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Socratov

2012-11-24, 07:58 AM

Welcome to my log thread. Every weekend i will get back to my parents and become bored. So, in a quest to find something to do I stumbled ondoing stuff with alcohol.

My first thing I made was coffee liqueuer. A month further it's coming together nicely. If the project is a success I will post a recipe :smallwink:

But now, inspired by the latest mead thread I have now made the step to the real homebrewing.

Form time to time I will log my adventures in brewing the various concoctions here (in spring I will try to make elderflower liqueuer) and if you have questions, please ask (pictures will follow)

If you have any questions, remarks or something, feel free to post :smallamused:

My meadmaking tutorial with basic recipe (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14342970&postcount=20)

My first Log: Basic mead (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14273629&postcount=2)

Thor's Mighty Hammer: Applemead (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14427495&postcount=29)

Freya's cherry: Cherry Mead (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15088239#post15088239)

Loki's Trickery: Boeren Jongens Mead (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?262458-Socratov-s-brewing-log&p=19274664#post19274664)

Sköll and Hati Hróðvitnisson: Black Tea Mead (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19294540&postcount=96)

Freyr's Nectar: Strawberry and Passionfruit Mead (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?262458-Socratov-s-brewing-log&p=19467550#post19467550)

Liqueuer making:

Coffee Liqueuer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14561832&postcount=33)
it's very good in chocolate milk, coffee, or dishes that need just that bit of sweetness and coffee essence (like desserts).

Woodworking:

Project Ca(i)ne! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14879075&postcount=43)

Socratov

2012-11-24, 08:23 AM

To honey, and beyond!
Brewer's Log, date 24th of November 2012.

Today I dusted off (and cleaned thouroughly) my old fermentation equipment. Why I have fermentation equipment? I once distilled rum for school as a project. Bcuase you need fermented molasses to make rum (the sugar will need to be processed into carbondioxide and alcohol) I made a very simple, yet easy to use fermentation rig.

I used a container (those little vats sailors often use becuase of it watertightness), drilled a hole through the top and put a tube through the hole. in the container you put the stuff you want to ferment and the tuve ends in a bucket of water to act as some sort of waterlock. Pretty simple huh?

Now, Mead. The stuff of legends (and vikings! :smallbiggrin:). Basically it's a wine made form honey instead of grapejuice, which is fermented and made clear(ish). After scouring some websites and fora I found a general trend in recipes (seriously every person on the net brewing has a recipe of his own :smalleek:): between 20% and 35% honey of the total solution, ferment with yeast. only about half of the recipes tell you to boil the honey with some water, while others tell you it's a deadly sin to do so. After some more research I happened on a person who tried both (same solution, same methods, made simultaneously) and the only differences seem be the fact that the mead becomes clearer after boiling and loses some of it's rumored health benefits (which honey has! Read wikipedia!).

So there I stand, with my pot of boiling water and honey (about 1,4 kg for 5 liter total solution), scooping off foam. In the mean time my mother's new puppy tries to play with me by dragging the ends of my trousers unsuccessfully :smallamused:

After the honey has boiled to satisfaction I once again scour the fermenting gear with piping hot water. While my honey starts to cool I add water until the 5L mark has been reached. I pour the solution into the container and cool it down with some cold water on the outside. When my solution is almost cool enough I use a cup of cold tea to start up my yeast. Yeast is very important and the various boards and sites can't agree on what is a good yeast to use. I tend to be practical and earlier bought a packet of dry yeast. Yeast goes in the tea, the whole shebang gets dumped into the solution. Swirl around, screw top on and now we wait.

waiting for the first blob to emerge form the bucket acting as waterlock. I'll keep you posted on my mead brewing adventure(s).

By the way, if this batch works well I'll make a mead to a recipe that is described as being liquid apple pie :smallbiggrin: Becuase there is no such thing as too much awesomeness :smalltongue:

pictures:

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_00081.jpg

my brewing rig

Edit: when I shake the rig it starts bubbeling so the reaction is quite on it's way. I guess the yeast culture is growing for now and eating it's fill of sugar etc. To maintain my patience I imagine that the yeast is now playing the movie Highlander, fighting againts the sugar in the realm. I somehow picture one of the yeast cells painting himself blue and rallying the rest of ghe yeast to attack the sugar and break it down into alcohol and co2 :smallbiggrin:

HeadlessMermaid

2012-11-24, 10:47 AM

The Headless Mermaid approves of moonshine, all kinds. :smallcool:

I know nothing at all about mead, so I may be off here, but judging from similar procedures I'd suggest you avoid plastic containers. Plastic doesn't mesh well with booze, especially when it's boiling/hot/fermenting. Stainless steel is good, and also some sort of ceramic - but that's not my field of expertise, so I don't know which exactly. (I think it must be non-porous, IIRC.)

Instead of a bucket, maybe you can pour it directly into a glass bottle? Glass to avoid plastic, and bottle because when the surface is large, you lose a lot of alcohol from evaporation. (Logically. I haven't tried it.) I'm assuming you don't expect extreme temperatures that could break the glass, right?

Again, these suggestions are only tentative - they may or may not apply to mead in particular. And in any case, your rig gets points for being very cheap and easy to build. Keep at it, and good luck! :smallsmile:

Socratov

2012-11-24, 11:06 AM

You are right, but it depends on the sort of plastic. And while I earlier found no problems after destillation, it's certainly something to look out for in the Endproduct. When I start taking things more seriously I will definately by some glass apparatus :smallamused:. For now i do it cheap :smallwink:

Socratov

2012-11-25, 09:05 AM

*UPDATE*

The lack of bubbling disturbed me. However I discovered that my seal of the lid and hose is not that adequate (should look into that next time, and memo to buy some more ducttape). Some of the mead now rests on top of the lid and tastes delicious. Next time I will also add more acid to help the yeast better. But asit is going now it seems to become absolutely deliscious. A good sweet strong flavour is developing. Within a week I think it will be done fermenting and be ready for clearing.

Ion, I am thinking about making a fermenting tank out of an old boiler (if I can find one). I once read a pdf on moonshining (and how to craft the distilling tank) and I think I can make something similar for brewing and fermenting. Any thoughts? If I can I will upload a sketch of what I mean.

And I heard about ways to make your own yeast. Anyone experience with that?

HeadlessMermaid

2012-11-25, 09:35 AM

However I discovered that my seal of the lid and hose is not that adequate (should look into that next time, and memo to buy some more ducttape).
I'm not sure how they're called in English, but those rubber rings that we use for taps and pipes would do the trick nicely. You have to find the right diameter and secure it somehow, clench it. Ideally, with those metal rings, which again I don't know how they're called in English. (I'm not helping much, am I? :smalltongue: )

Ion, I am thinking about making a fermenting tank out of an old boiler (if I can find one). I once read a pdf on moonshining (and how to craft the distilling tank) and I think I can make something similar for brewing and fermenting. Any thoughts? If I can I will upload a sketch of what I mean.
Fermentation or distillation? The process I'm familiar with (and I can look it up for you, if you want) is about beverages where the fermentation has already happened naturally, and you only have to worry about heating up the mixture and distilling it. Would that help?

Story Time

2012-11-25, 10:12 AM

...subscribed to this thread on day one.

...was kind of hoping that it could be uncluttered information about making mead, but... ( sigh )

[...]but those rubber rings that we use for taps and pipes would do the trick nicely.

Washers?

Ion,

Who's Ion?

...looking forward to what you discover, Socratov. Good-speed and good-mead.

Socratov

2012-11-25, 10:15 AM

I'm not sure how they're called in English, but those rubber rings that we use for taps and pipes would do the trick nicely. You have to find the right diameter and secure it somehow, clench it. Ideally, with those metal rings, which again I don't know how they're called in English. (I'm not helping much, am I? :smalltongue: )
I know what you mean, but that didn't work (or at least not with the things I had a the moment (also, the word you're looking for is rivets :smallwink:). But not I have used Shoegoo to seal the top part of the hole (while pulling at the hose which has some sort or electric tape knot underneath the lid). that shoudl seal a lot better then just stacking hockeytape :smallbiggrin:

Fermentation or distillation? The process I'm familiar with (and I can look it up for you, if you want) is about beverages where the fermentation has already happened naturally, and you only have to worry about heating up the mixture and distilling it. Would that help?

Well, both sorts of tanks work on the same principle where you have a botom and top half, the ability to close and secure the lid and 1 way out for the fermentation gasses. the tank (as I envision it) would be the same as the plastic container I have now, but with a slide on top sealed with a rubber or glue band between the top and bottom parts, secured with rope wrapped around hooks. the top would have a hose connected to it which (again) ends in a bucket of water acting like a waterlock to prevent contamination from getting in. the upside sould e that it's very easy to clean and scour. the down side is that I need to learn some metalworking skills. but that is a project for the future (when I have more disposable income to spend in these kinds of fun stuffs and when I will take brewing more seriously. the bit that seeped out through the tape tasted okay, so I think the current setup is not as bad as you feared :smallamused:

Apart from the waiting, hoping, anxiety whether it will turn out ok brewing at home is a lot of fun. it really makes you get into the spirit of things. and the result will make you feel like you have acomplished something (creating food and drink yourself really generates a form of pride).

In Other (old)News: My Liqueuer is really getting well. I started with grainspirit, added brown candysugar (those chrystal liek sugar thingies), vanilla sugar and moccha beans. Shaken (or have poeple shake it) everyday and it's starting to look really dark in the meantime. somewhere around the end of december or Januari it should be ready for the first tasting and depending on that it might turn into a gift for my mother's birthday or a late gift for my mother's birthday.

Socratov

2012-11-25, 10:51 AM

...subscribed to this thread on day one.
welcome and I hope you enjoy reading this as much s I enjoy writing and doing this...

...was kind of hoping that it could be uncluttered information about making mead, but... ( sigh )

Well, if I will post the recipe it will be less cluttered. first the experience and if it works the (as uncluttered as I can be at that moment) recipe.

Washers?

those! stupid me, rivets are for riveting (like those circles holding sheets of metal together)

Who's Ion?

the lazy way of writing ION, or In Other News

...looking forward to what you discover, Socratov. Good-speed and good-mead.

thanks I'llkeep you posted every weekend (and week if I'm there). If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. I'm not an expert (yet) but I learn on the go as it were.

the lesson for today is: Remember to add acids for helpin ghte yeast live in an otherwise carbonated liquid. :smallamused: (and check your equipment for airleaks where they shouldn't be :smallsigh:)

Asta Kask

2012-11-25, 03:54 PM

Edit: when I shake the rig it starts bubbeling so the reaction is quite on it's way. I guess the yeast culture is growing for now and eating it's fill of sugar etc. To maintain my patience I imagine that the yeast is now playing the movie Highlander, fighting againts the sugar in the realm. I somehow picture one of the yeast cells painting himself blue and rallying the rest of ghe yeast to attack the sugar and break it down into alcohol and co2 :smallbiggrin:

This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfGlznwfu9U) is the first step. The result will be shunted into the anaerobic pathway.

