Home Brewing Principles

There are a couple of things that we do with all of our home brewing that we feel make a difference in the quality of what we make.

1. Fun, fun, fun - Our primary reason for making our own beer and wine apertifs is to have fun with the process. Experiment with new ideas, and enjoy the process.

2. Water - We only brew with spring water to avoid any chemicals or additives related to tap water. We feel it makes a difference in the taste of what we make, and possibly contributes to a higher alcohol content (a guess, not fact)

3. Water Amount - We always brew our beer in 5 gallons of water. Some recipes and sites suggest adding water, but we feel that you want the grains and malt in the full 5 gallons so that none of the flavor is diluted.

4. Carboy - We always ferment in a glass carboy. We find it has the least influence on the overall flavor of the beer.

5. Tea Bag Technique - When the grains are soaking we move the bag just like you would a tea bag in a cup of water to ensure you maximize what you get from the grains

6. Bread - We make bread from the grains of our beers, and usually end up with approximately 5 loaves of fantastic tasting bread.


Sunday, September 2, 2012

IPA with Simcoe Hops

Today, I just finished making an IPA using Simcoe hops exclusively.   I got the recipe off the internet, and made it this morning.  Here is the recipe.  This beauty is now fermenting in my upstairs closet in a dark and cool place.

5 gallons of spring water
7 lb Light Dry Extract
1 lb Munich malt (grain)
.25 lb Crystal Malt 40L
1.5 oz of Simcoe hops to the boil for 60 minutes
.5 oz of Simcoe hops 55 minutes into the boil (5 minutes before the end)
.5 oz of Simcoe hops after the boil is complete while the wort cools down
.5 oz of hops added to the carboy (dry hop) during fermentation

I also took the grains and began a batch of bread.  It smells really good.  Will bake it later today and have with dinner.
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