What should I make in my empty carboy?
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Skrufbrewer
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LIMEADE! I just finished up drinking it all. Was the go to on them hot august days! If you go with lime or lemon use EC1118 I just bought 10 containers of minutemade limeade mix with a pound of white surgar toped off 5gal in primary, had alota pulp, but lost it when racked to 2ndary. Zero at bottleing, Came out 9%ish. just guessing a pint would get u buzzed quick. I did a gallon of mango that was awesome, but the carbonation buubles were HUGE
gratus fermentatio
Well-Known Member
Cyser is a good choice, but it'll tie up a carbouy for a while. Cyser is mead but with apple juice instead of water & it takes a few years of aging to get really good. Use the best apple juice or sweet cider you can get & a good varietal honey and you've got the makings for a great end product in a couple of years. Or you could make some graff, it's one of my favs. Maybe a braggot?
Regards, GF.
Regards, GF.
Hmm, that limeade sounds interesting, and I have a carboy and fermentation bucket waiting to be filled with something delicious. I just need more secondary fermentation buckets or carboys to really be in business...
A braggot is a VERY ancient drink made from malts and honey. It is delicious and under no circumstances should one go throughout life having never made one.
Look under the mead recipes for ideas. I haven't tried any of the recipes there, but many of them look great.
Here's a start. A little too plain for me but simple is good
Brandon O's graff is frigging spectacular and the hops are very very mild. Actually you could probably forget them... But I wouldn't suggest it
The fermentable world is at your utter disposal, my friend. There are very few legit excuses for an empty carboy. I suggest you remedy this problem quickly before the booze gods descend in anger and disappointment.
gratus fermentatio
Well-Known Member
Braggot is sort of a combination of mead & ale, but it's really a whole 'nother animal too. If you haven't already, pick up a copy of Ken Schramm's The Compleat Meadmaker
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381802/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
His Hefty Braggot recipe is definately worth making, very tasty. There are other braggot (sometimes called "bracket") recipes out there, I'm sure many of them are also quite tasty.
As for Graff, you choose which hops you want to use & how much you want to use. I like to use Goldings cuz I get that lovely hop profile without the hop bitterness. Something I discovered by accident that might be of interest to you is that if you use Goldings hops in Graff & then let that Graff age about 7 months or more, the hop flavour & aroma is virtually nonexistant. But you still have the mild bittering to balance the sweetness of the malt.
You can also alter the amount of malt, the type of malt, add various other grains (like oats or rye), and even add spices. I've been playing around with the graff recipe for a while now & regularly double the amount of malt extract & steeping grains. I also like to add FAJC (frozen apple juice concentrate), thawed of course, to the must for aditional apple flavour & sugar. I even add caraway seed to a few batches a year, mostly for drinking around the holidays, caraway goes with apple like butter goes with bread.
Oops, didn't mean to turn this into a novel. Hope this info helps.
Regards, GF.
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Vox
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gratus fermentatio said:
I haven't brewed any beers on my own, only helped with a batch. I've only made a few ciders and JOAM. Beer is more complicated initially, but cider/mead is more of a waiting game and semi complicated later in the game with backsweetening and pasteurization. Is the braggot newbie friendly extract or all grain?
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Skrufbrewer
Member
well I used minute made concentrate, used 10 containers they were 2 for $3 ao thats $15 the yeast $1.50 5ibs bag of white surgar $2.79 and priming surgar $3 so that come to $22.29. it took from first mix in primary to ready to drink in 4or5 weeks. I left the pulpp in and lost it when racked to 2ndary, and I only used 10cups surgar used EC1118, Tasted like a margaretta
Skrufbrewer
Member
Right on man good luck! I was thinking the next time I make it, probably late winter or early spring, that I might do a 5gal batch and split it into two 2.5 gallon 2ndary's and add 1/2 gal strawberry or cherry juice one, just to mix it up a bit. Also I was at the grocery store yesterday and came accross agavi nectar syrup! Might havta throw that into the next batch. I did like this much much better than the lemonaid, but I do prefer lime over lemon.
It was an awesome hot day drink! Also did a "cactus cooler" orange and pineapple. Got store brand 100% juice concentrate 2 for a buck! Same recipe as the Lime. They where dangerously to good! Felt like a Flintstone!
It was an awesome hot day drink! Also did a "cactus cooler" orange and pineapple. Got store brand 100% juice concentrate 2 for a buck! Same recipe as the Lime. They where dangerously to good! Felt like a Flintstone!
