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McAnally's (The Community Pub) => The Bar => Topic started by: Paynesgrey on September 19, 2011, 03:13:54 PM
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Those references to Mac's smokey homebrews got your mouth set for something sweet as sin and dark as night? Want to learn the craft, or just swap recipes? Here's the place to do. (Yeah, Story of Us would be the proper place, but hey, beer. Mac's. Pub.)
So, post your favorite recipes, questions about brewing, microbrew experiences, etc. And mishaps... Those can be... educational... to other brewers.
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Gee, I sure wish my beloved significant other would help me brew a batch of cherry wheat soon. :-*
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Bring out the Urchin and we'll check the stock of malt.
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Since fall is just about here, and October is next month, how about a pumpkin ale? I have a recipe but i've yet to try it.
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ooOOoohh... .pumpkin ale is my FAVORITE, especially during this time of year. I hadn't even considered making that....
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My reccomendation on pumpkin ale: go easy on the allspice. Don't be afraid to taste the pumpkin. I don't know if my tastebuds are wierd, but it seems like every pumpkin beer I have ever tasted, be it macro or micro brewed, tastes like someone poured an entire bottle of that dang spice into the batch and called it good.
The beer I'm pining for is my last batch of Nut Brown Ale. We made it on a whim in June and it was quite enjoyable until it went skunky. Although a this date an Oatmeal Stout would finish fermenting just in time for the tail end of Fall...
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I'm awaiting Amazons painfully slow Super Saver delivery to deliver my first two home brewing books, starting wine, and 130 wine receipes both by CJJ Berry.
Birthday is 14th of Novemeber, so will be buying kit then, and will, with a bit of luck, be getting smashed on christmas day on my own produce. Unless we go to my girlfriends families house, in which case I'll probably have to get really drunk.
Maybe I'll upgrade to all grain for next year, but its a bit expensive for me at the moment really, bills keep getting in the way.
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Wine usually takes quite a bit longer than beer to ferment, and it also requires at least a few months to settle and age a little. So you might want to make some ale for christmas. Wheras beer is beer in a week, and needs a few days after bottling to get a decent head. A few weeks aging is nice, but none of mine's ever lasted that long I'm afraid...
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Sorry it was just me being opaque as usual.
Wine books are on order, equipment for beer and wine will be bought 6 weeks before christmas, which is a reasonable amount of time for a couple of brews, one matured 5 weeks in the bottle, another 4 weeks, ect.
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Sorry it was just me being opaque as usual.
Wine books are on order, equipment for beer and wine will be bought 6 weeks before christmas, which is a reasonable amount of time for a couple of brews, one matured 5 weeks in the bottle, another 4 weeks, ect.
Ah, I thought you were going to hope to have some wine ready for Christmas. But ales? 4 or 5 weeks is plenty of time for them to hit their prime.
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Theres a christmas ale called "Doner and Blitzed" thats catching my eye at the moment as a starter.
I think time depends on the specific kit, some are still improving afte rthree months apparently.
I wonder if my G/F has realised why I want to clear the small bedroom this weekend.....
Books just arrived, two amazon packages today, no idea why they sent one order in 4 boxes.
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My reccomendation on pumpkin ale: go easy on the allspice. Don't be afraid to taste the pumpkin. I don't know if my tastebuds are wierd, but it seems like every pumpkin beer I have ever tasted, be it macro or micro brewed, tastes like someone poured an entire bottle of that dang spice into the batch and called it good.
The beer I'm pining for is my last batch of Nut Brown Ale. We made it on a whim in June and it was quite enjoyable until it went skunky. Although a this date an Oatmeal Stout would finish fermenting just in time for the tail end of Fall...
I wholeheartedly agree. Last year's Oktoberfest here showcased more than a few pumpkin ales but only one of them had no allspice and it was my favorite beer of the entire fest. This year's fest is almost upon us. I can't wait.
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I suppose this is as good of a place as any to tell this story...
Jail House Hooch
As I have mentioned elsewhere, I had to do a little jail time this summer. I was classified as minimum security (I know, I get no respect), so they put me in a dorm. I thought dorms were supposed to be fun. Anyway, it was a 12'x25' room packed with 8 men, and there we spent 23 hours a day. One of my "roommates" jokingly referred to himself as the "hoochmaster". They split up the dorm he was in previously, because they were caught. I guess he was the guy who knew how to do it the right way, and he was put in our dorm.
