Daniel's Home Brew

Malt Bomb Pale Ale

2011-12-29T11:24:00.003-05:00

Its been a while since I have brewed so I decided to make a malt bomb of a pale ale. I was planning on doing it all grain but I had 3lbs dme on hand so I threw that in as well. I am brewing this with my homegrown goldings hops as well! The recipe follows:

5gal Batch
10lbs pale malt
1lb crystal 60 malt
3lbs pale DME
3 oz goldings hops
american ale yeast

Mash grain with 16.5 quarts (15.5L) of water @ 150F. Mash for 60min, stiring every 15min well maintaining the mash temp.
Collect wort and sparge remaining grain with 24.75 quarts (23.5L) @ 170f
Add all collected wort to your brew pot along with the DME and bring the a boil.
Boil for 45mins dividing 2oz of hops at :45, :15 and flame out.
Cool wort in an ice water bath.
Transfer cooled wort to a carboy and pitch yeast.
Primary ferment for 1 week.
Rack beer into a secondary onto the last 10z of hops and dry hop for one week.
With dry hopping complete rack again and allow the beer to settle out for another week.
Once the beer has cleared, rack off the lees, mix in prime sugar (3oz sucrose dissolved in 2 cups water) and bottle.
Bottle carbonation should take another week.
Enjoy!

Mashing

Boiling

Hot Break

Carboy after pitching the yeast.

The Malt Bomb came out at 1.075 OG, a big pale indeed!

Pedigree V.S.O.P.

2011-12-10T18:03:00.000-05:00

Pedigree Very Special Old Pale | Marstons plc. | English Strong Ale | 6.7% abv: lost my notes, check out ratebeer.

Tree Hophead

2011-12-09T18:03:00.001-05:00

Tree Hophead | Tree Brewing | India Pale Ale | 5.8% abv: An excellent IPA with a robust malt body and a nice level of hopping. Lots of pine and citrus hop notes finishing with a good amount of bittering.

Funnel Blower

2011-12-08T19:07:00.000-05:00

Funnel Blower | Box Steam Brewery | Porter | 4.5% abv : A well balanced porter with a good amount of vanilla mixed in. Low bittering, creamy & sweet.

Porter Baltique 2011

2011-12-07T19:31:00.001-05:00

Porter Baltique 2011 | Les Trois Mousquetaires | Baltic Porter | 10% abv: This is one big beer! Rich roast malt dominates the flavor along with espresso, coco, smoke, licorice and dried fruit. Thick, smooth body with a good amount of residual sweetness. Finish is very roasty, sweet and somewhat boozy. I'll be tucking a few of these into the cellar.

Maple Stout

2011-12-06T19:00:00.000-05:00

Maple Stout | Cannery Brewing Company | Sweet Stout | 5.5% abv: Big maple aroma with a hint of chocolate and black malt. The flavor is dominated by maple and vanilla with a light stout lingering in the background. Great stuff, as advertised.

Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin

2011-12-05T19:53:00.001-05:00

Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin | Shipyard Brewing Co. | Pumpkin Ale | 9% abv: Spicy, sweet aroma with clove and nutmeg. It one is quite strong in flavor with hits of clove, nutmeg, pumpkin, booze and malt. Finish is boozy with a good amount of hop bittering.

Mill Street Coffee Porter

2011-12-04T18:06:00.000-05:00

Coffee Porter | Mill Street Brew Pub | American Porter | 5.5% abv: Nice deep aroma of roasted malt & coffee. Taste is light with coffee, malt & some smoke. No astringency, easy drinking stuff.

Affingem Dubbel

2011-12-03T19:00:00.000-05:00

Dubbel | Brouwerij Affligem | 7% abv: Nice dense head. Spicy aroma with dark fruit coming through. Flavor is slightly weak with hints of malt, dried fruit and yeast. Finishes with some bittering and sourness. Overall a good but thin dubbel.

Bacchus Flemish Old Brown

2011-12-02T17:55:00.002-05:00

Bacchus Flemish Old Brown | Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck | Sour Ale(Wild Fermentation) | 4.5% abv : Sour, earthy aroma with some sour cherry. Flavor is quite tart with hints of sour cherry, vinous and light caramel malt. Finish is mineral, sour and rather refreshing.

Nørrebro Bryghus

2011-11-26T19:57:00.000-05:00

La Granja Stout w/ Ontario Maple Syrup | Sweet Stout | 7.5% ABV : Pours with a strange fizzy head that dissipates almost instantly, not what one would expect from a stout. Aroma is roasty, lots of espresso and sweet. Predominate dark malt flavor with a slight sweetness. Finish is bitter and with a little astringency. Quite thin to drink. All the effort to ship 160 liters of maple syrup to Denmark is lost, I didn't pick up any maple aroma or flavor. A bit of a let down really, particularly at 10 bucks a bottle.

VarTripel 2010 | Tripel | 9% ABV : Started by slowly rotating the bottle to mix in the lees. Pours cloudy yellow with a good head and modest retention/lacing. Aroma is very nice, reminiscent of a belgian tripel with some lemon aroma. Taste is complex, yeasty, lemon, candi sugar, pale malt & boozy. Rather thick consistency, sweet but balanced well with hops/spices. Seems like a good candidate for aging. Very nice!

Little Korkny Ale | Barley Wine | 12.5% ABV: Dark brown, unfiltered ale with a thin head. Smells sweet with dried fruit, molasses and alcohol vapors. Rather thick and robust to drink. The alcohol is strong and it runs on the syrupy side, reminds me of a really stiff rum & coke. Tastes like there is a good amount of bittering hops as well. Not really impressed with this one, it is really out of balance.

Bombay Pale Ale | English IPA | 6.5% ABV : A copper coloured ale capped by a frothy head, showing pretty nice lacing. Big malt aroma with some European hops coming through, very pleasing. Predominant sweet malt flavor followed by a mild hop flavor, nothing citrusy or piney though. Finishes clean with a slight hoppy bitterness. I enjoyed this ale, it is well balanced and smooth to drink. Although it runs on the light side for an IPA it is still well done.

Norrebros Julebryg | Spiced Winter Ale | 7.0% ABV : Pours some kind of dark colour with a receding head and very little lacing. Aroma is rather spicy, reminds me of banana bread. The spices are executed well without being over powering with clover & ginger being the main flavor. Quite smooth & creamy to drink. Finishes with a slight sourness. One of the better spiced ales I have tried.

Dominus Vobiscum Triple

2011-11-25T19:05:00.000-05:00

Dominus Vobiscum Triple | Microbrasserie Charlevoix | Triple | 9% abv: Pours with a really lively head. Spicy aroma of clove and yeast. Flavor is sweet, spicy and belgian yeast nuances. Surprisingly light bodied for a 9% ale and rather bubbly.

Dominus Vobiscum Blanche

2011-11-24T19:07:00.000-05:00

Dominus Vobiscum Blanche | Microbrasserie Charlevoix | Witbier | 5% abv: Pours a cloudy yellow with a bubbly white head, low retention & lacing. Aroma is soft with notes of spice and herbs. Taste comes though with tart wheat, chamomile and some citrus peel. Light bodied with stinging carbonation. Finish is refreshing with lots of spice.

Smashbomb Atomic IPA

2011-11-23T19:12:00.000-05:00

After reading through their kooky package you find phrases like "We unleashed our dry-hopping Secret Creation, Hoppapotamus, upon this brew" and "stripping all the aromatic oily resins from these juicy buds". Things like this let you know this is not your normal beer.

Smashbomb Atomic IPA | Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery | American IPA | 6% abv: A brown ale with a thin head and moderate lacing. Aroma is very hop forward, lots of pine, fruit and citrus. Taste comes through very hoppy and lightly malty. Flavor notes included pine resin, citrus pith and caramel malt. Ligther bodied, smooth carbonation and very easy to drink. Finishes with a punch of hop bittering.

Red Racer IPA

2011-11-22T19:36:00.000-05:00

Red Racer IPA | Central City Brewing Co. | India Pale Ale | 6.5% abv: Copper ale with a frothy white head, nice lacing. Aroma of fresh hops, pine and sweet malt; smells great. Nice balanced taste of sweet malt, pine, citrus and bittering. Medium bodied with light carbonation. Finishes with a good amount of bittering that leaves you wanting more. Nice stuff!

Duggan's #5 Sorachi Lager

2011-11-21T19:47:00.000-05:00

Duggan's #5 Sorachi Lager | Duggan's Brewery | Pale Lager | 4% abv: Pours a pale clear yellow with a pure white head, pretty good retention & lacing. Aroma is crisp with faint sweet malt and a touch of floral hops. The flavor is soft & clean with light malt and a touch of lemon from the Sorachi hops. Light bodied, steady stream of carbonation and it looks great in the glass. Finished clean, dry and slightly tart.

Musoka Cream Ale

2011-11-20T19:52:00.000-05:00

Cream Ale | Lake of Muskoka Cottage Brewery | 5% abv: This was one of my first craft ales that I tried many years ago, it was bottled at the time. Pours clear copper with a bubbly off white head, some lacing. Mild malty aroma with hardly any hop aroma. Taste of light caramel malt, just a touch of hop bittering and it is rather creamy on the pallet. Light bodied, fine carbonation and very easy to drink. It did have a bit of a metallic taste, they have just started bottling again so I'd go with them in the future.

Mill Street Brew Pub Sampler

2011-11-19T19:40:00.001-05:00

Lemon Tea Ale | 4.9% abv: Pours clear amber with a thick white head, not much retention. Nice aroma that is prominently tea & juicy lemon. Flavor is very pleasant, lots of earl grey tea coming through, tea tannins, sweet lemon and some light wheat & barley malt was noted. Light bodied, mild carbonation and extremely drinkable. Great served ice cold on a hot summer day!

Tankhouse Ale | American Pale Ale | 5.2% abv: Brown ale with a dense cream head. Aroma is earthy with roast malt and grassy hops. Taste is dry with flavors of pale malt, grain, spice and some hop bittering. Medium bodied with mellow carbonation. This is a pretty decent APA that is rather sessionable.

Pilsner | European Lager | 5.2% abv : Pours a clear golden with a thin head and hardly any retention. Aroma consists of mild malt, slightly earthy and rather uneventful. Taste is mainly mildly roasted sweet malt, some tartness and slight bittering. Light bodied with smooth carbonation. Finishes clean with mild hop bittering and some tartness.

Traditional Ginger | Spiced Beer | 5% abv: Pours clear golden with an off white head, decent retention. Aroma comes through with spicy ginger and grain. Taste like spicy ginger, nice malted barely & wheat body and some acidity. Medium bodied, lively carbonation and rather warming to drink. Finishes smooth with a lasting ginger kick and some hop bittering. Very nice!

Original Organic Lager | Pale Lager | 4.2% abv: Pours clear yellow with a thick head, low retention & lacing. Aroma is grainy, grassy & tart. The flavor is rather low as one would expect from such a lager. Very mild grain flavor come through with a touch of tartness. Light bodied, mellow carbonation and very smooth the drink. Finishes clean, some what watery and refreshing.

