Well, I did it. I successfully brewed my first batch of beer.
I work for a distributorship and Sam Adam's sponsors a homebrewing contest. Long story short, I got tabbed on brewing the beer and it was going to be sent to the semi-finals judging between Louisiana and Mississippi. I didn't really expect anything major from the judging, I was just happy to brew my own beer. It was a typical Amber recipe that our Sam Adam's rep sent us but I took the liberty of adding some vanilla extract to try something different. While it is hard to detect the vanilla flavoring, obviously it did something to the brew to give it a unique taste. Well, turns out I won first place. And now my brew is going up against 7 competitors from Texas and the Finals judging. If I win that, I get invited to the Great American BeerFest in Denver to be judged by Jim Koch himself. Woohoo, now my interest in home brewing skyrocketed to new heights.
Getting to the point, I ordered a honey wheat ale (specifically: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_452_42_163&products_id=324) and thought i would try my hand at this. I know it's a huge jump by a new home brewer that only has one brew under his belt, so I can to the place where I got help on my first brew (thanks to all of you by the way...). Before I start this Honey Wheat Ale, is there anything I should know ahead of time? I can only assume the brew process is the same, but is there anything special I should do/look out for when doing a Honey Wheat Ale? Also, I was tinkering with the idea of adding some flavoring extract besides the honey (vanilla again, maybe almond??). Good idea or no? And if so, how would you go about adding the flavoring to ensure a discernible taste difference?
Any wise words or help?
I work for a distributorship and Sam Adam's sponsors a homebrewing contest. Long story short, I got tabbed on brewing the beer and it was going to be sent to the semi-finals judging between Louisiana and Mississippi. I didn't really expect anything major from the judging, I was just happy to brew my own beer. It was a typical Amber recipe that our Sam Adam's rep sent us but I took the liberty of adding some vanilla extract to try something different. While it is hard to detect the vanilla flavoring, obviously it did something to the brew to give it a unique taste. Well, turns out I won first place. And now my brew is going up against 7 competitors from Texas and the Finals judging. If I win that, I get invited to the Great American BeerFest in Denver to be judged by Jim Koch himself. Woohoo, now my interest in home brewing skyrocketed to new heights.
Getting to the point, I ordered a honey wheat ale (specifically: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_452_42_163&products_id=324) and thought i would try my hand at this. I know it's a huge jump by a new home brewer that only has one brew under his belt, so I can to the place where I got help on my first brew (thanks to all of you by the way...). Before I start this Honey Wheat Ale, is there anything I should know ahead of time? I can only assume the brew process is the same, but is there anything special I should do/look out for when doing a Honey Wheat Ale? Also, I was tinkering with the idea of adding some flavoring extract besides the honey (vanilla again, maybe almond??). Good idea or no? And if so, how would you go about adding the flavoring to ensure a discernible taste difference?
Any wise words or help?