We were given 2 4oz cups of juice every day. It varied between grape, orange, fruit punch, lemonade, and whatever. Everyone involved saved their juices for about two weeks. We were given two packets of sugar every morning for our coffee, and we could buy sugar through the commissary once a week. They saved and bought sugar to add to the juice. That's what heightens the alcohol content. For the yeast, they saved up the bread from their bologna sandwiches. Who knew that would work?
They scammed an extra trash bag off of one of the COs, and added the juice. The bread was added little by little, and the sugar was mixed in little by little as well. The bag was tied off. It didn't take to long for the yeast to start doing it job (converting sugar into alcohol). When that happens, you get gas as a byproduct. They had to periodically "burp" the bad. This had to be done strategically, because when you release that gas, the whole room smells like a mixture of feet and wine for about an hour.
Since the idea is to get the concoction in your belly as soon as possible (and for the hooch to be as strong as possible), they incubated or "cooked" the hooch through the simple expedient of leaving it under the running shower for an hour at a time. Rinse and repeat for about 10 days.
I was just an observer. After smelling that swill for as long as I had, you couldn't pay me to drink it. It was split between three of the guys. According to them, it went down great, and it got them buzzin'.
It was just really cool watching the process. I had never brewed my own anything, but I was familiar with the fact that it is important to safeguard against foreign bacteria. The wrong bacteria can ruin a batch. According to the hoochmaster, they got lucky. He says that only about one batch in 5 is drinkable.
Glad I could share one of the things I learned 8)
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That is very interesting Don.
I had no idea it could been done like that! :o
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Great story Don. Did they say if they came upon this themselves or if it was passed on from others?
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'prison wine' is a pretty old concept
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Has anyone read the Foxfire books? Great compilations of antique daily living skills, and they touched on brewing and moonshining. (I wouldn't suggest trying to do home distillation, by the way, because if you do it wrong you go blind and die, wheras with brewing the worst you can generally do is get a mouthful of skunksnot.)
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PG, have you attempted a Mead yet? If so, any good places you can recommend to get the hardware?
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I've tried it, and I produced what was essentially a honey whiskey. The stuff had absolutley no sweetness left in it, and an entarding level of alcohol. I'm guessing 18%ish, which is insane for basic yeast and no distillation of any sort. Tried adding some cherry to it, and came up with robitusssin. I used champaign yeast, which seems to be the problem.
So I'd suggest a lower yield wine yeast, and lots of good raw honey. For equipment, I've used Midwest Brewing Supplies in the past, until I found a local hardware shop that sells brewing supplies. If you've got nothing local, I'd try them. You wouldn't need a whole big monster kit, really. If going with mead, I'd suggest 1 or 2 gallon batches. Good honey being more expensive than malt, and small batches being better for getting your technique and proportions down.
You'd need a couple of glass gallon/2 gallon jugs, a kettle large enough to boil a gallon or two of water. I'd suggest a pump style syphon... mouth syphoning's too likely to contaminate your wort. You'll rubber stoppers and plastic airlocks for each jug (cheap, cheap cheap.) Some people like no-rinse sanitizer for your jugs, bottles, tubing and such but I just use chlorox and then rinse it very, very, carefully. And you'll need some "yeast nutrient" to ensure healthy, happy yeast.
I'd suggest going with a pure honey mead until you get that down pat. True, you won't have the fruit to mask any issues, but let's face it.. fruity drinks that make people get silly and fall down are a dime a dozen, but a good, solid honey mead is hard to find. You master that, then you start exploring the fruit meads, and you'll be king of your local Drinkities.
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'prison wine' is a pretty old concept
Yeah.. I was just in a small county jail, but I was in with people who have done serious time. There seems to be a very strong oral tradition that passes ancient wisdom through the generations.
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Would you call that a jail meme?
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Would you call that a jail meme?
Yes. Between the stories I have been told and what I've seen myself, I've discovered that there are a lot of very fascinating "jail memes". They range from harmless things like how to operate the shower without having to hold the button down yourself to scary things like how to make deadly weapons out of unlikely items.
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I've been far more involved with wine making than beer, so hope y'all don't mind a bit of wine making notes added to the beer and ale! First, it's the time of year to look for the last of the watermelon crop. If the melon(s) are a bit soft, still ok for making watermelon wine. Second, right after Christmas/New Years the cranberries usually go on sale - and cranberry wine is great!
