If you want to try it I'll bottle you one to take to DIY on 8/5. It took a bit of thinking to get 2.5% to have any kind of mouthfeel at all.
hahahahaha You guys are talking pure Greek in these posts but I am sure enjoying reading about your enjoyment of your creations! I can't wait to bottle and share mine!
~Alli
That would be awesome! I bet it did take some thinking I remember you telling us about it maybe when you brewed it. I was like rye and wheat? Lol but I would keep an open mind I don't hate them I just don't like them as much as any other malts I've had. I dunno if I would be able to make it to DIY though. Maybe we'll have to see
LOL, Alli. This ain't brewing 101. We can get you started with a bit more basics like the Schlitz Malt Liquor Bull we learned you love! Seriously, plan on coming to DIY in Elgin on 8/5 and pick a time. We can get you started with the basics.
I think Thomas was surprised by the rye, and the fact that it simply did not take over the beer. Yes....50/50 rye and white wheat with Nelson at 3 addition times inc WP and Dry hop.
Yeah, I wouldn't go out of my way to select rye either. Try one with me and if you don't like it no biggie. But at least you are willing to try it which clearly shows an open minded attitude. Makes for a great brewer!!
Yeah I think I've been let down by so many ipas because they have rye in them. Like hopsecutioner by terrapin. It's an awesome name and I was excited about it when I read the description. I get it home and drink it and I'm like really? I think all their beer has rye in it though at least every one I've had. Maybe one day I'll get over my hop obsession lol
Hopsecutioner has rye? Their website only lists 2-row, munich, c24, and victory.
(Otherwise, I agree. Not a big fan of that beer.)
OK, give me more info on this DIY thing. Other than the little bit y'all have talked about it here, I don't know much about it. Where is it? What time? Etc, Etc.... I will put it on the calendar and see if I can't convince the Mr. otherwise I may just come alone!
I gotta get these two batches of wine bottled and figure out something to drop into a couple one gallons. I might consider brewing beer after Christmas or the New Year. Hmmm, have to think on it.
~Alli
Are we talking 10:30 am? (which is quite do-able) We go to thunder tower all the time as we own a Harley and my hubby will probably use this as a chance to go peruse the new products. LOL I think I can have the wild blackberry/blueberry bottled up by then. How many bottles would you suggest I bring? I am excited to come meet you guys!
~Alli
Sadly I'll miss this one as well. Doing a trip up to Asheville with my brothers and significant others. But we will be drinking plenty of beer up that way!Excellent. I'd suggest just one bottle - it is just a small sample for others to share in. There is often a variety of beverages there just to sip and get a taste. But don't feel compelled to bring something if its not convenient...some do and some don't.
If Catdaddy66 sees this maybe he can be there at 10:30 (AM LOL) too since he mentioned he was going. Hope that SHAIV and TravelingLight can make it plus there are a few other good folks on HBT that chat together. Hope they all see this so we can finally meet and greet.
Sadly I'll miss this one as well. Doing a trip up to Asheville with my brothers and significant others. But we will be drinking plenty of beer up that way!
Ha! Funny you mention that. My sister in law has been getting into sours and funk the last year or two and LOVES Funka. She's already told my other brother and me that we can just drop her off there and leave her since we don't want to give anymore money to WW/ABI.Enjoy! I know how much you like visiting Asheville.
Pam and I are going up next week for a vacation. Doing the float trip down the French Broad and all that cool stuff. Did I mention I'll be at the Funkatorium about everyday? LOL. I like the pizza at Asheville Brewing Co but the beer is average at best.
Capping off the week with a ticketed party at New Belgium on Sat night for their uncorked limited release of the Le Kreik Noir Barrel Aged Sour. Open bar, food, bottle of the le Kreik beer to take home. I better program Uber of Asheville into my cell phone before I forget.
Sadly I'll miss this one as well. Doing a trip up to Asheville with my brothers and significant others. But we will be drinking plenty of beer up that way!
Ha! Funny you mention that. My sister in law has been getting into sours and funk the last year or two and LOVES Funka. She's already told my other brother and me that we can just drop her off there and leave her since we don't want to give anymore money to WW/ABI.
I'm seriously torn on this. Funka was always my favorite spot in AVL. But lately I've been enjoying Burial more anyway. I still haven't given a dime to WW since they were bought out. Not that my not spending money there is hurting their pockets at all. I will say, one thing that Funka has been doing for a while now that I do not like is set flights on the weekends. Like you can only get a flight of whatever four beers they've decided on for the flight that day. Which sucks because I always liked to get as much as possible when I was there. Anyway, I'm sure I will go there, against my will lol. But I just much prefer to spend my money at Burial and Hi-Wire now.