Socratov

2012-11-27, 02:27 AM

This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfGlznwfu9U) is the first step. The result will be shunted into the anaerobic pathway.

gheh, the first part I understood. then it went all native biologists lingo on me :smallamused:

Anyway, I may have given the yeast too little food (apart form the honey) creating a too non nuetral ph environment, fortunately shaking helps realeasing the CO2 which is a remedy for that. I can't wait for it to get ready and to help me not open up the tank immedeatly I have moved to may dayjob (throughout the weak I stay at a B&B for work at the other side of the country) so I can't lose my cool. I have given my parents the assignment to shake if it's not bubbling (easy enough right?). I'll be reporting back to you next weekend with another update, during the week you can ask me any kind of question about brewing. If I know the answer I'll happily oblige, else I'll do some research or answer that I don't know :smallwink:

meanwhile I'll try to design (and draw a little better then I have now) my brewing kettle. It might need some time though...

HeadlessMermaid

2012-11-30, 03:29 PM

Here are a few pictures of makeshift brewing rigs for distillation. NOT to copy them - they aren't for the city. (They are for the country, where there's space, and you can build big mean kettles, with big mean fires underneath.) But to make a couple of points.

First, for the love of god, cover that bucket with something. :smalltongue: Ethanol evaporates overnight, you can't leave it out in the open until Christmas and expect it to remain an alcoholic beverage until then. A plastic bag will do. [Kindly disregard that comment if the photo is misleading and you've already covered it. :)]

Second, distillation of spirits (if/when you get there) needs cooling. These huge barrels next to the pot and fire are filled with cold water, which you refresh as appropriate. The pipe goes through the barrel, the temperature inside drops, and the gas turns to liquid. Sounds elementary, but most people don't realize how much work it takes to cool it. (If you judge by the classic diagram of distillation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Simple_distillation_apparatus.svg) in your chemistry textbook, you imagine you don't need a lot of volume of water. But you do.)

pics:

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_me5kn9ZRt81rdjbefo1_1280.jpg

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mc7nsymg1s1rdjbefo1_1280.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_me1zt8pkaP1rdjbefo1_1280.jpg

Once again, good luck! :smallsmile:

Socratov

2012-12-01, 06:33 AM

thanks :smallbiggrin: but I'm not going to distill , it brings way too many problems with the government :smallamused:

Oh, and don't worry, the rig is (almost) airtight, or at least enough to let hte CO2 out and the rest in. When I opened the container, a giant slap in the face was what I got from the alcohol and CO2 inside :smallbiggrin:

Anyway, A new weekend has started for me so as promised the update:

And now, we wait...
Brewer's Log, date 1 december 2012

So, a new weekend, time to chek up on my brew if my yeast has been behaving itself. When I check nothing is happening, and when I shake only the CO2 in the brew comes out, but nothing more (even sucks a bit water back into the tube) so naturally my yeast cells are done playing and eating and crapping alcohol so it's time to filter and see what happens. I filter my brew through a sieve and one of those Sorbo cloths (liek some sort of microfiber thingie whatsit) and stopped at least some of he yeast getting through. After trying out different household methods of filtration I give up on it and just pour the brew into bottles.

here they are
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0010.jpg

I guess you can see that I have a preference for a certain kind of bottle produced by the beer brewer Grolsch. Grolsh is a company that thinks those bottles are a great idea and they are right. They are. So after cleaning bottles on the inside and filling them I make another picture to see how clear (or clouded) the brew is now and that's hwere the next picture comes in.

FOR CLARITY! @ 12 pm gmt+1
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0011.jpg

To my amazement it's allready started to clarify! For the ones not understanding this amazement, allow me to explain. When you are fermenting stuff, the yeast is just happily swimming though the stuff like you and I would in a bath of beer or champagne. We'd dive in it, swim through it with our mouths open, throw it in the air to let it land on our heads (and in our mouths), long story short, we would enjoy the occasion. the yeast however, eats and eats and eats and eats to no end until the food is gone or the environment is bad for them (quite like humans in dat respect). Then they die and continue floating around, slowly drifting to the bottom. Now if you drink mead you don't want to drink dead yeast because that tastes horrible. You want the honey alcohol goodness that's between the dead yeast cells. so to remedy this you can either filther through a strong filter (like charcoal) and lsoing some taste, or have a little patience (*croons*) and wait for the yeast to get to the bottom of the bottle. the last thing is what I'm doing and to see that in the top allready some clear liquid is present really gives me hopes on a good brew.

You might think I'm crazy but brewing is quite a spiritual process and in teh tradiotion of monks and vikings who brewed a thousand years ago, I have tried to grow a beard in a week. This is a very important step in teh brewing process. Why I don't know, but it's extremely vital for a good brewing!

Revel in the goodnessugliness of not shaving for a week
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0012.jpg

before you all ask "Can I haz recipez nao?" I'll urge you to wait until I have tried to taste it and have given it my seal of approval.

Also, still incoming: a picture when I go to bed of how the clarification is going and an attempt to see some progress. :smallamused:

Edit: My hands smell once again like mead. I kind of like brewing if this is always the case :smallamused::smallbiggrin:

UPDATE:
Wow! The clarification is going awesomely quick! Everything natys is at the bottom allready and the mead is a nice yellow at the present, though not entirely clear yet. I'll keep you posted!

Socratov

2012-12-01, 08:40 AM

going on a tangent I want to explain what just happened. when Champagne is made it's bottled with the yeast through a conoluted series of champagne-o-mancy a sparkling wine is made. I for got about that today. so hwen I watned to transfer my mead to a yeast free bottle (so help the clarification process even further) I opened the bottle and encountered a fountain. a delicious smelling fountain, mind you, but a fountain none the less.

So Now I've parked the bottles open with a piece of toiletpaper as some kind of stopper to let out eny excess CO2 and letting hte yeast calm the [REDACTED] down and die allready (and stay dead). I'll keep you posted.

Note: I was surprised at the speed of clarification since it would normally take a couple of weeks. I'll see what happens now I guess :smallamused:

Mind you, this is an ordinary problem: mead brewers often complain at sometimes exploding bottles (like some kind of fragmentation grenade) and how it's a waste of the mead. Which fortunately didn't happen to me :smallbiggrin:

Socratov

2012-12-08, 05:39 AM

Clear as honey
Brewer's log, date 8 december 2012

so, um, where does this saying come from? I mean honey often is not an ideal agent to see through, but now I know. I found my bottles back at the spot I left them (closed that is). without any signs of warzone caused by exploding bottles (this happens people, so take care when you make mead and let it stay).

the mead in he bottle was a slight yellow clear tint . almost as clear as a lens (protip: hae at least 1 bottle that is see through so you can follow the process).

IN good hope I pen de bettle and again what happens makes me think of hte fountains in Vegas (not that I have been there in person, but I have watched TV and internt, so). By controlling the pressure release I prevent mead from leaving the bottle and see again the mead become clouded liek the last time. I look better and see a major difference: the yeast that earlier dissolved and bubbled up like champagne now shoots up in tight lumps. this tells me 2 things: the yeast is set so tight it has formed a lump, and that the yeast is most probably almost completely dead (which is good). One sd thing: there is still carbonization in progress, so I'll have to wait a long time before it's clear again, though now I will keep the bottles open with a bit of paper towel n it (to keep stuff from getting in, but allowing CO2 to disperse). if all goes well I should have clear mead in a week (maybe 2). this is a good thing to think about for next time, next time I'll get some kind of filtering agent and yeast fodo so i can more closely monitor the fermentation progress and see when it's actually done properly or not (and to eliminate the shaking from the process so the fermantation goes faster). In the meantime I'm saving up the winebottles my parents empty so I can make another batch and keep the current bottles as clarification/aging bottles. I think that after the clarification at least 2 months will be needed to mature (and more if posible) so if I haven't tried my patience now, it will be tried a lot more in the future :smallwink:.

meanwhile I have to use some timing for making the next batch (or at least planning it) so I don't end up with a full tank when I move yet again. and when I'm back at school I might want to go by the scrapheap for some kind of boiler or tank and then work on it at school in the workyard. (might give me an excuse to learn to weld :smallbiggrin:). That way I could set myself up with a proper size tank (10L or more?) to make bigger batches and maybe experiment more :smallwink: though that could be a more long term project :smallbiggrin:

Oh, and no pictures today, they are not particulalry interesting, unless you think looking at some kind of cloudy yellow liquid with a brown/gray line at the bottom is exciting.

Anyway, I feel like I learn a new thing every week about brewing and the info just keeps coming :smallwink:. maybe one day I'll have the opportunity to taste my own mead in satisfaction of how good I am. :smallcool:

if you have any questions I'll remind you that I'll be happy to answer them :smallbiggrin: ask and I shall answer :smallcool:

Story Time

2012-12-08, 06:36 AM

Oh, and no pictures today, they are not particulalry interesting, unless you think looking at some kind of cloudy yellow liquid with a brown/gray line at the bottom is exciting.

I do. Because it's SCIENCE! And art.

...seriously, a photo log would interest me. Think of it like making a tutorial based on your efforts, Socratov. Once you've tasted the end result all of us can go back and have visual aids to determine what was happening, when, and why.

Also, please accept this post as a general encouragement of your project. :smallsmile:

A boiler would be nice. Gas welding tools are...expensive. I wonder how a pressure cooker would perform or may-be some type of...glass-based apparatus.

ThiagoMartell

2012-12-08, 07:05 AM

Omg, Socratov, this is awesome.

Socratov

2012-12-08, 08:12 AM

Omg, Socratov, this is awesome.
Thank you! it feels awesome to do really :smallbiggrin:

I do. Because it's SCIENCE! And art.

...seriously, a photo log would interest me. Think of it like making a tutorial based on your efforts, Socratov. Once you've tasted the end result all of us can go back and have visual aids to determine what was happening, when, and why.

Also, please accept this post as a general encouragement of your project. :smallsmile:

A boiler would be nice. Gas welding tools are...expensive. I wonder how a pressure cooker would perform or may-be some type of...glass-based apparatus.

Oh, but the tutorial is coming, I'm just saving it up for when I'm done so I can identify the pitfalls and problems for you so you don't have to. I'll try to remember to make some pictures laterof who it looks right now (not very different from a week ago) and I'll try to remember to include picture of the cooking before fermenting when I make the next batch. else I'll make sure to describe every (imortant) executing the steps to make mead. if you want I can make a tutorial of what I have done at the present (and to start it up), includigsome lessons I learned. I'll dedicate a whole post to it and link to it in the OP :smallwink: so you can at least start and follow me with a few weeks in between :smallsmile:

Story Time

2012-12-08, 08:35 AM

That sounds pretty great. A concise list followed by step-by-step narrative explanation would be very nice.

"May ye ne'er meet a bitter brew!" :smallsmile:

Socratov

2012-12-08, 10:13 AM

Mead-making: a guide and tutorial by first-had experience
No Heiðrún at hand? Lots of thirsty Einherjar around? Here is how to make your own

*[please note that this guide is under construction, check back often and read the lessons I learned in the brewer's log files]*

Legal Information
Ok, first off, a warning. Some countries don't look favorably upon alcohol in general. Most countries however think making alcohol is fine as long as it is safe and assumed for own consumption. Try to gain some information about local laws, ordinances and rules (even in your neighborhood) to see if it is legal and if people you live with are abjectly against brewing or anything. The best way to tackle this is to invite friends and neighbors for the first tasting to soften them up. This is not bribery, which would be illegal, however it's a token of friendship. Remember kids, alcohol is best used in an oral manner with friends and a happy environment. I cannot be held responsible for errors on your part, faulty information (if info is faulty I have to deal with the same problem) or angry neighbors because you didn't offer them a sip of your brew.

Oh, and before I forget, don't drink and drive, derive or operate any sort of machinery that could mean harm to you or your surroundings. I expect you to act responsibly and use your brain with the included common sense package.

