Category: Equipment

The Experimental IPA

One can see where the foam was at the top of the mug before settling down into a manageable head.

Bryce has wanted an IPA for a long time and we have tried on multiple occasions. On these other occasions we have failed and created pale ales that were not of the India stature. This last time we tried, though, we knocked it out of the park. Well, not really. It’s really bitter though. Leo… Continue reading The Experimental IPA

A Complete Kegerator

The completed kegerator, or keezer, with a table cloth.

After many, many hours of work between the three of us, much hand-wringing over which items to buy and many, many trips to the store to figure out the correct-sized chest freezer, the kegerator, or keezer, is complete. We’re running a four-tap system which means we have four Cornelius kegs jammed into the inside of… Continue reading A Complete Kegerator

Wort Chiller

The chiller once it's been wrapped around the Rossi jug. Next up: attaching the tubing.

After our near-debacle with the pumpkin beer, we decided that a change was in order. And that change was a wort chiller: no more messing with huge quantities of pre-prepared water, of waiting for things to cool, of putting the glass carboy into a giant tub of water while it’s freezing outside. Eric decided we… Continue reading Wort Chiller

AW #3C — Bottled

AW #3C had a dark hue, which doesn't come through here.

AW #3C was a first for us. We’d read that brown sugar gives a “cidery” taste to alcohol, so, we figured that we’d increase the sugar content of a cider, a 1 gallon batch, exclusively with brown sugar. AC #3C and AW #3 were taken out and taste tested at the exact same time and… Continue reading AW #3C — Bottled

Apfelwein #1 (1/5): Bottled — Raspberry Liqueur Primer

Our very first cider, according to Ed Wort’s Apfelwein recipe, took awhile. And when we (Bryce, Leo and myself) found ourselves lacking an airlock (the bobber on the one we were supposed to use was missing) it was decided to steal one from one of the four Carlo Rossi carboys downstairs. Besides, we figured, the… Continue reading Apfelwein #1 (1/5): Bottled — Raspberry Liqueur Primer

Stout #1

After having succesefly brewed our first beer, a “basic dark” and both wanting to move on to a greater challenge and something with a more complex flavor, we decided to brew a stout. And brew a stout we did! “If we’re bottling when the sun’s setting, meaning its beaming directly at the beer, isn’t that… Continue reading Stout #1

Organizing bottles

As I continue to seek work and search for things to do, I come to realize that a well-organized bottling system would be a nice addition to our brewing set-up.   With that end in mind, I organized all of the bottles based on type. But, allow me to back up a few steps. The… Continue reading Organizing bottles