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My only involvement in homebrewing is in enjoying the results. And I'm quite pleased with having that job. ;D
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My fiance makes beer. He made this chocolate one that EVERYONE loves. I liked his red ale that he made. He wants to make another batch, but we need to get rid of the chocolate ones first! He also caps with real bottle caps!
And tonight...I am having beer for dinner. Probably the American Bada** made in Michigan by Kid Rock. Which is VERY tasty. He has a bourbon out now too I think.
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Just placed my first order.
A Cerveza, an Australian Lager and a Ginger Beer (probably should have got a proper ale, but, oh well)
Along with loads of equipment to have a crack at some winey related social lubricants.
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Biggest thing: Keep your workspace and utensils clean. I use chlorine bleach in water, then rinse, rinse, rinse the chlorine off as well. Cross-contamination is the biggest brew killer out there. Say you stir the wort and set your spoon down on an unsanitized counter, or wander off to read a book while things simmer, and you come back and handle your utensils without washing your hands... then you could ruin the whole batch by literally inoculating it with any of the common molds or bacteria just lying around.
Avoid mouth syphoning if you can, because the bacteria in your mouth will turn the whole mess into skunk snot. If you must mouth syphon, rinse your mouth with grain alcohol like Everclear or something above 150 proof.
Finally, after you boil your wort, when you cool it, you want to set the whole kettle in a sink full of icewater. Keep adding ice as it melts. Between around 80 and 90-ish degrees farenheit is the temperature zone where the aggresive, unwelcome contanimant organisms multiply the fastest, so you want move your wort through that contamination window as quickly as possible. (Don't add your yeast until the wort is below 75 degrees farenheit, or it will die screaming in the heat, or at least give your brew an off flavor.)
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I've got 5L of vimto "red wine" nice bubbling away, and 23L of Ginger Beer from a can thats being very lively.
Going to try a 5L ginger beer with powdered ginger this weekend and possibly move the ginger beer into bottles and get one of the lagers going.
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Just remember to use the right bottle for the right product.
A friend told a story of one of her friends who decided to try to make champagne.
Only problem was that he hadn't realized that champagne bottles are built heavily for
a very basic reason - to contain the pressure, and he used ordinary wine bottles.
He'd put his bottles in the garage and he started hearing loud noises from the garage.
There was a side door and he looked in before opening the main door.
The pressure of the bubbles was literally blowing the bottom off the wine bottles and launching
them like glass rockets.
Wisely he just closed the door and went away until all the crashing noises stopped.
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Yep, Bottle Bombs could be rather dangerous.
Mine are in plastic pop (Soda for the colonials) bottles so should take quite a bit of pressure, and fail none catastrophicaly.
Bottled the Ginger Beer with additional sugar, good god I hope the flavour improves with age, its tastes like someones eaten loads of ginger then had a wee.
Also making a 5 litre ginger beer from ginger powder (probably messed up quantities) but that bubbled like mad for the first 36 hours, so should be potent if nothing else. Seriously, I was worried the water was just going to be blown out the airlock!
Yeast Vit and "super" yeast, wheres the plastered smiley?
Assuming something drinkable comes out the end, I quite like this brewing lark.
Bit more time consuming than I thought at first, sterilising 12 2L bottles is a pain, but never mind.
I'm saving up "sparkling wine bottles" (other half drinks supermarket brand Asti :-[ ::)) so will have "proper" storage soon enough. Wonder how much it costs to dig out a cellar under the house?
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An "Australian lager" is bubbling away nicely and will be ready for bottling on Sunday, best get some bottles in the dishwasher tonight, have a nice stock of 500ml bottle this time so can vary my quantities.
4 week aged lager and 5 week aged ginger beer for christmas drinking, yummy.
Going to get a quality real ale ordered and can get that made, age it a full year for next year.
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Honey is now the proud owner of a chiller for his beer making talents.
Also I had a lovely Cream Ale on Thanksgiving that I absolutley LOVED. No bitter after taste bite.
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At a friends house, I was given something they claimed was home brewed Mead, but was amazing to taste, sweet with no "wine-ish" overtones. Like a light honey liqueur, not cloying but with a bit of kick. Since then, I have found a professional product, Bearenyager, which is to Mead what Moonshine is to Segrams Twisters. This stuff is like a shot of pure honey, with a kick like whiskey. Considering it is 78 proof, its no surprise. I like to put it in a flask and use it to spike my tea at the Renfest. (I may need to get a leather flask, probably wax coated, like my favorite pirate Mr. Gibbs has... maybe with a hexagon pattern and a couple of bees on the outside.)
