Homebrew thread

[Ferris]

I knew Brewdog had done some very strong ales but this freeze-distilling malarkey is cheating, right?

https://www.brewdog.com/uk/worlds-strongest-beer

It's still distilling, right?

(and I must try it one day)

Yeah it's still distilling, just not pot-distilling. It's cheating, but I bet you could make some lethal hooch.

[sirhenry]

I still have a litre of blackberries, taken from gin-making, that hasn't frozen after 3years of being in the freezer.

Not distilled. But will be trifle within the next 48 hours.

I'm estimating 75 proof plus.

In every spoonful...

[Blue Jam]

Bit scared of ending up with meths and going blind tbh. Better put all thoughts of wanking freeze distilling out of ma heid.

[sirhenry]

Bit scared of ending up with meths and going blind tbh. Better put all thoughts of wanking freeze distilling out of ma heid.

It's very simple : if it doesn't burn green, it'll get past your spleen.

Alcohol and humanity - a partnership made in biology.

[Ferris]

Bit scared of ending up with meths and going blind tbh. Better put all thoughts of wanking freeze distilling out of ma heid.

As far as I'm aware, only pot distilling is dangerous re: methyl alcohol, and even then from my rudimentary understanding of the process it's fairly easy to avoid. Freeze distilling is safe.

That said, that opinion isn't worth the paper it's written on because I've done no research beyond reading some forums a few years back. Avoid distillation, that's my take on it.

[popcorn]

Hot sauce complete.



The green stuff has a slightly unpleasant vegetable taste. The red stuff is pretty good though. Both have too much garlic but both are good and hot and not as deadly as I'd feared. Washing up triggered a lot of coughing.

[Ferris]

Phwoarrr!!

[Blue Jam]

As far as I'm aware, only pot distilling is dangerous re: methyl alcohol, and even then from my rudimentary understanding of the process it's fairly easy to avoid. Freeze distilling is safe.

That said, that opinion isn't worth the paper it's written on because I've done no research beyond reading some forums a few years back. Avoid distillation, that's my take on it.

It's a moot point really as I can handle strong beer (just about) but I stopped drinking spirits about ten years ago because I became too much of a lightweight. I even struggle with red wine these days.

[daf]

My 2020 brews :



(Left to right) - Red currant - Plum - Blackberry

I'd run out of glass bottles by the time I bottled the blackberry!

[Blue Jam]

Happy Brew Year, pissheads.

You all got your 2021 brews on the go yet? I'm about to start off my Mangrove Jack's Roasted Stout, this time throwing in a pack of dextrose and malt beer enhancer, and later I will add cocoa nibs and tonka beans, and hopefully end up with something not unlike Brew York's Tonkoko*. Undecided about putting any lactose in, might do a taste test and see.

Also a bit nervy about the adulterants. I picked up some Naturya organic roasted cocoa nibs from Holland & Barratt on Monday, went for the posh ones because they were on offer and H&B's own brand ones looked a bit anaemic, like the dregs after the likes of Naturya have had their pick of the crop. Just opened the packet and I think I made the right decision, they look rich and dark but while they smell divine the smell is also very very strong. I had been thinking of adding 200g but that might be overkill.

I got some tonka beans off Amazon having not bought any for a while and had forgotten how strong they also smell. Also their wonderful aroma is partly due to coumarin, the same chemical which contributes to the complex fragrance of bison grass. I don't want to go overboard and end up with an overly bitter beer, as I did with the Prairie Vole. Perhaps some lactose will be needed to offset the bitterness- tonka is not unlike vanilla, an ingredient which isn't sweet in its own right but tastes sweet in sweet dishes and savoury in savoury dishes, and which also tastes sweeter the colder it is.

Any thoughts?

In the meantime I shall start looking for clipart of voles and Tonka trucks, could put a vole in a hard hat digging its burrow on the label.

