Overall, I'm happy to report that it went a lot better than the previous (first-ever) brew day. It still took 6 hours, but that's because I messed up the cooling process (more on that later). BTW, I chose Oisin's Irish Red from Short Finger. Who's Oisin? Feel free to go down the Wikipedia rabbit hole,..
Drinking Homebrew #1 (“Alex Mack” Blonde Ale)
That's right, it's been a whole month since that fateful day I made barley tea, boiled it with scummy hops, gazed into the abyss, cooled it in my sink, mixed five-fucking-gallons of sanitizer solution, and poured the stuff into a plastic Canadian Tire bucket to ferment under my kitchen table. It's been 2 weeks since..
Bottling Day for the SFBC “Alex Mack” Blonde Ale
Before getting into it, I have Words of Advice for first-time homebrewers: DO NOT try to siphon beer the hard way with a plain racking cane and hose. Don't be a pleb like me, thinking you can get away with regular siphoning. You will end up wanting to hang yourself with your own siphon hose...
Update: Fermenting Blonde Ale
... at least, I hope it's fermenting, and not just farming mold. Quick update to follow the previous homebrew post (five-fucking-gallons of SFBC “Alex Mack” Blonde Ale). Because there was so much room from the top (because I spilled some on the floor), I didn't expect to see any bubbling in the airlock / blow-off..
Katie’s Glossary of Terms
When I first started trying to learn and read about homebrewing, I was a bit annoyed at times by all the words and special terms I didn't understand. Here's my own glossary with my own understanding of these special terms. (If you want a real glossary, maybe look at Palmer's glossary.) 7/25/21 Update: Trub, Flameout..
Homebrew #1: SFBC “Alex Mack” Blonde Ale (5 Gal)
I'm going to try to not bore people. I'm sure any experienced homebrewer reading this will find lots of things.... funny. I don't want to say it was a disaster, but I was was thoroughly drained and demoralized when it was finally all done (like, 6 hours later). **Warning: F-bombs ahead** My last barrier /..
Rant: Fly Sparging vs “Brew in a Bag”
I've read recipes that say to "fly sparge 75 C (168 F)". I didn't know what that was (or why there's a sudden temperature jump up), so I consulted the book and some online resources. Here is an excerpt from the homebrewers association, which is sourcing "How to Brew": However, fly sparging takes considerable time..
Preparing for First Brew Day
After banging my head against the wall with the Joy-Killing Research, I had to push myself to actually do a homebrew by finally purchasing a recipe kit ("recipe mix") and some extra accessories. I know I've done a lot of bitching about this learning process (lol), but I feel really lucky that there's a really..
The Running Tally of my homebrew hobby costs to date
Here's a table... ItemCostFirst 1-Gallon kit $7.99How to Brew book $28.005-Gallon pot$75.00SFBC - Alex Mack Blonde Ale - 5 Gallon All Grain Recipe Kit$23.955 Star Star San - 4oz$7.95Triple Scale Hydrometer$6.9510'' Plastic Hydrometer Test Jar$5.99Dextrose - 1lb$2.50Muslin Grain Bags – 3$3.75Longer Siphon Hose $4.75SFBC - Oisin's Irish Red - 5 Gallon All Grain Recipe Kit$29.50Grain..
Joy-Killing Research
So, I might have been able to do this way earlier if I'd just ordered another 1-Gallon yield recipe to suit the equipment I'd acquired for the small-batch operation. But I'm stubborn. A replacement recipe kit (a mix) from the same company was reasonably priced (approx $16), but the shipping was atrocious (think over $40)...