So my question is Does anyone have any suggested recipes for Mead, and does it take any specialized equipment to brew/bottle? (brother in-law brews beers with a couple of friends in Lakeland, may have the bottling equipment I need...)
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Someone brew me a Gluten Free Beer that actually tastes like...well...BEER and you will be my best friend for life! I promise. :) Budweisers Red Bridge is gawd awful! >:( *gag*
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Just remember to use the right bottle for the right product.
A friend told a story of one of her friends who decided to try to make champagne.
Only problem was that he hadn't realized that champagne bottles are built heavily for
a very basic reason - to contain the pressure, and he used ordinary wine bottles.
He'd put his bottles in the garage and he started hearing loud noises from the garage.
There was a side door and he looked in before opening the main door.
The pressure of the bubbles was literally blowing the bottom off the wine bottles and launching
them like glass rockets.
Wisely he just closed the door and went away until all the crashing noises stopped.
We had some blueberry mead go horribly wrong and two or three of the bottles popped their corks (synthetic too - if you know what a PITA those things are to get out normally you have a good idea of the pressure involved). We refrigerated them after that so the yeastie beasties would stop fermenting and ended up with some pretty good blueberry champagne out of it. Of course, you had to be VERY careful opening them!
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Someone brew me a Gluten Free Beer that actually tastes like...well...BEER and you will be my best friend for life! I promise. :) Budweisers Red Bridge is gawd awful! >:( *gag*
You'll probably be best off trying microbrews. Saw a sorghum based brew but haven't tried it. Or you can learn to make mead. Honey, water, yeast, fruit if you like.
Mmmmm..... I'm going to have to crack open a bottle from my christmas stash this weekend.
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This stuff is like a shot of pure honey, with a kick like whiskey.
Where does one buy Mead? I have heard so much about it but have never seen it sold.
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there is a version available at most good liquor stores, its like a sweet white wine, I still endorse Bearenyagers.
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Anyone else grow hops? I keep running into problems with powdery mildew... :( I have Cascade variety.
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Where does one buy Mead? I have heard so much about it but have never seen it sold.
What state do you live in, Chiana? Some meadery's can ship to other states. Some states won't let you order alcohol from out of state. Pennsylvania, for example, only allows liquor and wine to be sold by it's own government stores. They don't like competition, the only exception being wineries within pennsylvania.
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I am in Maine. Selections of things are usually kind of limited.
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This is from a meadery in Maine. They'll ship to Maine and a few other states. I'd suggest a sweet or semi-sweet mead.
https://www.vinoshipper.com/wine/winery/356
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Found this yesterday and thought of you guys:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Homebrewers-Garden-Prepare-Brewing/dp/1580170102/ref=pd_sim_b_1
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You'll probably be best off trying microbrews. Saw a sorghum based brew but haven't tried it. Or you can learn to make mead. Honey, water, yeast, fruit if you like.
Mmmmm..... I'm going to have to crack open a bottle from my christmas stash this weekend.
O Rly? I've not tried Mead.. The Red Bridge GF Beer is actually Sorghum based I think.. My favorite GF beer is Greene's but it has to be imported all the way from Europe and it only comes in HUGE bottles with about 3 servings in it. But once you open it up you can't save it... tastes weird after leaving in the Fridge... Ah well. :) I'll have to take a look around and see what else I can find!
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My local distributor carries a brand of sorgum brew, but I've yet to try it. There's a local bar that has a huge microbrew section and I'll see if they've got it. If they do, I'll take it for a test drive and provide you with a bottle damage assessment.
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O Rly? I've not tried Mead..
Then, I am sorry to have to tell you, you have not truly lived yet. ;D
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It tastes like honey that's been in the pantry too long. :P
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Not if you get the good stuff. (I have yet to successfully make "good stuff" in terms of mead.) One thing to watch out for is bogus meads. You'll frequently see what's basically white wine with honey and herbs dumped in called mead. Read the label carefully, make sure it's made from just honey and water. Some people like mead with apples and other fruits, but for me personally that defeats the purpose. A nice clean mead with a teeny bit of spice and you've got joy in a mug.
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I like it warm and spiced, I'm just not overly fond of it plain.
They don't like competition, the only exception being wineries within pennsylvania.
