Suds up! Friends with beer gear who will travel
Beer making was fun. Aaron and Dana came over with their entire beer making equipment/supplies and helped us start a batch. I learned a lot about the various components that go into a beer. It's pretty easy, I always thought it would be kinda difficult. Just a bunch of boil this, soak that, wait around, transfer it from this container to that container, add hops, boil it some more. Now I understand more why people call it a brew. It was very much a "Fire burn, cauldron bubble" day.
Aaron and Dana arrived bright and squirrely. First we unloaded their car (hatchback Nissan Versa ~34 mpg), which was packed to the gills with equipment, and set up in our courtyard. Aaron has made gallons and gallons of beer over the years and made this part look super easy. The burner was a purchase from Costco right after Thanksgiving one year. It's heavy duty and looks way more stable than others I've seen for the same job. We open the bag and look at the malt and grains. Wow- they're dry and cool, with a dusty feeling but it smells just like chocolate. The initial batch of water heats to about 160+oF and is mixed in with the grains (malt barley etc) that will supply the sugars for our yeast to turn into alcohol. Then we waited around for 90 minutes for the mash to hydrate and the sugars/enzymes to release and activate.
Meanwhile we got a phone call from Jeanine. They were having a Superbowl party and did we want to head over and enjoy the sunshine on the dock? So we packed the whole operation including the hydrating mash into the car and headed over. This time we were able to set up the interestingly modified cooler on the wall, which gave us a good vantage point for transferring the liquids etc.
While we were waiting for enzymes to do their thing, Gwynie and Dana went canoeing down the channel, watching birds etc. Adam's latest experiment was creating his own version of tonic water. He was trying to approximate Schweppes but less sweet. There were 2 batches to try, each with various ingredients and amounts of cinchona bark (the precursor to quinine). It was very tasty, such that you didn't really need to add bitters to the mix- being plenty sour already. The bubbles come from a kitchen counter carbonator. You can use tap water or filtered water, then hey presto 3 squirts of a button later, you have sparkling water- mineral content based on Alameda EBMUD profile. After sampling the commercial version, the general consensus was that his second batch came very close.
Then we drain the mash into the kettle, which requires constant stirring to keep the filter from clogging. The floral smelling hops are added to the liquid heating in the kettle and then boiled to extract the flavors. We boil for about an hour, adding a second batch of hops- this time more grassy and vegetal.
Next while we wait for cooling, the hi-tek white plastic bucket fermenter is sterilized with a low pH solution. Aaron adds a seaweed extract- I think it's called an alginate; which is supposed to precipitate out the proteins in solution and help clarify the beer of sediment.
Transfer the liquid to the bucket. Securely fastening the lid, plugging in the 3 piece airlock stopper- unidirectional off gassing without allowing contaminants into the brew. We watched the super bowl and hung out with friends. It was fun, definitely a good way to pass the day. Aaron will add the yeast the next day. Then next week we transfer it to a keg, wait a few more weeks- the product of magic alchemy of fermentation will be ready to drink. I'm think BBQ ribs and roasted pork knuckles to celebrate.
*UPDATE*
Misty is pleased to announce the tremendously successful brewing of ~ 5 gallons of Amber Ale... Time for another party!
For those who want the details:
Recipe: Mike McDole's Amber Style: American Amber Ale
Brewer: Aaron, Astrid, Gwyneth & Dana Batch: 5.00 gal
All Grain
Recipe Characteristics
Recipe Gravity 1.068 OG Estimated FG 1.017 FG
Recipe Bitterness 39 IBU Alcohol by Volume 6.6%
Recipe Color 14° SRM Alcohol by Weight 5.2%
Ingredients
Quantity Grain Type Use
10.00 lb American two-row mashed
0.25 lb British chocolate malt mashed
1.25 lb CaraPils mashed
1.00 lb Crystal 40L mashed
Quantity Hop Type Time
1.00 oz Cascade Pellet 10 minutes
1.00 oz Cascade Pellet 0 minutes
1.00 oz Galena Pellet 15 minutes
1.00 oz Galena Pellet 70 minutes
Quantity Misc Notes
1.00 unit Irish Moss Fining
1.00 unit California Ale yeast Yeast
Recipe Notes Based on McDole's Gold Medal Recipie, substituting Galena for Northern Brewer as an act of desperation.
Batch Notes
Mashing: 155F, 80min
Saccharification Rest: 165F, 30min
Sparge: 170F