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.


Saturday, September 22, 2012

Lots of Bottling - 9/22/2012

Today, I bottled two different 5 gallon beers.  My first one was a toasted rye ale that I have made before and was very popular.  The second one was an IPA that is hopped only with Simcoe Hops.  Both smelled great, but the IPA has a very strong aroma.  They both will be two weeks in the bottle, and then available for samples.  As I type this, I'm drinking an IPA from a brewery in Central Washington called Old Schoolhouse.  Very tasty.

As far as bottling goes, I got 6 22oz bottles and 35 12oz bottles out of each batch.  Not bad as far as quantity goes.

I also picked up supplies to make an Oktoberfest beer tomorrow, and some friends are going to be picking more fresh hops to be used in one of my creations.
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