^{*Brew York are based in York, UK, rather than New York, US of course, as tonka beans are illegal in the US. The numpties.}

[Sebastian Cobb]

Yeah, deliberately held off pitching a batch for a bit to give me a break in Jan so pitched a bitter on Monday, it should be ready mid-Feb. I'll do a high-strength IPA this weekend and will try putting citra in it to give it a bit of a hoppy feel. My last high-strength one had a bit of a malty/bready taste to it which hopefully the hops will cover off, although that taste did seem to go away after a bit more finishing, so perhaps I just started drinking it too early.

I've just finished reading Amos Tutola's The Palm Wine Drinkard, which caused me to look into Palm wine. Apparently when you tap the sap from the trees it's not alcoholic but it ferments with the yeast in the air and is up to about 4% within a couple of hours!

I'd be interested to know how much difference malt extract makes to dextrose/brewing sugar. I've just been using dextrose as I bought a 25 kilo catering sack of it after getting fed up with buying it by the kilo and having to top things up with table sugar.

[Ferris]

I've never used either of those adjuncts, but I bet they're really nice.

That said, have a look on the /r/homebrewing subreddit - I've found most of the advice there helpful and someone will probably have tried using those ingredients and provided feedback on their own recipe.

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=8zT3X5fBCa7v_Qb5tITIAQ&q=site%3A+reddit.com%2Fr%2Fhomebrewing+tonka&oq=site%3A+reddit.com%2Fr%2Fhomebrewing+tonka&gs_lcp=ChFtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1ocBADMgUIIRCgAToHCCkQChCgAToLCCkQsQMQyQMQkwI6AggpOgUIKRDJAzoICAAQ6gIQjwE6DggAELEDEMcBEKMCEMkDOggIABCxAxCDAToLCAAQsQMQxwEQowI6DggAELEDEIMBEMcBEKMCOggIABDHARCjAjoFCAAQsQM6CAguEMkDEJMCOgIIADoCCC46CAguELEDEIMBOgUILhCxAzoICAAQsQMQyQM6CAgAEMcBEK8BOhEIABCxAxCDARDHARCjAhDJAzoLCAAQxwEQrwEQyQM6BQgAEMkDOgYIABAWEB46CAghEBYQHRAeOgcIIRAKEKABUPANWPHZAWDq3QFoEHAAeASAAY4UiAG-YZIBDDM1LjguMS44LTIuMpgBAKABAbABDw&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-hp

[popcorn]

I'm going to make my own Carslberg.

[Ferris]

I'm going to make my own Carslberg.

Never heard of it

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

It's like an iceberg, but made of Carls.

We did some wine making last year. Mostly blackberries, but also elderflower, sloes, marrow and gorse flower.



Having finally drunk some over Christmas, they're kind of odd. They are definitely wine - and by no means unpleasant - but not normal wine, which was initially a little offputting. The blackberry proved perfect for mulling.

[Blue Jam]

It's like an iceberg, but made of Carls.

F**K'S SAKE CARL

https://youtu.be/tJYzbJCIR_U

I've never used either of those adjuncts, but I bet they're really nice.

That said, have a look on the /r/homebrewing subreddit - I've found most of the advice there helpful and someone will probably have tried using those ingredients and provided feedback on their own recipe.

Ha, I hadn't considered Reddit. I was expecting posts along the lines of "I brew my own beer because I'm too introverted to go to the pub and there are normies and feeeeemales there" but no, there's an actually useful post with a reply from someone saying that for a standard five-gallon batch, add two beans for a subtle flavour, four for a stronger flavour, and don't be tempted to go up to six, because in their experience that gave the beer an unpleasantly bitter taste (that'll be the coumarin). Just what I needed, thanks.

Will add two, grating them up and putting them in a bag with the cocoa nibs, and do a taste test to see if it needs another bean or two, cheers.

The last time I made tonka bean ice cream I think I grated up about five of 'em to make the custard for a final volume of one litre, but with the added cream, sugar and cold the bitterness would be a background note to the sweetness. Think I might try putting some tonka in a Thai curry next, go a bit Masterchef circa 2017.

As I type the airlock for this batch just emitted its first gurgle. Looking forward to this one.

[Blue Jam]

We did some wine making last year. Mostly blackberries, but also elderflower, sloes, marrow and gorse flower.