So, with the (boring) necessary pert out of the way, let's make ourselves some mead. First I will start with what mead is and what mead isn't. Then I will tell you a bit about fermentation, both the tools you need as well as the ingredients. Then I will in some manner of step-by-step guide you in making your own mead.

But first and foremost I'll tell you why. (The most interesting question in the world anyway, and the reason why some children are way better at academics then any teenager or adult: they ask the question "why" often to the detriment of mental health of parents).

Why should I brew my own mead? Why shouldn't I? Here is a pro's cons list. You may weigh your reasons to do or not do it yourself.

Pros:

it’s fun
it keeps you busy
there is a distinct feeling of gratitude of making something yourself, whether that be clothes, furniture or indeed mead
depending on the price of ingredients it may save you money
it's awesome (the Vikings did, and they pretty much monopolized awesome in the dark ages)
You'll learn a lot about how alcohol, yeast, sugar, additives, carbon dioxide etc. works. No really, it's a great learning experience
you can make stuff that is often not available in your region or make up your own brews

Cons:

You'll need equipment, which costs you money
it takes long
no longer then that
there is a chance of failure
proverbial **** could hit the proverbial fan in various forms
it produces a certain scent which people might find unsettling

So yeah, the pro list is longer than the con list. Take your pick.

What is mead?
The stuff of Vikings.

Ok, it’s basically a wine made from honey instead of grapes. Honey was reasonably cheap and in abundance in the dark ages. It was because you'd only need flowers, some bees and the rest came into being as if by magic. Bees had a second advantage: they help flowers in forming seeds/fruits/whatever by distributing pollen to stigma, basically speeding up plantsex :smallbiggrin:

Yeah, bees are pretty awesome :smallcool:

So you've got honey? Well, maybe you could make wine out of it. In human history every tribe/set of people at an astonishing rate found out how to get high/relaxed/tripping/drunk and so on. Shamans? Spacing out of their minds. coffee? man it's like Chrystal meth, you get all jumpy and trippy! (or that is sort of how it was discovered). so it did not take long before people discovered that sweet honey, like sweet grapes, could make excellent wine. presto! mead was born (and a lot cheaper than grape wine so available to the masses).

so how did they make mead? Well, the mixed honey with water and hoped/prayed to the god of bees, saint or bees or proper entity to turn this fabulous honey into awesome mead. Nowadays we have a better way. We learned of yeast, and its role in fermentation. Now we have control and ways to speed up the process. first and foremost mead is a honey wine. If a large part of the brew isn't honey and water you're doing something wrong. You can jump around with flavors, spices and fruits to enhance the flavor, but the main ingredient should always be honey.

Fermentation
fermentation is the process of using yeast to transform carbohydrates (carbs) into alcohol and carbon dioxide. the best carbohydrate is sacharose, glucose or fructose. those are sugars. sugar is to yeast what bacon is to Amidus Drexel: a match made in heaven. Now I don’t pretend to be a biologist (some people can explain it a lot better) so I'd advise you to Google around if you want to know more. Me? I'm a layman, I know it works and that's enough for me.

to ferment stuff you want a safe environment and an environment for yeast to be happy and eat sugar, piss alcohol and fart CO2. One problem, alcohol and CO2 (or more specific: the pH change it causes when solved in water) are toxic to yeast. So you want to make sure the CO2 escapes but that nothing else comes in to compromise the brew.

enter the water lock. A water lock is an S-form tube with a bit of water in it to stop air form coming in, but to relieve pressure built up by the production of CO2. for the rest an airtight barrel or bottle with an opening to pour the ingredients in and to put the water lock in. people often use one of these:
http://www.beesnstuff.nl/wp-content/gallery/diversen/mandflessen.jpg

I used a different looking setup, but the same in principle:

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_00081.jpg
I improvised a water lock here it's a (should have been) sealed tube and a bucket of water.

another problem: yeast doesn't want only sugar, it wants other stuff too. Yeah, Yeast, like us humans, benefits form a varied diet. so when you start fermenting you need stuff the Yeast likes, but which doesn't interfere with the taste (or interferes little enough to not notice it) but makes the yeast happy. Luckily internet stores and brewer's stores sell yeast food to solve this problem, often brew recipes include a way to use the natural ingredient as well. one seems to be a very strong cup of tea (or 2).

last but not least, temperature. Yeast likes a nice warm bath to eat in. Not too hot, not too cold, just right. Just about body temperature seems to be best (20~40 is the range, higher up means faster fermentation. Too high and the yeast snuffs it.)

Step by step guide:
so you've made peace with your neighbors, made sure you are allowed to do this, made your setup of an airtight container with water lock, now on to the fun part!
Step 1: research and assembly of ingredients
Thought you'd start cooking right of the bat eh? Nope! Research first. Fortunately I've done some for you :smallcool: Socratov to the rescue!
first you need to know where to get your ingredients and how much. As a rule of thumb you'd better use this: what goes in, comes out. when you make something with bad ingredients, you get bad mead. Simple as that. so, go look for good honey. try farmer's markets (or regular markets), but get the honey as straight form the source as possible and while sieved is ok, pasteurized or sterilized is not ok. it detracts from the taste by not having some 'real' flavor to it. Pollen seems to be a natural partner for yeast, and a great taste maker. don't worry if stuff floats around in the honey, it might just make the mead better and it will not end up in your glass since you will filter or clarify the fermented product before bottling. You'll need approximately 30% honey. A it less makes the mead dryer and lighter (and better for summer) a bit more makes the mead sweeter and stronger (better for winter)

Next ingredient: Water. clean, good tasting water. In the Netherlands the water quality is heavily regulated by the government, resulting in water purity not even SPA or Sourcy could dream of. Else bottled water should do.

Then the yeast. I was advised to use yeast for the making of white wine. You can get it on the internet or other brew stores. this kind of yeast works better in enduring alcohol and generally performs better. Baker's yeast is rumored to not work that great in producing a taste. YMMV.

Yeast food (sort of accelerator) can be found in stores too, or you could add some lemon peel and juice, tea or what have you. I used tea and orange for a bit of acid, essential oils and tannins (from tea). Look around on the internet to find something to your tastes.

Clean your equipment
make sure your equipment is spotless, sterile and extremely clean. use acids, boiling water, soap, you name it. make your equipment as clean as you possibly can. this is an important step since it will both affect taste and the way the yeast works. contamination could botch the batch by introducing a nasty taste or killing the yeast before it has done its job.

Step 3: Cooking or mixing
Honey contains some impurities. you can either boil them out (great for solving honey into water) and scoop them off with a ladle or can choose not to. So far my research has told me that the mead clears more easily. Your choice. (more info here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14273629&postcount=2). So, water, honey, yeast food, spices (according to recipe). Mix it all up and make sure it's a (as far as possible) is a homogenous mixture.

make sure the mixture is cool, temperature around 30 degrees centigrade!

for the basic recipe: 3 kg honey, couple of cups of tea, 1 peel of 1 lemon, +juice, solved in a bit of water. Now measure how much mixture you have and add water to the mixture until you meet a total of 10L (including the honey mixture). Put it into your container, mix, and swirl and make sure it's homogenous. next work up the yeast. get some lukewarm water (about 30 degrees centigrade) and add yeast (if you have packets, it is said 1 packet of yeast) and allow it to work up a bit (maybe use a bit of the mixture as a starter). Then when the yeast starts foaming, add it to the rest of the mixture in your fermentation container. Put the water lock on top (make sure the water lock has that magical water boundary in it to make it airtight).

Step 4: Ferment
Now the waiting game starts. shake up the mixture regularly to free up CO2 trapped in the and to wake up the yeast. for the rest waiting is all you can do now until the fermentation has ended. This will take approximately 1-2 weeks. You can see it when the mixture produces no bubbles whatsoever even when shaken and when the water in the water lock starts to creep into the container. (to make this easier add some food coloring to see the place of the water in the tube more clearly.

Step 5: Filtration
When the yeast is dead and buried (and thus fermentation has stopped) you can open the bottle/barrel/whatever and take out the mixture. you filter it through a sieve and same paper towels to catch as much of the remaining yeast as you can.

Now you have 2 options: filtrate even further or go to step 6. further filtration will make clarifying easier. but it's not mandatory. (though reduces waiting time until drinking shorter). I haven't done such a thing so I'll refer to the internet which advises to add Bentonite.

Step 6: Clarification
*[part under construction]*
Now you bottle the mead and add a water lock or in smaller bottles by adding a bit of toilet paper to create a lock for nasty bits to come in. If you find a lot of stuff at the bottom of the bottle, remove it by pouring the mead into another container and repeat this step in a clean bottle. Repeat until clear.

My pictures:
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0010.jpg
Mead put into bottles, you'll not the lack of escapability of CO2 that comes up. leave bottles open with a waterlock in them or some tioletpaper to allow the CO2 to escape and no nasty things to get in.
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0011.jpg
Here we see how the mead clarifies a little and becomes clear.
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0013.jpg
here clarification done right. While the CO2 excapes through toiletpaper we see the mead become clear as honey at the top. After a week or something it should be completely clear and ready for dinkingaging
Step 7: Aging and drinking
mead is best after it had some time to age (though, again not mandatory, this is to taste) and It's time to drink. this is also the stage to measure the alcohol percentage if you have a tool for that. Else be like me and label strong/stronger/etc.

Enjoy your mead responsibly!

If you have feedback on this guide, please let me know.

Recipes will be added and refer to this guide as the method with the recipe describing the ingredients/methods that are different.

Socratov

2012-12-09, 05:04 AM

By Odin Alfadir's beard!
Brewer's log, 9 december 2012

ladies and gentlefolk, My mead is clear!

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0016.jpg

Some mead never gets completely clear. But this is quite similar to the pictures I have seen on zhe intertubes. I'ts rather fitting that I discover this while hungover.

Story Time

2012-12-09, 07:43 AM

I think some congratulations are in order. :smallsmile: Of course, the hung-over part...not so much. But that's a nice photo-graph of clear mead.

In slightly related news, I've been designing a water lock to fit on top of a glass bottle with a screw lip. So...that's a possibility.

Socratov, please cut down that DSC_0010.JPG image to around six hundred pixels in width...? The DSC_00081.JPG also?

Socratov

2012-12-09, 08:02 AM

spoilered them instead of image working and reuploading etc. :smallredface:

anyway, thnaks for the congratultions. I have jsut tasted the mead in a leftover bottle (was filled for about halfway and a bit cloudy). Some bottles are crispa dn clear (and thsu will be fantastic), some are a bit more cloudy (stuff flowed through while pouring over in bottles.

all in all the tastetest was successful. the mead has a distinct musky favour and sweet smell. it's best described as a sweet ale crossed with a dry white wine. I'd say it will be excellent for summer. next up the apple mead which will be another adventure since I will be flirting around with meddling with taste/spicing etc. and I will be using Bentonite to clear the mead and filter more thoroughly.

Besides, I hae created some kind fo cork (a layer of cork, wool and leather, tightly wound) around the hose in the fermentation equipment and I'm anxious to see how it works. that will probably a next project. Oh, and My parents have discovered that winebottles shoudl be saved for me :smallbiggrin:

Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll

2012-12-09, 01:19 PM

That looks delicious! I've never had mead before, but I aim on trying it quite soon.

smellie_hippie

2012-12-12, 03:39 PM

Socratov

2012-12-13, 01:02 PM

Brewed a 5 gallon batch of Cherry mead last weekend. Pics forthcoming.

