The last of HB Baltic porter I bottled Apr 2024. Had a good run, would brew that again.
What are you drinking now?
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Back from a beer run. 1st since the injury. They SHOULD last 3 more weeks..??
While they're chilling..
While they're chilling..
My first attempt at making Limoncello. I poured two small taster glasses, and added ice to one. Why the drastic color difference? My initial impression…it’s good but sweeter than I’d like. I’ll adjust that next time. But truth is I’ve never had Limoncello before so I have no basis for comparison.
Tasty zwickelbier
HB neipa
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
I'd have to understand your procedure. Mine came out bright yellow.
Appropriate glassware
Just finished the HB Czech pilsner. Don't know what tap I am gonna pull next so I can't post a picture. Feeling malty - Brown ale or a Stout. Baseball game coming up - Pirates/Brewers.Fastball Freddy Peralta vs Paul Skenes. Sweet!
Damn, Bongo, that's god-tier brewing prowess right there. I know that's not an easy style and that's a great picture that really captures how light your ale is. Wow!
A glass of Panther Piss Bum Strength while I try to figure out my Hefe water for tomorrow.
Well, I used the zest of 10 organic lemons and 750ml 120 proof Everclear. Soaked for 19 days. At that point I strained and discarded the zest, made and added a simple syrup consisting of 3 cups table sugar dissolved in 4 cups of hot water. I poured that mixture into a 64oz Mason jar and let it sit for 10 more days.
Today I used a funnel to pour 750 ml back into the Everclear bottle, with the rest still in the Mason jar. Both are now in the freezer.
Initial thought is it’s way too sweet so next batch I’ll cut way back on the sugar. As to the color, I have no clue.
Thanks. I’m really enjoying it!!
Beer number 4 of 6, climbing up the ABV ladder! Gulden Draak, or “Golden Dragon” is another heavyweight – this time a 10.5% “Dark Red Triple Ale.” This is another beer from Brouwerij Van Steenberge out of Ertvelde, Belgium.
I get a kick out of some of the marketing claims made here – “Contains 3X More Malt Than A Lager” – Ha! We all know you can make either Ales or Lagers as light or as heavy as you want based on malt and adjuncts!
For me this is a tough-drinking beer. I do generally prefer brews in the 4.5-6% or so ABV range, maybe a bit higher depending how they are brewed. I’m getting a slight harshness in this beer. I guess that’s OK if the intent is to get loaded up tonight - for me, I just want a nice beer to drink. This one bites you back a bit. I’d like to see who is regularly buying this. Maybe that’s why it’s being unloaded in this sampler box. Time again to make a blender out of it with my Bud Zero…..
I get a kick out of some of the marketing claims made here – “Contains 3X More Malt Than A Lager” – Ha! We all know you can make either Ales or Lagers as light or as heavy as you want based on malt and adjuncts!
For me this is a tough-drinking beer. I do generally prefer brews in the 4.5-6% or so ABV range, maybe a bit higher depending how they are brewed. I’m getting a slight harshness in this beer. I guess that’s OK if the intent is to get loaded up tonight - for me, I just want a nice beer to drink. This one bites you back a bit. I’d like to see who is regularly buying this. Maybe that’s why it’s being unloaded in this sampler box. Time again to make a blender out of it with my Bud Zero…..
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I used a vegetable peeler. It took a bit of practice but was able to get pretty good at it. Also, I used only organic lemons as the non-organic have a wax covering. I'll look up my instructions and PM you tomorrow. Maybe there's something of use.
Both the softball and baseball teams playing this evening. Hope one of them make it worth it!
This is fantastic!
Gee, Beermeister, I'm starting to get the idea that your variety pack may have had a rough journey on the way to your fridge. Like you, I'm at my happiest guzzing smaller beers, but the Belgians specialize in brewing just the kind of beer that get you and me into trouble. They seem harmless, light on the tongue, and eminently quaffable...then you wake up in the bath tub (sadly, this is a true story from my initial forays into Belgian ales when I was in my twenties). The Belgian tradition is all about brewing "digestible" ales that complement food and are easy (dangerously so) to guzzle. This is why sugar plays such a primary role in the Belgian brewing tradition. For them, it's not a cheap adjunct. Rather, sugar is a tool that allows them to accomplish their goal.
Regarding the "3x More Malt" claim on your bottle, the Belgians viewed the rise of pilsner-style beers as a mortal threat and it prompted them to make some serious changes--especially after the Second World War, when they finally had the opportunity to reestablish their brewing tradition without the Germans turning their kettles into artillery shells.