Stock Ale | Blond Lager | 4.7% abv: Pale yellow ale with a bubbly white head, no retention or lacing. Bland aroma that is grainy with just a hint of hops. Taste is also very bland, hardly anything to note other then it vaguely tastes like beer. Watery body with decent carbonation. Finish is clean & uneventful. I give them credit as it is difficult to brew such a light tasting beer as there is nothing to mask off flavors. That said, avoid this one unless you are looking to drink 24 at a time.

Lindemans

2011-11-18T19:40:00.000-05:00

Kriek | Fruit Lambic | 3.5% abv: Pours a hazy pink with low retention and good lacing. Aroma is very cherry forward with lots of sweetness, candy like. Taste is predominantly fresh cherries and it has alot of sweet & sour happening. Light bodied, low carbonation and rather rich tasting. Finishes with some lambic funk, sticky and fruity. It is quite a good Kriek, that said it is more like a cocktail then a beer.

Cuvée René | Gueuze | 5.5% abv: Pours a hazy golden colour with a thin head, modest retention & lacing. Aroma is funky with notes of tart fruit, barn yard, yeast and sour malt. The flavor come through with big hit of tartness, some light malt, tart fruit and tannin like. Light bodied with heavy carbonation. Finishes with a full pucker and much cleaner then the aroma would let on.

Coopers Sparkling Ale

2011-11-17T19:20:00.000-05:00

Coopers Sparkling Ale | Coopers Brewery | 5.8% abv: This is brewed by the folks that make Coopers Brew Kits. Pours a cloudy golden with a nice head, lots of lacing. Smells like light malt, some hops and yeast. Flavor comes through with a rich malt taste, zippy, yeasty and it has a decent hop profile. Medium bodied, very bubbly and thirst quenching. Finishes clean, lemony with good hop bittering. Overall quite nice if you are looking for a basic ale.

Badger Golden Champion

2011-11-16T19:43:00.000-05:00

Badger Golden Champion | Badger Brewery | 5% abv: Pours clear cooper with a thick off white head. Aroma is floral, malty & spicy. Taste is mildly hoppy, nice caramel malt flavor and the elder does come through well. Medium body with smooth carbonation. Finish is mouth coating, creamy (likely diacetyl) with a good amount of hop bittering.

Innis & Gunn Canada Day 2011

2011-11-15T19:11:00.000-05:00

Limited Addition Canada Day 2011 | Innis & Gunn | English Strong Ale | 8.3% abv: Pours ruby/brown with a tan head, looks great. Aroma is a rich mix of vanilla, charred oak and rather sweet. Flavor notes are rich malt, bourbon really comes through, sweet, alcohol and slightly woody. Full bodied, mellow carbonation and drinks quite easily for a strong ale. Finishes is sweet with some hop bittering and a bit of a booze bite.

Corne Du Diable

2011-11-14T19:00:00.002-05:00

Corne Du Diable | Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel | India Pale Ale | 6.5% abv: Pours a hazy walnut colour with a dense tan head that last forever, lots of chunky lacing, Looks amazing! Huge sweet caramel malt aroma with lots of hopping. Thick, rich taste that is a great balance between malt sweetness & resiny hops. Full bodied with low carbonation. Finishes malty with lingering hop bitterness. This is one rich IPA.

Schneider Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock

2011-07-23T19:54:00.002-04:00

Schneider Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock | Eisbock | 12% abv: Here we have a really strong German beer. This beer has been frozen to remove water which results in a very concentrated beer.

Pours a dark murky brown with a cream head, not much retention and some lacing. Pungent aroma of alcohol, clove, dark fruit and malty sweetness. Huge flavor with hits of spice, black liquorice, booze, raisins, molasses and rich malt. Thick to drink, mellow carbonation and goes down some what smoothly. Finish is sticky, boozy with lots of spice. Just a tad dangerous!

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen

2011-07-22T21:31:00.000-04:00

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen | Smoked Beer | 5.4% abv: Dark ruby with a generous head, good retention. Aroma is very smokey and savory, bacon like. The predominate flavor is smoke followed by roast malt, toast and smoked meat. Surprising light bodied and easy to drink, dare I say refreshing? It is an excellent BBQ ingredient as well.

Ölvisholt Brugghús

2011-07-21T21:31:00.000-04:00

Lava | Smoked Imperial Stout | 9.4% ABV : Pours black with a dense mocha head. Aroma of smoke, chocolate malt. Taste was surprisingly good, it is smokey but not over powering. Lots of roast malt flavor comes through with a bit of acidity. Finishes slightly dry and bitter with a lingering smokey flavor. Very smooth to drink and the booze is well hidden. This was my first smoked beer and I like it!

Skjálfti | Lager | 5% ABV : A dark amber lager with a frothy head. Big cereal/grainy aroma. Quite flavorful for a lager with a nice toasted malt taste and an excellent amount of hops. Crisp to drink and it is well carbonated. Very refreshing and clean tasting lager, would be great for summer.

Brasseurs De Montréal Coeur Brisé

2011-07-20T21:17:00.001-04:00

Coeur Brisé | Brasseurs De Montréal | Fruit Beer | 4.5% ABV: Pours a clear peachy colour with a white fizzy head, lots of bubbles. Huge fresh raspberry aroma, smells like fresh picked berries. Taste is mild raspberry, some malt, tart and perhaps some yeast related spice. Very easy to drink, light bodied and finishes with a clean aftertaste. I could drink a lot of these this summer.

Fuller's Organic Honey Dew

2011-07-19T21:30:00.001-04:00

Organic Honey Dew | Fuller's | English Pale Ale | % ABV: Pour a clear golden colour with a dense white head. The aroma is grainy, earthy with a touch of honey. Tastes starts out with malt & toasty flavors, finishes with lots of honey. Medium bodied with just enough hops to mask some sweetness. This one was alright, not sure if I would drink it again though.

Crazy Canuck Pale Ale

2011-07-18T21:35:00.000-04:00

Crazy Canuck Pale Ale | Great Lakes Brewery | West Coast Pale Ale | 5.2% abv: This is revamped from their previous Canuck Pale Ale that was bottle. Pours golden with a generous head and lots of sticky lacing. It has a really big pine & citrus hop aroma, mmm hops. Taste is very hop forward with citrus, grapefruit and resiny flavors, nice mild malt profile as well. Finishes with a pleasing bitterness and lingering hoppy goodness. Overall it was excellent and pretty good value at $2.5 for a tall can.

Celt Experience Golden Ale

2011-07-17T21:12:00.001-04:00

Golden Crafted Ale | The Celt Experience | Engish Pale Ale | 4.2% abv: Pours golden with low retention and good lacing. Noise is bready, spicy and fresh. Tastes grainy, malty with lots of hop flavor and bittering. Rich to drink, medium bodied with smooth carbonation. Finishes clean with lingering bitterness. A very nice offering.

Sunburst Golden Ale

2011-07-16T21:13:00.000-04:00

Sunburst Golden Ale | Dark Star Brewing | English Pale Ale | 4.8% abv : Pours golden with a thick head, nice lacing. Aroma notes are sweet, malty, English hops & brown butter. Taste is citrusy, sweet, good hop profile and toasty malt. Very easy to drink, refreshing with mild bittering.

Innis & Gunn Rum Cask

2011-07-15T19:16:00.000-04:00

Rum Cask | Innis & Gunn Brewery | Wee Heavy | 7.4% abv: Pours ruby/brown with a thick creamy head, not much retention. Aroma is prominently malt with a bit of rum and molasses. Flavor comes though with sweet malt, rum, brown sugar & oak. Prickly carbonation and fairly light bodied for a wee heavy. Finishes slightly bitter with some residual sweetness.

rogue

2011-07-14T17:58:00.000-04:00

Here goes a review of all the Rogue beers that were recently released at the LCBO under their brewery feature routine. As usual it involved driving all over the place because they were not all released at the same time nor were they completely stocked at the few chosen stores. I really wish they would do online ordering for the brewery features so I can just pick up what I want at my local store! Anyway... on with the task at hand, beer:

Double Dead Guy Ale | American Strong Ale | 9% abv: Pour ruby/amber with a thick creamy head, lots of sticky lacing. Excellent aroma of heavy malt, caramel, malted candies and some alcohol vapors. The taste starts out with a big malt flavor followed by a good amount of hop bitter, balances out the sweetness well. Medium bodied, smooth carbonation and drinks easily. Finished slightly hoppy with lingering bittering and some booze. Overall quite nice but I was hoping it would have a little bigger flavor.

Somer Orange Honey Ale | American Pale Wheat Ale | 5.2% abv: Brewed with barley, wheat, oats, hops, chamomile, sweet orange peel & coriander. Pours cloudy orange with a dissipating white head. Aroma of wheat malt, grain, orange and earthy. Flavor has zesty orange, grain and tart and floral/spice notes. Prickly carbonation, light bodied and very easy to drink. This is a very refreshing brew. Finishes clean with a hint of orange and honey.

Morimoto Soba Ale | Specialty Grain Ale | 4.*% abv : Clear golden ale with a thick white head, excellent lacing. Nice creamy aroma with pale malt and bready notes. Quite mild grainy flavor with some bittering and lots of twang. Even though rice is not used it has a some sake qualities to it. Light bodied, decent carbonation, very drinkable. Finishes with a touch of hop bittering & nuttiness. Very good for what it is, clean and refreshing.

Captain Sig's Northwestern Ale | India Red Ale | 6.2% abv : Hazy ruby/brown ale with a sticky tan head. Very nice hop aroma with lots of floral hop notes and a good deal of caramel malt aroma. A heavy rich malt flavor is followed by a big hit of hops. Hop flavors are everything one could want: Pine, Resiny and Citrus ~ excellent! Thick bodied, light carbonation, an excellent sipper. I really enjoyed this one, rich flavor without being to boozy.

Chipotle Ale | Amber Ale | 5.5% abv: Brewed with roasted chipotle peppers. Pours clear amber with a dissipating off white head. Aroma is smokey with a rich malt backbone. The flavor is surprisingly good with notes of smoke, chile, malt, hop bittering and quite a bit of tartness. Very crisp to drink and it is well balance. Finished with a touch of heat that builds as you drink.

Brutal IPA | American IPA | 5.8% abv: Pours a hazy orange colour with a thick tan head, lots of sticky lacing. Aroma is very fruity with pineapple and grapefruit aroma. This ale is big on grapefuit flavors with some nice caramel malt and biscuit flavors coming through. Quite a lot of hop bittering as well. Medium bodied, medium carbonation and it is well balanced. Finishes with lots of hop kick. This ale was really excellent, my favorite of the bunch.

