Otis Stout

Seems I also need to write my recipes down; I can't really recall what I put in this one. Good thing I wasn't drinking whilst I made it. Here goes.

Maltshovel Oatmeal Stout Kit
500g approx LDME
500g approx Milo
1kg approx Dextrose
25g fuggles at 30 mins
10g fuggles at 10 mins

and I don't think I added anything more. None of the ingredients were weighed, I guessed them all. Should be interesting.

Pitched the kit yeast into about 20 litres, but it's in a Bunnings fermenter, which has no markings. It's actually a crock of shite fermenter, but meh.

17/7/07 My good friend Mull, formerly Duke of the Three Yorks, has recently furnished my fermenter with a jumper. Hopefully now fermentation shall continue apace.

12/8/07 Finally got around to bottling this, after leaving it in the primary for about a month and a half. I really have to stop doing this; I have two in the primary now that finished last week, but I have no sanitiser. But anyway, only bottled about 15l as it tasted rather strange. It is going in the cupboard for about 3 months before I even think about tasting it. My thinking is that Milo could be beneficial in a brew, but only in small amounts, say, 100-200g.

2/9/07 Cracked the first one. Rather scrumptious aroma, with an ever-so-slight whiff of milo to be had. This really surprised me, it is actually a dam fine stout, creamy, solid and oh so creamy. The fuggles and the milo have interacted wonderfully to create a very balanced beer. Definitely one to make again.

A Winter Warmer

I obtained this recipie from Oliver and Geoff's Homebrew and Beer forum, courtesy of a fine fellow know only as Yardglass.

Coopers Ginger Beer Kit
Coopers Brew Enhancer #2
Grated Fresh Ginger 300gm
Lemon Zest & Juice
Ground Nutmeg 1 tbsp
Brown Sugar 2 tbsp
Golden Syrup 2 tbsp
Ginger Pwdr 3 tbsp
Honey 2 tbsp
Cloves 2
Cinnamon 2'' stick
Safale Yeast

Brewing Notes
Add CBE & Fresh Ginger to 2lt of water and bring to boil.
Boil for 20min.
While this is boiling, hydrate Nutmeg, Ginger Pwdr, Brown sugar in a cup of hot water.
@ 20min add the hydrated ingredients along with Honey, Gldn Syrup and Lemon Zest.
Boil for further 10min.
@ 30min add Kit, Cloves, Cinnamon and Lemon Juice.
Boil for further 10min.
@ 40min flame out and strain into sanitised primary, top up to 23lt, pitch yeast.

I briefly toyed with the idea of adding the kilo bag of sugar i found in my cupboard here at uni, but decided against it. But I do have a sneaking suspicion that i added the spare 500g of dextrose i had lying around. Should've added more.

After about a day i realised i hadn't added a yeast nutrient pack, so i dumped an old yeast pack in some very bloody hot water, and tipped it all in. Seems to have helped, its still going today (Thurs 31st May) and I put it on about a week and a half ago.

Tasting Notes:
I've really got to up my game. Bloody thing got infected. I suspect it may have been alright if i had bottled it straight away when it finished. Lot of money down the drain there.

Having said that though, i feel like quite the dill, twas but a tad of yeast that made me question said brew. It will be bottled shortly, in grolsh swing-tops no less. Quite the young cad I do say what.

1/11 Well this brew was finished months ago, but I feel I must say a few words on its account. A dem fine brew it was, though some bottles were a cut above and some a cut below. When I do it again I will try for less body and more spice. Should be nice.

Coopers Pale Ale

The first foray into hops and specialty grains.

Coopers Pale Ale Kit
Coopers Brew Enhancer #2
750gr LDME
150gr Crystal Malt
15gr Cascade for 30mins
10gr Cascade for 10 mins
Kit yeast and another i pinched from a Ginger
Beer kit, which is the next project.

Brewing Notes:
Boiled Water, added Crystal and bittering hops
for at 30mins, then stirred in malt and brew
enhancer over the next 10 mins, added flavouring
hops at 10 mins and the kit at flameout. I really
dunno if this is going to work, I got a bit worried
and stopped the boil halfway through, which I'm
not at all sure was a good idea. Meh, see what
happens. The fermenter was missing its airlock
so I used some gladwrap. Hope it works.

Bottling Notes:
Bottled with the able assistance of Felix Denartris, Esq.

Tasting Notes:
28th May 2007: been in the bottle about two weeks, and boy is this a tasty beer. hops definitely to the fore, with a slight malty sweetness. Chicks seem to like it too, which could be a bonus, but it could also mean its days are numbered. Next time I'll try for a tad more body and a tad more hop flavour and aroma. Perhaps 10g more cascade or 10g Amarillo at 10 minutes, and a tad at flameout. We shall see.

