was my first attempt at brewing. Almost every step of the way, I got nervous that the process wasn't working correctly. At first, I thought that I may not have cooled the wort properly, possibly killing some of the yeast upon pitching. Then I thought that the fermentation ended way too quickly, further boosting my worries about the dead yeast. It went on and on. So when I opened my first beer after 5 days of conditioning and took my first sip, I was more than pleasantly surprised. The best description I have for this beer is more of a comparison. The beer has a body similar to that of Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale, though not quite as flavorful. And the finish is quite bitter, similar to the bite of a Sierra Nevada. But the key is - it tastes good, and I made it! I should have known all along that my new mentor (via his book) Charlie Papazian was right when he told me - RELAX, DON'T WORRY, HAVE A HOMEBREW. All the worrying was for naught, and I ended up with an inspiring first beer.
A Late update: So with an extra week of aging, the bitter aftertaste of this beer has actually disappeared. It is now a very mellow brown ale, with hardly any aftertaste. I am quite pleased with this. I brought a bottle to Vermont Homebrew Supply, and the owner explained how much a homebrewed beer can change with aging. Obviously, I had tasted too soon. In the future, I will wait at least 2 weeks after bottling (maybe more depending on the brew) to make a decision about the tastes of a beer. Clearly, those tastes will change even further, but those first couple of weeks are key to forming the lasting flavors of a homebrew.
Date of brewing: 3/22/07
Date of racking: 4/3/07
Date of bottling: 4/18/07
Original specific gravity: 1.079
Final specific gravity: 1.021
Ingredients:
| Munich Malt: | 16.00 oz |
| Crystal 60 Malt: | 8.00 oz |
| Black Patent Malt: | 2.00 oz |
| Amber Malt Extract: | 7.18 lbs |
| Black-Strap Molasses: | 4.00 oz |
| Challenger Hops: | 1.00 oz @ 60 min. |
| Fuggles Hops: | 1.00 oz @ 10 min. |
Yeast: Windsor English Ale Yeast
Primed with: 3/4 cup corn sugar
One week in, this beer is delicious, VERY strong (in terms of alcohol), complex, rich, but almost completely un-carbonated. I'm going to be patient with it and try one every week, hoping that the yeast is still alive and well and carbonating. More to come...
After another week, there has been some more carbonation, which is very exciting. I'd say it's almost drinkable. Though another 2 weeks would certainly do it well, and I plan on aging some of it for several months. The taste is really coming together nicely too. More to come...
5/29/07 - So this beer has been finished for a while now, and I just realized I hadn't updated. This beer is fantastic. It's warming and thick served at room termperature, and refreshing and light served cold. I'm saving some of this for a cold winter night for sure. Though its been going fast...
Date of brewing: 4/11/07
Date of racking: 4/20/07
Date of bottling: 4/30/07
Original specific gravity: 1.064
Final specific gravity: 1.016
Ingredients:
| Crystal 60 Malt: | 8.00 oz |
| Toasted Malted Barley: | 8.00 oz |
| Light Malt Extract: | 7.50 lbs |
| Chinook Hops: | 2.00 oz @ 60 min. |
| Centennial Hops: | 2.00 oz @ 1 min. |
Yeast: Nottingham English Ale Yeast
Primed with: 3/4 cup corn sugar
A generous handful of sterilized oak chips were added at racking, and soaked for the full 10 days before bottling.
5/15/07 - This one has become drinkable...and I like it a lot. The oakiness is very apparent. It has a nice oaky, hoppy nose and a bitter hoppy finish. In my opinion, a very true IPA. It is amber in color, with a small, quickly fading head. I had it last night with seasoned pork chops, and they were perfectly paired. The bitterness was not as apparent as when consumed alone, but the oak flavors mixed well with the garlic and pepper in the pork. I'd definitely brew this one again, probably with different hops, just for variety, and possibly without the oak chips.
Date of brewing: 4/23/07
Date of racking: 5/1/07
Date of bottling: 5/15/07
Original specific gravity: 1.059
Final specific gravity: 1.015
Ingredients:
| Crystal 10 Malt: | 8.00 oz |
| Flaked Oats: | 8.00 oz |
| Wheat: | 12.00 oz |
| Wheat Extract: | 6.60 lbs |
| Styrian Goldings Hops: | 1.00 oz @ 60 min. |
| Tettnanger Hops: | 0.50 oz @ 20 min. |
| Tettnanger Hops: | 0.50 oz @ 5 min. |
Yeast: Wyeast #3944 Belgian Wit Liquid Yeast
Primed with: 3/4 cup corn sugar
Dried sweet orange peel and cracked coriander seed were added at the end of the boil and soaked through primary fermentation.
This is another delicious beer. The yeast used adds a lot of the character. I haven't yet tried it with a slice of orange or lemon, but I bet that would really bring out the subtle hint of orange that already exists. For my first beer using a liquid yeast, I am very pleased. This beer is very comparable to most standard Belgian witbiers out there - fairly true to style. Nothing flashy about this one, but a great beer to drink on a hot summer day.
Date of brewing: 5/17/07
Date of racking: 5/24/07
Date of bottling: 6/6/07
Original specific gravity: 1.059
Final specific gravity: 1.015
Ingredients:
| Crystal 10 Malt: | 4.00 oz |
| Carapils: | 4.00 oz |
| Flaked Oats: | 8.00 oz |
| Wheat: | 12.00 oz |
| Wheat Extract: | 6.47 lbs |
| Saaz Hops: | 1.00 oz @ 60 min. |
| Cascade Hops: | 1.00 oz @ 5 min. |
Yeast: Wyeast #3944 Belgian Wit Liquid Yeast
Primed with: 3/4 cup corn sugar
2 lbs. of frozen mixed berries (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry) were added at the end of the boil, and soaked in primary fermentation.