Hitachino Nest White Ale

2011-06-22T21:16:00.003-04:00

Hitachino Nest White Ale | Kiuchi Brewery | Witbier | 5.0% abv: Pours a cloudy yellow with zero retention. Nice citrus & clove aroma. This is one of the best tasting witbiers I have had. Good mix of spice, citrus and malt, very refreshing. Finishes with creamy nutmeg flavor. Nutmeg in a witbier, interesting!

Infinium

2011-06-20T21:49:00.002-04:00

Infinium | Boston Beer Company | Bière de Champagne | 10.3% abv: Amber coloured with a head just like champagne. Aroma is spicy, malty and earthy. First taste is sweet malt followed by tart fruit, grain, booze and yeast. Crisp to drink, medium bodied with heavy yet smooth carbonation. Overall I liked it but I don't think I would drink it again. It came off a bit like a bad tripel.

Anchor Liberty Ale

2011-06-16T21:28:00.003-04:00

Anchor Liberty Ale | Anchor Brewing | American Pale Ale | 6% abv: Pours a hazy golden colour with a dense white head. Aroma of resiny hops & sweet malt. For an APA this one has quite a rich taste that is grainy, tart with a good amount of hop bittering. Finish is refreshing with a lingering bitterness.

Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor

2011-06-14T21:29:00.000-04:00

Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor | Brouwerij Het Anker Brewery | Belgian IPA | 8% ABV : Pours neon golden-yellow, very cloudy with a a massive sticky head. I took the photo after a gentle pour! Crisp, complex aroma with clove, malt, herbal and some funk. Malts take a back seat in the flavor, it is all belgian yeast, hop bittering and booze. Finishes tart, spicy, bitter and dry. This is a very drinkable IPA and a nice change from an American or English IPA.

Devil's Pale Ale

2011-06-12T21:38:00.000-04:00

Devil's Pale Ale | Great Lakes Brewing | English Pale Ale | 6.6% abv : Pours a deep mahogany with a huge creamy head. Tantalizing aroma of hops in this pale ale, it is also rather nutty. The flavor lives up to the aroma, nice malt body with hits of grapefruit and pine from the hops. Thick to drink but not overly sweet with silky smooth carbonation. Finishes hoppy with solid bittering. Overall I am very impressed, nice price point to at $2.60 for a tall can.

Grand River Brewing Curmudgeon IPA

2011-06-10T21:51:00.000-04:00

Curmudgeon IPA | Grand River Brewing | English IPA | 6.5% abv: A dark copper ale with excellent retentions. Fresh aroma of sweet malt and caramel without much hop aroma. The hops do come through in the first sip however. There is strong hop bittering pared well with malty sweetness. Finishes with a bitterness that last quite a while. Overall very nice, silky smooth to drink, low carbonation and easy to drink.

Der Hirschbrau

2011-04-26T18:30:00.000-04:00

Today we have a selection of Der Hirschbrau beers from Germany. These all came in gift packs at Christmas time. Any time they are available I pick them up because the flip tops make excellent homebrew bottles. Here are a few notes on each beer:

Holzar-Bier | Munich Dunkel Lager | 5.2% : My favorite of the bunch. Deep walnut colour, with not much head retention. Rich malt aroma, bready. Low carbonation which makes it very smooth to drink. Full malt flavor yet it drinks like a light beer. Nice roast malt flavor without any astringency. Very moderate bitter finish.

Neuschwansteiner Das Echte | Helles Lager | 4.7% ABV : Pours a clear straw yellow colour with a decent head and some lacing. Aroma of hay, pale malt & bread. Tastes of light nobel hops, light malt, a bit of twang and light bitterness. Overall a good German lager, clean, refreshing and easy to drink.

Doppel-Hirsch | Dopplebock | 7.2% ABV : Dark ruby brown colour with not much head retention. Deep, sweet malt aroma. Silky smooth mouth feel with low carbonation. Thick malt flavor, very rich with not much hop flavor or bittering. It has an Umami character to it.

Weisser Hirsch Allgauer Weizen | Hefeweizen | 5.2% ABV : Pale golden colour, cloudy with no head retention or lacing. This one needs some bottle stirring to mix in the lees. Aroma of banana, spice & sour malt. Tastes of lemon, a little clove and fairly malty as well. The carbonation has a bit to it, almost attacks the tongue. Not a bad wheat beer but not great either.

Dunkler Hirsch Allgäuer Weizen | Dunkelweizen | 5.2% ABV : Murky brown colour, like above no head retention or lacing. Much more roast malt in the aroma as well as banana & clove. Rich malt flavor, spicy, raisin like with hardly any astringency from the roast malts. Kind of flat tasting for a dark wheat beer.

Koningshoeven Quadrupel

2011-04-24T18:32:00.000-04:00

Koningshoeven Quadrupel | Brewery de Koningshoeven | 10% abv : A Trappist ale from the Netherlands that is fermented in oak barrels. Appears cloudy amber with very nice lacing. Smells strong with rich malt, dried fruit and spicy aromas. Tastes very complex: sweet malt, licorice, raisins, clove, honey, booze and a bit of oak. Pretty smooth drinking with carbonation that tantalizes the tongue. A nice warming sipper during the colder months. There are seven more of these in the cellar aging, we'll see how they do over the next few years.

Meantime Coffee Porter

2011-04-22T16:20:00.000-04:00

Meantime Coffee Porter | Porter | 6.0% ABV : Pours a clear dark brown colour with a tan head. Very coffee forward in the aroma with some chocolate malt. This was brewed with Araba coffee beans which sets it apart from your typical espresso stout/porter. Flavor again is very coffee forward, not much malt flavor. Bitterness is very low and it is very easy to drink. Slight sourness to it and I don't pick up any hops. Certainly something different.

Muskoka Brewery Seasonal Releases

2011-04-20T18:31:00.003-04:00

Harvest Ale | Pale Ale | 6.4% ABV : Brewed with local ingredients at harvest time with dry hopping. Pours with a generous three finger head with excellent retention. Nice aroma of hops & caramel malts. Taste is of sweet malt and a nice clean hop taste, fairly thick on the pallet. Finishes with a good amount of hop bitterness. One note on the bottle, They look nice but of the 12 I purchased 6 were leaking to various degrees.

Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout | Imperial Stout | 8% ABV : Brewed with chocolate malt, cocoa, vanilla & local cranberries for the arrival of the northern winter. Pours a ruby black and retains a thin head. A delicious aroma of creamy chocolate comes off this stout along with roast malt and biscuit notes. Chocolate & dark malt flavors are pared will in this stout. Finished with a tartness that hits the back of the tongue. Tartness is all I can attribute to cranberries, wish it had at least a slight cranberry flavor. Easy to drink with well hidden alcohol.

Summer Weiss | Hefeweizen | 5% abv : Decided to pretend it was summer even though it is April and 9c outside. Pours a slightly cloudy orange with no head to speak of. Aroma is clove and banana esters. Flavor is again clove and banana which is a result of the yeast used, yeasty with some wheat sharpness as well. Sweet yet tart to drink, prickly carbonation and light bodied. Finishes spicy and crisp. I quite liked this beer but it will be even better when the warm weather arrives. Good to see they have proper flip top closures now as well!

La Chouffe

2011-04-18T18:30:00.001-04:00

La Chouffe | Beglian Strong Pale Ale | 8% ABV : Generous head with good retention and lacing. Strong aroma of coriander and yeast. Apperance is cloudy orange, lots of chunky lees. Sweet malt flavor, good amount of coriander comes through and citrus bitterness. Fairly smooth to drink, strong carbonation and well hidden booze.

Duggan's No. 9 IPA

2011-04-16T18:30:00.002-04:00

Duggan's Number 9 IPA | West Coast IPA | 6.2%: Brewed in Toronto with 9 different malts and Cascade hops. Ruby-brown in colour with nice lacing. Aroma is predominately pine & citrus hops. Taste starts out with caramel malt followed by resinous hops, quite piney. Finishes clean with a lingering hop bitterness. A well balanced IPA that is easy to drink.

Traquair Jacobite Ale

2011-04-12T18:30:00.000-04:00

Traquair Jacobite Ale | Wee Heavy | 8% ABV: Brewed in a traditional manner and fermented in old oak tuns. Check out their process, it is quite cool.

An extremely dark ruby ale with low retention & lacing. Very nice aromatics with herbal, malty and sweet aromas. The taste is predominately fruity and herbal with some caramel/dark malt flavor. Thin for such a high abv, smooth to drink with silky carbonation. Finishes with a light bitterness and a tad sticky. Overall quite refreshing and interesting.

Piraat Ale

2011-04-10T18:31:00.001-04:00

Piraat Ale | Belgian Strong Ale/IPA | 10.5% ABV : Pours a murky amber colour with a thick head that last forever. Black licorice, boozy and yeast aromas. Sweet and spicy taste followed by hoppy bitterness and a bit of an alcohol bit. Quite easy to drink even with such a high alcohol content. Wish I had more of this one!

Gulden Draak

2011-04-08T18:30:00.000-04:00

Gulden Draak | Belgian Strong Dark Ale | 10.5% ABV : Pours a clear medium dark brown. Aroma is excellent, sweet, spicy, raisins, alcohol. This is one thick beer with a very fruity taste, sour cherry like but rather malty as well. Alcohol is up front with a light lingering burn. Rather sweet finish. It was nice to try this award winning ale.

Southern Tier

2011-04-05T18:29:00.001-04:00

Today's post includes beers I have tried over the last few months from Southern Tier Brewing Co. They are located in Lakewood, New York and make some of the most interesting tasting beers I have had.

Choklat Stout | Imperial Stout | 9.5% abv: Chocolate literally whoffs off this stout. Carbonation is almost none existent and the head quickly dissipates to a ring of lacy bubbles. It is rich, thick and completely indulgent for a beer. Its black depths reward the drinker with chocolate, bitter, malty and sweet all at once, yin yang like. Very reminiscent of malted chocolates but not nearly as sweet. Be careful with this one, this big bottle packs a punch and not just on your wallet!

Creme Brulee Stout | Imperial Milk Stout | 10% abv: Black, Opaque stout with a thick receding head. Excellent aroma of malted candies, caramelized sugar, alcohol & vanilla. Very creamy on the palate from the added lactose. Taste is rather roasty with caramel & vanilla. It is sweet but not nearly as sweet as it smells. Drinks thick with a good amount of booze coming through. Well balanced with its bitter finish. Quite delicious in moderation.

Pumking | Pumpkin Ale | 7.9% abv : Pours orange with a nice head and lacing. Strong aroma of ginger snap cookies, spices and creaminess. Taste wise it is sweet with a nice amount of spices like ginger, nutmeg and clove. Quite creamy and vanilla like on the palate. Finishes spicy with decent bittering. Very interesting pumpkin ale, definitely the most unusual and best tasting one I have had.

