alas, it finally snowed...time for my snow beer

So every year i make a couple brew made with freshly fallen snow...it is a huge hit and i have even won a competition or two. One is a stout and one is a cream ale. The stout is a basic oatmeal stout with a hint of chocolate and a bit easy on the roast. The other is a basic cream ale.

I don't know what's in the snow, being from Detroit I'm sure it must be all the chemicals from the plants on the river, but it makes the beer so silky smooth its like drinking a glass of giggling angels. We haven't had any snow this year which is really strange so i was preparing myself for a year with no snowbeer. Now, it is very laborious intensive...it will take me about 40 gallons of snow to get enough water to make my batch so its an all day event but totally worth it...

Go on, give it a shot.

That's pretty late in the season for the first snow but at least it came, congrats! Do you have a special disclaimer on your label warning about the potential side effects due to the chemicals?

kcbrewmeister said:

That's pretty late in the season for the first snow but at least it came, congrats! Do you have a special disclaimer on your label warning about the potential side effects due to the chemicals?

Click to expand...

Nope. Just that any lemon flavored snow was left in the yard.

kcbrewmeister said:

That's pretty late in the season for the first snow but at least it came, congrats! Do you have a special disclaimer on your label warning about the potential side effects due to the chemicals?

Click to expand...

Whelp...the snow melted away by the time i woke up enough to collect...and we got passed over by the storm of the century ( this weeks storm of the century anyway) and got a dusting....with just a few more weeks left I'm thinking we wont get enough snow accumulation to get my water....i cant say I'm bummed about the weather, ive only had to break out the shovel once and the snow blowers sits in the corner but i want my snow beer.

We just had 8" in Chicago,don`t give up hope yet.We could still
get hit again all thru March.

stikks said:

We just had 8" in Chicago,don`t give up hope yet.We could still
get hit again all thru March.

Click to expand...

We usually do. Did you grow up in Crystal Lake? I went to CLC.

Grinnan5150 said:

We usually do. Did you grow up in Crystal Lake? I went to CLC.

Click to expand...

No,I did not grow up here.I moved here in 1978 when I got out of
Navy.Originally from SoCal.Hopefully move back when I retire in 6 years.

its bleak...usually when it goes across the lake it unloads in kalamazoo and the best we get is an inch here in detroit.

We are in for possibly 10-18" starting tomorrow night. I will be planning on a snow brew if that happens. It will be the first measureable snow here since before Christmas.

onthekeg said:

We are in for possibly 10-18" starting tomorrow night. I will be planning on a snow brew if that happens. It will be the first measureable snow here since before Christmas.

Click to expand...

where do you live?

we got hit during the "big one" on friday. solid 6". mostly gone now. heck, its 40F outside right now at 7:40pm

One thing to keep in mind if you live in an urban area...i would say within maybe 75 miles of any industrial areas...coal, steel etc, do yourself a cavorted and take some water quality readings once you've melted the snow.....i ended up filtering me water thrum a big ole Brita jug. Added a lil gypsum and was good to go. I also did this once on my cousins rig up north and we didn't have to filter anything.

All warnings aside I love the fact you r brewing with snowmelt that's frickin awsome... Sounds like alot of labor but fun as sh:t way to go bro u get thumbs way up Ima do the same and truck some in from the sierras next year!

It is very laborious intensive but its fun at the same time. I like to brew and anything involved. Just shovel, melt, filter...the time flies by when you are sampling your beer collection.

All that aside, there is a noticeable effect on the beer itself. It makes the beer "soft..silky?" And the minerals react with the malt or something because it changes the profile..i think it tastes good but my friends cant get enough.

I live in Western MN. I agree, the beers are delicious with the snow. I use rainwater too.

onthekeg said:

I live in Western MN. I agree, the beers are delicious with the snow. I use rainwater too.

Click to expand...

Lol rainwater is waaaayyyy too easy. J/k. I'm wondering though, i always do snow because i always assume it is too cold for any bacteria to live and because its cleaner but i suppose rain is absolutely no different than snow since the make up is the same, just the properties are different...plus i filter if my water tests show anything i don't want and the boil will sterelize the water..... with the winter we've had i could run a brewery, rain all the time....not a lick of snow.

Well...after two days of weather reports of massive storms i set every bucket and barrel i own in the yard...i got punked. I got about 2 gallons total. Mother nature is F#@*Inge with me

There is a brewery in Washington...possibly Seattle, that uses rain water to make their beer. I don't know the name but i remember the expose they did a few years back

I have a couple downspouts that I keep clean and ready for a rainstorm. Then I carbon filter the water directly to my HLT. My well water is pathetic so I have to either buy water or use rain water.

How does it turn out? Do you add anything to the water?