Brew number two
Recently I started brewing beer with a couple of friends/beer enthusiasts here in town. Our first brew, an Arrogant Bastard clone, didn’t turn out so well – color was there, smell was there, even taste was pretty close – but we failed at the carbonation process. After bottling we immediately chilled it and wondered why, after a week and a half later it had no carbonation, when we should’ve let it sit at room temperature for the week or so first. We talked to a guy at our local brew store who said the yeast should revive itself if we pulled it out of the fridge and let it sit for another week or so. So that’s what we’ve done and hopefully all will be well. In the meantime, I’ve got three six packs and two bombers sitting on my kitchen counter.
Not to be put down we decided to keep going with it, learning from our mistakes, and so last night we began our second beer, a hefeweizen. We’re mimicking a Paulaner with a bit more fruitiness. The hops smelled incredible, almost like kiwis and bananas. We used the appropriate ammount of water this time, so it won’t be too watery and we’ll be sure and let it carbonate properly in two weeks when we bottle.
This was a really easy beer to make, supplies only costing $30. Only one type of hops and totalling only 2.15 ounces, and only nine pounds of grains/malt. We boiled last night and tossed in the yeast this morning. Two weeks should leave us with a tasty weizen. I can’t wait.
Up next is my choice – a Dogfish Head 90min IPA clone. It’ll be an expensive one, but being that it’ll be our third attempt, it should turn out pretty well. The 90min IPA is one of my favorite beers so having a fridge stuffed with it will certainly make me a happy camper for quite some time. And talk about a good beer, this thing calls for a total of 18.5 pounds of grains/malts and three different hops (Amarillo, Simcoe, and Warrior) totalling 5.15 oz. My mouth watered typing that.
For those of you who don’t quite follow, grains are used for aroma, color, and taste. Darker grains produce darker beers whereas lighter grains produce lighter beers. Malts (or grain sugars) are needed for alcohol production. The yeast will eat the sugars and convert them to alcohols. Hops add to flavor, but are mainly for aroma and bitterness. And in my opinion, the more hops the better.
Stay tuned!
Jeffrey said...
You know I am going to have to try every brew you make. Just gonna have to.
Comment posted on 10 July 2009 at 14:43
Melissa said...
I can’t wait till you guys brew the girly beer!
Comment posted on 10 July 2009 at 15:18
Gabe said...
Hefeweizen is a girly beer. What do you want – Zima?
Comment posted on 10 July 2009 at 16:47
Melissa said...
True! Does that mean I get to design the label on this one? :D
Comment posted on 10 July 2009 at 16:48
Gabe said...
Sure! But I will not drink a beer if the label has flowers, unicorns, or rainbows on it. I hope that’s not too limiting for you.
Comment posted on 10 July 2009 at 16:54
Chris said...
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same. Right, Melissa?
Comment posted on 10 July 2009 at 17:45
Kevin said...
I want to try some too! I don’t care if it is girly.
Comment posted on 14 July 2009 at 07:50
Jeffrey said...
Gabe, your talking bollocks. There are no girly beers, only girly brewers. Now straighten your seams, and bring us another beer!
Comment posted on 14 July 2009 at 07:57
Chris said...
We’re bottling a week from today!
Comment posted on 14 July 2009 at 10:30
Melissa said...
Chris does like Pink Unicorns.
Comment posted on 20 July 2009 at 12:55
Chris said...
Only ones you tattoo on my coffee mugs ;)
Comment posted on 20 July 2009 at 13:02
Jeffrey said...
Melissa doesn’t do tattoos. She gets them. You can blame that on the tattoo artist in Athens, and that drunk mug of yours!
Comment posted on 20 July 2009 at 13:17
Melissa said...
Oh my gosh that beer was so good …
Comment posted on 10 August 2009 at 08:53