Southern Tier IPA | India Pale Ale | 6.9% : A crystal clear copper coloured ale with a thick off white head. Great aroma with lots of hops, sweet malt, citrus and yeast. Taste is hop forward with lots of hoppy grapefuit & pine flavors. Pretty amazing what a good amount of hops can do to a beer. Good malt flavor as well, medium bodied and it is well carbonated. Finishes refreshing with a lingering bitterness. A solid IPA.

Gemini | Double IPA | 10.5% ABV : This is a limited release blended ale. It contains a 50-50 mix of their Hoppe & Unearthly ale meant to mimic the twin constellation, Gemini. You don't get much more beer geek then that!

Pours a slightly cloudy orange with excellent retention and lacing. Big sweet malt aroma with lots of hoppy goodness like citrus, pine and fresh hop cones. Smells divine! Taste wise it is a mouth full. First flavor is thick malt quickly followed by a full hop explosion on your tongue. Oddly enough there is not a whole lot of hop character, just bittering and some resiny flavors. Dangerously hidden booze, smooth carbonation and medium bodied. Finishes with a nice sweet/bitter balance.

Flying Monkey Craft Brewery

2011-04-04T18:31:00.002-04:00

Here we have a couple sixer's from Flying Monkey Craft Brewery in Barrie Ontario. Their packaging reminds me of my youth!

Hoptical Illusion | American Pale Ale | 5% ABV : Pours a ruby-amber colour with a decent head. Lots of piney hop aroma. This beer has a pretty big hop flavor but not overpowering. Malt flavor is pretty low, it is described as an 'almost pale ale' so I think that was the idea. Leaves a lingering hop flavor and bitterness, very nice.

Netherworld | Cascadian Dark Ale | 6.5% ABV: Here we have a new beer style, a Cascadian Dark Ale. It is a combination of Stout, Porter & IPA. Pours a deep brown colour with a thick head. Aroma of strong roast malt & hops. Tastes like a porter with a liberal amount of hops. Very interesting on the taste buds and certainly nice to drink.

Christoffel Brewery

2011-04-02T18:30:00.002-04:00

Today I have three beers to share from Sint Christoffel Brewery in Roermond, Holland. All their beers are bottom fermented in traditional open tubs. They are also unpasteurized and unfiltered. I have used beeradvocate classification for each beer, that said none of these beers really fit a particular style and are quite unique in flavor.

Winterse Bok | Double Bock | 7.8% ABV : Pours a deep cloudy brown with a thin tan head. Rich aroma with dark malt, dark fruit, particularly raisins. Tastes very malty with a sweet/sour thing happening and fairly spicy tasting. Drinks very smoothly and it is rather light bodied for a double bock. Finishes quite boozy. Good but I must say it is a bit of a peculiar one.

Chistoffel Blond | Pilsener | 6% ABV : Cloudy golden appearance with a long lasting head. It has a rather interesting aroma, smells of flowers, herbs, sour and citrusy. Tastes lemony, quite hoppy and grainy. Finishes with a good hop bitterness and a lingering pilsener malt flavor. Very nice, perhaps the most complex pilsener I have had.

Christoffel Dry-Hopped Nobel | Strong Lager | 8.7% ABV : Pours with a cloudy pale orange colour with good retention and lacing. Nice hop aroma with some citrus and woodiness. Tastes of sweet malt, good hop flavor throughout, grassy and a slight pleasant earthiness. Finishes is fresh with good bitterness and hoppy.

Paulaner Brauerei

2011-03-31T18:30:00.006-04:00

Paulaner Oktoberfest | Märzen | 5.8% ABV: Here we have a gift pack of a 1L can of Oktoberfest beer with a branded 1L mug. Beer in gluttonous proportions, they get credit for that! This beer pours with a thick head that quickly dissipates to a thin lacing cap. This beer is very light to drink, even at 6%. Tastes of sweet lightly roasted malts with smooth carbonation. Finishes clean with a light hop bitterness. Overall not to exciting but very nice to drink.

Paulaner Salvator | Doppel Bock | 7.9% : A hazy amber colour with a very malty aroma. Taste basically like a malt bomb, very thick and smooth to drink. The sweetness seems to be balanced well with nobel hops. Warming to drink and finishes with a trace of alcohol and hop bittering. This is one nice Doppel Bock and really cheap too!

St-Ambroise

2011-03-29T18:30:00.001-04:00

St-Ambroise Vintage Ale | Barleywine | 10.2% ABV: Sweet malt aroma. Thick, deep flavor. This is a complex one with tastes of spice, raisins & caramel malts. Nice bitter hop finish. Taste good fresh but it will likely improve a lot with age.

St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout | 5% ABV : Pours black with a very nice tan head. Aroma of roast malt, smoke, woody. Taste is all dark roast malt, I don't pick up any chocolate or coffee in this stout. Creamy to drink with a slight smokiness. Finishes cleanly and tart. A nice light bodied, easy drinking stout.

St. Bernardus ABT 12

2011-03-27T14:19:00.000-04:00

St. Bernardus Abt 12 | Quadrupel | 10.5% ABV: Deep brown ale with a tan head and moderate lacing. Strong aroma of dark malts, booze and fruit. Lots going on taste wise: big malt flavor, fairly strong alcohol, licorice and raisins come to mind. Light bodied for a 10% ale making it very easy to drink. Finishes dry with a light bitterness. Very tasty. I will be aging a bunch of these, the bottles have a best before date of July 2015. We'll see how they cellar!

Double Hophead, Tree Brewing Co.

2011-03-23T20:45:00.001-04:00

Double Hophead | Tree Brewing Co. | Double IPA | 8.3% ABV:

After snowblowing a foot of snow tonight I treated myself to this DIPA. This beer is a special edition from Tree Brewing. It is brewed with five different hops and packs quite a punch.

Poured cloudy amber into my huge chalice. Sports a nice creamy head that dissipates to a nice lacing cap. This one is a bit of a monster, in a good way. Big hop aroma of grapefruit & pine with a pleasing caramel malt aroma. Drinks quite thick with smooth carbonation. Taste is excellent, the hops & malts are balanced well. Tastes of sweet malt, big floral hops, rather fruity as well. Finishes with good bitterness, resiny and with a lingering grapefuit hop flavor. Overall it was great beer, a big beer that was not over done.

Finishing the Munich Dunkel

2011-03-14T22:34:00.002-04:00

Feb 19th I racked the Munich Dunkel from the primary fermenter to the secondary fermenter. To clarify the beer I racked onto a solution of gelatin, 1 tsp gelatin dissolve in 1 cup of warm water. I then lagered the beer for about a month to bring on the lager flavors and so the gelatin could clarify.

Once the beer had lagered and clarified I racked the beer to the bottle bucket leaving all the sediment behind. To carbonate the beer I used white sugar that was mixed into the bottling bucked. The sugar solution was 2/3 cup of sugar dissolved in 2 cups of hot water.

With that done it was time to bottle. First thing was to sterilize all the bottles in Star-San and then rinse. I then siphoned the beer from the bottling bucket to the bottles using a bottling wand.

Here is the final product. I ended up with 24x330ml crown bottles, 16x500ml flip top bottles and one 750ml champagne bottle. They were bottled March 7th so they should be fully carbonated soon.

Munich Dunkel Brew Day

2011-02-20T13:59:00.002-05:00

Below are some photos taken well I was brewing the Munich Dunkel a little over three weeks ago. Since brewing I have let it primary ferment for three weeks at 10c(50f) and last night I racked it to a secondary fermenter for lagering. I'll post about that soon.

This was taken well I was mashing the grain, basically the grain is steeping like tea to extract all the fermentable sugars. This time I took care to mash the grain with the right amount of water, 1.3L water per lb grain.

This was taken after the hot break and first hop addition. It was boiled of 60min after this with various hop additions along the way.

I attempt to cool the wort down in a snow bank this time. It really did not work well. As soon as the snow melted around the pot it really slowed down the cooling. An ice water bath works much faster.
The gravity came out right on the recipes target. This dunkel should finish out in the 4-5.5% range depending on how well the yeast performs. This photo is also a good representation of the dunkel's colour.

Here is the dunkel in the carboy after fermentation had started. This photo came out quite dark, the dunkel is more of a dark brown then black. Following the yeast pack instructions I allowed the fermentation to start at room temperature and then I cooled it down to 10c(50f).

Partial Mash Munich Dunkel Recipe

2011-01-30T22:16:00.004-05:00

Here goes another home brew project, this time a Munich Dunkel Lager. Not necessarily an authentic version but it should be pretty close. The main difference from an authentic dunkel is I added more crystal malt which will bring out more sweetness and richness. This is my first attempt at a lager as well. It will ferment in my closet which is in the eve's of the house and is not insulated. It maintains around 10c(50f) this time of year so it should work out well. Here is the recipe I made up with from a few sources:

Munich Dunkel Lager
OG 1.050 / FG 1.010
18.9L (5G) batch

3lbs Extra Light DME or Pilsner DME
4lbs German Munich Malt
1lb Crystal 77 Malt
1/4-1/2lb Carafa Type 111 Special(dehusked, adjust to desired colour)
2oz Tettnanger Hops
Wyeast Bavarian Lager yeast (2206)

Step mash gain with 6.5L (1.75G) of water. Rest at 52c(125f) for 20min, 60c(140f) for 30min and 70c(158f) for 30min.

Sparge with 9.5L(2.5G) of water at 75C(168f). Mix DME into the collected wort.

Boil wort for 60 minutes adding 1oz hops at :60 and 1/2oz hops at :30 & :10

Top up wort to 18.9L(5G) and cool. You have two options for cooling:

Option 1, if using a single smack-pack. Cool wort to 21c(70f) and pitched yeast that is also at 21c(70f). Allow fermentation to fully activate, 4-24hrs and then cool the carboy to 10c(50f).

Option 2, if making a large yeast starter. Make a 2L(0.5G) or larger starter at 21c(70f). Cool wort and starter to 10c(50f), pitch yeast and then continue to ferment at 10c(50f).

Primary ferment for 2 weeks at 10c(50f), diacetly rest when the krausen falls. Rack and secondary ferment for 4-6 weeks at 10c(50f) or cooler.

Prime with 2/3 cup white sugar dissolved in 2 cups of water. Bottle carbonate at room temperature.

Blanche De Chambly Clone Overview

2011-01-18T19:52:00.000-05:00

Last June I brewed a clone recipe for Unibroue's Blanche De Chambly. If you would like to look back here are the links: The Recipe, Brew Day & Bottling Day. I am down to my last two bottles so an overview is in order.

Appearance: Colour is almost identical, colour can be the hardest thing to match with home brew.

Aroma: Very similar in aroma. The Unibroue ale has a little more of a citrus aroma and the beer I brewed has more coriander aroma.

Taste: There is a bit of a difference in taste, that said they both resemble a wit beer. The Unibroue version is quite light, sour, citrusy with just a hint of coriander. My ale is also light and sour but has more of a coriander taste and light on the citrus taste.

Overall I think the recipe from BYO is pretty good. If I used the recipe again I would reduce the coriander and greatly increase the bitter orange peel. I would also source better bitter orange peel, the ones I used looked ancient. The grain bill seems spot on though.

