"Hive Five" Honey Amber Ale

My label (made with Labeley)

I decided that I wanted to try my hand at an amber ale, and I found this recipe for a honey amber. There is a local bee apiary that sells carrot honey, which is very floral and mellow. I thought it might be good in an amber, so I decided to go for it. This is our *last* extract beer; we will be going all-grain, starting with a clone recipe of AVB's Summer Solstice Cream Ale. This beer turned out VERY well. To be honest, I wasn't very pleased with it at first, as the floral honey flavor threw me off a bit. However, after a few drinks, I began to really enjoy it. This beer somewhat resembles a mead, however it has a nicely sized grain bill and malt flavor that really compliments the honey's sweetness. This beer is definitely one to try if you enjoy amber ales. Anyways, here is the recipe and  for this beer:

Hive Five Honey Amber
Style: American Amber Ale      
Type: Partial Mash

OG: 1.063

FG: 1.016  
ABV: 6.16 %  
IBU's: 28.86    

Batch Size: 5.00 Gal  
Boil Time: 60 minutes   

Fermentation Steps
Primary: 7 days @ 68.0°F
Secondary: 28 days @ 68.0°F
Bottle/Keg: 31 days @ 68.0°F

Grains & Adjuncts
6.50 lbs Amber Liquid Extract

1.00 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 30L

2.00 lbs Honey

Hops
1.50 oz Hallertauer - 60 mins 

0.50 oz Hallertauer - 15 mins

Yeasts
Wyeast Labs 1056 - American Ale   

Carbonation
5/8 cup honey

Notes
Steep grains at 160 F for 30 minutes. 

Boil half of extract for 60 minutes, add the other half with 15 minutes left on the boil.

Add the honey with 15 minutes left on the boil.

*Age this beer for at least one month, after carbonation, before drinking.

Chili Mango (or just mango) Soda Recipe!

I recently started brewing my own sodas, which has been very easy and a whole lot of fun! No soda stream or force carbonating system is required, just yeast :) I've been trying to formulate recipes that would compliment different spirits (e.g., bourbon, vodka, gin, and tequila). My most recent, and personal favorite, is a chili mango soda! Its presents with a delicious mango-packed flavor and body, and a nice, but slight, tartness on the back end. Once the tartness begins to fade, you get subtle spicy notes that grow with each sip; it's simply delicious. You can also simply omit the red chili flakes and just make some yummy mango soda. I've found that this soda pairs really well with vodka, bourbon and tequila. For a fantastic combo with a kick, try mixing it with some jalapeno and lime infused tequila! Here is the recipe and the process for making this soda:

*this recipe is for 2 litres of soda

Ingredients:

• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)
• ¾ cup of sugar
• ¼ teaspoon Champaign yeast
• ½ to 1 mango (very ripe), pureed
• One empty 2-litre soda bottle (you can also use three 20 oz. soda bottles, but make sure to scale the sugar back a tad)

Process:

1. Boil 1 ½ cups of water and then add sugar. Boil for 15 minutes then cool to ~100* F.
2. As the sugar water is cooling, slice and puree the mango. If necessary, add a little water to thin out the puree. Add the mango puree to the bottle(s).
3. Once the sugar water has cooled to around 100*F, decant it into large glass jug or bottle, and the add lemon juice and chili flakes. Aerate the mixture well by shaking it vigorously. Add yeast and then aerate again. 
4. Once the yeast is dissolved, let the mixture cool to room temperature, and then add to bottle(s). 
5. Store for 24-48 hours at room temperature. You will know the soda is ready when the bottle is very hard. Do not allow the soda to sit at room temperature for more than 48 hours, or they could explode! Once the soda bottles are hard, refrigerate them immediately.
6. As soon as the soda is nice and cold (~45*F), its ready to enjoy (and delicious to boot)!

Jalapeño Lime Tequila Infusion

Mmmm, spicy and delicious.

So, my friend asked me to make her a jalapeño tequila infusion for her birthday, so I decided to give it a try! I guessed at a recipe, and this is what I came up with! Because lime pairs so well with tequila, I added a bit of lime zest to the mix. This recipe came out so good that I had to make some for myself! For this recipe, you will need the following:

1. 750 ml of silver tequila
2. 1-3 jalapeños (depending on how spicy you like it)
3. The zest of 1 lime

First, cut the jalapeños lengthwise and remove all of the seeds and most of the white membrane. Throw them into a large jar or bottle that has a wide mouth (it makes it much easier to get all of the peppers out at the end). Lastly, add the lime zest and the tequila. Let the mixture sit for about two days, shaking it up once a day. After the two days have passed, taste the infusion. If you want it hotter, let it sit longer. If its just how you like it, decant the liquid into the original tequila bottle, straining out the jalapenos and lime zest. This stuff is delicious by itself and hands-down fantastic in a margarita or with pineapple juice.