I think gorse flower might be my favourite smell in the world. Did you forage for yours? Here in Embra we get plenty growing on Arthur's Seat and it makes the whole place smell of Hawaiian Tropic for a few months, I love it. I would forage some but I couldn't bring myself to impact on the wildlife there, also the Holyrood Park Rangers would not approve.

Had a gorse flower pale ale once and it was lovely, can't remember the brewery though. It was a Scottish one but I doubt they'd been ravaging Arthur's Seat (oo-er) for their ingredients.

[daf]

Having finally drunk some over Christmas, they're kind of odd. They are definitely wine - and by no means unpleasant - but not normal wine, which was initially a little offputting. The blackberry proved perfect for mulling.

I find adding around half a bag of sugar* to a demijohn's worth before bottling transforms a rather harsh wine into pure nectar - though if the fermentation hasn't completely finished, there is a tendency for the fermenting to re-start and the wine to turn a bit fizzy.

- - - - - - - - - -
* (dissolved in half a pint of boiling water to make a pint of thick syrup)

[Blue Jam]

Just ordered a bag of lactose. With the bitterness of the hops, the bitterness of the cocoa nibs and the bitterness of the tonka beans I think the beer is gonna need it. Been reading lots of stuff about mouthfeel as well, would love to achieve a texture like Young's Chocolate Stout, somehow a little solid-tasting like actual chocolate, if that makes sense. Something to chew on.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Here in Embra we get plenty [of gorse] growing on Arthur's Seat

Poor Arthur. Sitting on that doesn't bear thinking about.

It grows all over the heathland around here. It was Spring when we went picking it, but it smelled like Summer. The aroma didn't really make it through the fermentation process, but it made for a nicely refreshing tipple.

[Blue Jam]

That's a shame, looks like gorse can be used to flavour beer though, and the aroma survives that process.

You know what's great about the Mangrove Jack's kits? They include Mangrove Jack's yeasts. No yeast strains languishing in anonymity in a foil packet stamped "BREWER'S YEAST". Which means... DATASHEETS! Squeeeeeee:

https://help.mangrovejacks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360019111174-Craft-Series-Beer-Wine-Cider-Mead-Yeast-strain-information

A few months ago White Labs were recruiting and had a vacancy for a quality control yeast technician-type person. The job ad asked for someone with basic lab skills, good aseptic technique, knowledge of how to freeze and thaw cells without them dying etc. I was massively overqualified and I don't really want to move to North Carolina but I was a bit tempted to send in a CV, I must admit.

[Dex Sawash]

We have CaB in North Carolina so it isn't all bad

[Ferris]

Not to relitigate, but reddit gets a bad rap. I use it fairly regularly and genuinely can't recall the last time I came across some abusive or bigoted material. Now, that may be because I keep it tightly curated for niche stuff like baseball roleplaying and simpsons shitposts, but the home brewing sub especially is pretty good.

I suspect most alt right dickheads have been deplatformed and have left mainstream platforms for the rest of us. Instead of twitter, use parler. Instead of reddit, use voat or Gab. (Curiously, there's no right wing alternative for facebook/instagram, I imagine that's because there's no requirement for one). It means that who knows what foetid lunacy is fomenting in the bowels of the internet which is a bit of a worry (see Capitol building on Wednesday) but also you can browse for tonka bean stout recipes in a largely normal environment.

Still haven't got my brewing stuff out of storage, useless. Dry January as well and want to see how long I can stick with it into the new year so might not brew any time soon. Pathetic.

[Blue Jam]

Day 3. Airlock bubbling gently but very frequently, every three seconds or so. This yeast (Mangrove Jack's New World Strong Ale Yeast M42) is like the opposite of my Belgian Dubbel yeast which bubbled less frequently but much more aggressively. It's nice. Very calming.

