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Omahawk - I've not used cold brew for coffee wine. I do imagine it would be much smoother, but it would take a whole lot of coffee to make enough for a batch of wine...way too much for me to invest into it. You figure, to make good coffee it takes 2 full tablespoons of coffee per one measured...

I've never brewed an all grain beer before...all I've ever done is extracts with adjunct grains. Brewing a coffee wine is dead simple, though. You brew the coffee with enough sugar to get to the ABV you want, strain it, let it cool, and add yeast. Granted, using hops and any possible grain with...

Okay, so I make coffee wine. Usually, they come out pretty tasty. I made a "christmas" coffee wine, using a Christmas blend coffee, some honey and molasses. It did not come out all that great. I'll drink it just because I don't want to waste it...it is not THAT bad. Anyhow, I'm sitting here...

It is malted rye, and it might be a 6 to 8 months old, but it has not been cracked yet. Thanks for the advice. I think I'll give it a try...sounds like it might work. I also have amylase enzyme I can add to help nudge the conversion along, just in case.

So, the local homebrew store closed, and I don't have easy access to extract any longer. While I contemplate where to buy extracts online, I thought I would use some of my leftover grains and actually try an all grain brew. Not sure if it would work though - again, my first attempt at it...

Well, Homebrew USA has closed near me. That was the only store within 45 minutes. The other is about 45 minutes to an hour away, and I know nothing about them yet. Not willing to drive that far quite yet. SO...I'm left with brewing my off-hand sort of stuff. Haven't done ginger beer lately...

Well, this has been sitting for over a month. Bad news, it is still quite sweet. The good news, though, is that it is mostly drinkable now. For what it is worth, I have pulled out my hydrometer and I am practicing with it for the future. Whew.

I'm guessing they don't really make beer yeast for such high ABV, right? I've looked around, and the highest I could find was 10%-11% max. Ah well. Maybe next time. I'm just not sure what could've happened. I've made a couple of strong beers before with no problems at all. As you said, it is...

First, let me say this. I don't check for gravity, since I brew 1 gallon, to 1-1/2 gallon batches and don't want to lose any of my brew. I know...that doesn't help answer my questions much. I was able to check my final gravity. I explain that further on. I had made a strong beer, expected ABV...

Thanks all. I'll probably look into getting a refractometer. That's what a lot of responses on the other thread said. Of course, there were several comments that went along the lines of: Who really cares...you're making it for you and your friends...go with an estimate from a calculator and...

Never mind - I just found a thread with almost the exact same topic. An admin can feel free to delete this if you wish. :)

Okay....this is for anyone who brews gallon batches, or something even remotely close. (I actually brew 1-1/2 gallon batches now, typically) I have never actually taken any readings for OG or SG or anything like that, simply because I didn't want to waste any of what little bit I was actually...

Hey JohnSand - that's where it happened. hahaha.

SleepyCreek - I had to look up "hot break" - hehe...only been brewing beer for about a year, so I'm not fully knowledgeable with the terminology yet. This was actually the first time I've noticed protein particles floating around in the wort. Maybe I just never noticed it before, I don't know...

SleepyCreekBrews - I knew that a lot of them got out with the foam. And I wasn't really sure what to do at that point. I put some hops in my beer, but I like beer that is light on the hops. I was afraid to put more in and have it turn out way too hoppy. I compromised....I added my second batch...

I've already cleaned up, so no pictures. BUT..... I made a porter today. It'll be 1-1/2 gallons total. Aside from the steeping grains, I put 4# Amber LME and 1 full cup of sugar...wanted to make it nice and strong. To give it a little extra "real" coffee flavor, I put one heaping tablespoon of...

So, I don't REALLY need to explain the stupid thing I did, and talk about the tremendous mess I made, right? I can just say I learned my lesson, and we'll all leave it at that, right?

Actually have a thread for it already. Here you go: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/smokey-old-ale.638143/

After two nice, cold glasses of this, I'm feeling pretty good.

OH - and based on the online calculator, this batch should be around 8-8.25 ABV, at least...perhaps up to 8.43 ABV.