Harry Porter: Dark Magic Ale

Yesterday we brewed our very first all grain beer. Rick is my personal brew master and he did a damn fine job. He built our lauter tun and wort chiller, did the research and came up with the recipe, bought all the grains, etc...and did the brewing. I was in charge of sanitizing everything and making sure all the tools were at the ready. Here are a couple of pictures of the lauter tun.



Here we are lautering. The second picture is after sparging. The third picture shows the spent grains in the bottom of the lauter tun. The chickens won't go hungry.




Now it was time to move the wort outdoors so the husbeast could try out his new propane burner. Here he's adding hops to the wort.


Lenny and Squiggy's abode is right next to where the burner was going. It was just warm enough to get their attention. I know they were enjoying their temporary hot tub because they kept hanging out on that side of the pond.


Now it was time to put Wortzilla through his paces. He is hooked up to the rain barrels with the longer hose. The used water is running out of the short hose end.


Once the wort is cooled the steam dissipates and you can see what's going on.


Time to cart the pot back into the house so we can strain the wort into the primary fermenter.


And here is a naked Wortzilla, the Wort Chilla, in all his glory.

Fun (?) With Grape Juice

Remember those 4 wine kits I bought at Homebrew Heaven? Yesterday I finally found the time to get the first one going. My plan was to get up early enough to sanitize everything and start the primary ferment. The morning started well. I got the equipment washed and sanitized. I had the directions and all the ingredients assembled.



The first step was to mix the bentonite with warm water and stir it well. No problems there. Next step, add the ginormous bag of grape juice.


I managed to wrangle the bag out of the box and into the fermenting room. But I had a hard time figuring out how to remove the cap. I was twisting and turning it every which way. Finally called the husbeast for help and he popped it right off. I'd still be trying to unscrew the damn thing. I thanked him for his assistance and then commenced to hefting the big, squishy bag up so I could pour it into the bucket. All went well, for a bit. Then the bag slipped and I managed to splash grape juice all over me....and a good portion of the room. Hearing me utter mass quantities of bad words, the husbeast peaked in. "Don't even look," I told him, and he knew enough to back away. It was ugly. And I was right in the middle of getting the batch going. Time for some speedy damage control. I stripped, changed, and tossed my clothes into the wash. Then I mixed up some soapy water and cleaned all the juice from my sheepskin slippers, the rug, the desk, various boxes, and anywhere else I noticed it. Once done, I turned my attention back to making my wine. The juice was now (mostly) in the fermenter. Next step was to rinse that accursed bag out with hot water and add that to the bucket, along with the oak saw dust. Then stir it like mad and add some cooler water to reach 6 gallons. Making sure it ended up at a temperature between 70 and 80 degrees. Finally the yeast was sprinkled over the top and the lid and bubbler put in place. Whew. Mission accomplished. We're making chianti. And with hardly any casualties. I did have to toss out one of my beer mirrors because some juice had seeped under the glass. But it was a yard sale find and I'm sure I'll run across another. Oh, and I did manage to stain this towel up nicely. Could of been lots worse.

Made A Trip To Marlene's

Today was bulk shopping day. We made the trek over to Costco to stock up on much used bulk items like flour, sugar, butter, corn oil, toilet paper, soy sauce, etc. All those items that we go through a lot of. Since we were in that general area we also stopped into Marlene's so I could get some more of my favorite hot cereal. This is called 7 Grain Flake and is located way in the back of the store, in their refrigerated room. The cost is $1.79 per pound and I bought 10 pounds. That should hold me for a while.


I think this cereal is much better than plain old oatmeal and it's super easy to cook. Just add 1 part cereal to 2 parts water. I add a little pinch of salt. Bring it all to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until the water is absorbed. Serve it up just like you would regular oatmeal.

Here's my tip of the day. It's an easy way to label bulk items (or your jugs of various wines). Break off a piece of cellophane tape. Fold under one end to make a tab (for easy lifting later). Put the tape label on your jar or lid to be marked and write on it with a sharpie marker.

Almost Ready To Order My Bees & Hive

I am reaching critical mass. After much back and forth, and mind changing, I am 99.9% sure I'll be going with a Langstroth hive, but will be buying 8 frame medium (6 5/8") boxes for both the hive bodies (brood chambers) and the honey supers. And I'll be buying the plastic ritecell frames. They look like the easiest choice and require no additional foundation. For a bee suit I am going to get an Alexander veil, some good quality gloves, and some leg straps. But instead of a full suit, I'm going to try to find a used pair of coveralls. I'll be doing some last minute research and then should be able to order up my bees and hive next weekend. I'm so excited.

