Brew day, and upcoming projects.
Just wanted to put a little post out saying that, despite low turnout, we had a pretty good brew day on Saturday. Everything’s fermenting happily, and now we just have to look forward to part two in which we Drink the Beer. Early December, I think.
Upcoming projects for me:
- Kegging the abbey dubbel and cold conditioning. This will be ready for early December consumption.
- Kool-Aid Beer, round 2. Changes for this year: Blue Kool-Aid (you just gotta), no wheat malt, dry belgian abbey yeast.
- Something… else.. for NYE. The abbey *may* remain on tap through NYE, but in case it doesn’t, I’d like to have something else ready to go. Need to brainstorm an idea that’s not a porter.
- Imperial Stout, to be ready for February consumption. Need to prepare for this by soaking some oak chips in bourbon or scotch - possibly add vanilla beans to that mix. Vanilla bourbon imperial stout? Baby.
- I need to build a Grant’s Perfect Porter clone. Somehow.. somewhere. It must be possible.
- Bottling our mead - we have to versions up. One 3-gallon batch of dry mead, w/blueberries, one half-gallon batch (same must), dry true mead. Bottling these so that we can, essentially, cellar them. Wish we had a cellar.
- Planning on getting some 1-gallon jugs to do some really small batches. Small batch #1 will be letting S make some beer on her own that include (sigh) lactose and belgian chocolate. Then once she’s comfortable, we make her enter the Queen of Beer competition.
- Finally, planning on making something for entry into the National Homebrew Competition next April. Need to figure out what I want to pour time into making perfectly to style.
Posted: November 8th, 2007 under Uncategorized.
Comments: 4
Comments
Comment from barbecuesteve
Time: November 8, 2007, 9:43 pm
My experience with blue kool-aid was NOT A SUCCESS. I ended up with blue trub and yellow beer.
Comment from erik
Time: November 9, 2007, 4:33 pm
Fascinating. That was largely my experience with the red kool-aid, but I did get a nice pink tinge, you’ll probably remember.
I wonder that the difference in the dyes are that make that so.
Huh. Maybe I’ll shoot for a different color, then. How much did you use?
Comment from barbecuesteve
Time: December 26, 2007, 10:24 am
I put two packets of unsugared Kool-Aid into a 5gal batch right at the end of the boil. The primary was a gorgeous sheen of green (my goal.) But within a couple days, the yeast had all absorbed the color and flocculated, and we were back to a yellow beer.
My goal is to perfect a bottled green beer, and sell 10,000 cases of it every late February and early March.
Comment from erik
Time: January 1, 2008, 9:43 pm
I would say that the best way to do that would be food coloring when you package it. Any coloring agent put in at the beginning of fermentation would almost definitely drop out of the solution with the yeast. Heck, it even happens with malt.
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