Old Time Spruce ale

I am quite glad that I got the time to try out this recipe.  I would have been pretty disappointed, seeing as there is really only one a brief period of one to weeks in the spring that can have to make the recipe the best it can be. The main ingredient and flavouring in this [...]

Thyme Ale Review

If you read my previous entry on how I bottled this beer, I sort of already talked about what I thought of the flavor. But the sample that I tried was from the very bottom right above all the herb and yeast sludge, as well as room temperature, and non-carbonated. So, given that these guys [...]

Thyme Ale – Bottling

Finally this jerk was ready to be bottled a few days ago. The original recipe stated that fermentation would take approximately 6-7 days, but this guy was fermenting for a solid 3 weeks before it finally calmed down. As I was bottling, I put a little bit into a glass and decided to try it. [...]

Yarrow Honey Mead

For I Gallon I used: -3 lbs. organic fireweed honey -1/5 tbsp. gypsum -3/4 tsp. acid blend (not as exciting as it sounds!) -Small pinch of Irish Moss -A handful of freshly picked yarrow leaves (I left the premature flowers alone so that they would seed more for future batches.) -3 gr. champagne yeast, dehydrated [...]

The Belgian Bomb

This is a big one. A huge one to be exact.  The starting gravity was 1.130!  With a projected final gravity of 1.034 this brew will be roughly 12.5% abv.  If I play a few tricks I can probably get the final gravity down a bit more which will reduce the perceived sweetness and boost [...]

Cracked Malibu – Lagering

As I mentioned in my previous post, the fermentation schedule for this beer was… Primary:  3 Weeks @ 10C Diacetyl Rest:  3 Days @ 19C  (Raises the temperature briefly so the yeast can clean up any remaining diacetyl funkiness in the beer) Lager:  4 Weeks @ 2C …. So the Primary and Diacetyl Rest had [...]

Clean the Cupboards Ale

Before I ever got the crazy notion of making a Lager, I decided that I should do a little bit of spring cleaning (in February).  I decided to use the leftover grains and hops that have been kicking around for a while to make a nothing special drinking ale.  I shot for 5% IPA-ish brew [...]

Bottled Steam Beer

“The Sun Has Left Us On Time Steam Beer” has been bottled in an array of different shapes and sizes of bottles, including a one gallon jug:

Outside the Hops: Thyme Ale

The time for herbal home-brew number two has arrived, and I decided on producing a thyme ale. There was no specific recipe that I found to make this, so it essentially entirely from scratch. Here is the ingredients list: 2.9 L water (another growler brew) 1 pound brown sugar 3 ounces thyme 1 ounce rosemary [...]

Chamomile Ale Review

Woah, I am really surprised by this one. Considering that it was my first attempt brewing beer at home using less than ideal equipment, I was sort of expecting a complete bomb but this really turned out to be quite good. Just as a reminder, this beer is made with unfiltered tap water, brown sugar, [...]