Dieu du Ciel Release

2011-01-04T19:59:00.000-05:00

For the past few months the LCBO has been releasing a variety of beers from Dieu du Ciel!. To my knowledge this was the first time their beers have been available in Ontario. They were all quite good and well crafted. Hopefully they keep stocking them. Here is a close up and a few notes on each one:

Solstice D'Hiver | Barley Wine | 9.8%: Pours a mahogany colour with a thin but dense head. Lots of malt aroma and some fruit as well. There is a thick malt flavor but not very sweet and a light bitter finish. It is really nice, my favorite of the bunch. This one will give Mill St's a run for its money.

Corne du Diable | Indian Pale Ale | 6.5%: Pours a murky brown with a head that quickly dissipated to a thin lacing cap. Zero sweetness with lots of caramel malt flavors. Good hop aroma and a lingering bitter hop finish. There is a grapefruit hit, most likely cascade hops. Pretty much a perfect IPA.

Derniere Volonte | Abbey-style Blond Ale | 7%: Light orange ale with good head retention. Once stirred up a bit it has a good amount of yeasty floaters. It certainly has a Belgian aroma to it. There is dry hopping but I don't pick up much hop taste. It is quite bitter though. I'd pass on this one in the future.

Aphrodite | Cocoa Vanilla Stout | 6.5%: A dessert beer brewed with fair-trade cocoa and first rate vanilla. Dark as night with a thick sumptuous head. Heaps of chocolate and vanilla aroma comes off this stout. The aroma makes you expect sweetness but it is not at all sweet. Well balanced, nice!

Rigor Mortis ABT | Quadrupel Ale | 10.5%: A brown ale with a short lived head. It has a lively licorice/molasses aroma. Taste wise it is fairly sweet, thick malt flavors with a fair amount of bitterness. The alcohol has a long lasting burn. Quite good overall, in small quantities.

Blanche du Paradis | Belgian White Ale | 5.0%: Pale yellow ale with a very nice citrus aroma. This ale is brewed with coriander & bitter orange peel and it comes through very well. Light and refreshing to drink, very nice.

Peche Mortel | Imperial Coffee Stout | 9.1%: This is one rich stout. Lots of roast malt and coffee aroma. Big bold flavors with a good amount of twang and lots of bitterness. A perfect winter sipper.

Route Des Epices | Peppercorn Rye Ale | 5.3%: This brown ale packs quite a punch. It is brewed with rye as well as black & green peppercorns. The rye gives it a really full malt flavor and the pepper is quite evident. After each taste a tingling feeling is left in the mouth. I was not sure of this but after trying it I'd have to say it is quite tasty. The sensation from the pepper is rather interesting too. It would be great with a peppercorn steak!

Rosee D'Hibiscus | Wheat Beer with Hibiscus flowers| 5.9%: Pours a rose colour with no head. It smells quite fruity. Taste wise it is sour, fruity and thin, almost lambic like. Easy to drink and would be nice on a hot summer day. Tastes like it needs an umbrella in it, Certainly something different!

A Wee Christmas Nip

2010-12-25T21:43:00.003-05:00

I popped my first bottle of Mill St. 2010 Barley Wine this evening. This ale is brewed in January and aged in tanks until it is bottled in November. It was very reminiscent of last years vintage although it seems darker in colour.

A deep amber ale with low carbonation. Thick and sweet with a good amount of bittering hops to even everything out. You can truly taste the malted barley in this one. There is lots of lacing on the glass from the well hidden 10% alcohol. A nice winter sipper. This year I am going to age a few bottles, seems like a good candidate.

Pumpkin Ales

2010-12-13T11:24:00.002-05:00

Above are all the pumpkin ales that are readily available in Ontario. This post is a little late but there are still a few bottles around the provinces. These five were my first taste of pumpkin ale. The style reminds of christmas ale, something that is good but not something you want to drink alot of. Here is a photo and description of each one:

Brasserie McAuslan Brewery, St-Ambroise Pumpkin Ale 5.0% 341ml - This is my favorite of the bunch. All the flavors are balanced well, There also is a nice creaminess to it. Looking at the ingredients this is the only one to include wheat in the grain bill as well.

Southern Tier, Imperial Pumking Ale 7.9% 650ml - Strong aroma of ginger snap cookies. Taste wise it is sweet, strong spicing, mostly ginger with a nice bitterness. There is a creamy, vanilla taste to it, very unusual. Out of all pumpkin ales this one is the closest to a pumpkin pie. If you're looking for a strong pumpkin ale this one takes the cake.

Grand River Brewery, Highballer Pumpkin Ale 5.2% 500ml - Pours a brown-amber colour. Light spicy-malt aroma. It taste quite good, perfect amount of spice, nothing over powering. Good easy drinking example.

Great Lakes Brewery, Pumpkin Ale 5.5% 650ml - Colour reminiscent of a pale ale. Mild spice flavor and aroma. Quite light to drink with a bitter finish. This one would be best if you are looking for a light pumpkin ale.

Brooklyn Brewery, Post Road Pumpkin Ale 5.0% 355ml - Copper colour. Strong spicy aroma with a little pumpkin smell. Heavy clove flavor. Not sure if I would pick this one up again.

Beer Cellar

2010-11-30T16:57:00.005-05:00

The beer collection has been expanding lately. This is the time of year the LCBO releases a lot of interesting beers, many of them only available once a year. I counted 79 bottles at present and 44 different styles. Some of the bigger beers will be aged for a while, others will be savored until they come available again and the lighter beers will be consumed fresh.

The collection is not finished for the year though. I am still waiting on La Trappe Quadrupel Ale, St. Bernardus Abt 12 and Meantime Coffee Porter. It also can't hurt to get a few more Orval!

Photos and a spreadsheet that list everything to follow:

Step 5: Filtering & Bottling the Wine Kit

2010-11-29T17:00:00.000-05:00

Here is the final step of the six week process to make the KenRidge New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wine kit. Above is a photo of the wine after clarifying for 16 days and after it was transferred off the sediment. It was pretty much crystal clear at this point.

I decided to filter the wine even though it looked really clear. It was cheap to rent so I figured why not. After it was done I think it did make a big difference in the finished product. It was pretty easy to run the machine. Just add filter pads, rinse it out, put the sucking hose in the carboy, the draining hose in the bottling bucket and turn it on.

With the wine crystal clear I siphoned it into sterilized bottles. I then sterilized the corks and corked the bottles with a rented floor corker.

After all this time, here is the finished product. Twenty Eight bottles of Sauvignon Blanc. The labels came with the kit but the shrink caps did not. It is tasting very good at the moment but I think it will be even better after sitting in the bottles for a couple months.

Step 3 & 4; Degas, Stabilize and Clarify the Wine Kit

2010-11-15T17:00:00.000-05:00

The gravity sample above shows the wine has completed fermentation. This means it is time to degas the KenRidge New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wine kit. The degassing is done to remove excess carbon dioxide so the wine can clarify properly.

I degassed with this tool that goes on a drill. It does a good job and is very quick. The degassing can also be done with a spoon or by shaking the carboy.

First thing for step 3 was to transfer the wine off the sediment to a new carboy. Then add Potassium Metabisulphite to the wine and degas. The photo above shows the wine after degassing, it produces alot of foam. Now the wine has to sit for two days before clarifying.

Step 4 consists of adding a packet of Potassium Sorbate and a packet of ISOKLEER to clarify the wine. After that you simply stir it well and let is sit for 16 days to clarify.

Here is a sample taken just before adding the clarifying agent. The wine is quite clear already but it does show some hazing in the carboy.

Step 2, Racking the Wine Kit

2010-11-12T00:28:00.007-05:00

Last Friday I racked the KenRidge New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wine kit into a glass carboy. Primary fermentation went well during the first 10 days and it almost fermented to dryness in that time. The photo above shows the wine before I transferred it. Smells really good so far!

This is a photo of the lees left in the bottom of the fermenter after racking. It was pretty thick stuff.

Here it is in the secondary fermenter. It is still very cloud but it will settle out over the next two weeks. Then in the third step I will degas the wine and add a fining agent to further clarify the wine.

I took a gravity sample to test the sugar levels. It came in at 0.995 which means the yeast are just about done consuming all the sugar. It should lower a little bit more by the next sampling. I then let the sample settle out in the fridge for a taste test. It was excellent, a little yeast at the moment but there definitely is a nice tasting wine in there.

KenRidge Showcase, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Kit

2010-10-27T19:50:00.000-04:00

Tonight I started my first batch of home brewed wine. I am using a premium wine kit from KenRidge and it is suppose to simulate a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. This kit produces 23L or 30 bottles of wine and takes 6 weeks to brew. The kit cost $90 which works out to $3 bucks a bottle.

Above is the contents of the kit. It includes everything you need asides from brewing equipment, water and bottles/corks. Items included are:

Good instructions with note sections
16L of grape juice concentrate
Bentonite, 15g (clay that is used to nourish the yeast and clarify the wine)
LALVIN K1-V1116 yeast, 5g
Potassium Sulphite, 4.5g (used to stop oxidization and stabilize the wine for storage)
Potassium Sorbate, 6g (used to stop yeast growth, my wine will be dry so I will not use it)
ISOKLEER (used as a fining agent to clear the wine)
Printed wine labels

Starting with sterilized equipment I proceed to do the first steps of brewing the wine. The 16L of grape must was added to the bucket. Then the bag was rinsed out into the bucket and it was topped up to 23L with filtered water. With that done I stirred in the Bentonite and then gave everything a through mixing. The yeast was then sprinkled on top, the lid was put on and I inserted an airlock into the lid. Now it goes in a warm spot until the next step in 10 days. The first step took about 15 minutes.

Before sealing up the bucket I took a gravity sample, This tests the sugar level. This is done for a couple reasons, it is used to calculate the alcohol content when the wine is finished and it also tells you when fermentation is complete. The reading came out at 1.098 which is right on target. This wine will ferment out to approx. 13%.

Here is the wine all buttoned up, It will ferment in this food grade bucket for the first 10 days. Buckets are the best fermentors to use in primary fermentation because they are easy to mix in and they are simple to clean out afterwords. The next step will be to transfer the wine into a glass carboy for the secondary fermentation. Look for a post on the next step around Nov 6th.

Home Grown Hops

2010-08-13T15:34:00.000-04:00

Early this year I decided to order some hop rhizomes from Left Fields Hops. This has to be done in Feb/March because they sell out fast. Once the snow left my order arrived and I planted Cascade, Nugget & Goldings. They are growing up the side of the house which I will show below:

Here we have two hop bines growing, Goldings on the left and Cascade on the right. They are growing up string. The string is tied to a stake in the ground and then fastened to a hook under the eaves of the house.

This hop bine is Nugget which is a good general purpose bittering hop. It is growing up 3 long bamboo canes that I bolted together. This method didn't work the greatest so I will use just string next year.