I am hoping that it will be kegged and drinkable sometime in June (intentionally).

Next on deck is a Sour Beer... Flander's Red! But that one will take a whole year. :smallsigh:

Awesome, can you post the recipe for it (if possible including metric measures please?)

I might want to make this as well...

Also, I'm looking to gather the stuff for my apple cinnamon mead... :smallbiggrin:

that will truly be EPIC:smallcool:

smellie_hippie

2012-12-20, 08:41 AM

Awesome, can you post the recipe for it (if possible including metric measures please?)

smellie_hippie's Cherry Berry Mead... (5 gallon batch or 18.9 litres)

12 Pounds of Honey (5.76 Kg)
1 Gallon water (3.79 Litres)
2 quarts Cherry Juice (1.89 Litres) (or whatever berry you prefer)
3 "cans" cherries (as organic as possible)
2 teaspoons Yeast Nutrient
Wyeast 4184 "Sweet Mead"

Ok... This was the iniital recipe that I had.. but it was tweaked just a little bit. I substituted the sweet mead pack for two packets of dry "champagne" yeast because my order didn't come through in time.

Start by heating up the gallon of water.
Pour your honey into your "fermenting vessel".
Use the heated water to get the remaining honey from your containers, and add this to the "fermenting vessel".
Add your juice and fruit.
Top off to 5 gallons with cool water.
Add yeast nutrients and then pitch yeast within temp tolerance for said yeast.
Put airlock in place and let it go for at least 3 weeks.
Transfer entire volume to secondary vessel for clarification, and let it sit for another 3-4 weeks.
Transfer to "bottling vessel" and add a small amount of sugar or possibly honey.
Age in bottles for anywhere from 6 months to a year.

I will actually be putting this on tap at my house, so I will let it age in the secondary fermenter for about 4 months, and skip the extra sweetener.

Enjoy!

Socratov

2012-12-22, 07:37 AM

Awesome Hippie! I guess I'll need to get a bigger tank to ferment in (currently working with a 5L tank, I htink smaller batches have the advantage of being able to try more stuff out more often). maybe I'll have to accelerate my tankbuilding project :smallamused:

On another note, I just received my shipment of Bentonite, a dry wine yeast (some fora say it's the best idea for fermenting mead), and yeast additives. Can't wait to try them out (probably after I move to a new appartment). Should go well with the bigger brew project (Or project XX l. (20 l.:smallamused:)as I'd like to call it :smallbiggrin:)

Socratov

2012-12-24, 06:19 PM

How about them apples?
Brewer's Log, date 24 december 2012

Welome back again for a day of mead making. Today, i once again forgot to take pictures, but to counter that, usage of new ingredient: yeast nutrients and specialised dry wine yeast. So i started with an apple based mead.

1kg of honey
3L of applejuice (not the clear one, but a biologically produced juice which is unclear in the bottle. I know form past experiences that it's great and jummy)
1 packet of dry white wine yeast
3 tbsp. of yeast nutrient.
add water until the 5L mark
1 large (30 cm?) cinnamon stick

So I started boiling some applejuice and the honey together with the cinnamon stick. I added the yeast nutrient (not the yest, mind you) and waited unitl the honey had disolved. it's a good thing to taste the mixture before you go on and ferment it since you will know if it will turn out good or not (and how sweet) by tasting hte mixture. the mixture was sweet and very appelly (?) and I'd drink it right away if I didn't want to turn it into mead. So now it's bubbelling away in the bathroom in the usual set-up (see my guide and earlier brewinglogs to see what it looks like). Later on during clarification I will use bentonite (maybe even use a control or somesuch) to help it clarify. So, new batch starting up, let's see where it goes from here. For those who are into the spirit of the seasons: merry christmas/hanukka/kwanza/what have you and I hope you guys (and gals) will have a lovely time these days.

Of course I'll tell you guys asap when something happens (like the last batch).

Oh, and an update: teh first batch is becoming really strong now, almost as if it's going through a taste transformation. The taste is dry, slightly acidic (which shoudl check out since it was intended as a dry mead) and generally tastes like a dry white wine with a hint of sweetness and a very faint, almost unnoticable tingle of carbonization. I can almost imane myself sitting on a summer's day drinking this before (or aven during) dinner.

Socratov

2012-12-27, 08:52 AM

Like a metronome
Brewer's Log, date 27 december 2012

So, my rew is bubbling away slowly and incredibly rhytmic, I mean you could hold a beat to it. I guess it's the influence of the yeast nutrients and the yeast itself and I'm pleased since you get a nice controlled fermentation and as with all things taking time is a good way of carrying out the thing you are about to do :smallamused:

anyway, check back when I have more :smallwink:

Socratov

2013-01-08, 02:19 PM

Anticipation
Brewer's sidebar, date 8 januari 2013

Hey there guys, Hope I haven't disappointed you witout an update last weekend, my family came over for my mom's birthday so I had little time.

Now last weekend I noticed that my brew stopped fermenting (noticed by a missing of blobs). So next weekend I'll be having fun filtering the stuff and getting to use Bentonite :smallamused:

I'll try to remember to take some pictures of the process of mucking about filtering the biggest parts of yeast out and adding the Bentonite. (if you really wnat that, that is, I think it's gloriously boring to see stuff running though a sieve or cloth or somesuch)

See you soon!

Socratov

2013-01-12, 03:54 PM

By Thor's mighty hammer Mjollnir!
Brewer's log, date 12 december 2013

So, now I have some time I started filtrating and clarifying the second batch. As the ever faithful alcoholic I ofcourse take a sip form the brew and a sniff in the tank.

*CLUNK*

Damn. yes, that was the man with the happen visinting my head... first: the scent (and alcohol content) seems incredibly strong. Really, really strong. so after I shake off the aftereffects of what amounts to a scent driven concussion I taste it. It's slightly sweet, bit raw in dynamic but I can see this work. Honestly. I can see myself and a couple of friends get drunk on this stuff on a nice summer's eve.

So, clarification. I know I have written about it earlier, but now I have the pictures to prove it :smalltongue:. So I start out by fishing the big bits out (if there at all). This time it's the cinnamonstick:

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0024_zpsb1af220e.jpg

You see the stick spotted with white spots, well, kids, that's the yeast. they form nice little neighbourhoods chatting away, eating sugar (or something similar) and crapping alcohol and carbondioxide. Good thing they've got huh?

Then, when the big bits are gone I try (foolhaertedly) to remove some of the yeast (what i get out now won't be a problem later right?) by running it through a cloth and sieve. This is easy: fold a square cloth double, fold it into a square again, pick 1 layer of cloth and separate it drom the rest: presto! your cloth filter is done.

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0023_zps4f7eede1.jpg

I also tried to see if it would run a bit with a double version. it work,s but extremely slow. naturally I have no patience for that kind of stuff, so I just tried, and left it there.

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0026_zps8f09f72d.jpg

It's not very effective, but it works to some extent. you can see in the stuff that's left behind:

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0025_zps657bf068.jpg

yeah, you definately don't want that in your glass. but fortunately with some Sorbo(r) cloths you can keep it out of there :smalltongue:

Then...

Last time I took my time for clarification. And it took a long time. And the bottles had to be relieved of pressure every so often since the yeast kept on working. Now I'm going to be more sensible about it. I'll let the brew back into the tank with the waterlock and I'll use this stuff:

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0027_zpse7ce2733.jpg

Ayup! Good new fashioned Bentonite. Just a couple of grams in there and the mead shuold become chrystal clear. How it works exactly I have no idea, but Lucklily the internet could hep me out here. apparently fermenting mead gives the yeast and floating aprticles (that make the mead opaque) a slight positive charge. How? No bloody clue. Bentonite on the other hand is slightly negative and as such goes looking for those positive whippersnappers. They bond really well and become too heavy to float around, sinking to the bottom. presto: mead clear as skies. for now I'll let them rest for a day or 2 and then I'll try to bottle them into the next bottles I have standing at the ready.

BTW, just on a tangent, speaking of botteling, I'd like to be able to knwo which is which and as such need lables. Sadly I have no artistic talent whatwoever and I want soemthing special (something featuring odin on one label for the first batch, and Thor with or without Mjollnir om the other) to put on the bottles. So here I humbly ask any playgrounder who I am currently amusing while bumbling through the brewing process to maybe look in pity on this (not so?) hubmle brewer to make a couple of ice labels. Praise and/or cookeis will be given and should you ever find yourself near me (hit me up on facebook, I can be found in the GitP facebook) in the Netherlands let me know and we'll drink some. (and yes, you will be featured on the label in name :smallwink:)

Socratov

2013-01-20, 11:26 AM

A Brewer's itch
Brewer's log, date 20 januari 2013.

So, this week no brewing, it almost feels like an itch I just can't scratch (seriously, guys, brewing is addictive). I'm still looking for an artist who can share some of his art with me for labels (I will post pictures, I promise!). so for now it's listening to some nice jazz, a bit of ice skating, you know, enjoying life as it goes by etc.

If you guys have any questions on brewing, I'll do my absolute best to answer it (and even quickly).

One note however, is the result my liqueuermaking: my coffee liqueuer is very smooth and sweet with a nice essence of coffee al through. It's definately a recipe worth trying to make:

(from my personal culinary bible which is, and always be until it's full a work in progress)

Coffee Liqueuer
(according to my grandma):

combine in a Literbottle:
1/2 liter 'Jonge Jenever' (but vodka or a rye spirit woudl do was well. Just make sure it's pretty much tasteless to begin with, so no gin)
250 grams of Candysugar (Dutch: 'Kandij' some dark molasses like sugar, commonly sold in rocklike pieces)
40 grams of vanilla sugar
80 coffeebeans (Mocha flavour, they need to be soft so they are good in soaking up the alcohol and releasing their taste)

so put it all in the bottle, seal it and shake it every day for about half a year until the sugar has dissovled comletely and the alcohol has taken a dark colour. then it's as good as finished, but if you really want to make a fince liqueuer prolong the making to a year.

Socratov's class for the homebrewer and homechef

Remember kids, alcohol and time have a grandiose deal. More time often means a better product and better and more rounded taste. (the deal is almost as good, if not better, as the deal cows and bugs have according to Lenny Henry in the series 'Chef!'). Patience, even though it's in short supply for me lately, is a key virtue to making booze that actually tastes good. So keep in mind that it's a great thing to keep to.

Now another good thing to use/keep/whatever you call it is some sort of recipe diary. Mine was gifted to me by my mother and grandmother and was basically an empty journal with a couple of recipies given. So everytime I find something worth remembering I write it into my journal. Food in the fron, dirnk in the back so I'll always have a written recipe to fall back on. Be sure to find a journal with a pretty appearance and motivational quotes and such. Mine is a traveling journal, and seeing how culinary exploits are often a journey onto itself I think it's rather fitting to write my recipies in it.

So that's it for today (unoless you have questions), class dismissed. until next time :smalltongue:

smellie_hippie

2013-01-30, 04:01 PM

Socratov

2013-01-30, 04:06 PM

So I just found a brewer on Craig's list who is clearing out of ALL their homebrew equipment...... :smallsigh:

WHY do I do this to myself!? Why can't I magically generate an extra $1000?

*headdesk headdesk*

You know, it's was a fellow creator of happiness has stopped in his tracks...

*a moment for our lost brother*

smellie_hippie

2013-01-30, 04:53 PM

I lament the loss of a fellow brewer... But not as much as I lament the lack of funds to snatch up his gear.