This liquor infusion pairs very well with home-made chili mango soda!

SUPER-YUMMY SUMMER DRINK IDEA: "Oregon Sunrise" (I dunno, I had to think of some sort of name...)

Its an entire day's worth
of fruit! ...Plus liquor :)

1. Place some pieces of pineapple, mango, and peach in a food processor or blender
2. Add a squeeze of lemon juice
3. Add 2-3 oz of your delicious jalapeño lime tequila
4. Add 1 oz of Mexican brandy (Presidente is good and cheap)
5. Puree it! Add ice, water, juice, or simple syrup until it's at your desired consistency.
6. Drink and be happy :)

"Old Vasily" Russian Imperial Stout

I decided to make my first stout a clone of North Coast Brew Co.'s "Old Rasputin," with a few slight adjustments to the recipe and a big adjustment to the name! I decided to name it after my friend Vasily, aka Brian Scotland, and it produced all of the high-gravity, hoppy, and coffee characteristics that I was hoping for! I didn't add quite enough priming sugar, so I've upped the amount in the recipe below. This is a beer that really benefits from aging, as well. Here's the label and the recipe:

Old Vasily Imperial Stout
Style: Imperial Stout
Type: Partial Mash
OG: 1.090
FG: 1.021
ABV: 9.04 %
IBU's: 80.08
Batch Size: 5.00 Gal

Primary: 14 days @ 68.0°F
Secondary: 14 days @ 68.0°F

Bottle/Keg
38 days @ 75.0°F

Grains & Adjuncts
11.00 lbs Pale Liquid Extract
1.00 lbs Crisp Crystal Extra Dark 120L
1.00 lbs Carastan Malt - 30L
0.50 lbs Chocolate Malt
0.50 lbs Brown Malt
4.00 ozs Black Barley (Stout)

Hops
3.00 ozs Centennial - 60 mins
1.00 ozs Centennial - 5 mins
1.00 ozs Northern Brewer - 5 mins

Yeasts
White Labs 0001 - California Ale

Carbonation
4.62 oz Corn Sugar

Notes
Steep specialty grains in 160-165 degree (F) water for 30 minutes. Rinse with 170 degree (F) water.

How to effectively remove bottle labels

When I first started brewing, I was buying cases of empty 22 oz bottles to bottle my beer in. Being that they cost around $1 a piece to buy new ones, I was determined to save money and have my friends donate their empty bottles to me to use. The first obstacle I was faced with was how to remove the labels without a lot of hard work. Everywhere I looked has some method that sort of worked, but often involved a lot of scrubbing and waiting, or the use of hash chemicals. I knew there was a better way, so I set out to figure out how to do it.

The way that I've figured out involves soaking the bottles in a hot bath (~180-190 degrees F) of water with a mixture of baking soda, PBW (or bleach-free oxyclean), and borax. All of these cleaners are readily available and quite inexpensive. Using this method, I've found that about 75% of all beer labels literally fall off the bottle, and the rest are easy to peel off with tongs. As far as wine labels are concerned, about 50% of the labels fall off and the other half require a little scrubbing and scraping (It must have something to do with the adhesive type they use on some wine bottles, but I'm not quite sure).

Below, I will detail this process with photos and information. Please feel free to post any questions you may have. For this process you will need the following:

• A large cooler with a lid (50+ quarts is best, especially if its wide and shallow)
• PBW, bleach-free oxyclean, or an equivalent product (about 1 tablespoon for every 4 quarts of cooler size)
• Baking Soda (about 2 tablespoons for every 4 quarts of cooler size) 
• Borax (about 1/4 cup for every 4 quarts of cooler size) 
• Tongs 
• Strainer 
• Lots of very hot water, ~180-190 degrees F 
• A sponge with an abrasive side 
• A separate pot or bucket of warm water for rinsing adhesive off
• A bottle tree (this is not a necessity, but it sure makes things a LOT easier)

Alright, let's get to it:

First, heat your water. You will need enough water to nearly fill your cooler, so measure appropriately. 