(Side note: one of these trips to AVL I'm going to take a drive over to Fonta Flora. Man, I love their stuff, but never been to the brewery.)
How long has it been fermenting? I could try
2-3 months it should be good IMO. When I make apfelwein I let it ferment for 4-5 weeks then keg it. I know with some wines if you can read newspaper through it then it's clear but that may not work for dark berry wine
Yeah that's dark haha might need more info so how long was it in primary? I assume that's secondary? What yeast did you use? Have you taken any gravity readings? Its hard to tell with a dark wine. What temp has it been at? Room temp? I'd cold crash it for a few days if that is an option then rack to bottling bucket and bottle assuming it's not too sweet and it's not still fermenting
I mean dark in a good way it's just dark because it's dark berries. It looks tasty. Well do you like sweet wine? You don't have to back sweeten it if you like it dry. You could also use juice to backsweeten. The problem is that it may continue to ferment if you aren't careful and kill off or let the yeast fall out of suspension. Then it will either carbonate or turn your bottles into bombs and they will explode on Halloween night and make you run down the stairs with a baseball bat thinking somebody is breaking into your house. True story lol I've been there
Alli,
One of the best lessons I have learned in my brewing endeavors is to not be too concerned with perfection. Especially the first time I am trying something new. I'm more interested in learning what I may be doing wrong than what I could be lucking into getting right. That makes me conscious of what steps I take and how each will effect my end product. If I goof a beer here or there then I get the opportunity to learn what went wrong, how to fix it either currently or next go round, and as a bonus I get to drink my mistakes. Like a wise man once told me...relax, have a homebrew!
Alli,
I hope I didn't come off as condescending or devaluing your situation. You have every right to pine over the nuances of your craft and passion. I hope this batch comes out just the way you like it. I also hope that this is only the beginnings of a whole lot more to come. If you ever want to come brew a beer with us then you are more than welcome. My brew days usually last anywhere from 5 to 9 hours depending on the beer at the time. You can watch part or all and I would be glad to share the why's of every step I take. My background is in biology and before that I fixed electronics in the army. I use some technology and some backwoods ingenuity. All that said I love brew days because that's where the action is. When everything is in the fermenter is when I get all of my second thoughts.
So in my wine experience which isn't very long lol if I wanted to make a sweet wine I would use a yeast that was for a sweet wine. Ec1118 is a beast capable of like 18% plus depending on nutrients available. 1118 is for a dry wine I believe. You can still backsweeten it but there's a chance it'll continue to ferment. So if that's still what you want to do then there are options. You can effectively kill off the yeast by heating it to a temperature somewhere around 150-180. That would be pasteurization then backsweeten it after that. You could also filter it through about a 1 micron filter that would remove the yeast cells I believe. Or do the campden and metabisulphites and cold crashing will help with that too. I dunno if I can think of anything else other than just leaving it dry. It may be great as is you never know.
Reason I am asking about campden to retard yeast development is I'd like to try my hand at making a sparking (kegged) cider with fresh pressed apple juice when it comes in season this fall. I figure if the juice is unpasteurized will need to kill wild yeast prior to pitching the yeast of choice. Then will the cider need to be back sweetened with an alcohol sugar like Xylitol so the yeast doesn't see a new food source? When it comes apple time this October, I hope to ask for some advice.
Reason I am asking about campden to retard yeast development is I'd like to try my hand at making a sparking (kegged) cider with fresh pressed apple juice when it comes in season this fall. I figure if the juice is unpasteurized will need to kill wild yeast prior to pitching the yeast of choice. Then will the cider need to be back sweetened with an alcohol sugar like Xylitol so the yeast doesn't see a new food source? When it comes apple time this October, I hope to ask for some advice.
Now that you have said this it makes me want to try making a wine with apple cider. I think I will try making a small batch with it this fall and see how it goes. If it turns out good I may just make a big batch!
~Alli
I have shifted over to SS uni tanks with glycol chillers so I have a couple of fermenters that are not being used.
I am very curious as to:
1) how many unitanks and what capacity you have and
2) what you are using for a glycol chiller and
3) how you decided on what you have.
Care to elaborate?
I am still low tech: fermentation chest freezer, 14 Gallon SS Brewbucket & an assortment of 20L, 30L, 60L Speidel fermenters. However, I am always looking to make sensible upgrades.
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