The photo above shows how the hops start flowering, This is called a burr. Basically the sticks eventually turn brown and the hop forms.

Here are a couple shots of fully formed Cascade hops. The cascade is putting out an excellent crop for the first year. These hops are just about ready to pick. I've read they are ready when they turn light green, feel dry to the touch and the end is slightly browning. They will also change from having a grassy smell to a nice hop smell.

The other hops are doing well also but producing a little slower. The nugget has many burrs currently so it will produce a nice harvest of bittering hops later this season. The Goldings is not producing much in its first year. Maybe just enough for a 3 gallons batch of English Ale I hope.

Blanche De Chambly Bottled

2010-08-10T08:02:00.000-04:00

Above is a shot of the Blanche De Chambly clone taken during primary fermentation. Being a wheat beer I was expecting much more krausen but it did bubble more then usually.

OG was 1.052 and FG came in at 1.010. So this brew finished up with an ABV of about 5.5%.

Here it is all bottled up. There was enough to fill 32 500ml (17 oz) bottles. I was short about 8 bottles, I guess the beer fairies took their share. This was bottled about 10 days ago. It should be pretty much carbonated now. I'll following up with a photo of it in a glass once I crack the first one open.

Look for an update on the hops I am growing next....

Blanche de Chambly Brew Day

2010-06-28T19:10:00.000-04:00

A few days ago I brewed the Blanche de Chambly clone, the recipe can be found here. It went well and being a partial mash it only took a few hours to do. Here are some photos I took along the way:

Here is the wort after a 10min boil and after the only hop addition. It was boiled for an addition 30mins after that. The white foam is hot break which occurs after the wort has come to a full boil.

After the boil I tossed in the coriander, ginger & bitter orange peel and let it steep for 10mins. The pot then went into an ice bath to cool to pitching temperature of 24c(75f).

With the wort cooled I took a gravity sample to test the sugar levels. It came out at 1.052, with the recipe projecting 1.049 it was within range.

Here it is after pitching the yeast. I separated it between two carboys because I have read wheat beers can have a large krausen which would make it prone to blow offs. In the end it was unnecessary as the krausen only came up about an inch. Better safe then sorry I guess. At first the beer seemed quite dark for a witbier. It has since lightened up after settling out.

Up next I will show photos of the primary fermentation and racking the beer into a secondary carboy.

Blanche de Chambly Clone

2010-06-22T22:52:00.004-04:00

After a bit of a brewing hiatus I am at it again. This time I am trying out a clone recipe for Blanche de Chambly. It is a belgian witbier and will be an excellent summer brew. Here is the recipe that is provided by byo.com:

Blanche de Chambly clone

5 Gallon, partial mash

OG 1049

Grain Bill:
3 lbs. Belgian pilsner malt
0.5 lb. flaked wheat
0.5 lb. flaked oats
3 lbs. unhopped wheat dry malt extract
1 oz. Saaz hop pellets, for 40 min.
0.5 oz. cracked coriander seed
0.25 oz. dried bitter orange peel
0.125 oz. grated dried ginger
recultured Blanche de Chambly yeast (or Wyeast 3944 or 3942)
7/8 cup corn sugar for priming

Directions:
Mash pilsner malt, flaked wheat, and flaked oats in 2 gals. of water at 150̊ F for 60 minutes. Sparge with 10 qts. water at 168̊ F. To kettle add extract. Boil 10 minutes. Add hop pellets and boil another 30 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer, steep (in a fine mesh bag or muslin hop bag) coriander, orange peel, and ginger for 10 minutes. If desired, other spices could be added, such as cumin, cardamom, black pepper, and paradise seeds. Remove from heat and chill, removing spice bag. Top off in fermenter to 5.25 gals. and cool to 75̊ F. Pitch yeast. Ferment for eight to 10 days at 65̊ F or so. Rack to secondary and condition for three weeks at 60̊ F. Prime with corn sugar, bottle, and age four weeks.

Above is a photo of all the fermentables. In the large bags there is 3lbs of pilsner malt & 3lbs of wheat dry malt extract. In front there is 1/2lb flaked oats on the left & on the right is 1/2lb of torrified wheat that I substituted for flaked wheat. In the middle is the yeast I used, it is safbrew wb-06. It is a dry yeast for use with wheat beers. Ultimately I should have used the true belgian yeast but I cheaped out.

Here is a shot of the remaining ingredient, all the flavoring additives. Starting clockwise from the back corner, bitter orange peel, saaz hops, coriander seeds & dried ginger. There is an ounce of each so only partial amounts were used except for the hops.

Brew day photos to follow in a day or two.

Duchy Organic Ale

2010-05-14T22:13:00.001-04:00

Today I have Duchy Organic Ale to share. It is produced by Duchy Originals, headed by Prince Charles and markets a whole slue of organic earthly products. The beer itself is brewed in partnership with Wychwood which is an organic brewer in the UK.

Pours with a head of fine bubbles that quickly dissipates to a thin lacy head. The ale is crystal clear with a coppery colour. Taste is sweet, fairly neutral with a low hop flavor. Carbonation is very smooth and nicely executed. Overall a well balanced ale. Some times the hardest thing is just making something simple, well done.

Hop Grower Dan

2010-04-29T00:45:00.001-04:00

This year I am going to try my hand at growing my own hops. I have a bit of a green thumb and have been publishing a vegetable garden blog for three years now so they should be easy enough for me to grow. I have chosen three varieties even through I really only have room for two and they will be grown up strings that are about 20 feet long.

I wanted to grow general purpose hops and I also wanted to select vigorous & disease resistant varieties. Here are the ones I selected and a short description of how I want to use them:

Nugget - selected for an all purpose bittering hop.
Goldings - selected for ales, stouts & barely wines. Possibly used for lagers as well.
Cascade - selected for pale ales & IPA's

With these varieties I should be able to supply most of my hops needs. Then I would only need to order specific hops if needed. I ordered my rhizomes from Left Fields Hops who are located in British Columbia, Canada. They offer a good selection and at good prices.

Here is what arrived, Short rhizome cuttings. I planted them about 6" deep with a good amount of compost. Once they start growing I will run some string from the ground to the eaves of the house and let them grow. I am guessing this year hop production will be pretty low. Hopefully I get something though.

John By Imperial Stout

2010-04-22T19:54:00.000-04:00

Today I have John By Imperial Stout to share. This stout is brewed by Scotch Irish Brewing in Ottawa, Ontario. They bottle all their beer in stubby's which I like, mainly because they were before my time.

This stout pours a deep black colour with a thick dense head. Settles out to a nice creamy head, we're talking stout mustache head! It hits everything a stout should, coffee, dark chocolate & bitterness in a good way. It is thick and smooth to drink. The 8.5% abv also carry's a nice punch. Simply beautiful.

Mort Subite Reviews

2010-04-06T21:13:00.000-04:00

Mort Subite Framboise

Recently tried this mainly because I want a few half champagne bottles for hard cider. It is a nice deep red colour and has an ABV of 4.5%. It has a big raspberry flavor, like fresh fruit. Easy to drink and really not reminiscent of beer at all. Airs on the side of sweetness, almost sticky afterwards and has some lambic funk mixed in. If you are looking for a girly beer this one takes the cake. I think I will save the other bottle for when the birds are singing this spring and I can be blissfully intoxicated in the veggie patch.

Mort Subite Kriek

I have a bit of a taste for anything cherry so I have tried this kriek on a few occasions. Here it is in it's ruby glory in an inappropriate flared pilsener glass. Like the one above it is a lambic and thus has been spontaneously fermented with wild yeast and bacteria over many months. Those Belgians know how to rot their beer just right! It has a good sour kick to it and it is rather thin in the mouth. I wouldn't necessary say it has a big cherry flavor but there is some fruit notes. A good choice if you are looking for a fruit beer or lambic.

Vanilla Bourbon Porter Bottle Night

2010-03-25T00:35:00.005-04:00

This evening I bottled the porter and it just so happens to be 5 weeks since brew day. It took about an hour to bottle which was much better timing them my last attempt. I have still not got the hang of not spilling all over the kitchen though.

The porter finished off at 1.022 which was higher then I wanted. The original recipe projects a FG of 1.018 so it is pretty close I guess. Alcohol content is around about 6.3% at the moment. The priming sugar & bourbon will raise it a bit more but I have no idea how to calculate that.

After the gravity sample I prepared all the additives in my bottling bucket. First in the bucket was 2oz by weight of sugar dissolved in water for carbonation. I then added 2.5oz of pure vanilla extract & 8oz of bourbon, both by liquid measure. The porter was then raked into the bucket, lightly stirred and then siphoned into bottles.

This 11.5L(3gal) batch produced 15 750ml(25oz) bottles and one glass worth for tasting. It is a deep brown colour and the gelatin fining has made it crystal clear. Taste at the moment is very reminiscent of dark chocolate which must be helped by the vanilla. It is also nicely bitter from the bourbon and dark malts. It is very viscous in the mouth and leaves a creamy after taste. With the high alcohol content it laces on the glass but it does not taste overly boozy. I look forward to trying this porter when it is carbonated and ages in the bottle for about a month.

Ebulum - Elderberry Black Ale

2010-03-18T19:16:00.002-04:00

From the Historic Ales From Scotland gift pack, Ebulum. A Elderberry Black Ale that was first introduced in the 9th Century as part of a Celtic Autumn festival. This ale is brewed with roasted oats, barley & wheat and boiled with herbs. It is then fermented with ripe elderberries.

Poured into the suggested straight glass this ale shows its deep black colour and rich malt & fruit aroma. Forms a nice dense head that settled to a thin creamy layer. The taste of roast malts and bitter chocolate are present. For a fruit beer I really don't pick up much fruit flavor, there is a sourness to it however. Seems thin in the mouth to me for such a rich ale. Bitterness is almost none existent and it is very drinkable.

Fraoch - Heather Ale

2010-03-17T18:43:00.000-04:00

From the Historic Ales From Scotland gift pack, Fraoch. This addition is brewed with malt barley, sweet gale, flowering feather and then infused with heather flowers for one hour. Brewed in Scotland since 2000 BC this is one old recipe.

Poured into a recommend fluted glass this ale shows a thin head, fine carbonation and a light amber colour. Aroma is very herbal, earthy with a slight bitterness. Taste is very flower like with a bitter after taste. Thin in the mouth with a low malt flavor. This one is interesting and definitely different.

Alba - Scots Pine Ale

2010-03-16T19:18:00.001-04:00

From the Historic Ales From Scotland gift pack, Alba. Brewed from pure malt barley with two additions of young spruce and pine sprigs. This ale was popular during the 19th century and was used at times to fight scurvy on long sea voyages.

This one I approached with the most trepidation. After tasting, it was definitely not what I has expecting. As recommend I poured the ale into a wine goblet which showed its deep amber colour and slight pine aroma. Carbonation is low which produced a short head that quickly dissipated to a ring of fine bubbles. Taste is mellow both in malt and pine, very nice. Full bodied with a bit of sweetness and slight astringency.