Racked The Mead

Never you mind that I was supposed to do this 2 weeks ago. I read somewhere that mead actually benefits from a longer time on the lees. So this batch should be fabulous. Right?

I assembled all my needed tools and sanitized them. I was excited to use the easy siphon that the husbeast got me for Christmas. It didn't work very well when we used it to siphon beer, the last racking, so I was looking forward to giving it a chance to redeem itself. Unfortunately it was a massive FAIL. It couldn't fit into the jug. Oh well, maybe when I get my first wine kit going it will prove itself useful. Or not. I had to resort to my old method of priming the siphon, which is not my strongest suit. But, after 2 attempts, here is my newly racked Apple Cyser Mead.


Of course, in my haste to sample some, I completely forgot to check the specific gravity. However, I can assure you there is some alcohol in there.


And for those of you wondering why wine needs to be racked, here is a picture of the lees left behind after this initial racking (along with the raisins I added for tannin and yeast nutrient). That sludge is what dead yeast carcasses look like.


You don't want to drink that. It'll give you the runs, and besides, it's yucky.

Now That's Cereal!

My new infatuation. 7 grain hot cereal. I think I got this at Marlene's over a year ago. I recently had a craving for some hot cereal and found this in the cupboard. OMG! It's divine. I like it with a little half & half, butter, and real maple syrup. Nummy, nummy. Must get more.

My First Coffee Roasting Experience

Imagine the Talking Heads' "Burning Down the House" playing.


The coffee beans and grinder arrived on Tuesday. It was dark and snowing by the time I got home from work. Knowing that I would need to roast the beans outside, I decided to wait and be patient. Yesterday the snow was gone, replaced by lots of rain. Still not good roasting weather. My husband suggested I roast them in the basement, with the door open. When I got a break at work I ventured home and set about gathering all my equipment into the basement. The husband was busy on the computer, upstairs, so I didn’t bother him. I set up a table in the basement doorway, plugged in the popcorn popper, and added some raw beans. They were swirling away as I replaced the plastic top to the popper and set a bowl underneath to catch the chaff. Sure enough, after just a few minutes the chaff came flying out of the chute and landed (mostly) in the bowl. And still the beans swirled, getting steadily darker. Not long after, I heard the first crack. Pop, pop, pop. Similar to popcorn. I had my ear down next to the popper, trying to listen for the second crack. The beans were getting nice and dark and I was fearful of burning them. As I’m listening intently, suddenly the smoke detector goes off. There I am in the basement, at a crucial stage of the roasting. I don’t want to unplug the popper, and the smoke detector is steadily blaring, making it difficult to listen for the second crack. Then my husband makes his way to the basement, looking for the fire. I explain that I am just roasting these beans and can’t quit right now. Mind you I am in the basement doorway, with my little set up. He insists on squeezing past to reset the alarm. At this point I realize there is too much noise and commotion. I give up listening for that illusive second crack and unplug the popper. I remove the top and peer in at my newly roasted beans with slight disappointment. They don’t look nearly dark enough. Oh well, I’m sure they’ll be drinkable. I pour them into a metal colander and begin bouncing them around to bring them quickly to room temperature.

The following photos were taken in my kitchen, after the fact. Here is the redneck roaster and the bowl of chaff.


Much of the chaff swirled out when I was carrying the bowl from the basement into the house, but you get the idea.


And here are side by side comparisons of the beans, pre and post roasting. The beans swell up quite a bit during the roast.


Once cooled I placed them into a glass jar and set the lid on, loosely, to gas off overnight.


I couldn’t wait to grind some beans for today’s morning coffee. I lovingly washed the coffee pot, then got out my brand new Krups grinder. The moment of truth. But how much to grind?


I started with 3 scoops (regular coffee scoop) of the beans for my usual 10 cups of coffee. This is the amount I normally use with commercially purchased pre-ground coffee.


Unfortunately this was not enough coffee. My first batch was weak. But definitely drinkable. I am going down to prepare a second pot and will hope to present the husband with a nice cup of coffee when he wakes up.

Update: Just brewed a fresh pot while feeding the chickens. Much better. Still needs to be roasted more, though. Next time.