Homebrew Journal #1
Posted in Beer, Homebrew Journal on March 13, 2012 by Matthew Rhodes
Welcome to the first Homebrew Journal!
In this feature, I will be tracking my progress throughout the world of homebrewing! Sometimes it can be intriguing, sometimes it can wacky, and other times, well, it can just be downright boring. This is why I bring to all of you a journal that discusses every aspect of the process. You’ll follow me through many different stages such as fermentation and bottling, and I’ll be educating you along the way. So, stay tuned and you’ll be rewarded with some fine facts and tips to help you brew your own! Without further explanation, let’s hop into it.
I am currently in the middle of fermenting my fourth overall brew. It’s a completely experimental fruit beer called “One fer the Missus…” and the recipe is wholly original. I found inspiration for it when watching my girlfriend choose a drink from the fridge. She rarely ever pulls out a beer; when she does, it’s usually something on the sweet side. So, I got to thinking, how would I be able to get her to drink more beer? The answer was very clear: craft my lady a very personal one.
The ingredients
She settled on a fruit punch ale and I got to work. I boiled two pounds of berries with over three ounces of hops during the hop boil. This, I felt, would create a tropical flavor balanced by tart sweetness, which is the idea behind fruit punch. But that wasn’t all I did. I took two pounds of peaches and two more pounds of berries, and threw them into their own pot. I poured gin all over the fruit to not only cleanse them of any bacteria, but to try and produce a very unique flavor. I took the fruit, gin mash and plopped it into the primary fermenter. I poured the newly brewed wort (beer before yeast is added) on top of the mixture and added an uncommon yeast. It was time to wait.
Fishing for berries
Fruit and gin mash
That was March 5th, 2012.
It has been one week since the mad science project and the beer, tonight, was transferred into the secondary fermenter. Usually at this point in the process, I am able to taste the beer and make a preliminary opinion on it. Tonight was no different.
After primary fermentation
Transferred into secondary
“One fer the Missus…” is quite an extraordinary ale and I’m not just saying that because I brewed it. The sweet fruit flavors are in no way overbearing like most beers in the same category. It is slightly bitter and the whole thing reminds me of pomegranate. The alcohol content is between four and five percent, making this one hell of a sessionable beer.
It still has three weeks to go, but if tonight was any indication, “One fer the Missus…” is going to make many interested beer fans out of many uninterested girlfriends.
I’m intrigued! I just started my second overall homebrew attempt – a coffee stout- that I’m hoping won’t be too hoppy or acidic but I also like a lighter fruitier beer once in a while. How did you get the idea for the berry mash/gin?
A coffee stout sounds great for a second brew! I actually made a peanut butter stout called Peanut Butter Paranoia for my second one. It turned out really great.
As for the idea, I let my girlfriend choose the fruit and because she chose berries and peaches, I felt that gin would not only add great flavor but also clean ‘em. I wasn’t looking to funkify the beer in anyway, so a good alcohol cleanse was needed. Many homebrewers use vodka, but I don’t really enjoy vodka all that much. Plus, my girlfriend loves gin. This beer is truly hers.
“One fer the Missus” Now that’s a smart approach! I hope that it turns out well.
Do you plan on creating more original brews? That to me is a least half of the fun of brewing. Creating your own beer within or without of style.
Cheers!
David Ivey
Black Bucket Brew Inbox Magazine Editor
this sounds so yummy!!!
I love the excited throw everything in method of the new homebrewer, but this looks like a strange concotion that will probably end up, well who knows. If you plan to “educate” as you say, then perhaps figure out what your doing first, and post a recipe and procedure that others could replicate. Not sure that I’ll be wanting to try this one though, good luck though, and remember good people make good beer
for his (or who ever is forced to drink the beer) sake I hope so, looks like it’ll be a stinking lactic mess, which is what you get when you leave mashed grains sitting around wet. Add in fruit, who knows the results?
Still 4th brew in perhaps that is business is usual, not sure I’d want to drink it.
Where was it ever said that the grains were or are sitting around wet? Maybe you should read the entire post instead of skimming paragraphs and glancing at photos. My grains were steeped before the boil, then removed after about an hour. The fruit was left to ferment with the yeast for about a week in the primary fermenter, then also removed when the beer was transferred into the secondary fermenter. Now it is just pure beer left alone to finish up its process. What you see in the primary bucket is the fermented berries and peaches, not grains. Let’s not be condescending now and take the journal for what it is. It’s not a recipe book. It’s not a how to guide. It’s a place for my thoughts on the brewing process and the beer that comes from it. So far, all of my experiments have been pretty damn good.
After looking at your blog, it would seem as if you went through a very similar process to mine. And you know what? You didn’t sanitize your peaches. From one homebrewer to another, I hope you don’t get an infection.
I read it but couldnt really make head nor tails of your process. I’ve brewed a few batches and have shared plenty of recipes and process tricks with other brewers. Your post ammused me, reminded me of stuff I did years ago, so dont let me discourage you but perhaps think about offering it as being educational.
As for sainitising the peaches where would the fun be in that? I’ll happily embrace any bugs that can out ferment the saison yeast