There. I just crossed brewing with RPGs and playing the "rogue"!

Socratov

2013-01-30, 04:57 PM

I lament the loss of a fellow brewer... But not as much as I lament the lack of funds to snatch up his gear.

There. I just crossed brewing with RPGs and playing the "rogue"!

You conniving bastard :smallwink:

Kneenibble

2013-01-30, 11:22 PM

smellie_hippie

2013-01-31, 08:25 AM

I have ordered the ingredients to brew a Sour Beer (Flander's Red). This is my first brew with sours, and it's for my son who turns 21 in December! I also called and left a message for the guy who is selling off his homebrew equipment, in the hopes that he still has the two oak barrels he had listed.

I am also going to be entering a beer into a Iron Brew beer competition! Every contestant gets the same "base build" which is essentially an American Ale. You can add one extra hop or malt, and one "secret ingredient". You also have some license in the process by which you brew (i.e. I could toast some of the grains). Looking forward to expanding my beer-izons!

Socratov

2013-02-02, 06:33 AM

Well last night I bottled my California Steam Ale. Now my equipment is free for a new project, and as I discussed with the excellent alchemist Socratov, I intend to begin a buckwheat mead. This province is rife with honey wholesalers, so it's just a matter of finding the best deal.
Please keep me posted on how it's working...

I have ordered the ingredients to brew a Sour Beer (Flander's Red). This is my first brew with sours, and it's for my son who turns 21 in December! I also called and left a message for the guy who is selling off his homebrew equipment, in the hopes that he still has the two oak barrels he had listed.
cool, I hope you can get them...

I am also going to be entering a beer into a Iron Brew beer competition! Every contestant gets the same "base build" which is essentially an American Ale. You can add one extra hop or malt, and one "secret ingredient". You also have some license in the process by which you brew (i.e. I could toast some of the grains). Looking forward to expanding my beer-izons!
that's so awesome!

Well, being ill is no fun, but the silver lining is that I have due cause to taste my applemead. so it's really matured yet, but it's nice none the less. (it was a bottle that had popped before so I kept it in the fridge). it's really nice on the thraot, the alcohol is lightly inconspicious (not in your face) and the taste is quite gentle...

smellie_hippie

2013-02-28, 06:39 PM

Socratov

2013-03-01, 02:10 AM

Sorry for letting this slide. Brewing takes a toll, and sometimes has lapses between sessions.

Brewing a "Milk Chocolate Stout" that I will add a pot of coffee into the secondary fermenter to make a mocha stout for a beer competition.

Other brew projects with photos coming in the next few days!

I know, currently I'm busy with school, work, another kind of work (sort of a mix between school and work) and another private project. I will post pictures soon. It's not brewing related, but seriously awesome (and maybe a tutorial on woodworking will happen at some point or another). So stay tuned for the weekend when I'll gratuitous amounts of time :smallamused:

Anyway, Hippie: that just sounds not only cool, but veritably awesome! I indeed want pictures or it didn't happen :smalltongue::smallbiggrin:

Socratov

2013-03-12, 08:04 AM

*Dusts off thread*

So, Hippie: any luck with the Mocha stout? Please put down pictures so we can all enjoy.

On another note, I will be attempting (when the blossom is there) to make an elderflower mead. It has seemed to been done before but until now I've only added cinnamon to the brew.

On yet another note, the applemead is very delicious and an utterly good Idea. I will also be experimenting with adding more honey to the mixture before brewing to try and sweeten it up (I'm not near often enough to refridgerate to kill the yeast and boiling is a Bad Idea). I am also currently engaged in another crafting excercise: a cane! I will update the threadtitle to include other forms of crafts and soon I will upload pictures...

Project Ca(i)ne
A general guide to making that awesome piece of accessory that completes your outfit as an awesome person or audacious villain

So A couple of weeks ago my brother and I were going for a round of pool. All fun and games aside we got slightly drunk and wondered after the possibilities of making canes out of worn down (pool)cues.

Now bfore p[eople raise their eyebrows marvelling after our imaginative prowess and the making of absurd plans, I'd like to point out that in any kind of watering hole similar ideas are present, one more improbable then the other...

So a cane out of a cue. Once my brother and I woke up and remembered the idea (often the part where plans made in wateringholes go wrong) we'd set on acquiring some worn down cues.

We got to our poolhall and asked the bartender there if he had some worn down poolcues we might use for making canes. He happily supplied us with broken bridges, crosses and cues (without the headpieces). He also suggested we'd put a poolball on top of it as headpiece.

Once we had them we shortened them to fit ourselves (think hipbone length).

At school we were allowed to use the Lathes available as well as drill, bolts and other stuff we might need.

First I'll tell you how we made the balls to fit the cane and a bolt in it.

We put the ball in the lathe and centered it using the point. By cutting patiently bits and pieces out we flattened the ball and drilled ahole (seriously, lathes are awesome and so freaking useful in woodworking). With a spill we cut the inside of the hole to fit an M8 bolt. Some superglue and a piece of bolt later and we had screwable canetops. To make the balls shine we applied some polish and polished them into reflecting and carwax to make them really, really shine :smallbiggrin:

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0042_zpsaf9d84b6.jpg Balls without the bolts in them drilled and ready to be glued to a bolt. My brother wanted the ball to 'float' on top of the cane and thus keep it round. His canetop (or the buttend of te cue) had a dip ino it so it didn't matter for him. I on the other hand wanted the headpiece to be secure on top of the cane and thus for the cane to slightly sink into the ball (couple of millimeters). The balls are not polished yet.

Now the wood parts. After securing them in the lathe we cut the wood to size (for my brother we cut the bottom end a bit smaller to fit a cap on it) and in perfect angles. After we sanded the canes and drilled holes in the top to fit a plug for a bolt in the top so we could screw the balls on top to the canes (in any other setting this sentence would be wrong on so many levels :smalltongue:).

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0043_zps8abf6bc8.jpg
The canes, sanded and measured, ready to be painted.

So, then my brother and I needed a bottom cap, or at least some kind of protection to stop the wood from splintering when we'd bounce out canes against the street or floor (wooden floor anyone?). For me it was easy: I'd only need to widen the bolthole in the bottom of my cane enough to make it accessible for an M10 bolt.

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0045_zps915afd14.jpg
The M10 bolt is glued in there with some superglue so it won't fall out.

My brother had no such lock and went back to the lath to make himself a piece to be proud of.

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0044_zpsccca8f0c.jpg

A brass piece to protect the cane. Glued on there with superglue.

After making sure all the paint was sanded off we went to work on applying some new paint. With primer and black finish it now looks like this. Now it's ready to be used with a black or white tie outfit (pictures of that will follow).
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0057_zps72475988.jpg
Standing, good sight on the headpiece.

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0058_zps6df1023b.jpg
Along the cane you can clearly see the paint is a rich deep black. Very chique :smallcool:

The only problem is, the now finished cane will not be for me, but will be a sportsmanship prize for a student's pool championship. It will at least give me an opportunity to create an abolutely flipping cap on the bottom for my own cane :smallwink:

Let me knwo what you guys and gals of the playground think :smallsmile:

I'll try to remember to have someone make more pictures of me making my next cane. If you ahve any questions, ask and ye shall receive an answer.

Jack Squat

2013-03-12, 08:16 AM

I wouldn't add more honey to sweeten it up - well, not at the start of the process anyways. More sugars at the beginning = higher alcohol content (unless you're like me and have been using bread yeast for mead).

You're going to want to let it ferment, then kill off the yeast by using potassium sorbate and campden tablets. After letting it sit for another day or two to make sure it's stopped, then you can add in sugar to achieve the sweetness you want.

--or you can just add in a non-fermentable sweetener like lactose or splenda

Socratov

2013-03-12, 09:13 AM

Good thinking! I'll try that (or just make a heavier mead :smallwink:)s

Socratov

2013-03-29, 12:22 PM

Good news everyone! I have tasted my first batch and the taste has improved most considerably. Soon ill brew a mead with added cherries on syrup (couldn't done cherry juice, so). It will be the last batch before I will try my hand at elderflower mead, good thing though, I found some great cheap honey (about €5 a kilo of honey) I also have this hope that my mom will get some bees to people make with honey :smalltongue:

Anyway, still loooking for that someone to make my labels. If you feel inspired by my brewers log, please let me know.

Karen Lynn

2013-03-29, 03:15 PM

I'm no artist, or I would help...

*wants to make mead now*

smellie_hippie

2013-03-29, 04:58 PM

Chocolate coffee beer is a go.

Competition is in two weeks, and my brew group decided to name all of our beers after female Hollywood celebrities.

Pamela Grier's "Foxy Coffee Chocolate Brown" (stout)

I am trying to upload brewing pics into photobucket so I can post them here. Also working on a side project for my kegerator... I have four taps with a screw top. I have cut down a "hand sized branch" into 6-8 inch segments. I have a friend install a nut in the base and then sand the entire block and will stain and woodburn the base names of my different beers! Then I can exchange them easily when I have different beers on tap!
Bacon, coffee, mead, Kolsch, IPA...

What do you think?

Karen Lynn

2013-03-29, 05:25 PM

That last line made me want to make Bacon Mead for some reason...

Socratov

2013-03-29, 05:28 PM

Karen Lynn

2013-03-29, 05:49 PM

Currently, severe lack of brewing knowledge and apparatii. And some more space is needed... But... I shall! In between life, work, and becoming a photographer because of the other thread.

Socratov

2013-03-30, 01:07 AM

Currently, severe lack of brewing knowledge Read ythis thread and you know most of what you need to know :smallwink:
and apparatii. you can make your own. All you need is a container/tank of some sort (airtight) and a hose leading out into a bucket or bottle of water for the airlock
And some more space is needed... But... I shall! In between life, work, and becoming a photographer because of the other thread.

that's the spirit :smallcool:

Socratov

2013-04-14, 05:24 AM

The quest for Freya's *ahem* cherry!
Brewer's log, date 14 April 2013.

so, finally able to scratch my itch I have started on a fresh batch of mead (inspired by smelliehippie), and this time the theme is cherries. (No worries, Sif's b(l)o(s)som will come when the elderflower is in full bloom :smallwink:).

So the recipe is as follows:
for 4,5-5 L of mead combine:

1kg cherries on syrup
1.4 kg of honey
appropriate dosage of yeast food
appropriate dosage of yeast
water

Now to make it, it's a lot like a regular mead with the distinctinction of heating up the cherries in syrup, add the honey (without boiling just warm water, around 60C), add the yeast food, prepare the yeast in another container (this time I used champagne yeast to give it a slight tinge), cool the mixture (add cold water to reach the preferred volume, when mixture is cool enough (30C) add the yeast and set it to brew in a ventilated space at room temperature.

Oh, and before I forget,

DON'T FORGET TO CLEAN THE BLEEPING BREWING EQUIPMENT!

A photo of how the mixture looks:

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/Cherrymead_zps6f46d9e7.jpg (http://s237.photobucket.com/user/dmen1989/media/Cherrymead_zps6f46d9e7.jpg.html)

the mixture (before fermenting) tastes like sweet, oh so sweet cherries, and quite nice. I have a feeling this will ge a glorious mead :smallcool:

Asta Kask

2013-04-14, 09:18 AM

You might think I'm crazy but brewing is quite a spiritual process and in teh tradiotion of monks and vikings who brewed a thousand years ago, I have tried to grow a beard in a week. This is a very important step in teh brewing process. Why I don't know, but it's extremely vital for a good brewing!

