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, October 21, 2012

Brewing Activities - 10/21/2012

Yesterday, I went to Pint Defiance in Tacoma, and got a mini growler of Deschutes Chasin' Freshies Fesh Hop IPA.  It was very tasty, but also very, very hoppy.  In my opinion, almost too much hop flavor.  It was a different taste, which was interesting.  I would hope a deeper malty flavor with as much hop flavor as is in this beer.

Today, we bottled the Oktoberfest ale, which we are calling a Novemberfest because it won't be ready until November.  There was a significant boil off for this batch, so I only got 5 of the 22 ounce bottles and 31 of the 12 ounce bottles out of this batch.  The smell was really good, and the hop aroma was light.  The flavor should be strong, but less hoppy than some of the other beers I've brewed.

Also, I made a recipe I got online called Saison De Noel.  It is based on dark grains (Belgian Aromatic, Weyermann Carafa, Weyermann CaraAroma).  It's also loaded with a variety of malts (Candi Syrup - first time to use for me, Pilsner Malt syrup, Pilsen dry malt, and corn sugar.  What is interesting is that there is one round of US Magnum hops at the beginning of the 60 minute boil.  The dry malt is added 45 minutes into the boil, and then the corn sugar is added after the boil is done.  I'm anxious to see how this one turned out.  A bit different than anything else I've made.

Lastly, I took the grains and am making bread out of them.  It will be a darker bread, but the smell is quite good.  I'm anxious to see what it tastes like.  We use the same bread recipe because it's mostly grains, and the bread that comes out is always good in flavor.  The bread isn't necessarily good for sandwiches because it's very crumbly.  However, it's very good warm with either butter or garlic and olive oil as topping.
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Monday, October 15, 2012

Activities on 10/14/2012

We brewed a Holiday Ale, which had a combination of wheat, rye, and chocolate grains.  Then, it also had a spice pack with orange, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  A bit light on the hops, but the smell is fantastic.  Started the fermentation last night, and it is happily bubbling away.  Really looking forward to how this one tastes!

Coming up

Bottling my Oktoberfest beer next weekend
Making an Amber with oak chips soaked in Bourbon for the last two months
Two different seasonal winter ales.
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