Sep 19
What can I say? Freaking MEAD!!! The boys helped me bottle, plus I had a few others join in. Took the final gravity- 1.020. Initial gravity was 1.102. Take the difference, multiply that by 105, then multiply that by 1.25 to get the alcohol by volume. 10.76% alcohol. YES! 10.76% alcohol by volume. And it …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.brettgorley.com/blog/?p=1101
Nov 03
I’m sick of not being able to brew beer. So, despite some horrible personal news that should have derailed all my plans, I pushed on and brewed two batches of beer. Well, one batch of beer and a mead that I’ve been meaning to make for over a year. The mead recipe: 15lbs honey, yeast …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.brettgorley.com/blog/?p=1073
Sep 02
It’s been so long since I brewed I’ve almost forgot how to do it. So, I was reminiscing and found an excel spreadsheet I created- my beer database. Everything I’ve ever brewed and how I thought about it. All my successes and failures since 2007. First, how I rate my own beers: Rating Scale 10 …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.brettgorley.com/blog/?p=991
Oct 11
Tonight we bottled Tracy’s Framboise that’s been sitting in the fermenter since March 1st. All that time sitting there had me extremely curious as to how it would turn out, especially since the trub in the fermenter looked nasty. Siphoned the beer into my bottling bucket, then took the final gravity, which came to 1.004. …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.brettgorley.com/blog/?p=440
Dec 12
Wednesday evening I brewed a Beamish Stout clone, thanks to the clone recipe we got from a magazine with 150 recipies in it. We used the extract recipe, not the all grain recipe listed below. So, gathered the ingredients, put some water on the kettle, and began mashing the grains. The recipe called …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.brettgorley.com/blog/?p=249
Dec 09
Last night I brewed my first seasonal beer using Papazian’s recipe for something he calls “Holiday Cheer.” It uses 7lbs of light malt extract, 1/2lb of crystal malt, 2oz of black malt, 1lb of honey, orange peels, fresh ground ginger root, and cinnamon. It also uses Cascade and Saaz hops, but since I don’t have …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.brettgorley.com/blog/?p=246
Mar 24
I’ve brewed 9 batches of beer since I began this brewing adventure back in Christmas, and it has been a learning process. And, as most people will attest to, no learning is complete without some failure. My second batch was my first attempt at oatmeal stout, and despite the fun we had brewing it, we …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.brettgorley.com/blog/?p=85
Mar 23
I brewed batch 9 yesterday, some Oatmeal Stout. I used Papazian’s mini-mash recipe from The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. Now, I purchased the grains a few weeks ago and had them crushed when I purchased them so I wouldn’t have to try to do it myself. Of course, no one told me to brew them …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.brettgorley.com/blog/?p=84
Mar 17
Last night I bottled up my so called “American Style” hefeweizen. It had been fermenting for 14 days by the time I had bottled it. And, by fermenting for 14 days, I don’t mean it was just sitting there for 14 days waiting to be bottled. I mean it was actively fermenting for 14 days. …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.brettgorley.com/blog/?p=78
Mar 07
Made an American style hefeweisen last week. Still has active fermentation going on. It was my first mini-mash attempt. I used a couple pounds of grains, put them in a grain bag and held them at 130 degrees for 30 minutes. Then I slowly brought the temp up to 155. After 10-15 minutes there I …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.brettgorley.com/blog/?p=76
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