2 July 2007: I did try it many a time in the month and a bit between this date and the previous tasting, so much so that the only bottles left were the four stubbies I gave my girlfriend's dad, and a longneck which is still in my cupboard. However, I can only remember that it tasted dam good; all particulars tended to disappear into the haze that characterises any night spent on the dram at college. But, based on the four aforementioned stubbies, it is still a dam good drop, and one that I will definitely make again. However, it seems to have been at its best early on, and whilst it didn't get a great deal worse, it is certainly not a brew to leave in the cellar for 5 years. But with more hops and more malt it could be. Perhaps that is a thing to try in the future.

The Bar - Again

This idea is definitely on the backburner, as I'm living on campus at my Uni and only go home about once a month, if that. Sigh...

4. Cooper's Bitter Take Two.

1 Can Coopers Bitter
1kg Dextrose
500g Light Dry Malt Extract

Brewing Notes
Brewed this one at Strathallan Brewing Co. Ltd. In other words at Mull's. Good fun brew-night. Same old basic process, boiled fermentables, took off boil, added can, poured into fermenter. Bob is obviously your uncle.

Tasting Notes
Sadly tasting has been delayed by a stupid mistake, namely me only priming half the longnecks. Bugger. So it shall be a good two weeks before I can start to sample them, and I am not expecting much, i can see it being very sweet. Meh, a few months should see it good, and in that time I will have to start brewing with hops. Woah Yeah!

Well, six stubbies were tasted over the last few weeks, with the last one going down about a month after brewing. Not bad really, considering the brew was unbalanced from the start. High alcohol, around 7-8% it feels like judging the buzz it creates. Should be quite passable (I won't say good) in a month or two. Now I gotta find which longnecks haven't been primed. Sigh.

8/5/07 Drank this last friday night, and from what I recall it wasn't bad. But then, I don't remember the trainride home from a jazz show in Northcote, and I do have a big split in my ear. So don't take my word as gospel. At least we only cracked the primed ones.

17/7/07 I think this beer needs a better-fitting name, given the vast majority of the times it has featured in a night I have ended up completely wiped out. It's all gone now, thank god, and towards the end it didn't really get much better, though to be sure all the primed ones went first, leaving only slightly fizzy syrups to contend with. Most of these were imbibed rather swiftly, so as to avoid tasting it, and this may have contributed to the state yours truly found himself in towards the end of the night. Carbonated equals good, uncarbonated equals bad when it comes to this brew then...

3. Coopers Bitter

1 Can Coopers Bitter
1 kg Dextrose
250g Light Malt Extract
250g Maltodextrin

Brewing Notes
Boiled up the fermentables, took it off the boil and then added the kit. Pitched yeast at around 30 degrees, which may have been a bad idea.

Fermentation Notes
Lid leaks now apparently. Might have to change over to glad wrap. Classy...also, rigged up quite the little cooling system. Sat the fermenter in a deep esky, filled it with water, wrapped a towel around it and I've had a small fan running on it 24/7. Kept it comfortable through 40 degree days whilst it sat in an uninsulated shed. Bloody ripper.

Well this brew was tipped, as I forgot to get my capper from my mate's house. Bugger. Seemed like it was gonna be a bloody good'un too.

Tasting Notes
See above.

2. The Black Death

Number 2: The Black Death
(Named due to its colour, and not due to taste or alcohol percentage.)

1 can Coopers Stout
1 can Maltshovel Oatmeal Stout
both kit yeats

Brewing Notes:
Mull brewed this for me while I was in Ecuador, so i really don't know what he did. Can't have been too technical though. It did ferment for about two weeks though, filling the house of two blokes who don't like stout too much with the lovely odor of said brilliant style of beer.

Tasting Notes:
1 month: Not bad really, a tad mild compared to the likes of Cooppers Best Extra, but nice, inoffensive, brilliant as a winter quaffer i reckon. It is so black, and has a good head too. Bloody filling though, especially with Dominos Pizza. Would do it again, but only if the kits were on special again. Feels like it is be about 6-7% alc/vol.
8/5/07 I really don't know what happened to all this, I can't recall drinking it, I just know that I did. Can't have been too bad, but at least we know it was around 6% for sure now. I think there are two left, one for me, one for Mull. I'll take notes this time.

1. Milo to VB in three easy steps.

1 can Coopers Real Ale
1 kg Dextrose
200g Corn Syrup
800g Light Malt Extract

Brewing Notes:
Straightford really. Boiled water, mixed in ingredients.
I believe I boiled the kit too, i wont do that anymore, due
to advice from the Homebrew and Beer Forum.