Grozet - Gooseberry Wheat Ale

2010-03-15T21:41:00.000-04:00

From the Historic Ales From Scotland gift pack, Grozet. This ale is made from a combination of lager malt, wheat, bog myrtle, hops and meadowsweet. It is then secondary fermented with gooseberries.

Recommend to be served in a tall glass so I chose a flared pilsner glass. Pours a clear light yellow colour with lively champagne like bubbles. Aroma is malty, earthiness with a bit of a sour note. It has a nice smooth taste that is very distinct, almost smoky. There is fruit present but not overly up front. I have never tried a gooseberry so I have no idea if the taste is similar. An interesting ale to be had.

Vanilla Bourbon Porter Secondary

2010-03-08T18:07:00.003-05:00

Today I racked the Vanilla Bourbon Porter to a 3gal secondary. It has been a day short of three weeks, I figured a big beer could use the extra time on the yeast and energy was lacking last week as well. I am trying out a gelatin fining with this batch so it was thrown in the pool as well. Here are some photos of the happenings:

This all grain beer had a lot of lees. In fact when I first put it in the carboy it had a sediment mark half way up the carboy. Thankfully it compacted nicely over time only leave 2-3 inches in the bottom.

Here it is being racked onto the gelatin solution. I used 1 teaspoon in 150ml of 170f water, stirred to dissolve. Once all the porter was transfered I lightly stirred it and then racking into the 3gal carboy.

The porter is a deep red/brown colour which is kind of shown in the picture. This time around I was much better with my levels. After filling the carboy I only had 250ml left, my last brew had about 2L extra.

The gravity sample came in at 1.025 so it has a little ways to go, I hope at least. The original recipe projected an FG of 1.018, it will be nice to get closure to that target. I think I will let it go 2-3 weeks longer. This should provide enough time for the yeast to finish up and for the gelatin to clear things up.

Historic Ales From Scotland

2010-03-05T00:35:00.000-05:00

I have a couple of these historic Scottish ales brewed by Williams Bros Brewing Co. to try out. The LCBO brings them in every Christmas I hear, stock is pretty low now so they came via a store transfer. All these ales are produced using century old recipes without hops which at the time were not prevalent. In place of hops wild ingredients are used that are hand picked in the Scottish Highlands. The four pack includes the following ales:

Alba - Scots Pine Ale
Grozet - Gooseberry & Wheat Ale
Fraoch - Heather Ale
Ebulum - Elderberry Black Ale

I will blog a bit about each one with yet more of my amateur reviews to come. I will also be posting about the vanilla bourbon porter in the next few days. I wanted to get it in the secondary last Tuesday but I have been busy with house fixes. I hope to get to it this weekend or early next week.

Chimay Red Premiere Review

2010-02-24T18:07:00.000-05:00

Extracting the cork gives a very satisfying pop, just something about a cork that makes a beer so much better. This is a big ale that has been refermented in the bottle, beware of yeasty floaters in the bottom of the bottle. I have heard of suspending the sediment but I just try to keep it in the bottle. Being such a big ale I decided it needed a big chalice, a King's sized chalice!

Pouring shows a deep brown colour with good deal of carbonation and a quickly dissipating head. It sports a really rich taste with a nice viscosity and lots of spice. The 7% alcohol gives a nice warming affect. Just a really good Trappist ale with everything in balance.

The 750ml bottles come corked with these monogrammed corks. A nice addition that pulls the whole package together. The cork also makes it possible to age the bottles like a fine wine.

Westmalle Dubbel

2010-02-23T20:20:00.000-05:00

Here we have an ale brewed by Trappist Monks. I find this rather interesting although I have read most of the work force are now not monks. Westmalle brewery is located in Belgium and opened its door in 1836. They are one of only seven monetarists that brew beer, a nice treat for sure.

I poured the Dubbel into a snifter and observed its deep brown hue. It has quite a complex flavor, one I have never tasted before with wine like aromas. It has nice caramel flavors with a good amount of malty sweetness and a few fruit notes. It also leaves the tongue with the after sensation of black licorice. I found the carbonation too high and in fact one bottle erupted without agitation. The flavor was much better if most of the carbonation was released in my opinion. With an ABV of 7% the alcohol was definitely present. There is a slight dryness as well which I guess comes from the Belgium candi sugar. If you come across this beer load up, you will not be disappointed.

Blanche De Chambly Review

2010-02-22T22:07:00.004-05:00

Here we have Blanche De Chambly from Unibroue in Quebec, Canada. A white ale from a blend of pale malt, wheat malt and unmalted wheat. This ale is refermented in the bottle and has an alcohol content of 5%.

In the glass it is a pale cloudy yellow with a rocky head. The taste is light with a thin viscosity and bubbly. It has a lemony flavor with a bit of spice to it. Certainly a drink for the warmer months. It would go well with summer foods and would be a good addition to marinades. A nice reward after pushing the dam lawn mower around :)

Vanilla Bourbon Porter Update

2010-02-19T21:23:00.002-05:00

Here is the porter on 3 day of fermentation. I have started keeping the carboy in the broom closet. It is in the center of the house and the furnace pipes run under it so it is evenly warm. It also completely excludes light so the sun can not skunk the beer.

One the first day the airlock was slowly active. On day two a krausen formed and the airlock was quite active. On day three it is about the same. I suspect fermentation will slow tomorrow.

This is quite a big beer so I will ferment it for at least 4 weeks, maybe even 6. There also is a lot of sediment from all the grain so I will be racking to a secondary fermenter at the 2-3 week mark. I will also be using gelatin finings in hopes for getting it crystal clear.

Not much interesting will be happening with the porter until I put it in the secondary so I will not update until then. In between I will be doing some posts on beers I have tasted lately.

Vanilla Bourbon Porter Brew Day

2010-02-18T17:07:00.004-05:00

I brewed the porter Tuesday night, it took about 6 hours total, what a work out. Here goes a few photos of brew day. If you are looking for the recipe you can find it HERE.

Taken after mashing the grain for 60min. 3gal mash with 9.5lbs of grain.

Taken at the end of the second mash, 30min this time. This was done with 2gal of water, a sparge of sorts I guess.

Taken well bring 5gal of wort to a full boil. Hmm looks good!

Taken at hot break and after the first hop addition. My brew pot is just under 6gal so I was a little worried about boil over. The hops went in slowly and all went well.

Taken at flame out after a 90min boil. The wort was reduced from 5gal to a little over 3gal.

The wort was then cooled and I took a gravity sample. OG on this porter was 1.070, the original recipe projected 1.078. I think my efficiency was not to shabby. I did think about doing a third mash which probably would have brought it up the few points, live and learn.

Coming up next will be a post on its fermentation thus far.

Vanilla Bourbon Porter Malt Grain

2010-02-17T18:01:00.002-05:00

I had laid out all the malt's for my porter and thought they looked so good I had to take some photos of it all. Here they go:

5lbs Canadian 2-Row Malt

1lb Brown Malt

1lb Chocolate Malt - 1/2lb was used in the porter

1lb Crystal 77 Malt - chewed on some of this, excellent caramel flavor

2lbs Munich Malt

*I am going to start working on the brew day post tonight and hope to get it up in a day or two

Vanilla Bourbon Porter Recipe

2010-02-15T14:45:00.001-05:00

Here goes my first attempt at an all grain brew. I roughly adapted this recipe to a 3 gal batch from the original 5 gal recipe. This brew is a little pricey at about $50 once you add vanilla & bourbon, that price includes only the used portion of the vanilla & bourdaon bottle by the way. With that said it is still about half the price of a similar retail product so lets just call it a once in a while home brew treat.

Vanilla Bourbon Porter
batch size: 11.5 liter (3gal)

5 lbs 2-Row Malt
2 lbs Munich Malt
1 lb Crystal 77
1 lb Brown Malt
1/2 lb Chocolate Malt
1 0z Magnum hops (bittering hops)
1 oz Saaz hops (aroma hops)
Safale US-05 dry yeast
2 oz pure vanilla extract
8 oz bourbon

I don't have a sparging apparatus so I am going to fake it with this all grain brew. Here is how I have thought it out so far:

Mash grain in 3 gallons of water at 150f for 60min. Well mashing, heat 2 gallons of strike water to 150f and hold temp. After mashing pour wort off to a bucket well reserving the grain in the brew pot. Now add the 2 gallons of 150f strike water to the grain and mash again for 30min. Pour wort off, remove grain and add the 5 gals of wort back into the brew pot.
With all the wort in the brew pot bring to a rolling boil. At hot break add 1oz magnum hops and continue the boil for 60 min. Watch that the pot does not boil over and stir occasionally. At :10 of the boil added the saaz hops.
With the boil done put the pot in an ice water bath and quickly bring the wort temp down to 70f.
Once cooled strain the wort into a bucket. Then aerate the wort really well by transferring it between the bucket and pot about 8 times.
Now transfer the wort to a carboy, pitch rehydrated yeast and allow to primary for 2 weeks
After the primary fermentation rack off the lees to a secondary fermenter and allow to ferment until it is finished, 2-3 weeks.
With fermentation done make a priming solution by dissolving 3oz sucrose with 2 cups of water and heat to dissolve. Now add the cooled priming sugar, vanilla & bourbon to a bottling bucket. Rake the porter onto the solution and lightly stir. Proceed to bottle and bottle condition for at least 2 weeks.

Brew day photos to follow soon, hopefully tomorrow evening.

Bottled Honey Pale Ale

2010-02-07T12:12:00.001-05:00

Last Monday I bottled the Honey Pale Ale . It had fermented for about a month and ended up finishing with an FG of 1.020. I was hoping it would ferment out further but it would not budge even after repitching some EC-1118 yeast. For bottling I first dissolved 3oz by weight of sucrose in 2 cups of water. That went into a bucket and the ale was racked onto the sugar solution. I then gave it a light stir and then proceeded to siphon the ale into the bottles.

I bottled into 750ml (25oz) champagne bottles. It really made bottling fast and they were relatively inexpensive to purchase. Free would have been better though! They have 29mm crowns so I had to get a 29mm bell for the wing capper as well as 29mm crown caps.

Now for the pièce de résistance, the first glass of Honey Pale Ale with bubbles. At the time of this picture the ale had been carbonating for 6 days. It had carbonate quite well but it will be even better in another week. It pours with a big head that really holds its form for a while. The taste is really good. It has a nice hoppy bitterness, even at 1.020 it is not overly sweet and ABV is around about 5%. All in all I think my first beer turned out great, who knew it was so easy to brew! I look forward to tasting it after it has aged in the bottle for a month or so.

The next brew coming up will be a Vanilla Bourbon Porter and it will also be another 11.5 liter (3gal) batch. I have all the supplies on hand and hope to get to it this week or next. Coming up soon will be the recipe post.