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A half pint of my Belgian single before heading out for dinner.
A craft beer neighbor and I talk about this. Both him and I have similar experiences. We can get toasted of Belgians, him it's Chimey, yet still have no issues the next day. I always use WY3787 Trappist yeast. Maybe that's it?
I not advertise this, but I have a real issue with Pint House Pizza IPAs. Love them but they always give me a bad hangover. My neighbor says the exact same thing. They use a Kolsch yeast.
I just made a batch, zesting 20 organic lemons and steeping it in 100 proof vodka for a month. It made a nice, sparkling clear yellow color. Then I added the sugar solution and it all turned cloudy. I think what happened is something similar to the "louche effect" with absinthe. You add water and it turns cloudy, because it forces some of the oils out of solution. Those lemon oils stay well-dissolved in 50% alcohol but when I diluted it down to ~30% the oils came out of solution. That's the only explanation I can come up with.
As long as it tastes good, all that matters!
I also had a pint pot of Helles before dinner (let's pretend it's one of those little German mugs). The keg is really groaning now and it's starting to pull yeast. I'll miss this one but I'm excited to get the German pils that has been crashing for the past week out of my fermenter.
Some Treehouse
That makes sense. I noticed while the zest was in the 60% Everclear the liquid was a bright, clear yellow. Once I added the simple syrup it went cloudy. seems to support what you're saying. Strange though that the one glass in my picture above turned bright yellow when ice was added, while the no-ice glass of Limoncello was cloudy. Perhaps temperature is a factor as well?
You might try a glass with some lemon juice added to see if you can cut the sweetness and still have the taste you want. If so, you can scale it up in the bottle.
HB Maibock
Thanks. I tried a couple different zesters, microplane, and a vegetable peeler, but the Oxo microplane seemed to be best at removing just the zest. @MaxStout might be onto something with the "louche effect."
* Love Three Philosophers!! BTW, for about a dozen of my 35 years at IBM I was doing field service work, and one of my clients was Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Well, not too far from there is Brewery Ommegang. I would try to time my visits to the HoF for later in the afternoon so I could swing by Ommegang on my way home. Whenever I'd walk into the house with several Ommegang bottles my wife knew that I'd spent the afternoon in Cooperstown.
Thanks! I'll give that a try.
Hello.....my old friend....
Fantastic story!Thanks. I tried a couple different zesters, microplane, and a vegetable peeler, but the Oxo microplane seemed to be best at removing just the zest. @MaxStout might be onto something with the "louche effect."
* Love Three Philosophers!! BTW, for about a dozen of my 35 years at IBM I was doing field service work, and one of my clients was Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Well, not too far from there is Brewery Ommegang. I would try to time my visits to the HoF for later in the afternoon so I could swing by Ommegang on my way home. Whenever I'd walk into the house with several Ommegang bottles my wife knew that I'd spent the afternoon in Cooperstown.
Hot tub beer, watching some hockey, just got back from local brewery after meeting wife's coworkers.. got work in the am, booooo.
HM strawberry jam mead. Slightly sweet, tasty.
Made pizzas for dinner (my daughters had friends over too), beer and making another batch of limoncello.
@BongoYodeler I haven’t seen 120 proof everclear before. I haven’t seen mine get cloudy like that but I have noticed it changes when the syrup is added. Below is the last batch I made with mixed berry-cello back in September. Then another batch of mixed berry-cello with dragon fruit.
Oh man, your pizzas look delicious!!
Yeah, California limits Everclear to 120 proof. We have friends from Nevada visiting later this summer. I may have them "smuggle" some 190 proof over the border.
HB pale ale
Trying to finish the HB Pliny clone
Thanks! My wife, kids and their friends love my pizzas. The trick is brushing some oil on the crush and seasoning it. It makes the end of a slice like a tasty seasoned breadstick. Definitely smuggle in some of that high octane everclear.Oh man, your pizzas look delicious!!
Yeah, California limits Everclear to 120 proof. We have friends from Nevada visiting later this summer. I may have them "smuggle" some 190 proof over the border.
My guess is that the water in the ice has caused the lemon oils from the peel to louche and form an emulsion, which looks much yellower than the neat limoncello by virtue of being basically opaque.
Dgallo
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The owner of west kill brewing stopped by the my dads nursery last weekend and my dad was telling him how I’m a homebrewer, he came by this morning and left me a case of beer and said he expects to try some in return! Def a pretty cool thing
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