High-pressure burners make this a breeze!

Next, add your measured PBW, baking soda, and borax into the cooler. Stir the solution until all of the particulates are dissolved.

It's a cleaning trifecta!

Fill the cooler about 3/4 full, add your bottles, and arrange the bottles in the cooler. I've found that its easiest to use long BBQ tongs to submerge the bottles so they fill completely. Repeat until you've cannot fill any more bottles, and then add the rest of the hot water. Then, continue to fill and place the bottles in the cooler until you cannot completely submerge any more bottles.

Close the lid, sit back and have a few beers! It takes about an hour to an hour and a half for the labels to loosen.

You'll know the labels have loosened because they will easily come off of the bottles with tongs. Some labels literally fall right off the bottles!

Peel the label off with tongs

Once you remove the label, scrub the bottle in the wash water!

Nice and clean!

Put your bottles on your bottle tree, or place them on a towel to dry.

These guys sure are handy!

Use a strainer to skim out the gross parts!

Yeah, get it!

Once you're done, you can refill the cooler with more bottles and repeat the process. Once you've finished, its time to wash em! I take them to the bath tub and fill it partway with hot water and PBW.

Time for bath #2...

Soak them in the bath for a few minutes, scrub them with a sponge, and then shake 'em a bit. This is just to make sure that you get out all of the residual paper and adhesive bits off of your bottles.

Once you've got them all on the rack, you can technically just let them dry and call it quits. However, I find that PBW leaves a residual film on the bottles, and I prefer the look of a clean and shiny bottle! So, I like to rinse them after they've dried a little bit from the PBW bath. 

Put them on the rack to dry, and you're done! Sweet :)

"Georgia Peach" American Wheat

I just started a new batch of beer; it's my first-ever personal recipe creation (albeit a simple one)! I call it, "Georgia Peach American Wheat." See below for my beer label and accompanying recipe. This beer is a very simple American-style wheat beer with peach flavoring added during bottling. I'm using Delta hops for this beer, a fairly new hop variety, which imparts nice floral and citrus notes while keeping the acidity and bitterness fairly low. This beer turned out so well, I am going to make it a regular summer brew! The peach flavor is very mellow and blends perfectly with the mild tartness of the wheat malt and yeast. Now that I have an all-grain system, I sincerely look forward to brewing an all-grain version! As evidenced by the picture below, the beer has a beautiful color, and it's nice and cloudy (like a wheat beer should be)!

Here's the label I created for this beer, using Labeley:



Georgia Peach American Wheat
Style: American Wheat or Rye Beer
Type: Extract
OG: 1.046
FG: 1.012
ABV: 4.52 %
IBU's: 29.49
Batch Size: 5.00 Gal
Boil Time: 60 minutes

Fermentation Steps
Primary: 14 days @ 66.0°F
Bottle/Keg: 14 days @ 74.0°F

Grains & Adjuncts
7.00 lbs Wheat Liquid Extract

Hops
1.00 oz Delta - 60 mins
1.00 oz Delta - 20 mins

Yeasts
Wyeast Labs 1010 - American Wheat Ale

Additions
4.00 oz Peach Extract @ bottling

Carbonation
4.59 oz  Corn Sugar

Notes
Add 1/2 of LME at beginning of boil and the rest at knockout. Add priming sugar and peach extract upon bottling.

15-gallon mash/lauter tun cooler system with HLT

Today, I received my new all-grain mash/lauter tun system from the guys at homebrewstuff.com. It is a 15 gallon system, so it is possible to do very high gravity brews, such as barley wines. The awesome thing is that the price these guys charge (including shipping and handling) only costs about $10 more than if I were to buy everything and build it myself! The mash tun has a sparge ring built into the lid that is fed by the HLT(see pic below), so performing a continuous sparge is super easy! I've still got ingredients for one more extract brew, but once that's all done with, I'll be able to start using this system!

The tube on the left feeds into the
wort pot.

Side profile of the system.
The HLT feeds the mash tun and
the flow is easily regulated through
a valve system

Inside the mash tun

Welcome! And the purpose of this site is...

Hello! It is my intention to have a blog where adventures in home-brewing are shared, collaborative recipes can be created, and technical brewing information can be found. I plan on documenting some of my future brews and the process in which they are made. Please feel free to contribute!

Thanks,
Brian