We're in the Garden - Part 3

An impromptu take on a Belgian white from The Complete Joy of Homebrewing
ABV: Unknown
IBU: Unknown

Ramius and the brew!

Well, we finally got together to bottle our Belgian White. Hilary, Ramius, and I ran to HopToIt! and picked up some corn sugar for bottling before heading back to my place to get down to business. The bottling process went much more quickly than the Primal Porter since two sets of hands were working, and I was greatly pleased with the pace we made. Really, the only tedious/time-consuming portion of the bottling process was (as always) sanitizing everything. I really need to invest in a bottle tree, as you can clearly see...

Anyhow, we ended up coming out with a final product of 49 bottles, which is consistent with the average of four dozen bottles per 5-gallon brew. We took Charlie's advice this time and put a coriander seed in each bottle to enhance its flavor. I should also be noted that I put the coriander seeds in the microwave for ~20 seconds to kill anything on them to prevent any bacterial contamination. Needless to say, both Hilary and I are extraordinarily excited to taste this brew. The smell itself was intoxicating and quite a tease during the entire bottling process.

The day of bottling. Note the deep amber coloration.

We're in the Garden - Part 2

Well, it has been a month since Hilary and I started this Belgian White. Fermentation continues, though it is slowing to some extent. I'm not sure how much longer it will take, having never used 2lbs. of honey in a brew before. Gotta wonder what the alcohol content will be as well.

I'm about out of the Primal Porter that Tegan and I brewed, so will probably use the second carboy I have to brew something in the mean time. I've been toying with the idea of a Weizenbier, but am not sure yet.

Also, here is a cool change in the make-up of the fermenting beer:

Fermenting Beer on Day 2

Fermenting Beer on Day 9

We're in the Garden - Part 1

An impromptu take on a Belgian white from The Complete Joy of Homebrewing
ABV: Unknown
IBU: Unknown

Ingredients:

• 5.0 pounds Munton's Light Malt Extract
• 2.0 pounds Colorado Light Alfalfa Honey
• 2.0 oz Hallertauer Pellet Hops
• 1 oz for boiling
• 0.5 oz for flavor
• 0.5 oz for aroma
• 1.5 oz freshly crushed whole coriander seed
• used in two 0.75 oz batches
• 0.5 oz dried, ground sweet orange peel
• Yeast: WYEAST 3944
• 0.75 cup corn sugar
• for bottling

Single-Stage Fermentation

Since our Blackhole Red Ale is gone, Hilary and I decided to try our hand at a light and refreshing beer, and a Belgian white is it! The original recipe is for Who's In The Garden Grand Cru, but due to a lack of supplies at HopToIt!, we had to improvise with the ingredients used above. 

Brewing went extraordinarily smoothly. Using the dry malt extract required a bit more stirring than liquid malt extract to ensure it dissolved completely. The coriander was ground to a relatively coarse grain using a mortar and pestle.

While waiting for the wort to boil, Hilary and I indulged in a couple of Hoegaarden wit ales. This was fitting as the original recipe was meant to mimic this brew. Anyhow, the Hoegaarden was delicious and in a little under a month we'll find out just how delicious this homebrew is.

We're In the Garden with fermentation cap and hose

Rampart Red Ale - Tasting

An Irish Red Ale from Hop To It! Homebrew
ABV 5.0%
IBU 28

On the fifteenth day of bottle conditioning, Hilary and I sat down with the wee Ramius to try the brew. It came out wonderfully! A nice reddish amber colored ale with a white head and an aroma that is strong and malty, with hints of toffee and sweet hops. Tasting, one notes the same basic profile as the aroma with a little more hoppiness coming through. Medium bodied, this ale turned out to be quite sessionable.

A final note: Hilary and I have dubbed this brew BlackHole Red Ale. Guess why and win a prize.

Rampart Red Ale - Part 3

An Irish Red Ale from Hop To It! Homebrew
ABV 5.0%
IBU 28

After 18 days of secondary fermentation, Hilary was back to help bottle the beer. We did this with little incident, however we did run out of bottles after the first 29 12 oz bottles and one 16 oz bottle. We simply ran to the store and bought 12 additional bottles. Thus, our total output was 41 12 oz bottles and one 16 oz bottle. This is the equivalent of just under 4 gallons. I should note that the plastic carboy is less than ideal. It allowed a considerable amount of the beer to evaporate due to a poor seal between the carboy's opening and the drilled stopper. I am seriously considering retiring the plastic carboy and purchasing a second glass carboy.

Our 42 Bottles

Despite worries about the quality of the beer due to our hop-related mix up, we didn't notice anything unexpected or unpleasant when we sampled it during the bottling process. There was no excess hoppiness or skunkiness, and the beer was actually quite flavorful.



Gravity Readings

• Expected Values
• Original Gravity: 1.051
• Final Gravity: 1.013
• Actual Values
• Starting Gravity: 1.03-1.05, 06/12/2011
• Between Fermentations: 1.01-1.02, 06/21/2011
• Final Gravity: 1.01, 07/08/2011

Rampart Red Ale - Part 1

An Irish Red Ale from Hop To It! Homebrew
ABV 5.0%
IBU 28

Ingredients:

• Specialty Grains
• 6 oz CaraRed Malt
• 6 oz Medium Crystal Malt
• 4 oz Extra-Dark Crystal Malt
• 2 oz Roasted Barley
• Muslin Bag
• 6.5 Pounds Light Liquid Malt Extract
• 2 oz US Kent Golding Hops
• Yeast: WYEAST 1084
• 5 oz Corn Sugar
• for bottling

Two-Stage Fermentation

My friend Hilary helped us make this Irish Red and, I will say, it was truly a first homebrewing experience. In all, the brewing went well. We followed a mix of the instructions that came with the Irish Red Kit and those outlined in Charlie Papazian's wonderful book The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. Brewing on a mediocre electric burner is less than ideal, but a fair amount of patience and a few White Rascals saw us through it. Everything went swimmingly with the exception of cooling the wort, removing the hops, and activating the yeast in a timely fashion. The wort chiller wasn't functional due to a lack of a garden hose and/or a faucet adapter. Because of this, we had to wait quite some time despite placing the wort into the primary fermentation bucket and filling it up to the 5-gallon mark. I should note that we didn't have a strainer or filtered funnel at the time either, so the hops remained in the bucket for the duration of primary fermentation. The yeast packet takes 3 hours to activate... something we did not know until the point when we needed to put it in. Thus, the yeast was not put in until the following morning since I fell asleep and Ramius was no help in his occasional capacity as an alarm clock.