Brewing has gone on since the beginning of civilization some 10 000 years ago. There are even those who believe that brewing (http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/alcohol-s-neolithic-origins-brewing-up-a-civilization-a-668642.html) sparked civilization.

Socratov

2013-04-14, 09:25 AM

Brewing has gone on since the beginning of civilization some 10 000 years ago. There are even those who believe that brewing (http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/alcohol-s-neolithic-origins-brewing-up-a-civilization-a-668642.html) sparked civilization.

ghehm nicem one, but still, brewing-> alcohol->pubs (or wateringholes)-> frienship-> civilization :smallbiggrin:

seems logical to me :smallcool:

Socratov

2013-04-21, 07:05 AM

A timid party
Brewer's log, 21 April 2013

So, the mead is not axactly bubbling away. shaking helps, but not for long. I may have added too much honey (or seetness anyway), and too little yeast nutrient. Lesson learned (I really should pick up a sugar content measurer).

smellie_hippie

2013-04-21, 09:30 AM

Haven't posted here in a little while (and still can't find a happy way to add pictures off my iphone :smallannoyed:).

My beer took second place in the "media choice" category at the brew festival last weekend. I was grateful to the people standing nearby to help me recognize that they had called my beer, since I was pretty warm and the crowd noise was kinda loud.

I have prepped two tap handles for wood-burning, and borrowed my wife's calligraphy book to sketch out the lettering on the handles. I figured it should be fine to just burn right across the graphite.

Next brew projects...

I am making a second batch of Northern Brewer's "Honey Kolsch", because it was one of my wife's favorites! (important brewer's tip #2... brew stuff your spouse likes...) I will also be making a batch of IPA, but I am not certain if I want to tweak it a little. I also hope that both of these will be ready by the Trogland meet-up.

I only have a small amount of the winning beer left (Pamela Grier's Foxy Coffee Chocolate Brown) so I will be pulling that into bottles and placing them aside for special occasions.

That's all for now!

edit: @V Photobucket. Working on it...

Socratov

2013-04-21, 09:40 AM

Socratov

2013-05-08, 11:12 AM

*POP* Said the cherry
Brewer's log, date 8 may 2013

So, I got home at my parents' (where my set-up is) and found a completely fermented through and through batch of mead. Now from my earlier photo's you can see that the cherries I had thrown in were really dark red, when they got out the cherries were as bleak as vampires.

the cherries, before and after

before:

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/Cherrymead_zps6f46d9e7.jpg

After:

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/DSC_0087_zps82ee8177.jpg

Notice the difference? Well, that color went into the brew completely resulting in a dark crimson mead. I bottled it now (after a couple of hours filtering with Bentonite) and when I drink it (in a few months time I hope) I will show you what it looks like in the glass :smalltongue:

anyway, last weekend a second thing happened: My grandparents came by celebrating my dad's and my little brother's birthdays. So My grandma sort of stopped drinking a while ago, but when I told her about my latest hobby she wasn't against sampling some. One bottle later my borhter and I had had a glass or 2 with out head reeling (this stuff goes straight to the head) and my grandma was slightly giggling and rosy in the cheeks. Safe to say, she liked my brew :smallcool:

and that was only my least successful batch (first try at brewing). Needless to say I felt really proud. :smallbiggrin::smallcool:

so if anyone has any questions (do people actually still read this? :smalltongue:) do post here. It will be my pleasure to answer :smallwink:

Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll

2013-05-08, 12:15 PM

Socratov

2013-05-08, 12:58 PM

I read, not really any questions though, other than: I WISH I COULD DO THIS THING.

I've never actually tried mead though, so I'd imagine trying some mead to figure out if I like it would be a first step...

Thank you, you are a wonderful audience :smallbiggrin:

For all I know (never brewed beer before), mead is really easy. In my experience it's not labour intensive and the rewards are great so long as you can gather the patience to wait a couple of months before drinking. As far as I have read mead gets better over time.

Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll

2013-05-08, 02:33 PM

Well, more of the issue is a) funds and b) only being in a small tiny student apartment.

Socratov

2013-05-08, 02:49 PM

Well, more of the issue is a) funds and b) only being in a small tiny student apartment.

Not sure what to say here since I only know dutch prices. The container I use (about 5 l) would be a couple of bucks, the tubing another couple, so equipmentwise that should do wuth about 10 to 20 dollars. The rest is handiwork. The ingredients I purchase for under 10 euros, but they depend on local prices I know nothing about.

As for space, the container (see pictures) and a waterlock made by having the tubing end into a bottle with water. That is all the space you need.

The hardest part is fixing the tubing to the containerlid in an airtight and clean(able) way.

smellie_hippie

2013-05-17, 07:26 AM

So it's a shame we let this slide to page 2 on Craft Beer Week...

I have 5 gallons of Honey Kolsch bubbling away right now. Should be kegging it next week. My question for the few who follow this thread is this. "What next"? Now let me explain that I will only have time for one more brew before Trogland, and I don't have time to make my bacon beer...
I was thinking about making a cream ale (Boddingtons).

Thoughts?

Socratov

2013-05-17, 07:57 AM

Well, I'd go for a 'blond' beer or 'weizen' so you can enjoy it in the sun during trogland meetup (or whatever trogland is). Seriously, they are so nice to drink during the full sun shining.

Edit: Wait- what? It's brewing week? but... I have no brew bubbling away right now! *panics* Damn, why cant the elderflower just hurry up and bloom allready so I can use the blossom in another brew (elderflower mead anyone?)

Gravitron5000

2013-05-25, 09:54 AM

[SIZE="5"]
so if anyone has any questions (do people actually still read this? :smalltongue:) do post here. It will be my pleasure to answer :smallwink:

This thread has inspired me, and I have a small batch, loosley based off your originally posted recipe, bubbling quietly in a corner of my kitchen.

Two things I have noticed so far. 1) Even 'regular' honey from a farm is vastly more tasty than what I can find at any supermarket & 2) A local farm harvests their honey at the same time that a vast supply of (free) local blackberries is ripe. Coincidence? I think not! August, I am waiting ...

Eldest

2013-05-25, 10:56 AM

I am reading this as well, I just don't have any questions. But well done, this sounds like fun and if it wasn't a problem with my university I'd likely do it.

Socratov

2013-05-26, 02:52 AM

This thread has inspired me, and I have a small batch, loosley based off your originally posted recipe, bubbling quietly in a corner of my kitchen.

Two things I have noticed so far. 1) Even 'regular' honey from a farm is vastly more tasty than what I can find at any supermarket & 2) A local farm harvests their honey at the same time that a vast supply of (free) local blackberries is ripe. Coincidence? I think not! August, I am waiting ...
wow, that sounds really cool! And not a coincidence at all :smallbiggrin:

Anyway, about the honey: yes. Storebought honey is pre filtered and often desinfected in some way losing you some taste, but it's clearer and it doesn't turn into sugar as fast.

I am reading this as well, I just don't have any questions. But well done, this sounds like fun and if it wasn't a problem with my university I'd likely do it.

What's the problem with your university? I mean, making wine isn't illegal right?

Eldest

2013-05-26, 05:35 PM

wow, that sounds really cool! And not a coincidence at all :smallbiggrin:

Anyway, about the honey: yes. Storebought honey is pre filtered and often desinfected in some way losing you some taste, but it's clearer and it doesn't turn into sugar as fast.

What's the problem with your university? I mean, making wine isn't illegal right?

It (booze) is not allowed in the Freshman dorms. Part of the contract, which apparently very few people actually read.

Socratov

2013-05-27, 03:54 AM

It (booze) is not allowed in the Freshman dorms. Part of the contract, which apparently very few people actually read.

yeah, in that case it's clearly not a good idea to brew your own :smallbiggrin:

Maybe if you're not a freshmen anymore you can start brewing :smallwink:

Socratov

2013-06-05, 05:30 AM

Quality test time!
Brewer's Log, 5th of June, 2013

so, last weekend I had a little party for my birthday a week ago. So between the beer we drank and whisk(e)y we sipped (I got a buttload of whisk(e)y, which is awesome!) I though it was time to put my apple mead to the test.

first of all, it tastes awesome! Not only is it a bit musky, but a bit sweet as well. The apple taste (it reminds me of a funny kind of cider) is great and well pronounced. the hint of cinnamon (I just stuck a stick of cinnamon in there) has really made an edge that really compliments the apple and honey. I've got about 2 L left and intend to savour them throughout the summer.

Oh, and I got together some money and will try to make a bigger brew kettle this summer form an old boiler (you know, the thing that heats water for the shower and such). by then I shoudl be able to brew batches of 20 L at a time. Looking forward to it :smallamused:

smellie_hippie

2013-06-05, 06:29 AM

With Father's Day being just around the corner, I am hoping for new brew equipment as well.

Currently on tap: Honey Kolsch
Bottled: pumpkin and dregs of previous brews
Fermenting: Sour Red

Plotting: Pirate IPA and another Big Bacon Beer!

Socratov

2013-07-17, 02:55 PM

So, a few updates, (been busy for a while so I don't have a lot of updates)

1. I tasted my cherry mead. It's strong, it's sweet and I completely didn't know it (kudo's if you get the reference before I spoil it).

No seriously, I tried it and I almost blew my tastebuds out of operating for ever. My friends are really curious as to what the alcohol percentage is, but without one of those thingies its a hard guess (and those thingies are ridicilously expensive)'. My mead basically comes int those categories: normal (say wine), strong (my apple mead), and OH-MY-[DEITY]-WHAT-IS-THIS-I-DON'T-EVEN-...

this seems dramatic, but it's how I feel about the topic.

So, I had a cunning plan (and funds gathered) to make me a better brew kettle. Sadly my cunning plan missed only 1 important failsave: a back-up adress for a boiler-like (you know for heating water for shower etc.) kettle for a reasonable price. I'm looking on for something like that, until then my cunning plan is on hold.

Thirdly I'm (once again) moving out on my own (long story), and my landlord/lady (another loong story) are okay with me making my own booze as long as I don't annoy people while doing that... So, Go team Me! :smallbiggrin:

smellie_hippie

2013-07-20, 04:25 PM

I just baconed my beer...

Socratov

2013-07-21, 10:35 AM

*angelic choir with cherubs* I just baconed my beer...*angelic choir with cherubs*

Fixed that for you :smallwink:

But, yeah, awesome. You must teach me that.

Socratov

2013-12-08, 12:21 PM

Update!

I know I have kept things quiet a bit, it's just that recently I have been a bit busy with other projects and things so I neglected my brewing a bit. I do have an update on the results of my cherry mead though:

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff238/dmen1989/IMAG0013_zps4125b5fc.jpg (http://s237.photobucket.com/user/dmen1989/media/IMAG0013_zps4125b5fc.jpg.html)

It's really clear, and where earlier my mead would have a slight acidic taste (like in dry white wine) it's now round and smooth. Also the honey is a bit more pronounced. This is after maturing for almost a year though...

Gravitron5000

2013-12-09, 09:44 AM

I suppose that I should provide an update as well.

I just had a second sampling of my first batch of mead last weekend, after aging around 6 months. Quite nice. Crisp and dry (which was what I was going for), but rather yeasty. Next time I will run it through a filter before bottling.