Maudite

2010-02-04T23:47:00.002-05:00

Maudite, which translates to Damned, is named after a Quebec folklore story about woodsmen selling theirs souls to the devil. In exchange for their souls they are flown home for the holidays in a canoe... It makes more sense after you have drank the beer..... It is a strong red ale and it is refermented in the bottle on lees. It is 8% abv and has been made since 1992, I was 8 at the time.

Maudite pours a deep brown colour with a thick head that quickly dissipates. Lots of carbonation and it is one of the clearest Unibroue beers I have tried. Quite a complex taste to this one with lots of fruit and spice. It has a nice bitterness to it, a good mix of dark malts & hops. This one is a winner, would love to age a few of these, they recommend to age them for 5+ years. Can I wait that long....

La Fin Du Monde

2010-01-29T22:43:00.004-05:00

According to Unibroue's page, La Fin Du Monde translates to 'The End of the World'. I guess a strong ale deserves a strong name! At 9% a couple of these would get you painlessly through the end of the world. This is a triple-style golden ale and it is refermented in the bottle. This versions is corked for the option of aging with a shelf life of 3 years. It is available in 750ml bomber bottles as well as your typical twist off bottle.

After a couple good tugs on the cork, I poured the golden ale into a recently acquired junk store chalice. In the glass it shows its cloudy appearance and a great deal of carbonation. It has a nice sour taste and what I can only describe as a belgium-ish flavor. The alcohol at 9% is not overly apparent but does show itself more as the beverage warms. A nice spicy winter drink.

Unibroue Beer Haul

2010-01-28T17:55:00.003-05:00

Here are some recently acquired beers. They are all from Unibroue which is an award winning Quebec brewer. They are 750ml bottles and corked for the opinion of aging, probably will not last that long....

We have:

Blanche De Chambly, white ale, 5% abv
La Fin Du Monde, strong triple-style ale, 9% abv
Maudite, strong red ale, 8% abv

Amateur reviews to come....

Honey Pale Ale Update

2010-01-14T21:07:00.004-05:00

Here is a quick run down of how the fermentation has gone with the honey pale ale:

the airlock pressurized 20mins after being installed and was activity bubbling within 2.5hrs. The safebrew t-58 yeast really moves fast
the next morning the airlock was going off like a machine gun and co2 was pumpin yeast gunk throughout the carboy
by day 3 the airlock activity had reduced greatly and all the gunk settled out at the bottom of the carboy
on day seven I racked to the secondary which you will see below

Before dinner I racked the ale from the primary into the secondary. It has been exactly one week since brew day so it was time. The ale went into my new 11.5L(3 gal) carboy. I decided on the small carboy for a few reasons, lower cost to brew, I can brew more variety in a shorter time and it still provides a case and a half of beer. In the future I would like to do full 18.9 L (5gal) batches through. My thought is the 18.9L carboy would be nice for lighter beers and the 11.5L carboy would be nice for bigger beers.

I took a gravity sample and it came out at 1.022. I am not sure how much lower it will end up but I am looking for 1.010 - 1.008 before bottling.

After racking I had about 2L (0.5gal) that did not fit in the secondary so it was chilled in the fridge and now is being tasted. It tastes just like beer! Pretty cool result for my first crack at beer brewing. Its flavor is quite nice and clean with a good hop bitterness. Alcohol content at the moment is about 3.75% so it has a little ways to go and it is still needs to clear out. So far so good though.

I will secondary for 2 weeks and then proceed to prime and bottle. I will then bottle age for a couple weeks before consuming.

Honey Pale Ale Brew Day

2010-01-08T20:55:00.003-05:00

Thursday evening I brewed my first beer, a partial mash honey pale ale. The recipe can be found at the following link. The process went well but it did end up take 4 hours and it certainly was a cooking marathon. I took lots of picture of the process so please bear with me:

I brought 15 liters (4 gal) of water to 74c (165f)

Added all the grain and gave it a good stir.

I then added ice until the temp lowered to mash temp of 65-68c (150-155f)

With the temp at the mash range I then maintained it for 60 minutes.

After the mash I strained the grain out with
a cheese cloth lined colander into a bucket.

The grain was then raised for a while so all the wort drainer out.

It then went back into the now rinsed pot, the pale DME was stirred in and then it was heated to a boil.

This was taken when the hot break occurred about 20 min after turning the heat on. At this point I set the timer for 60minutes and maintained the boil.

This was taken after the first hops addition.
0.5oz cascade hops was added at :60, :30 & :15

At :01 of the boil I added the last 0.5oz cascade hops
and the pound of honey.

With the boil done the pot went into an ice bath and was quickly brought to 21 c (70f).

It was then stained into a bucket. I tried a few things here. First with cheese cloth which quickly clogged then just with a stainer. Lots of hop reside was missed. Not sure if this is a problem? I guess I can separated it out when I rack to the secondary.

I then aerated the wort really well by transferring it between the pot & bucket about 5 times.

With that done it went into a carboy and then I topped it with water to 11.5 liters (3gals) and mixed well.

I then took a gravity sample which ended up being 1.050. After that the yeast was pitched into the carboy.

Finally here it is completed and on its way to becoming ale.

My Next Brew

2010-01-04T17:49:00.003-05:00

With the Hard Cider bottled I am moving on to my next brew. This will be my first attempt at brewing beer and I will use a partial mash recipe shared by Red @ red-icculus.com. I was not able to source all the original ingredients and I added honey so the recipe is a bit of a hybrid now. I also decided to reduce the batch to 11.5 liters(3 gal). Here goes the recipe:

Honey Pale Ale

2 lbs Pale Ale Malt
2 lbs Honey Malt
1 lb Pale DME
1 lb Buckwheat Honey
2 oz Cascade Hops
1 oz Saaz Hops
Safbrew T-58 Yeast

Heat 11.5 liters of water to 65-68c(150-155f), add grain and mash for 60 minutes well maintaining the temp.
Strain grain out, add DME and bring to boil until hot break occurs then start adding hops.
0.5 oz of cascade at :60, :30, :15 and at :01 add the last 0.5 oz cascade and honey
cool wort to 21c(70f) in an ice water bath and then strain into the carboy
top up with water to about 12.5 liters, leaving extra for racking loss and aerate.
pitch rehydrated yeast, install airlock and allow to ferment for 1-2 weeks.
transfer to a 11.5 liter carboy, leaving little air space and install airlock
allow to secondary for 1-2 weeks, dry hopping with the 1oz Saaz hops 5-7 day before fermentation is done.

This is my plan and I hope everything goes well. I am planning on starting the ale some evening this week. Pictures of the process will fallow soon after. Once the ale has fermented out I will be bottling in 750ml (25oz) champagne bottle with 29mm crowns.

At the following link are a bunch of pictures of brew day!

Bottled Hard Cider

2009-12-28T22:24:00.006-05:00

The hard cider was bottled the evening of Dec 23rd. The process went extremely well for my first crack at bottling. Here goes some pictures of the process:

First off I dissolved 3oz by weight of honey in a bit of water on the stove and then added it to my bucket for carbonation. I then racked the cider from the carboy into the bucket, leaving most of the lees behind. Once siphoned I very lightly stirred the cider without aerating to mix the priming honey in and pool any lees left into the center.

With that done I then siphoned the cider from the bucket into sterilized bottles with a bottling wand.

From my 8 liter (2gal) batch I ended up with eight 750ml bottles & six 375ml bottles. Pretty good haul really.

The champagne bottles were sealed with a plastic cork and a wire hood. The hire hoods really didn't fit the bottles which caused a bit of aggravation. Any time I have opened a champagne bottle the hood always fit just under the rim and was not tight. These ones I had to bend into place to fit. Once I get to making a batch of wine I will get a good champagne floor corker so in the future I can seal these with proper corks & hoods.

The bottles have been hanging out in the broom closet in a lidded tote, encase of explosions! Thankfully no explosions yet. They have now been carbonating for about 5 days and all bottles have formed a bit of sediment in the bottom. This is a good indication that the carbonation is under way. I will let them go for two weeks and then store them in the cool basement.

One bottle is not quite full so it will be consumed right after carbonation. The rest I will let age for a while and I have been thinking of letting a couple age for about a year. There also has been some thought of labeling them. A draft label was sent to a local print place and I am just waiting on a price before deciding if it is worth it.

We are at dryness

2009-12-22T21:43:00.001-05:00

It has been just over thirty days since starting this batch of hard cider. This evening I decided to take a sample and do a hydrometer test. The final gravity was plus or minus 1.000 so it has basically fermented to dryness. I will be bottling very soon, hopefully tomorrow evening. I have a mix of bottles so it will be going into 341ml crown bottles, 375ml champagne bottles & 750ml champagne bottles.

Here is my sample. The cider started out as cloudy brown cider and did clear quite well without the use of clearing agents. Taste wise it is excellent. It has a very clean, dry taste and best of all no off tastes. It does have a good amount of alcohol kick but it is not off putting. With some time aging in the bottles this stuff should be stellar.

Look for my bottling post coming soon....

Mill St. Barley Wine Tasting

2009-12-18T21:55:00.000-05:00

In my home brew reading I came across Barley Wine a few times. Being new to me the first thing I did was look to see what was available in our local area and found this beer. It is brewed by Mill St. Brewery in Toronto, ON and comes in this cool stoneware bottle with a flip top.

The label does not disappoint, this is one extra strong beer. The first experience is popping the flip top that shoots off like a rocket and is quite exciting. Pouring it into the glass shows it beautiful amber color and malty aroma. Taste wise it has a good balance of bitterness and sweetness with a nice viscous mouth feel. Certainly hits the spot on a cold winter night. A good candidate for sipping at 11% ABV.

New Brew Gear

2009-12-16T16:29:00.002-05:00

picked up a 21 liter stainless steel pot, which is just under 6 gallons at walmart. This was the most economical one I could find that was large and had a thick bottom to prevent scorching. I have needed a large pot for home canning for a while so this one will be dual purpose for brewing & canning.

36 - 750ml champagne bottles, a third will be used for sparkling hard cider & the other 2/3 will be used for my up coming pale ale. In coming months these bottles will be used only for sparkling cider and possible some brut if I make wine.

*starting in the top left, moving to the right

carboy handle
champagne hoods
plastic champagne corks
26mm crown caps
bucket spigot
small mash bag
wine thief/hydrometer reader
auto siphon
racking tube
hydrometer
emily capper

Gear picked up when I started brewing includes:

siphoning tube
bottle filling wand
23l plastic bucket & lid
23l glass carboy
2 airlocks & bungs

I am pretty much all kitted out now other then a few things that are not immediately needed. The champagne bottles have 29mm crowns so I will need a 29mm bell & 29mm caps. I also need 500ml glass beer bottles & grolsch beer bottles so I will be slowly collecting them over time. Glass bottles are really expensive, so much so that in terms of grolsch you can buy them filled with beer cheaper then empty ones.