What are you brewing?

**jmwebster** · 12-23-2011, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by jmwebster

First Partigyle today! 5 Gallons of Wee Heavy and 5 gallons of Scottish export (80 shilling)

And I hit my goal gravity (1.090) for the Wee Heavy on the nose without having to mix between the two beers! Boil for the 80 shilling just started

**AACJ** · 12-31-2011, 04:36 AM

I'm having a hard time not cracking open my Pumpkin IPA. I want to let it condition in the corney keg for 14 days, but that puts it around Jan 4th (Wednesday) before I can try it, but I have the itch.

I need a support group!

**YetiDave** · 12-31-2011, 05:13 AM

I hear ya! I'm getting impatient with my spiced mead - it's been racked once and it's almost completely clear now, I'll be very tempted to try a glass after the second racking but I've gotta force myself to wait for 6 months!

**Cogwulf** · 12-31-2011, 06:43 AM

Me and my Dad have had a go at brewing some IPA. The fermenting bin we had was an old 20 pint one, but all the kits now are 40 pints, so the shop owner suggested we use the can of malt and omit the sugar, it should taste good but work out a bit darker than it is meant to.
It will be ready tonight, it just could have perhaps done with a few more days to mature.

After this we might invest in some new equipment, and perhaps try brewing some from scratch.

**braxis** · 12-31-2011, 10:09 PM

I got a Mr Beer kit for christmas and will be starting my first brew with it tomorrow. It came with the West Coast pale ale but I will be using their ginger beer recipe and see how it goes. I have brewed a few batches with the Maw-in-law with a traditional kit in the past, but this will be my first try with this.

**ChefJohnBoy-ardee** · 01-04-2012, 12:18 AM

I have three carboys going now! :) Cider, Hop-Head Clone a Trappist wannabe :D:D:D

I need another carboy!

plus i have an ESB and another batch of Cider sitting bottles waiting to be opened. The cider should be ready saturday and the ESB will need another week or two since I bottled it all in 22oz bottles.

**K9H20** · 01-11-2012, 04:03 PM

Got a beer kit for Christmas also. I have a batch of Joes Ancient Orange Meade going in a Carlo Rossi jug for fun, but my actual beer that I have going in the primary as we speak is a Belgian Saison. This is my first foray into brewing, do I am doing something I like.

**chicagotrim** · 01-11-2012, 05:07 PM

Brewers Best IPA was started last night. My third go...hopefully it turns out! Didnt see too much activity today with airlock, but hopefully all good

**jmwebster** · 01-11-2012, 06:46 PM

transferred the Wee Heavy to a secondary for about 3-4 months of cool aging (40-45 degrees).

Also plotting another strong beer for the next brew. Between another Partigyle (Barleywine and Brown Ale) or doing something really ridiculous based on Mosher's "Ignoble Doble doble"

**BrowardDet** · 01-13-2012, 05:07 AM

Just finished my first barleywine from Homebrew Heaven, Death by Barleywine". bottled up in EZ Caps and cellaring for a few months. It finished out at around 10-11% and the left-overs after bottling were delicious with a pronounced alcohol "heat". Can't wait to see how the mellowed and carbed one taste like. After brewing several types of beers, I think I'm going to enjoy brewing the "big" ones. I'm thinking a Russian imperial stout next??

**YetiDave** · 01-13-2012, 11:30 AM

I'm giving my spiced mead it's second racking this weekend (a month in primary, one in secondary) and racking my apricot and ginger mead for the first time. I'm also going to get another gallon on the go, maybe try Joe's ancient orange. Only 4 months to go until I can taste the first batch...

**YetiDave** · 01-14-2012, 10:00 AM

I couldn't resist tasting them.... Spiced mead is pretty dry and still has a very 'raw' spicy taste that is quite intense, I'm hoping it'll mellow out with age, I may add some more honey at some point just for a little extra sweetness. The ginger and apricot mead is just right at the moment, I didn't measure either with a hydrometer but I'd guess they're both somewhere between 13 and 17%. I'm not sure whether I should kill off the ferment in the apricot or let it ferment out and potentially have to sweeten it at a later date. Next on the cards is a batch of short mead that I'll be starting tonight, one I can actually drink in a couple of weeks (presuming it doesn't taste awful!)

**braxis** · 01-14-2012, 07:55 PM

I will be testing my first batch of beer tomorrow! If all is well I will be cold crashing it and bottling. MMMMmm Ginger beer!

**Ptroiani** · 01-15-2012, 11:16 PM

On the lighter side, I just started my second batch of a ginger and clove ale. It is different, and I think I like it. On the heavier side, I just finished fermenting out the goods for dark rum. It should be going into the still in a few hours. Have four gallons of corn mash finished and ready to cook, but I am not in a hurry. I am not fond of corn whiskey - I use it only to dilute the morphine to make medicine... but that is another story all together.

**Ptroiani** · 01-15-2012, 11:21 PM

Originally Posted by YetiDave

I couldn't resist tasting them.... Spiced mead is pretty dry and still has a very 'raw' spicy taste that is quite intense, I'm hoping it'll mellow out with age, I may add some more honey at some point just for a little extra sweetness. The ginger and apricot mead is just right at the moment, I didn't measure either with a hydrometer but I'd guess they're both somewhere between 13 and 17%. I'm not sure whether I should kill off the ferment in the apricot or let it ferment out and potentially have to sweeten it at a later date. Next on the cards is a batch of short mead that I'll be starting tonight, one I can actually drink in a couple of weeks (presuming it doesn't taste awful!)

I had good luck mellowing out mead with charred oak chips. I used buckwheat honey from a local apiary, and the stuff was very strong tasting. I used a dark char oak chips from the brew supply store and kept them in contact for three weeks. It imparted a darker color, but the char absorbed some of the harsher tasting compounds. I don't know if that helps you much, but I thought I would put my 2 cents in. I have an advantage when a batch goes bad - I just dump it in the still and save the alcohol. Done it many times!

**TimmyBoston** · 01-16-2012, 06:55 AM

I bottled my first batch last weekend. I brewed up some Kiolsch.

**braxis** · 01-16-2012, 07:16 PM

My beer is bottled and conditioning as we speak! Next Sunday I will try one and leave the rest for later.

**YetiDave** · 01-17-2012, 12:28 AM

Originally Posted by Ptroiani

I had good luck mellowing out mead with charred oak chips. I used buckwheat honey from a local apiary, and the stuff was very strong tasting. I used a dark char oak chips from the brew supply store and kept them in contact for three weeks. It imparted a darker color, but the char absorbed some of the harsher tasting compounds. I don't know if that helps you much, but I thought I would put my 2 cents in. I have an advantage when a batch goes bad - I just dump it in the still and save the alcohol. Done it many times!

Thanks for the tip, a brew shop near me sells oak chips from whiskey barrels, I may give those a shot!

**TimmyBoston** · 01-17-2012, 09:59 PM

Originally Posted by braxis

My beer is bottled and conditioning as we speak! Next Sunday I will try one and leave the rest for later.

That's when I'm cracking my first bottle too!

**Musical Shaving** · 01-18-2012, 08:59 PM

What's brewing now ... I've got an English Bitter in secondary. It started off as a bit of a disaster. I filled my stock pot with too much water, so when I added the hop pellets and some dry malt extract it boiled over! On the stove stop, the elements, down the oven vent, into the oven, on the outside of the oven and onto the floor. In a word, everywhere. All the while thinking "no, it won't boil over on me!" It was pretty funny, once things got cleaned up and back on track.