The farm that I had lined up to get honey from had a terrible season (they didn't end up making enough to sell any), so I have had to postpone my attempted blackberry mead until I can find someplace that will sell me honey at an affordable price. I have 3 litres of wild blackberries just chilling out in my freezer until that time.

smellie_hippie

2013-12-09, 04:12 PM

Beer updates!

I just opened my son's Flanders Sour Red. It was his 21st birthday on Saturday, and I had brewed it back in February FOR him. Quite tasty! I will be entereing a couple bottles into competition in a few months.

Just brewed a kit beer (Scottish Wee Heavy) that i will add a mason jar of oak chips (soaking in Jim Beam) when I transfer to secondary.

Sometime over the holidays I will be brewing a 10 gallon batch of an English Brown Ale. I plan on splitting this into two separate batches and making one 'normal' and souring the other 5 gallons.

Next plans are to make that Boddington's Cream Ale as planned. I also recently samples a Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout. It was quite tasty. Lots of beer planning in the hippie brain...

Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll

2013-12-09, 11:18 PM

So, my dad has beers now apparently. Excited to try some this winter break.

smellie_hippie

2014-01-16, 08:24 AM

Beer updates!

Just brewed a kit beer (Scottish Wee Heavy) that i will add a mason jar of oak chips (soaking in Jim Beam) when I transfer to secondary.

Sometime over the holidays I will be brewing a 10 gallon batch of an English Brown Ale. I plan on splitting this into two separate batches and making one 'normal' and souring the other 5 gallons.

I had a small beer problem...

Brewed the above mentioned beers, and I kegged the Scottish and 5 gallons of the Brown Ale... but I had another gallon in the bottom of the bucket. NO more room in the keg. :smalleek:

SCIENCE!!!

I decided to blend the last gallon of Brown Ale with the remaining gallon or so of Saison that was already kegged. I hope it works out well... and I am excited to try it in a couple of weeks. I will be moving the Sour Brown Ale into secondary fermentation on tart cherries sometime this weekend.

Socratov

2014-01-16, 08:41 AM

Well, in the coming months I will probably start brewing mead again. I only have no idea what variant to make. So any suggestions? I will evaluate ideas based on tastiness and availability of ingredients :smallsmile:

Let the suggesting begin :smallamused:

edit: just because I can't sit idly by I had a suggestion for myself: Coffee mead. Now to track down the recipe (and else I'll need to wing it). Oh and this is by no means a message that the suggestion period is over, just started for real. The winning suggestion will have credit in the name of the brew (picture your name next to Thor's hammer and Freya's cherry :smallwink::smallbiggrin:)

smellie_hippie

2014-01-16, 10:35 AM

Mead suggestions?

Chai-mead. Since I usually blend honey into my chai latte... this could work well in reverse.

Lavender Mead. I think these two flavors and armoas would blend well.

Chipolte Mead. Deliciously drinkable hot-n-sour sauce!

Socratov

2014-01-16, 10:43 AM

smellie_hippie

2014-01-16, 12:36 PM

Cool suggestions, though I'm scared about wether chipotle mead would work at all :smallconfused:

Truth be told, I'd be a little frightened of that one too... :smallamused:

Dallas-Dakota

2014-01-20, 03:31 AM

I have tried one brand of hot 'n spicy mead and it is delicious(aside from killing your tastebudsfor about 30 minutes after drinking a bit)

Also 10-20 euros for brewing equipment you say? I should be able to do that. I think I'l start after graduating...

For suggestions I have to recommend apple & vanilla, the flavours combine nicely. Now that I think about it, I know a lot about mead and different kinds of them but when asking for brewing recommendation I find myself at a loss of knowledge. I sometime, need to become a expert at this.:smallcool:

Flickerdart

2014-01-20, 10:58 AM

Rhubarb. I had some gorgeous rhubarb cider the other day.

Would including the honeycomb in the process work at all, or do anything?

zilonox

2014-01-21, 10:08 AM

Socratov

2014-01-21, 10:16 AM

Rhubarb. I had some gorgeous rhubarb cider the other day.
interesting suggestion, but I'll guess this would mean I'd have to wait since rhubarb is best at the end of summer (my mother has more then enough in the garden). But I'll definitely keep it in mind...

Would including the honeycomb in the process work at all, or do anything?

Well, I haven't tested it out myself, but I heard it say that during brewing (as with using unpasteurised honey) it helps keeping the yeast alive because of the pollen and other small stuffs in there. It's supposed to carry health benefits as well, just like regular honey (i.e. unpasteurised). I have no scientific citations though. It could all be conjecture and placebo effects. You could try it though...

Socratov

2014-01-21, 12:07 PM

While I was in Dubai many (, many) years ago, I happened upon a red currant soda. Such things are not found in my home-country, and being one to try just about anything new I stumble upon, I found it quite tasty!

So perhaps you could try the cherry meade again, but substitute currants (I understand black currants are a bit less tart than red currants) for the fruit and juice?

Also, as a chai lover, I second the chai-meade. That sounds like bottled awesome!

Cool suggestion! I'll definitely research these (and see if they are viable). I might do a 'fruits de boix' type (which has, black- and redcurrant and many others like blueberries and so on).

By the way, when I was drinking yesterday I happened upon someone who gasped at me mentioning I make my own mead. He immediately proposed to buy a bottle of mine. To be continued...

Flickerdart

2014-01-21, 12:09 PM

Currants are weird and I don't like them. Gooseberries, on the other hand...

Socratov

2014-01-21, 12:12 PM

Currants are weird and I don't like them. Gooseberries, on the other hand...

those I can get at the end of summer. Though fruits des boix are great and might couple well with honey. Even better, I can find them frozen in the supermarket. So it might be quite easy to do...

smellie_hippie

2014-01-23, 08:52 AM

Sampled my Southern English Brown last night. Not bad. Could use more time to mature, but it was fairly passable.

Sampled my Whiskey Scottish Heavy last night. A little flat and disappointing. I am hoping more cold crash will clear things up and could stand to improve with better carbonation.

Socratov

2015-05-19, 03:09 AM

Brewer's Log: 19th of May, 2015.

Return of the Brewer

First of all I'd like to thank Haruki-kun for allowing me to continue this thread.

Second, well, I guess you know what's coming next: a new mead.

No pictures this time since my phone camera has a conflicted sense of work: sometimes it does, most times it doesn't. Bu tI'll try to describe it to you.

So I got myself some honey, The yeast and yeast food (very nice when fermenting sugary mixes) I already had, but opne thing was missing: my secret ingredient to completely change the flavour. I chose to go with what we Duchies call 'Boerenjonges'. This is a thing where we put raisins in a jar of Genever (the stuff the English tried to copy by making gin) and be done with it. Well, I took a jar and threw it into my brewing set-up.

Speaking of which, the jig I made is slightly failing and I might start doing some plumming. In no way closer to a metal sort of jig I think I will continue this way and instead mod this thingamajig. I'll keep you posted.

But onto the mead. I have decided to call it Loki's Trickery for the fact that I used non-Norse ingredients (raisins, genever) to make a fairly Norse drink. The mead has clarified a little bit to the point where it's still cloudy, but not because of the yeast. I poured off the mead and kept the Yeast in the bottles and see that the bottled mead stays a cloudy yellow. In my previous attempts the cloudyness went away after a certain time, but this time it seems to persist (one month in), which should prove interesting. I also haven't tasted it yet. I know, shocking. I've smelled it though, but currently it hasn't really revelaed any secrets yet. I mostly smell standard mead smell. But I'm willing to give it time for now.

Any questions, besides 'moar pictjurs', will of course be answered. Ask if I know the answer I will gladly share it.

Flickerdart

2015-05-19, 09:50 AM

Second, well, I guess you know what's coming next: a new mead.
Socratov Wars Episode IV: A New Mead.

Socratov

2015-05-19, 11:08 AM

Socratov Wars Episode IV: A New Mead.

If I ever tire fo using the Norse gods for my brews I'll use the Star Wars universe :smallcool::smallbiggrin:

Socratov

2015-05-23, 09:11 AM

Brewer's log, date 23rd of May 2015

Sköll and Hati Hróðvitnisson

My oh my, what a treat, such long a wait and then not one, but two new brews. It's almost like the BBC's rendering of Sherlock releasing a new season. (Let's hope my comments and activities won't dry up in the mean time).

So, today I've started brewing something dark, so of course I had to name it after the wolves who, during Ragnarok, woudl devour the sun and moon to plunge Midgard into utter and total darkness.

I have started out by making the base of my mead a bit sweeter, going for 2kg of honey for a 5L batch. To experiment a little I have added 50/50 clear and flower honey. To make the mix black I have added a lot of tea. Some ofyou might knwo that I love both tea and coffee and when drinking tea I absolutely adore two teas in particular: Lapsang Souchon Formosa (Taiwanese smoked lapsang) and Lady Grey (Earl Grey with some dried lemon peel and dried blossoms). This should make for a smokey, slightly bittersweet mead. I still have no working camera sinc emy phone appears to be unable to open the camera app (yeah sent reports to HTC, but no answer as of yet, and no resetting to factory values and restarting with a clear cache do nothing).

Also new is the thermometer I use. For Christmas I got a meat thermometer, but it works just as well for temperatures below 70C. Now I can see if the mead has cooled enough to add the yeast.

Speaking of cooling, why did I heat the mixture anyway? Well, if you want the tea to do it's job you need to leech out the great stuff. So by heating hte mix I can quickly leech some flavour of the tea and by cooling I can leave some flavour to be extraced over the next few weeks.

Then last, but not least, I have fixed my setup a little. I found that I had problems with sealing my barrel at the point where the tube goes through the lid. A couple of euros later and I had secured the tube through some plumbing hardware. I'm desperate to see how this goes. I did not use the best hardware, but I used something that woudl at least help a little. So... Let's see how this goes.

I will keep you posted.

Socratov

2015-05-30, 08:51 AM

Brewer's log, 30th of May, 2015

Smell that funky liquid white boy!

So, I found it was time to go towards the filtering of Sköll and Hati Hróðvitnisson. So I gathered my sieve, a polo shirt to filter out all the tea and gunk, a rather large soup pan (easily holds about 6-7 L of liquid, so my 5 L set-up fits just fine). I actually did not knot know what to expect. Since I upped the dosage of yeast food and the dosage of honey, I was expecintg all kinds of alcohol results. Vapours rising and all that, but when I opened the tank I smelled a real funky and slightly disturbing pungent smell. I was not amused just yet. Nor discouraged.

So, I sieve the brown ruddy liquid through my sieve and an old poloshirt, to filter out all the bad stuff. When I have removed all of the tealeaves and gunk (still no camera, but believe me, that stuff was like mud and tea leaves thrown together to steep). I dip my finger in the mead to taste it and it tastes pleasantly sweet and tea-ish. Going for the flavour I really did achieve what I set out upon and seeing how all mead up until now has improved with time, this might be a contender for a top spot next to or even above my apple mead (seriously though, that stuff is freaking awesome and if you haven't, follow my recipe to make it).

This time I neglected to make use of my bentonite to clear the mead. The mead was not very fizzy and after straining through my poloshirt (be sure to squeeze the liquid out) it was comparable to my other projects after using bentonite (as a bonus I have less losses). So, now I have poured it back into the fermentation unit with some fresh yeast to ferment further until it's ready for botteling.

So, that's it for now. I'll keep you posted. In te mean time, anybody else been busy creating our beloved solution?

blacklight101

2015-05-30, 07:09 PM

Socratov

2015-05-31, 09:26 AM

Well, reading this after stumbling across it has me in the mood to brew a bit. Especially mead, that stuff truly is the drink of the Gods! I may have to try one of your recipes as they sound fantastic. Looks as if it would be a fantastic learning experience.

