beerbeerbeerbeerbeerbeer-
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- Jan 15, 2013
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So this is beyond an experimental batch, it is pure drunken silliness and a bunch of what ifs that are currently way beyond expectation. Sorry for being a giant newb but i lack experience and need some advice. Thats what this website is mostly for, right?
Late one night, my gf and I were up drinking and talking about our past and future brews (this one would be my 4th brew) and started scavenging through our brewing leftovers, seeing if we had the stuff to brew a small random batch that night just for fun. We didn't care if it turned out bad, we were bored and had an open fermentor. We sanitized the surface of everything, so i wont keep saying, then i sanitized this.... But this is what went into this currently tasty bit of fermentation.
Steeped two full bags of Belgian grains from an old oud bruin de table all grain kit that a (not so intelligent) friend had givin me. (yea i know.. don't ask...) Then i added a half bag of Bavarian wheat dme, this stuff was open for at least 5 weeks in a tied up grocery bag.
And I seriously thought i had a 1/2 ounce of hops laying around but I couldn't find them, and this stuff was already boiling.... not much i could do here. So i noticed my grapefruit, that tastes pretty bitter.... It comes in this big plastic jug, with the free pieces floating in their own sweetened juice. So i said what the heck its ridiculous at this point anyways. I added this grapefruit 5 mins before the end of the boil. Then as i removed it from the heat i added the crazy part... A few cans of frozen apple juice concentrate.... Yea talk about being experimental. (I would never add ice to chill down my wort on any normal circumstance ima)
And guess what extra yeast I had in my fridge? Wyeast roeselare. I didn't have a plan for it since im a new brewer and a legit sour beer would be kinda crazy for me at this point. My past three batches all turned out better than store bought, we thought anyways. Great results. I had a very negative opinion that this "beer" would turn out good, I thought it would be disgustingly rotten foul and completely undrinkable by now. It's been in primary for almost two weeks and i just taste tested it... Holy. It's very good, especially for what i originally thought it would be. I wish I could drink this all the time honestly, and quite a noticeable buzz with just a couple sips. (ive failed using the hydrometer a couple times with the past brews, need some extra motivation for it...)
I guess the advice i need is what to do with this. I thought no hops wouldn't preserve this "beer", but the same grapefruit i used in this batch spoiled in my fridge and this "beer" still tastes good. Some kind of crazy dark cider...thing. Can i bottle this at some point (before a year or two) and it still be good? What if i didnt prime it? What if I bottled it but drank them before they had the chance to bomb? What about kegging it and drinking it in one night? Sounds like another experiment. I just want to share this "brew" with some friends at some point. Souring could be cool here, but im just not sure this stuff will keep that long, but im willing to try. It hasnt been giving off much noticeable co2 in the airlock this whole time, if any.
Anyways thanks a bunch for at least reading this much, Ive just started to get my grip around extract brewing and this batch is a giant question mark for me. Id hate to waste this entire 3 gallon batch that is currently... Delicious. Yea its a 3 gallon batch in a 6 gallon carboy... I imagine this is not ideal. What Next?
Late one night, my gf and I were up drinking and talking about our past and future brews (this one would be my 4th brew) and started scavenging through our brewing leftovers, seeing if we had the stuff to brew a small random batch that night just for fun. We didn't care if it turned out bad, we were bored and had an open fermentor. We sanitized the surface of everything, so i wont keep saying, then i sanitized this.... But this is what went into this currently tasty bit of fermentation.
Steeped two full bags of Belgian grains from an old oud bruin de table all grain kit that a (not so intelligent) friend had givin me. (yea i know.. don't ask...) Then i added a half bag of Bavarian wheat dme, this stuff was open for at least 5 weeks in a tied up grocery bag.
And I seriously thought i had a 1/2 ounce of hops laying around but I couldn't find them, and this stuff was already boiling.... not much i could do here. So i noticed my grapefruit, that tastes pretty bitter.... It comes in this big plastic jug, with the free pieces floating in their own sweetened juice. So i said what the heck its ridiculous at this point anyways. I added this grapefruit 5 mins before the end of the boil. Then as i removed it from the heat i added the crazy part... A few cans of frozen apple juice concentrate.... Yea talk about being experimental. (I would never add ice to chill down my wort on any normal circumstance ima)
And guess what extra yeast I had in my fridge? Wyeast roeselare. I didn't have a plan for it since im a new brewer and a legit sour beer would be kinda crazy for me at this point. My past three batches all turned out better than store bought, we thought anyways. Great results. I had a very negative opinion that this "beer" would turn out good, I thought it would be disgustingly rotten foul and completely undrinkable by now. It's been in primary for almost two weeks and i just taste tested it... Holy. It's very good, especially for what i originally thought it would be. I wish I could drink this all the time honestly, and quite a noticeable buzz with just a couple sips. (ive failed using the hydrometer a couple times with the past brews, need some extra motivation for it...)
I guess the advice i need is what to do with this. I thought no hops wouldn't preserve this "beer", but the same grapefruit i used in this batch spoiled in my fridge and this "beer" still tastes good. Some kind of crazy dark cider...thing. Can i bottle this at some point (before a year or two) and it still be good? What if i didnt prime it? What if I bottled it but drank them before they had the chance to bomb? What about kegging it and drinking it in one night? Sounds like another experiment. I just want to share this "brew" with some friends at some point. Souring could be cool here, but im just not sure this stuff will keep that long, but im willing to try. It hasnt been giving off much noticeable co2 in the airlock this whole time, if any.
Anyways thanks a bunch for at least reading this much, Ive just started to get my grip around extract brewing and this batch is a giant question mark for me. Id hate to waste this entire 3 gallon batch that is currently... Delicious. Yea its a 3 gallon batch in a 6 gallon carboy... I imagine this is not ideal. What Next?