Finally getting back

As part of my gradual return to brewing, I finally got around to bottling the Boom-Boom vanilla that I brewed in like December. I never even had time to rack to secondary, so I figured that after all that time, I could go from primary to bottle without taste problems. I ended up using light DME, powder sugar and honey for priming (ran out of DME) and 4oz of vanilla. For ****s and giggles, I even dumped in 2oz of Maker's Mark since I used Bourbon Vanilla.

Cheese... did you have any rubbery (autolysis) flavors in that batch? SOunds like it sat on the trub for 3+ months, so this might be a good referece for those that want to know how long you can primary a beer.

-walker

Imperial Walker said:

Cheese... did you have any rubbery (autolysis) flavors in that batch? SOunds like it sat on the trub for 3+ months, so this might be a good referece for those that want to know how long you can primary a beer.

-walker

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Walker, that's an excellent point. I haven't detected any in the flat beer, but remember that I dumped in four oz of vanilla extract and some Maker's Mark prior to bottling.

I'll let you know in another couple of days, when it's primed for a week and is ready for its inaugral run.

I'm trying to make my return to brewing.

Cheesefood said:

I'm trying to make my return to brewing.

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Under four months...that's really very good time!

We've got the best baby in the world. Rarely cries, loves to hang out, and just a joy to be around. He'll make a fine assistant brew-master.

Cheesefood said:

We've got the best baby in the world. Rarely cries, loves to hang out, and just a joy to be around. He'll make a fine assistant brew-master.

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Talk about nepotism! Most assistant brewmasters start out as assistants to the janatorial staff before even thinking about becoming journeymen.

There is that possibility he'll have loads of experience on a bottle though (you dirtied them, you clean them!).

My hope is that he'll take an interest in watching his Dad make the beer. He'll see how much time and effort goes into making a fine beeer. He'll notice that, after months of work, the end product is something you want to savor...something worth keeping around for a while, not something to be polished off in a single weekend.

I think I respect alcohol a lot more now that I make it. It's no longer about getting drunk, it's about enjoying the flavor of the drink. I want him to think of beer as more than a means to an end. It's not "get drunk juice" like Bud and Miller position themselves, it's "Savor and Enjoy".

And if he decides he wants to brew later on in life, I'd be thrilled if he dusted off my notebook and made my recipes. I keep having this vision of my grandchildren or great-grandchildren - long after I'm dead - going through an attic, finding my recipes and brewing them to reconnect with long-lost grandpa. Just my way of living forever, I guess.

p.s.

*sniff, sniff*

Touching, cheese.

I hear ya though, I wish I had a boy to learn the ropes wth me. My girls roll their eyes after every statement I make about beer. Maybe someday they will understand.

Dude said:

*sniff, sniff*

Touching, cheese.

I hear ya though, I wish I had a boy to learn the ropes wth me. My girls roll their eyes after every statement I make about beer. Maybe someday they will understand.

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Gender doesn't matter. Either they find it interesting or they don't. my two boys won't have anything to do with brewing. "It STINKS, Dad!"
I don't keep a notebook anymore, it's all on the computer. Maybe I should at least burn it onto CD so someday someone can see it, if they can still find a way to use computers as we know them. What we use now will probably have gone the way of the LP by then. (Dad, what's a record?)

My little girl is a "monkey see, monkey do". I take a whiff of the hops it's "I smell", I stir the mash it's "I cook". When I'm milling I have to give her a handfull of crystal to munch on to keep her from poking at the grist. She even goes for the mop when I spill water or wort on the floor reminding me that "daddy made mess".

ablrbrau said:

Gender doesn't matter. Either they find it interesting or they don't. my two boys won't have anything to do with brewing. "It STINKS, Dad!"
I don't keep a notebook anymore, it's all on the computer. Maybe I should at least burn it onto CD so someday someone can see it, if they can still find a way to use computers as we know them. What we use now will probably have gone the way of the LP by then. (Dad, what's a record?)

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Just print it out. Paper never goes out of style, kind of like the work "cool".

PT Ray said:

My little girl is a "monkey see, monkey do". I take a whiff of the hops it's "I smell", I stir the mash it's "I cook". When I'm milling I have to give her a handfull of crystal to munch on to keep her from poking at the grist. She even goes for the mop when I spill water or wort on the floor reminding me that "daddy made mess".

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Right on Ray!my youngest girl is 11 and love's to help brew,esp pouring the yeast starter into the cooled wort with the words "there you go bugs get eating and pooing"makes me laugh every time.

beerlover84 said:

Just print it out. Paper never goes out of style, kind of like the work "cool".

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True, but I'm not chopping down a tree just to print my beer recipes.......at least not yet.

Cheesefood said:

I think I respect alcohol a lot more now that I make it. It's no longer about getting drunk, it's about enjoying the flavor of the drink. I want him to think of beer as more than a means to an end....I keep having this vision of my grandchildren or great-grandchildren - long after I'm dead - going through an attic, finding my recipes and brewing them to reconnect with long-lost grandpa. Just my way of living forever, I guess.

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That first part right there shows signs of maturity and smart drinking.

As for the second part...I already have 4 great-grandchildren. I feel pretty certain I'll be able to brew with them when they are ready.

I don't care for barley-wine, but I do make some great mead. If you think about it the more mead I make, and save, the better chance of me having that connection should my "live-forever plan" not succeed.

Really looking forward to hearing how this tastes... longest I primaried was about a month and it was fine... it was pretty high gravity as well.

PS - hoping to see WEEN this year in Cincy... we got skipped last year!

At first I was suspicious. It didn't carbonate very well, and had some funky flavors.

Then, after the second week in the bottle, it showed better signs of carbonation and I could begin to tell that the funky flavors were just strong hop flavors.

Now it's been in the bottle for several weeks and tastes great. The extra hops and less lactose brings down the overly sweet taste of v 1.0. there's no rubbery taste that I can tell. The carbonation is up to par. The vanilla has settled down. Sometimes this tastes more like a pale ale with a hint of vanilla. I think this will satisfy hopheads and maltheads alike.

djmd said:

PS - hoping to see WEEN this year in Cincy... we got skipped last year!

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I went to two of the three shows last year. I'm hoping that they come back to Chi town apart from Lollapalooza.