Has anyone here made a chocolate stout/porter before? Various peeps on Reddit and homebrew forums have various methods and they vary enormously. One of the most popular seems to involve steeping the cocoa nibs in vodka for a few days, then throwing in both the nibs and the vodka. Apparently that makes for a particularly intense chocolate flavour but it seems there are equal numbers of brewers who don't like that method because the vodka affects the taste of the beer and even alters the flavour of the cocoa nibs themselves. Those brewers seem to prefer just chucking the cocoa nibs in, either dry or after soaking them in plain water for a bit. Other brewers like to use liquid cocoa extract, and reminding everyone that this is how most commercial brewers do it. Then there are the purists who don't use adulterants at all and prefer to do a bit of alchemy using "chocolate" malts. It's a bit of a minefield. A fascinating and fun minefield.

[Ferris]

Yeah, I used chocco malt and 2 vanilla pods. Cacao nibs were a bit fancy dan for me back when I was into stouts but they're probably really good because that's what everyone uses.

Anyone who reckons they can taste ~100ml of vodka in 22,000ml of strongly flavoured stout is talking shite though. That's the one downside of reddit homebrewers - they're all the brewing equivalent of barry homeowner types who reckon their palates are hyper refined and every piece of equipment is essential. Any wisdom you proffer that doesn't match consensus opinion (ie doing XYZ is unimportant and doesn't matter) will see you downvoted to oblivion. I just read it, I don't bother posting on there.

Conversely, www.reddit.com/r/prisonhooch does exactly what it says on the tin.

[Blue Jam]

Prison Hooch: Because /r/Homebrewing is filled with try-hard nerds.

Hahaha, I must check that out. No way am I registering a new Reddit account though.

Gone a bit Prison Hooch myself today as it happens. Just checked on the brew and the krausen was looking dangerously voluminous. Have now transferred some of the liquid to an emergency secondary fermenter- a sterilised 2l Pepsi bottle with an airlock made from my siphon tube, some cling film and a drinking bottle. Main fermenter is bubbling less often now, think it's because there's more room in there.

Will see how the prison-style fermenter works out, if there is contamination I'll only lose 1.5l of beer so it'll be no great loss. Hell, my dad used to use pop bottles and spare tubing when he had no more room in the glass carboys (purchased from Boots of course), it should be fine.

[NattyDread 2]

Has anyone here made a chocolate stout/porter before?

I did one years ago that I'd totally forgotten about until you mentioned it. Nowt fancy going on here, but it worked a treat. I used
1 tin of Wilkos Stout
225g Cocoa Powder
400g (ish) Treacle
1kg Medium DME
Brewed to 23 litres

Some warn against using cocoa powder saying it ruins carbonation and head retention. It did nothing of the sort.

[Blue Jam]

Cocoa powder and treacle, sounds nice. I wonder if a treacle tart ale would work.

Cocoa powder is acidic and can affect baking- bake a batch of muffins, put cocoa powder in half of them, and you'll notice those ones will rise a bit more, and that's because the acidic cocoa powder reacts with the alkaline baking powder and a bit more carbon dioxide is produced as a result. I'd be surprised it it affected brewing though, or baking with yeast for that matter- yeast are resilient little fuckers. I've made chocolate bread before and had no problems getting a decent rise on it.

[Blue Jam]

Anyone who reckons they can taste ~100ml of vodka in 22,000ml of strongly flavoured stout is talking shite though. That's the one downside of reddit homebrewers - they're all the brewing equivalent of barry homeowner types who reckon their palates are hyper refined and every piece of equipment is essential.

Like my friend who keeps telling me to buy a Grainfather- he means well but no thanks, I've got some perfectly good pop bottles here.

The vodka thing seems to be a result of people putting way too much vodka in, certainly more than 100ml. In any case I think buying top of the range kit and even spending money on vodka defeats the point of homebrewing a bit, for me there's something satisfying about making yourself a really nice pint and knowing it only cost you 50p to make.

Gonna put my cocoa nibs and grated tonka beans in a hop bag and then in hot water for a bit to sterilise them, but that's as far as I'll go. Think I'll go for 200g of cocoa nibs and two tonka beans. Will keep the stout in the prison fermenter unadulterated bar a few of the hop pellets and then do a side-by-side comparison.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I actually want to have a crack at pruno.

A friend has a Polish father in law and for Christmas he just used to chuck a load of berries and sugar in the massive pickle/saurkraut jars they get over there. Got banned from it in the end as he was just spending 2 weeks twatted.