And those wine kiosks they put in Giant stores.
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My preference for honey gone mad is Barenjager Honey Liqueur
Tastes like pure honey, kicks like whiskey, and is a great mixer, added to lemon or tea.
http://www.barenjagerhoney.com/ (http://www.barenjagerhoney.com/)
(http://resources.barmano.com/brand-images/barenjager-66-big.jpg)
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I still haven't gone ahead and either ordered the mead from that site you linked PG or looked for one in a store. Just how potent is mead? Is it really tasty then whomps you on your rear end?
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Normally it's about on par with plain old wine. (Note that Barenjager isn't mead, it's more like a schnapps or honeyed liquor and it will perform tasty but appalling damage on the unsuspecting.)
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True, not Mead but definitely Ambrosia.
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I like IPAs
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^ You can have them! :D
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I like IPAs
Usually IPA are too dry and thin for my tastes, but I had an Indian Indian Pale Ale at a local Indian restaurant and it's become one of my new favorites. Think the brand is Taj Mahal.
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Usually IPA are too dry and thin for my tastes, but I had an Indian Indian Pale Ale at a local Indian restaurant and it's become one of my new favorites. Think the brand is Taj Mahal.
Sounds tasty.
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*dunks Wat in brews*
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*smells like beer.....*
Not bad.
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Usually IPA are too dry and thin for my tastes, but I had an Indian Indian Pale Ale at a local Indian restaurant and it's become one of my new favorites. Think the brand is Taj Mahal.
Thin, eh? Anything too much thicker and you'd need a fork and knife.
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Are you guys aware that there is a HomeBrew in the Whitehouse, made from the honey of the Garden Beehive kept by the First Lady? Following the revelation that he keeps it stocked while on the campaign trail, a Freedom of Information request was filed for the president to release the recipe, as well as a Whitehouse.Gov petition. On a recent Reddit Q&A, our president promised to release the recipe if the petition reached its 25,000 signature goal, he would do so, though it is unclear if he will release the honey blonde and honey porter as well, or just the one for the Honey Ale specifically mentioned.
I signed. Anyone else?
News Coverage: http://bites.today.com/_news/2012/08/30/13567601-obama-white-house-beer-recipe-will-be-out-soon (http://bites.today.com/_news/2012/08/30/13567601-obama-white-house-beer-recipe-will-be-out-soon)
Petition: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/release-recipe-honey-ale-home-brewed-white-house/XkpkYwc0 (https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/release-recipe-honey-ale-home-brewed-white-house/XkpkYwc0)
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I'll sign. :)
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Beer beer BEER!!
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Cheers!
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Where everyone knows my name
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..... I know your name...
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I demand more!!
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What do you want from me, man!?
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Show me the MONEY!!!
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NEVER!
It's mine! Mine mine mine mine mine
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:'(
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Cry all you like! I stand firm!
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FINE!
*stomps off*
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*calls loudly after him*
You big baby!
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*Returns with a Bazooka*
Death to the Infidels!
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*stands all calm and boss like*
Oooo so baby got his pacifier huh? I'm scurred.
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*The Bazooka fires...poopy diapers*
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*dodges and holds her nose*
Someone needs to be changed. Did baby go poopy in his pants, hmm?
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*More poopy diapers fly. The room also starts to well warmer than usual, carrying the smell more forcefully*
My diapers shall blot out the sun!!
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You realize this is a suicide mission.
*calmly dons gas mask*
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*Evil laughter*
The diapers obey ME!!
*More evil laughter*
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*fears for Jin's sanity*
*strikes a match against the wall*
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And now...flaming poopy diapers! Brought to you by your sponsor
*Thumbs up*
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I was thinking explosion, but flaming poop is a classic.
*sets the diapers on fire and watches them burn*
Oooooo aaaaaaaa
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C'mon guys, take it back to the Weird threads please.
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My great grandmother used to make elderberry and blackberry wine as did my grandmother. I want to find their recipe and give it a try. Has anyone tried their hand at amature wine making like this? If I remember correctly, they stored it in mason jars.
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Where I grew up, scuppernong (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scuppernong)wine was a very common thing; lots of people, my grandparents included, bottled it themselves (in actual bottles). But it was pronounced "scuppanon".
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That is so cool. I fear that we are losing our ancestors wonderful creations like that and want to give myself a try in keeping those kinds of things alive.
