Geeesh, All this time on my hands waiting has got me trying something new.
I like playing Dwarves, so I'm enterring the world of brewing my own beer.
Going to try my hand at an Oktoberfest/Marzen this week. My very first home-brew. I'm excited. Hope it doesn't bomb... Wont have results for a few weeks to come, but will try to check back in here to let you all know how it turned out.
Any other home-brewers out there?
When I was fresh out of school I rented a house with three other guys and the basement was a great place for our alcohol lab. Two of us experimented with wine making, the other pair were into beer. Lots of boiling hops and barley, mashing the wort, selecting fruit juice varietals, adding brewer's yeast, cleaning five gallon glass carboys and stainless steel kegs, capping/corking bottles, making up fancy labels for our runs, giving away samples to family and friends. It's been years now, but your post brings back memories of great times. I am now thinking about making a Pantheon Pale Ale.
Good luck my friend, enjoy the art - and have fun with your creations (even if one crashes - everyone has a failure now and then).
Years ago I was into it pretty heavy. Dark beers, Porters and Stouts. I ventured into a few Ciders and even brewed up a Honey Mead a few times. Bottled into bottles first then Growlers and eventually i bought a fridge and 5gal kegs.
I have been seriously considering getting into it again, but haven't taken any action twords it yet. Good luck, its a lot of fun.
OK, So I spent a good eight hours yesterday brewing up my first five gallon batch of Oktoberfest. It is in the carbouy now and bubbling away. I am having a bit of an issue keeping the temps down to where I need them. I'm going to try to cool it a bit using a small fan.
Everything went fairly smooth for my first attempt. I ended up forgetting to prep the yeast and was somewhat delayed with that, but all in all it went well.
I'll write again when I have more info to tell.
Congrats Klumpedge.
Between you and my wife now brewing Kombucha I think I'm going to move on it myself. I've been drinking a beer called Dragons Milk Stout from New Holland Brewing and thanks to Google I'm going to try this one.
Yes Philo. I am using a hydrometer. FG was 1.012 @ 60F. A little sugar left in the brew, but most was used up and converted. Thank you for the concern.
I have a friend that has a nasty tale about bottle bombs. He brewed up a batch, bottled way too early, and went on vacation for a week up north. He came home to a closet full of nasty, smelly, mess... and no beer left to drink. :(
I've gone and cheated. I couldn't wait two more weeks for taste and cracked open a bottle today. I have to say I am quite pleased with the results.
Nice flavor with a bit o' bold from the hops at the end. Plenty of foam and fizz and mellow to drink with a hint of larger to it. This is going to be a great October beer.
I will call my first attempt at brewing a positive experience. Looking forward to my next batch. Might try a pumpkin spice next or an auzzie recipe I found called Hobbit Sauce.
Have you tried to make the White House Honey Porter? If done right, it's a really good beer. Or at least I think what I had was done right, because it was a really good beer.