grandads old recipe

[glausinbeer]

My grandfather made homebrew or as he called suds. When he taught me how to do so I was 11 years old. He told me that I was the only person he trusted with the recipe as I was the only grandson who took any interest in any of the old ways, like using a wringer washer. I still to this day think that my clothes felt better after a wash at grandmas. When butchering season would roll around he taught me his special rub for curing hams, the secret is powdered mustard, but enough about that. He owned 15 gallon beer crock that came from Germany with his grandpa. We would boil 5 gallons of spring waste add 5 pounds of an in hopped liquid malt extract. I don't remember the name it just came in a big red can. Then we would add 5 pounds of ordinary table sugar. Then stir till our arms fell off. When the water had cooled enough he'd dip out about half a mason jar of greens as he would call it and pitch his yeast. We would normally stop at this point go up to the house for lunch. What I would not give for just one more taste of my grannys homemade peach preserves, they always got government commodity's. My grandma would not buy bread or noodles shed make her own and dry the noodles over wires strung all over the kitchen. Anyway pap and me would go back down to the shed by then the yeast was working hard. He'd pitch it in the beer. Cover the whole crock with a bed sheet and tie it around the rim. Maybe its just the found ness of youth but I cannot think of a better tasting beer, no hops at all. Why was that beer so good even though it did not have any hops in it? Also it was not sealed with an airlock?

 

[ol-hazza]

Wish i had known about brewing before my pop died, im sure he would have made a batch or two in his time.