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Used to make all sorts of wine, back when we had a bigger house with half basement. Used a five gallon glass carboy (big glass bottle with narrow neck) and a device called a stop cock that let's air out but not in to ferment the wine before bottling. Used old wine and glass soda bottles and kept the bottles in the cool cellar while they aged. Lots of fruit and veggie wines for the most part. Dandelion wine, rice wine, cranberry wine (used to buy lots of bags of cranberry after Christmas was over!) apple wine, watermelon wine... The cranberry and watermelon wines turned out the best. Check amazon for books on home wine making, as well as supplies like stop cocks, wine yeast, and so on.
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I will check out some books on it. Thanks!
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Main thing to remember when making wine is use lots and lots of boiling hot water to clean everything. I suspect same thing is true of beer brewing equipment. Can't use bleach or soap as any residue will kill off the yeasts you want to keep alive, and/or give a nasty taste to the resulting wine. Wine making is time consuming when cooking up the ingredients to start with and getting it into the carboy, then a lot of patience and waiting. You really need to be a bit anal about following directions, as it is easy to accidentally get wild yeast and such into the mix. Said wild yeast can really do a nasty number on your fermenting mixture. (Shudder)
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With beer you can use bleach, I suspect with wine too.. but you must rinse, rinse, super-rinse, power ninja dragon space-angel hyper panda rinse, and then, just to be sure, rinse one more time.
Cross contamination is probably the biggest brewdevil you've got to look out for with wine or beer. Set your spoon down on a contaminated counter top that you cleaned, but leaned a hand on after touching something in another room, etc. Good idea is a set of hooks to hang your spoon, ladle, thermometers and such off of so the business end never touches anything but the wort until you're completely finished with them. Windows shut, fans, AC, or forced air turned off to prevent the circulating air from depositing some bit of wild yeast, mildew or bacteria that was lurking in the ductwork.
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I've been home brewing for some time now. I use starsan sanitizer for everything. It's easy. I make beer, wine, mead and cider.
I've been trying to put together a rich american brown ale to call Mac's brown ale. My current brown ale recipe is great but it already has a name...Doc Brown Ale.
Anyway, great topic. I am also "arrogantdusty" over on the homebrewtalk message boar.
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2012/11/28/for-winning-the-nobel-prize-niels-bohr-got-a-house-with-free-beer/ (http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2012/11/28/for-winning-the-nobel-prize-niels-bohr-got-a-house-with-free-beer/)
You guys will apprieciate this. When Niels Bohr won the Nobel Prize in 1922, the Carlsberg brewery gifted him with a free house near the brewery. And the best part of the house was that it had a direct pipeline to the brewery, so that his private (and free) beer tap would never run dry.
And there are theories that it is part of what helped him crack much of Quantum Physics. From the Article:
So how did Bohr keep his mind supple and flexible, ready to accept new ideas when his peers like Einstein couldn’t? Well, here’s the thing – there are several studies that indicate that being drunk can actually improve your creativity. That’s because it prevents your mind from being able to focus, so it more readily drifts from one connection to another, which can yield creative solutions to problems.
So was free beer the reason why Bohr was able to make great strides in developing quantum mechanics? Okay, probably not – but I’m sure a few late night drinking sessions with other physicists didn’t hurt.
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I've been doing a lot of research and reading on wine making. I think it requires more time and patience than I possess right now. I will stick to throwing some fruit in a blender with some ice and hard stuff. My hat is off to all you beer and wine makers!
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I don't brew myself. But a couple of my friends do, and there are a couple of seriously awesome micro breweries near me. One with awesome German food, and one with awesome hamburgers.
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This is actually my first post on these forums. :) I've been brewing for 7 years or so and currently have a pretty decent 3-tier, gravity-fed brew stand. I brew 5-10 gallons a month and give away most of that. lol.
I second the use of StarSan in brewing. I'll never use a rinse-required sanitizer again. Don't fear the foam!
As for sanitation, it's important, sure, but only really important after the boil. Prior to the boil, anything that gets into your wort is going to die off during the boil. It won't cause any off-flavors in your beer, and it won't infect anything. Once you've cooled below about 170F, you do need to be careful. I keep some StarSan in a spray bottle while I'm brewing, and anything that needs to be sanitized gets a couple sprays. Keep in mind you can't sanitize something that isn't clean. If there's debris or gunk on something, it can't be sanitized. So it's good to keep a couple buckets around filled with clean water. Spoons, mash paddles, etc, can be soaked in the water so it doesn't get dried gunk on there.