gratus fermentatio
Well-Known Member
Skrufbrewer
Member
Ok here we go. The cans of limeade are to make 1/2gal so you will need 2 for each gallon you make. I as a general rule use atleast 1 cup of white surgar per gallon and no more than 2 cups per gallon. In this case i'll go threw the 5gal I made. I took two cans of limeade and 1gallon of water, placed in a pot and brought to a boil, then added all the white surgar and boiled long enoght to disolve all the surgar. I took one spoonful of surgar and one spoonful of limeade concentrate, and 4oz warm water to my yeast starting jar,mix well and add yeast, allow to bloom. I added the 8 remaining cans of concentrate to my primary, added the boiled mixture to primary topped off with water to 5gal, I just use filtered water. Check your temp I shoot for 70-80 and pitch yeast, cover with lid and airlock. In my experience within an hour or two the yeast will start moving around, dont worry about the pulp, if anything it will act as a nutrient for the yeast.check in about a week to see how fermintation is goin, if it has slowed down to a slow calm fizzle then rack to 2ndary, if its still ripin and roaring just wait til it mellows then rack. You will loose most if not all the pulp racking to 2ndary. Let set in 2nardy until the mixture goes flat. It should smell prety boozy by now. Now take your priming surgar belive I used 3/4oz, the brew store has it premesured in a bag for 5gal. I a quart of water in the pot bring to boil. Add priming sugar to disolve take off heat, and allow to cool. Once cool I shoot for under 90. add to your botteling bucket. Now rack limeade from 2ndary on top of priming mixture. Now I usualy grab a cup of ice and run off a pint into a glass for some "inspiration". And if possible I get my sis, bro, and buddy's to start a production line of bottle filling, capping, and what not and do my best to supervise before the pint kiks in. I usuly fill 2-3 clear bottles to check on carbonation. I wait a week after bottleing, shake a clear one see where its at pop it open and enjoy. And repeat as nesacary. Usualy takes 10-14 days to fully carbonate. Once carbonated stickem in the fridge. Now go to the grocery store and pick out a steak, salmon, porck chops, Tofurkey, and some veggies. Fire up the grill, call up them buddy's who help bottle and have your self a grand old time. It is important to get limeade with no preservatives! You can use this recipe for any of them cans of concentrate, mix and match to what ever you think will taste good. I cant give you gravity readings, and I cant tell you the actual booze content, I dont use a hydrometer, Beer and cider where being brewed long before the invention or use of the hydrometer. But me and my vetrian booze hound buddies agree your looking atleast at a sold 9% at 1cup of surgar a gal and some where around 12% or better for the use of 2 cups o sugar a gal.
Good Luck. hope this is what you were askin for
Skrufbrewer
Member
Oh I'm sorry forgot to tell you guys. Use LALVIN EC-1118 yeast. I have tried this before with the Naughtinhams yeast, but I think all the citrus killed off the yeast. EC-1118 is my go to yeast with ALL of my ciders. It is a champange yeast so the bubbles are quite nice and send the booze straight to your head, and I belive this yeast is capabale of yeilding 18-20%. It is a very strong and resilant yeast. I only use this ec-1118 and naughtinghams. If you want to make a barley wine EC-1118 is great for that aswell.
Skrufbrewer
Member
Yeah the whole 5g package
agent44
Well-Known Member
Does the limeade come out dry, or is there any residual sweetness left over?
agent44
Well-Known Member
I was thinking of adding some mint into secondary and make myself a mojito mix of some sort, or just make as yer instructions and just muddle some lime mint and sugar into a glass and pour your limeade n top, mmmmm sounds great imma start this very soon.
agent44
Well-Known Member
Just made this, used one cup of sugar and two cans of minute maid limeade, added pectic enzyme and nutrient as well! Then pitched EC-1118. I think i will put some fresh mint in the secondary and top off with some pre made limeade that I strain the pulp out of. Didn't bother with hydrometer, if it passes the taste test I'll make five gallons and make some real notes and get a reading off of it! Thanks for the recipe! Cheers!
agent44
Well-Known Member
Ignore this post 
Skrufbrewer
Member
Mine came out tasting pretty much just like the limeaid, as if I just mixed up a can in the juice pitcher. Not dry or sweet, right in the middle. Everyone who tried it like it much better than Mike's. Didnt have that artificail flavor. Realy tasted like the juice with a kick.:rockin:
Skrufbrewer said:
Well, I pondered doing this as a 1 gallon tester, but after reading that I just might do a full 6 gallon batch.
agent44
Well-Known Member
Yeah now I'm regretting the one gallon batch lol, oh well, I have six gallons of blackberry wine to make up first then a five of this!
I got the process started yesterday for my limeade. It is basically the skeeter pee recipe but with lime juice and brown sugar. I'll post the recipe in its own thread later today.
agent44
Well-Known Member
When you say lime juice, do you mean like the "real lime" or did you use cans of limeade?
I used Joe and nellies key west lime juice
agent44
Well-Known Member
Nice, keep us posted how it turns out!
Sure will. I'll post the recipe in the wine forum.
Edit: I posted my recipe in the wine making forum
Edit: I posted my recipe in the wine making forum
Skrufbrewer
Member
Its been so long since I've checked this forum, Howd that mojito limeaide turn out?
I'd also like to know. My margarita wine is still sitting in the carboy. I out other projects ahead of bottling this, but it is ready to bottle. And it tastes excellent!
agent44
Well-Known Member
Well I couldn't get the mint I wanted, so I bottled it as just hard limeade, I added one tin of limeade and one tin of water at bottling to add some fizz, it tastes quite dry and very tart, so I mix it with juice, in fact tonight I added half pineapple juice half limeade and it was so good, I also mixed half hard limeade half orange juice and a few frozen raspberries yesterday and it was tasty also, so it was a success just not great by itself, next time I'll backsweeten with more limeade and bottle pasteurize. My recipe needs some work, but potential is there.
