I've talked with professional brewers and advanced home brewers. The professional brewers didn't discourage me from being creative but the home brewers did.
I am not a hop head. I like hops a great deal but don't seem to fancy them a helluva lot.
So instead of using hops I used Mugwort/Skullcap/Rooibos with vanilla bits/a dash of hibiscus. Rooibos is an African red bush used to make tea. It can have a very woody character. I wanted plain tea but they only had Rooibos with Vanilla...What the hell I thought.
I had sampled the hibiscus character in beer from Hair of the Dog Rose...a very funky but drinkable beer.
The recipe is most non scientific.
White Labs WLP810 San Francisco yeast
6LBS Briess Light Malt Extract
1.5LBS Clover Honey
1 Gallon Organic Apple Juice (no sugar, or additives) Topped off with a little more from a second jug.
1LB Biscuit Malt
1LB Vienna Malt
Both grains used were in a grain bag steeped like tea. Herbs were also placed in the grain bag.
I also added an addition of Skullcap and Mugwort. I used these particular botanical herbs because of the strong anti bacterial properties. They also add some bitters.
For fun I also added a little hawthorne berry into the grainbag. I was conservative with the hibiscus because of its somewhat gritty flavors.
The grains were steeped at 160 and sat for quite awhile. I tied the grainbag to the top of kettle to avoid burning.
I am using a flat top electric stove. I never reached a roaring boil. The highest temperature I got was slightly over 200.
Right now the carboy is bubbling like mad. The temperature was a roaring 74 degrees this morning...I put two ice packs around the carboy and now it is getting down to 72...I hope to keep it an honest 70.
The carboy has a slight sulfur smell coming from the airlock. I suspect that the natural sulfur of the apple juice is giving it a little gas
Any suggestions on how to properly transfer to the secondary would be greatly appreciated. I plan to leave the beer for 10 days before going to the secondary.
Being a newbie I need all the help I can get. I did buy 5 feet of tubing and an autosiphon. I still haven't used it yet.
I am not a hop head. I like hops a great deal but don't seem to fancy them a helluva lot.
So instead of using hops I used Mugwort/Skullcap/Rooibos with vanilla bits/a dash of hibiscus. Rooibos is an African red bush used to make tea. It can have a very woody character. I wanted plain tea but they only had Rooibos with Vanilla...What the hell I thought.
I had sampled the hibiscus character in beer from Hair of the Dog Rose...a very funky but drinkable beer.
The recipe is most non scientific.
White Labs WLP810 San Francisco yeast
6LBS Briess Light Malt Extract
1.5LBS Clover Honey
1 Gallon Organic Apple Juice (no sugar, or additives) Topped off with a little more from a second jug.
1LB Biscuit Malt
1LB Vienna Malt
Both grains used were in a grain bag steeped like tea. Herbs were also placed in the grain bag.
I also added an addition of Skullcap and Mugwort. I used these particular botanical herbs because of the strong anti bacterial properties. They also add some bitters.
For fun I also added a little hawthorne berry into the grainbag. I was conservative with the hibiscus because of its somewhat gritty flavors.
The grains were steeped at 160 and sat for quite awhile. I tied the grainbag to the top of kettle to avoid burning.
I am using a flat top electric stove. I never reached a roaring boil. The highest temperature I got was slightly over 200.
Right now the carboy is bubbling like mad. The temperature was a roaring 74 degrees this morning...I put two ice packs around the carboy and now it is getting down to 72...I hope to keep it an honest 70.
The carboy has a slight sulfur smell coming from the airlock. I suspect that the natural sulfur of the apple juice is giving it a little gas
Any suggestions on how to properly transfer to the secondary would be greatly appreciated. I plan to leave the beer for 10 days before going to the secondary.
Being a newbie I need all the help I can get. I did buy 5 feet of tubing and an autosiphon. I still haven't used it yet.