Tasting Notes:
2 weeks: horribly sweet and evil. Way too green.
1 month: Apparently still very sweet, though I wasnt there
to taste it. I gave 24 stubbies of it to a mate for his birthday,
and then went to Ecuador for six months.
6 months: No sweetness, only bitterness. Not great at all,
over the hill for sure. Wish i was in Australia to taste it at
three months, it may have been alright. It sits about 7% alc/vol.
7 months: I take back what I said above, this beer was brilliant
really cold, absolutely brilliant, and still good a tad warmer, ie.
when almost finished and it's been sitting in the heat for a bit.
I shall miss this beer. But 7 months is a long time to wait.

Note to self.

Buy Michael Franti's doco; I know I'm not alone.

The Bar - Continued

The ideas are growing. Now I'm thinking about putting it in the southeast corner of the shed, with one fridge hidden behind planking and whatnot, hard against the shelves there. The bar will go in a corner shape around it, and i want to rig up a roof set-up above it, though for that i'll need to improve my wood-working skills, or find something bloody easy to use that'll look good. It's not like it needs to keep out the rain or anything. The main sitting are of the shed will still be where it is at the moment, but I'll put some of the couches over near to the bar, and I'll rig up some bar stools, perhaps i can raid some seats of the various old plows sitting around the far...
It's gonna be good. Beer will be one dark, one pale, one lemonade or similar sweet lovely for the chicks, and either a ginger or a lager, depending on the season, or experimental batches.
So what will i need for all this? Well, more fermenters, kegs, a fridge, taps, plastic glasses and jugs, various materials (I dont know if i'l make the frame for the bar and the roof out of wood or metal, for both I'll need to learn new skills). Embellishments, like nice panneling, nice rims, probably a sink (which needs water...fuck, plumbing too), racks for glasses, maybe a bar fridge under the bar for bottles of stuff, as well as mixers for spirits. (Note to self: build still, or motivate Mull and Carcs to finish theirs). (Further note to self: invest in a brewing fridge and Fridgemate).

Ideas - An Update

Some more things to learn how to do:

• Make jam and other preservatives.
• Learn how to fish.
• Go yabbying more and learn how to cook them well.
• Build a goddam still. That idea has been in the works for way too long.
  

The Bar - Planning Phase

Figure i may as well start planning for when im ready to start kegging (which will happen). The fact of the matter is that i will need a nice place from which to dispense the wonderful (hopefully) brews, and there is a fair bit of room back home at in the shed. So i'm thinking, one big fridge, 4 kegs worth of beer or whatnot, and a nice little bar area. At this stage I think a dark ale of some descripition, a pale or a bitter, an achololic lemonade or something else that chicks would like, and then aternate between a lager(summer), an apple cider(when i feel like it) or a ginger beer(winter).
Brilliant.
But the actual structure? Well it can't be too big, perhaps just a little corner shape, coming out from against the wall next to the roll-up door, so i can sit in it like a proper litte bartender and still be part of the convos at the couch-and-carpet area, which is across the other side of the roll-up door (its a big shed, with naught but couches, a drum kit, a table hockey table, and some storage shelves). The fridge would have to be outside, on a slab on concrete with a little lean-to around it built of left-over metal from the shed itself. I'd probably have to put a garden around it...perhaps i can turn it into a vegie garden...
I'm thinking put a roof on the bar inside, kinda old-style veranda thing, with corrugated iron. Probably use corrugated iron on the actual bar structure too, we've got shiteloads of it lying around that is never going to be used. It'll need a sink, which nescesitates running water, which shall be interesting, and I'll need to pick up some various sized glasses somewhere, and some bar mats. This will take some time. I'll put some plans up sometime soon, whenever i get around to putting them on the computer.
Cheers.

The growth of ideas.

More time to think means more ideas, and I think this blog may turn into more than just a brewing log. Seems to me, and I'm not saying this is original in any way, but not too many people really now where all our stuff comes from. Our food, our drinks, our clothes and all that. So we cant really appreaciate them, cos we dont know how difficult it is to produce them. I've learnt to appreaciate beer all lot more now that i know the theory behind it (more or less know), so i figured i may as well apply this to other things. like food. and other drinks. not clothing, thats a tad difficult for me right now, not really into growing cotton or doing whatever it is to oil that they do to make nylon. but yeah, so thats what this is going to turn into. A quest for knowledge. Fuck its gonna take some time.

Ideas

Being in Ecuador means i have a lot of time to think, so I've come up with a few ideas of shite i want to do when i get home.

1. Start brewing with hops and speciality grains.
2. Learn how to rack.
3. Convert dad's old fridge into a fermenter cooler. Idea is mount an old fan on the door, after cutting out a shiteload of it.
4. Grow vegies in pots for Uni. Maybe i can leave them at Mulls?
   
5. Make an alcoholic lemonade.
6. Learn how to make pasta.
7. And cheese.
8. And yogurt. (probably the easiest of the three)

With more to come, I've forgotten a lot.

A picture