Seamus Mitwurst
Member
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2007
- Messages
- 5
- Reaction score
- 1
Hi folks, been a lurker and a reader.
Not much of a poster, ever, anywhere.
But since I signed up this week and it keeps telling me to introduce myself, I figgered I'd tell this story.
I've been brewing since '92.
For years I focused on my small meads and ciders and excluded beer. Then my better half decided I needed to brew more beer and, after a discussion about the PITA of bottling, bought me a kegging rig. She likes the drink almost as much as I do. Soon thereafter began a weekly Wednesday night ritual of partial mash brewing. Some day, when the house grows larger, I'll move to an AG rig. Until then. . .
Some of my friends were interested in learning, so a night of beer, food and brewing was started. Now, we've been going for over a year and most of the core fellas know how to make a decent batch of beer. I've created a process document for them to follow in case I am out of pocket and they are forgetting what happens next. We've created some eminently drinkable beers.
However, the last two beers we've made have gone awry in some way. We have recently started brewing again after an 8 week hiatus for the birth of my first kid. So we have only made three batches in the last three months. Maybe my friends just have really bad memories. Maybe they drink too much. Anyway, we have screwed up some beer.
Two weeks ago, while brewing, a timer went off and they pulled the wort off the fire and began cooling it without checking where we were, so we missed the aroma hops. Not a big deal. It will just be a bit less flavorful.
Last week, another brother, while reading the process doc lost all mental ability for the space of thirty seconds. We strain our wort into the primary, and this beer was light on the hops and should have taken no time at all to strain. About ten minutes into the strain, I asked, "Did you put in Irish moss?"
"Yes"
"How much?"
"All of it."
Where the doc said "Add Irish Moss" he forgot that it meant a teaspoon for a 5 gallon batch. He didn't read the package. He just dumped the whole thing, maybe about a full cups worth.
Can anyone say wort flavored laverbread?
Beer flavored pudding?
We ended up with two huge bowls of Hopped Barley Irish moss pudding. It tasted ok, not worth replicating.
"Screw it" we said and forged ahead.
It fermented. Slowly.
Last night we transferred it to a secondary to give it more chance to settle.
The siphoning was painful.
At the bottom it was so thick that it just stopped dead in the tubing. Imagine trying to eat pudding with a straw.
Now that the beer is in the secondary, I realize I should have put it into another 6.5 instead of a 5. The ferment has kicked in hard again and bubbling through pudding makes a lot of foam.
I am going to make the boys drink about half of it before I just start using it to thicken stews. I might have to film that session.
From now on, until we have a good back log of about 8 kegs, Seamus will be overseeing all steps of the brewing process!
A long introductory post, but a worthwhile story, I hope.
Not much of a poster, ever, anywhere.
But since I signed up this week and it keeps telling me to introduce myself, I figgered I'd tell this story.
I've been brewing since '92.
For years I focused on my small meads and ciders and excluded beer. Then my better half decided I needed to brew more beer and, after a discussion about the PITA of bottling, bought me a kegging rig. She likes the drink almost as much as I do. Soon thereafter began a weekly Wednesday night ritual of partial mash brewing. Some day, when the house grows larger, I'll move to an AG rig. Until then. . .
Some of my friends were interested in learning, so a night of beer, food and brewing was started. Now, we've been going for over a year and most of the core fellas know how to make a decent batch of beer. I've created a process document for them to follow in case I am out of pocket and they are forgetting what happens next. We've created some eminently drinkable beers.
However, the last two beers we've made have gone awry in some way. We have recently started brewing again after an 8 week hiatus for the birth of my first kid. So we have only made three batches in the last three months. Maybe my friends just have really bad memories. Maybe they drink too much. Anyway, we have screwed up some beer.
Two weeks ago, while brewing, a timer went off and they pulled the wort off the fire and began cooling it without checking where we were, so we missed the aroma hops. Not a big deal. It will just be a bit less flavorful.
Last week, another brother, while reading the process doc lost all mental ability for the space of thirty seconds. We strain our wort into the primary, and this beer was light on the hops and should have taken no time at all to strain. About ten minutes into the strain, I asked, "Did you put in Irish moss?"
"Yes"
"How much?"
"All of it."
Where the doc said "Add Irish Moss" he forgot that it meant a teaspoon for a 5 gallon batch. He didn't read the package. He just dumped the whole thing, maybe about a full cups worth.
Can anyone say wort flavored laverbread?
Beer flavored pudding?
We ended up with two huge bowls of Hopped Barley Irish moss pudding. It tasted ok, not worth replicating.
"Screw it" we said and forged ahead.
It fermented. Slowly.
Last night we transferred it to a secondary to give it more chance to settle.
The siphoning was painful.
At the bottom it was so thick that it just stopped dead in the tubing. Imagine trying to eat pudding with a straw.
Now that the beer is in the secondary, I realize I should have put it into another 6.5 instead of a 5. The ferment has kicked in hard again and bubbling through pudding makes a lot of foam.
I am going to make the boys drink about half of it before I just start using it to thicken stews. I might have to film that session.
From now on, until we have a good back log of about 8 kegs, Seamus will be overseeing all steps of the brewing process!
A long introductory post, but a worthwhile story, I hope.
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