Happy to inspire!

I'd say the simplest recipe is the standard dry mead, and currently the best taste is (personally and thus far) the apple mead. I mean, imagine drinking apple pie... yeah, It's like that.

blacklight101

2015-06-01, 10:12 AM

If only the waifu wasnt allergic to apples! Of all the things, I tell you. :smalltongue:

That cherry sounded delicious, same with skoll & hati, especially with the Lady Grey. Heck, I learned a ton just reading through your logs already. It does sound an especially good project if we can get some of the local honey (unpasteurized FTW!)

The wife will have to read the logs next, hopefully she is inspired to create like this too!

Socratov

2015-06-01, 11:41 AM

If only the waifu wasnt allergic to apples! Of all the things, I tell you. :smalltongue:
Indeed. Of all the things...

That cherry sounded delicious, same with skoll & hati, especially with the Lady Grey.it was and Sköll and Hati will need to wait until quality assurance since I've been refermenting them to produce a drier mead.
Heck, I learned a ton just reading through your logs already. It does sound an especially good project if we can get some of the local honey (unpasteurized FTW!) Thanks! glad to be of service. Also, I'm very jealous you have a good source of unpasturized honey. That is just some wicked stuff.

The wife will have to read the logs next, hopefully she is inspired to create like this too!

By all means, spread the word :smallcool:

Oh, and just as an aside: I usually ferment with champagne yeastwhich is known for producing some really dry stuff. If you want to produce a sweeter mead you might want to look at yeast meant for sweet wines or something...

Socratov

2015-06-17, 09:03 AM

Brewer's log 17th of june, 2015

Moon and sun can rest assured again!

So, I just bottled my stuff. I stopped bubbling a long time ago so I put it away on bottles to settle a little more and today I poured it over into their final recepticles (nope my phone still refuses to make picutures). It looks awesomely brown, almost like how a nice cup of tea is supposed to look. It looks like it clears quickly so, maybe I'll sneak off with my gf's phone to make some pictures. In teh meantime they will enjoy some peace and shadow on my cabinet.

I can hardly wait, both to dirnk this batch, as well as to harvest some elderflower and make yet another batch.

Socratov

2015-06-26, 07:10 AM

Udate

So,m a few weeks along and I see that my dark mead has cleared up to a ferfectly clear brown-orange colour. Now all I need to do is wait for a couple of months and I'll be able to declare my latest batch a huge success (or not)

Flickerdart

2015-06-26, 10:33 AM

Socratov

2015-06-27, 03:19 PM

My roommate got me this thing (http://www.amazon.com/Brooklyn-Brew-Shop-Making-Everyday/dp/B005G20IIG/ref=pd_sim_79_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0C7H1S2MHFBHTTFW5PK9) for my birthday. What other stuff do I need to buy to make mead in it?

Well, depending on whether you have yeast and yeast nutrient left you need honey, yeast, yeast nutrient and any additives you want to add. That should pretty much be it. Please note that the yeast you use heavily influences what hte end-product will taste like... (I advice a wine yeast)

Xuc Xac

2015-06-28, 02:31 AM

Flickerdart

2015-06-28, 01:44 PM

Well, depending on whether you have yeast and yeast nutrient left you need honey, yeast, yeast nutrient and any additives you want to add. That should pretty much be it. Please note that the yeast you use heavily influences what hte end-product will taste like... (I advice a wine yeast)

Oh okay, so the equipment I need is all there?

Socratov

2015-06-28, 02:12 PM

I've got my first batch of mead brewing in a 5L jug right now. It's been brewing vigorously for a week now (I wish I could say that I was inspired by this thread, but I didn't read this thread until a few days after brew day). I've wanted to try it for a long time but always assumed it would be impossible due to weather conditions (I'm in the tropics and it's hot every day) and supplies (no malt or yeast available in shops here).
Tropics? Cool. Well, your first and foremost problem would be the type of yeast. You will obviously need a type of yeast that can handle high temperatures.

But it appears you have found some and had it delivered through teh wonders of the internet. So, congratulations!

Then one of my friends shared a link on Facebook to a "how to brew mead" article and said they'd like to try it at some point. I was inspired to do some research and find a way. Most recipes I found say things like "use a yeast like Lalvin 1118", which is totally useless to me. I can't even find a packet that just says "yeast". There's no way I'm going to be able to choose from so many different yeasts that I need to specify the strain by name and a 4-digit ID number. hehe,. yeah, with all the types available it can be quite daunting to find a good yeast. and in many cases the yeast would not work for you anyway.

I found an old 17th or 18th century recipe that predates microbiology and knowledge of the existence of yeast or yeast nutrient. I'm using a scaled down version of that because I don't have a barrel to brew in. It seems to be working but I don't know how well it will work without specially bred yeast. It might turn out rather light and weak. I'll add an update when it's ready.That is so cool! Please keep me up to date since this is really cool.

Oh okay, so the equipment I need is all there? Pretty much, yeah. I'd clean them out with soda if I were you, but otwerise all you need now are ingredients...

In other news, I'll be starting yet another batch soon with strawberries and passionfruit. I'll keep you guys posted.

Socratov

2015-06-29, 12:00 PM

Freyr's Nectar

Freyr was thought of a the male norse sex god, as well as the god of sunshine, good crops, sacral kingship, virility and proserity. Freyr, in the form of Yngvi-Freyr, is also thought of to be the ancestor of the Swedish royal family. So how to better honour him by making a strawberry (in Dutch also called kings of summer) and passionfruit (*wriggles eyebrows*) mead? My phone's camera is still out of business so I'll have to rely on my storytelling powers to teach you this one (I have high hopes for this brew).

For about 5L of mead:

I start with about 1 kg of strawberries, cut off the crowns and put them in a pan large enough to hold a volume of 1L. Then I'll add the insides of 8 passionfruits (the goopy bits that is). In comes about 2 kg of honey. Protip: use one of the pots to brew a cup of tea, let it cool and use the honey/tea as a starter for your yeast once the correct temperature has been reached. Now add water until you get to about 4L of honey/strawberries/passionfruitgoop/water and heat it up while stirring. The stirring is to prevent the honey form caramelising (or rather: burning). Once you get the mixture to simmer, try and sq2uash the strawberreis a bit. This will increase the surface area of hte strawberries to give of flavour and scent. By now the contents of your pot should look like someone tried to swallow passionfruits and strawberreis with minimal chewing, and regurgitated them back into the pot. Gross, I know, but this will tell you you're doing it right. Set the potto cool and get your yeast. Your packet of yeast should come with instructions, detailing how to start it and so on. Follow these instructions by cooling/heating your honeyed tea to the correct temperature and pitch in the yeast. mix frequently untill all the grains of yeast have dissolved. When your mixture has cooled enough (see yeast packet for target temperature) pour it into your fermentation unit. then add the yeast, close the lid and add the waterlock. Put your fermentation unit at a palce of constant temeprature and little natural light and wait until the bubbling stops. Also, don't forget to shake things up form time to time. This will help the yeast eat all that delicious sugar and turn it into even more delicious alcohol.

Soon I'll tell you how to filter and such. If you want a more detailed instruction, with includced pictures, look at this post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=14342970&postcount=20)...

Xuc Xac

2015-06-30, 09:05 AM

But it appears you have found some and had it delivered through teh wonders of the internet.

Nope. Like I said, there's no yeast available so I looked for a recipe without yeast. People brewed mead and wine for thousands of years before they knew yeast existed. I'm using an old recipe from a guy who knew how to write his recipe down but didn't know what yeast or yeast nutrient was.

His recipe works but he didn't know why it worked. I can see how it works but I have the benefit of modern science. He had to figure it out through trial and error (and I'm glad he did).

It seems the primary fermentation is slowing down to a slight fizz, so I'm planning to rack it on Friday. That will be the first time I crack the seal on my makeshift airlock and the first chance I get to taste it. It smells good through the airlock, so my hopes are rising. I'll update after racking into secondary.

Xuc Xac

2015-07-03, 02:57 AM

Well, that was unexpected.

I just couldn't resist, so I started a second batch a few days ago with a different recipe. I'll get to that later, but first, let me tell you about the first batch. As I mentioned before, I have no access to homebrew shops of any kind, but I wanted to try my hand at making some mead. I live in Vietnam and there are several craft breweries here, but they import their supplies directly from Europe or America for their own use. There are no homebrew shops as far as I know (although I think there are a group of Germans who have their own homebrewing club around Saigon). I searched online for recipes for "mead without yeast" and found the 17th century cookbook of Sir Kenelm Digby (available on Project Gutenberg). Nobody knew about yeast in the 17th century. They just knew that if you let the wort sit exposed to the air, it would start fermenting and then you could seal the barrel and let it go. Wild yeast seemed the answer to my problem. Considering that there are bakeries on every street and enormous macrobreweries cranking out millions of liters of lager downtown, I suspect that Saccharomyces Cerevisiae is everywhere here.

I looked through Sir Kenelm's recipes and put together something that I thought would work. It did. I was just hoping to get something as strong as beer (around 5 or 6% ABV), but it went well beyond that. I can't tell exactly because I don't have the proper instruments to measure it, but I can estimate that it's about 16% ABV. I had about 200ml left after bottling and didn't want to leave it in a mostly empty bottle, so I put it in a coffee mug and drank it. Comparing the numbness in my face to the 300+ varieties of beer I've had in past few years, I'd have to say it ranks up there with a barleywine or a particularly strong Belgian quadrupel.

Here's my recipe:

Mangled Honey
Into a 5L bottle, I poured two 650mL bottles of honey produced by bees that collect nectar from wild flowers in the U Minh jungle (the name means something like "Deep Dark"). I also chopped up a sweet almost-overripe "xoai cat" varietal mango from the "9 Dragons" region of the Mekong river delta and dumped that in there too. Then I added a couple handfuls of golden raisins that I had let sit in a dish overnight on my balcony. I filled the bottle to within a hand's breadth of the top with water (to leave room for foaming and frothing yeast) and put the cap on. Then I shook it vigorously for 5 minutes straight to mix and aerate the sweet solution. Then I took off the cap and attached my super high-tech sophisticated airlock mechanism: a balloon with a pinhole in it. I wasn't sure if it would even work, but after about 20 or 30 minutes the balloon was inflated and the liquid was fizzing. I started it last week on Monday and it was almost completely finished fermenting on Wednesday this week. I had to wait until today (Friday) to bottle it. The mango chunks were soft lumps and the golden raisins (which had served as yeast nutrient and a possible source of wild yeast) were big squishy zombie grapes. I siphoned the cloudy brown liquid off and bottled it in several empty resealable beer bottles (like Grolsch makes) that I had been saving. I also had a sample mug with the leftover bit that wouldn't fill a bottle.

It tastes great already. It's very full-bodied and smooth, but with a definite alcoholic warming sensation in the back of the throat. It has a spicy, yeasty character that makes me think of Belgian ales, like a sweeter version of Kwak. I can't wait to see how well it ages.

The second batch which is still brewing now (and still audibly hissing) is a bit more of a departure from traditional meads. I used the same honey, water, and raisin base, but I also added 1L of pomelo juice that I got from a street vendor with a juicing machine and some black peppercorns from Phu Quoc island. That one smells pretty good, but I don't have a clever name for it yet.