As for the most important tip in brewing, once you've figured out sanitation, probably the most useful thing you can do in terms of quality of the finished product is fermentation temperature control. This is because probably 90% of the finished product flavor and aroma are dependent upon yeast. Yeast is a living organism which performs well only under conditions it's been bred to like. If the temperature of your fermenting beer changes by more than a couple degrees, you're going to get a significantly different beer.
Brewing is the absolute best, and it's one of the things that caused me to fall in love with these books!
If people are interested, I can post some recipes that have done well for me. Brewing is mostly about technique. Several people can brew the same recipe on their equipment, and get vastly different results, so I don't mind sharing my recipes. :) I've got a Southern English Brown aged on Oak, which is turning out quite good!
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Yeah, share those recipes! I usually go with a basic nut brown and sometimes the odd honey brown ale, and I'm not big on hops. (Just enough to call it beer.) Want to find a recipe that uses a hint of maple.
I've also done some decent sweet stouts. But my best batch was one I didn't write down. Just threw in every odd half-pound of this or that malt I had sitting around. Dark, thick, and sweet, and I must have had some Power Super Devil Yeast, because that stuff had to be 16-18%. You could smell the alcohol coming off of it, but it was sweeeeeeet. Like liquid cake that would fuck you up....
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OK, I made a sticky for recipes and recipes ONLY! All the discussion, Q&A and such, I'd like you to transplant here, we'll use that thread just as a recipe box!
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I have a Southern English Brown that I think would be great with some maple syrup. I aged it on some oak cubes for a week, but it seems to me it would be great with 2-4 weeks on the oak cubes and then a TINY bit of maple syrup in the mix at priming time. Problem with maple syrup is that it's almost 100% fermentable, so most of your maple flavor will be gone if you add it before fermentation. If you're not careful when adding it at priming time, however, you could end up with bottle bombs. :)
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Yeah, I've never had bottle bombs, but I had the batch I tried to use maple in turn cider-ish. Learned later that's because of all that easy to ferment sugar, I might as well have just added a similar quantity of cane sugar.
It occurs to me I could cook a batch so heavy in malt that the yeast would hit it's alcohol tolerance, and *then* add the maple, but that would be overpoweringly sweet.
Think I'll just try to find a maple wine recipe. I'm cautious though... My one attempt at mead produced a hot, high-octane beverage that vaguely had a honey-like aftertaste. I guess it was a yeast with a very high wine tolerance...
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Cidery flavors are acetaldehyde. Also described as green apple flavors. Sometimes that's due to taking it off the yeast cake too quickly, or underpitching yeast. It can be due to too much simple sugar, as well, and that's an interesting cause, too. When yeast ferments too much simple sugars, it actually loses the ability to break down and ferment maltose. The yeast naturally secrete an enzyme which breaks down maltose (malt sugar) into monosaccharides, which are easily fermented. When you use too much simple sugar, the yeast hit that stuff first, and after awhile, it just stops secreting the enzyme and essentially "forgets" how to ferment maltose. So, while some styles REQUIRE simple sugars (like some Belgians, Double IPA's, etc) in order to ferment down dry enough to be drinkable, too much simple sugar can do exactly what you describe. The other problem is that since maple syrup (like honey) is so fermentable, the yeast really consume the heck out of it. When the yeast is done with it, most of it (including the flavor) is gone.
I just read through the syrups section in Randy Mosher's book, Radical Brewing, which I just got for Christmas. (HIGHLY recommend this book if you're looking to experiment. I've only read through parts of it, and it's already helped me redesign one of my beers to help with some efficiency issues I was having.) The subject of maple reminded me of it, and I'm glad I did. He recommends adding the maple syrup to the secondary fermenter. (In the secondary, most of the alcohol has already been created, so there's not much for any bacteria to get a hold on.) The yeast is also mostly spent, so most of the maple flavors will remain in your beer. However, it seems to me you'd be running the risk of adding bacteria along with the syrup. I agree with him that this would be the best time to get the most flavor, and you won't have to worry about acetaldehyde, because your yeast won't be doing a TON of fermenting of the syrup. Finally, he recommends that you use the B grade maple syrup. It's not as refined as the A grade "Fancy" stuff, and will leave a lot more flavor in your beer.
