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Starting another batch of cider on Friday. We have one going that's been happily bubbling away since Super Bowl Sunday (it's going to be called Suck It, Seattle! Cinnamon Cider) but it's my wife's and I five year wedding anniversary Friday (cheesy, I know, but we got married at 12,000' in Colorado; Google 'mountaintop matrimony') so we're trying to think of something that we'll both enjoy to add a special twist to this batch. We'll let it bulk age for six months then bottle condition for an additional six months. We'll crack open the first bomber on our six year anniversary. If I remember I'll take some pictures of the process.
Mensaguy, whatever works! The easiest way will always be the best way regardless of the steps. I have to admit I'm rather impressed you have so many bottles in reserves! Maybe jealous is the term I'm looking for. As soon as we have enough bottles we usually do a batch (every three weeks) but lately people haven't been bringing them back to me which really hurts the inventory in the long run. I hate buying bottles but every once in a while, if I find a decent deal, I'll buy in bulk.
Glad to hear a lot of you all are progressing nicely at various stages with your brews!
We'll be bottling our altbier tonight, hopefully adding the sugar will kickstart the yeast a good bit. Haven't seen many bubbles in either the primary or secondary the past couple weeks, and I gave them a good turn everyday...this is the first time I've used dry yeast and I think I'll go back to liquid next time.
The good news is it smelled great last week when transferring so it just might be a little less alcoholic and carbonated than usual...I guess I'll find out in a few weeks
Mensaguy, whatever works! The easiest way will always be the best way regardless of the steps. I have to admit I'm rather impressed you have so many bottles in reserves! Maybe jealous is the term I'm looking for. As soon as we have enough bottles we usually do a batch (every three weeks) but lately people haven't been bringing them back to me which really hurts the inventory in the long run. I hate buying bottles but every once in a while, if I find a decent deal, I'll buy in bulk.
When I buy beer, I try to buy beer in reusable bottles. Sam Adams, Saranac, Magic Hat, Rogue. If I buy Blue Moon, Shock Top, etc., I just throw the bottles away. I had surgery last fall and they wouldn't let me lift over 15 pounds, so I couldn't move a fermenter, sanitizer, or OxyClean bucket. Nothing left to do but buy beer. So, over the past 3-4 years, I've accumulated enough bottles to do 7-8 batches. This year I'm going to try to split my brewing equipment up into two sets and take one set to our retirement home. I'll probably take half the bottles too. Most of the time I get my bottles back, except when I give samples to another brewer. Those bottles come back, sometime, filled with more samples. So far, I haven't bought any bottles.
I have heard rumors that knowing somebody at a bar or restaurant can lead to a big supply of bottles, but I've never had that happen to me.
Brewing is just great. I went through a big phase of brewing almost every week for about 5 years a long time ago, but still do at least 3 or 4 batches a year. One thing I really like to do is cold-crashing (this has been a great winter for that). Once your primary fermentation is done just set your fermenter out in the cold for a few hours before transferring to a secondary fermenter (or bottling bucket). It puts all the yeast to sleep and it settles to the bottle, which can help avoid burst bottles and overflows, and also helps you control how much yeast you add to whatever next step you're going to do.
In terms of growing hops - be careful! They won't do a lot the first year or two, but then they grow like crazy and send out shoots both underground and above ground. They can take over a yard, so be sure to thoroughly prune the underground rhizomes every year. I've done a good yard pruning them in my yard, but I can see them taking over my neighbor's yard bit by bit every year.
One idea a friend of mine came up with years ago was making a stout and doing a secondary fermentation with Dates - this is a great thing to try. I'm actually amazed no breweries are doing this commercially. The main thing is to go easy on the hops (which is typical of stouts anyways) since the dates add a bit of sweetness.
There have been several threads on here about homebrewing since this sub-forum was created. I made a post in one about a year ago with links to some of these threads. Some of you may want to read them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mensaguy
Yep. There are several here. Since you're new to brewing, you might want to look these threads over:
Per member request I have merged the two home beer brewing threads. I am not sure that this warrants a sticky but I don't mind doing so on a temporary basis. We are allowed two sticky threads per forum.
If there are any other questions, suggestions or comments don't hesitate to contact me via DM. Cheers!
OK, guys. Speak up. If the thread doesn't stay active enough, the Sticky status is in jeopardy.
It looks like it is going to be warm enough in WV this weekend for me to try out my outdoor burner. I bought it cheap on Amazon and I don't know if it is strong enough to get a brew pot boiling fast enough to be practical.
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