He also suggested that if you want to enhance and extend maple flavor in your beer, the spice fenugreek has such a "maply" flavor that it is often used as a substitute for actual maple in the cheaper fake maple syrups. He says you can add this instead of or in conjunction with your maple syrup to the secondary.
Good stuff!
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I'll keep that in mind, some good info there! Thanks. When I get around to trying some batches I'll let you know. Might do a small batch of plain old oatmeal stout this week.
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Next batch I'm doing is a Spiced Mild Ale probably in a couple weeks. I recently stocked up on British Pale malt, so I'm sort of stuck on various british beers for the next couple months. I'm planning on doing some Christmas Pudding spices in the mild, and we'll see how that goes. In Feb I'll do a strong Scotch Ale, which I've been hankering for. After that I may do my Galaxy Pale (posted in the recipe thread) or I may end up doing a Doppelbock, if I can get my hands on some fermentation temp. control stuff I need. We shall see.
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Long time fan, first time poster and two year brewer here. I generally just hang out at the Dixonverse, but finding a brewing board here was too good to ignore.
Right now, I'm finishing a honey porter and have a basic porter carbonating as I type this. There may be a week with no home brew in the house. :o
Anyone have a commercial suggestion?
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The People asked, and the White House answered
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/ale-chief-white-house-beer-recipe (https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/ale-chief-white-house-beer-recipe)
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/image/wh_beer_recipe_honey_ale_0.jpg)
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/whitehouse_files/image/wh_beer_recipe_honey_porter_0.jpg)
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So I'm a homebrewer as well. I use a no rinse cleanser, and it's not that hard to keep everything clean.
I'm looking for a more in depth description of Mac's beer so that I can make a version of it and nerd out!
Right now, all I've got is that it's dark and best served at cellar temperature. What else?
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There are a few of them, if memory serves. One was probably a nice nut brown ale, a sweet and malty, not so bitter or hoppy brew. Another was mentioned as having a smokey taste, probably another brown ale with the addition some smoked malt or grains. Might have been a scottish ale or even an oatmeal stout with the smoked grains added. Mac sounds like an all-grain brewer rather than an extract sort of fellow, but that takes a great deal more time, and I've too ignorant tastes to notice the difference...
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I would recommend a cider at BJs. It's delightful.
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I have discovered a new Gluten Free beer!
If you have heard of Estrella Daum, they have a new beer out called Estrella Daum Dura that is gluten free. It's delicious! They made it from barley but they flitered it down to like 1 ppm so it's safe for even Celiac's. However they don't market it on the box as Gluten Free because they think people wont buy it if they think it's GF and they want all people to drink it not just GF people. :)
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Good find! Thanks for sharing that.
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Lets take a moment to salute this Pioneer of the Future:
http://www.ibtimes.com/michal-bodzianowski-11-year-old-colorado-boy-will-brew-beer-space-photo-1416866 (http://www.ibtimes.com/michal-bodzianowski-11-year-old-colorado-boy-will-brew-beer-space-photo-1416866)
(http://s1.ibtimes.com/sites/www.ibtimes.com/files/styles/v2_article_large/public/2013/10/08/beer.png)
An 11-year-old Colorado boy may have found a way to literally make a beer that's out of this world. Michal Bodzianowski, a sixth grader at Douglas County's STEM School and Academy in Highlands Ranch, Colo., recently won a national competition where his beer-making experiment will be flown to the International Space Station. Noting that beer is safer than contaminated water, Bodzianowski note that beer could be useful “in future civilization as an emergency backup hydration and medical source."
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Sam Adams Brewery is noted for their short run specialty beers. Have you considered arranging for Sam Adams to make "Mac" or McAnally" beer? I live in a small town but the local liquor owner would be willing to special order me a case of "Mac" beer! I have several friends who would buy some for the novelty.
I'm certain that if I bring a case of "Mac" beer, my brother-in-law would fire up his smoker and we could have a nice family picnic.
Mike
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where i live just north of Philly there is a winery, Stone and Key. that also makes wonderful cider. I go in and they know to pull me a pint of their 'cherry pie' which is a little sweet and very tart.
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Anyone has a recipe to recreate Mac's ale? I turn 18 next year and since that is the age when I can both drink and brew my own beer (I'm Singaporean. Minimum age is 18 for alcohol here.) and I'd like my first taste to be something good and not cheap trashy vodka or somesuch.
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I skipped to the end of the thread so, what type of beer is macs beer? I'm a hop head these days