This morning, I bottled the 2011 edition of hard cider.  Let me get you up to speed on what has been happening since the last update.

I tried to get the cider to clear a little faster.  I put the carboy in the fridge to chill it down and maybe get the proteins and yeast to settle out quicker.  It got less hazy but it wasn’t clear after a week.

Then I got the bright idea to add some flavorless gelatin to the cider to kick the clearing into high gear.  It got less hazy but it wasn’t clear with a week to go ’til Thanksgiving.

So I said to myself, “Brew On.”, which in this case is synonymous for “Screw it.” and bottled up the cider.

I tasted it the night before and it was dry and tart.  It was ok to me, but my target audience won’t like it so I back-sweetened it.  Yeah, I know.  I didn’t want to do that but it seemed to be the only way to get the flavor I wanted.

So I added a can of condensed apple juice and added it to the bottling bucket.  Then I had 2 cups of table sugar that was boiled in 2 cups of water (cooled) and added that mixture until the sweetness was where I thought it should be.

I took a hydrometer reading and it read 1.010.

Now it’s carbonation time.  I know I have the possibility of bottle bombs on my hands but I have a fail safe device.

That, my dear readers, is hard cider in a plastic water bottle.  It might look like a urine sample, but let me assure you…that is hard cider in a water bottle.

When that water bottle swells up, I know it will be time to pasteurize my bottle so they don’t blow up.

Hopefully someone will drink this stuff next week.  I hate rushing things.

Last night, my wife and I were drinking some fine Brown Ale from a previous brew session.  The beer was from an experimental batch where I split the batch between two different yeasts, as you can see in the previous brewlog post. I discovered I had a beer contamination in the keg even at cold temps.

We were drinking off the WLP001 American Ale yeast keg.  The beer had aged into something fairly pleasant as it sat in the kegorator for several months.  Admittedly, the beer sat that long because I didn’t really like how either yeast had come out. I poured two pints before dinner.  As dinner was about to hit the table (hand-made Parkerhouse Rolls with Mushroom and Lentil stew) I went to the garage to pour another quick pint…. All foam!

The keg was kicked on those last two pints.  I guess that beer was better than I thought as we had worked through it over the summer.

So I hooked up the second keg from the WLP002 English Ale yeast.   I could tell something was different right off the bat with the head.  There was a lack of creaminess to it, it was more of a consistent foam.  I tasted it and there was a clear clove-phenol taste and aroma in it.  I noticed that flavor in it about a month ago and didn’t think much of it.  Back in May, that flavor wasn’t there but it slowly grew and grew as I have sampled the keg over the summer.

Interestingly, the keg has been cold since it went into the fridge in April so what ever contaminant I picked up in the keg is still active even at cold temps.  I did bottle a couple from that keg and sent it to a competition last month.  I am still waiting for the score sheets.  I would not be surprised to find out if that beer was over carbed and really phenol-ly once it warmed up to room temp and sat waiting a week or so before judging.  I hope when they opened it, it didn’t make a mess!

The WLP001 keg has no hint of that beer contamination in the keg.  When coming out of the brew kettle post chill, I filled a single carboy up with the wort.  THEN I split it in half into another carboy.  And seeing how the flavor wasn’t present post ferment, I must have picked up the contamination in the keg I racked into post ferment.  Live and learn, I guess it’s just a reminder to not slack on sanitation.  Even when you are careful, you never know.

Anyhow, I had to eat my rolls and stew with Oktoberfest.  I know it’s a tough life but as a brew dude I make sacrifices for you – the reader.

BREW ON!

Mike and I have started talking about our brewing plans for the upcoming year.   One of these plans is to become masters of lagers.

We will complete our apprenticeship by:

1. Brewing at least 6 lagers during the year.
2. Choosing one lager yeast strain and using it for all the lagers.   After starting the first brew with a mighty starter, the following lager worts will be racked on top of the yeast cake that is left over from the preceding lager.
3. Get a better handle on our water chemistry.

I had planned to brew a batch of Oatmeal Stout two weeks ago. I crushed my grain and I made my starter (WLP005). I started a new job the first week, then the second week we had an early winter storm that knocked out power for a few days. The recovery effort and getting back on track with my new job has delayed brewing a little bit. So now I am thinking about Reviving a Yeast Starter!

On the one hand I put the 2L starter in the fridge when it was done. I let it go 3 days on the stir plate with the intention of chilling to settle the yeast, then pitch the slurry on brew day. But now its been 14+ days. I could probably still just pitch it and call it fairly fresh. However, I am really looking to nail my fermentation for this batch of O.Stout.

I think I might decant the spent wort, then resuspend the yeast in a one gallon growler with some fresh 1.040 starter wort. I’ll let it ferment out, crash chill, decant and pitch. That will increase the cell count a bit, but I am thinking it will put some fresh life back into the yeast.

Any thoughts or experience from our dedicated readers?

BREW ON!

Happy Learn To Homebrew Day today as it is on every first Saturday of November.

I am usually not a fan of made up holidays but I don’t have to buy flowers or gifts for today so it’s a-ok in my book.

Plus, this is a day to support homebrewing as a hobby and culture. I can’t be against something that is intended to inform the uninitiated.

Through the years, these Brew Dudes have taught a few friends how to homebrew. Well, maybe not teach them. Many of them haven’t brewed their own yet but we’re glad they tagged along on brew day.

Also, we hope this site has helped out a homebrewer or two. We do put time into the thing and write posts that are informative, honest, and easy to understand.

Thanks for reading. I raise my pint glass to you.

If you have been following this blog since the summer…and really…who hasn’t been?…you may know that these Brew Dudes have been locked in a vicious Oktoberfest duel.

It’s been tearing the blogging/homebrewing team apart. What started out as a friendly competition turned downright nasty. I haven’t spoken to Mike since Tuesday. It’s been that bad.

Anyway, here’s a recap of the Oktoberfest Duel posts:

Oktoberfest Ingredients

Oktoberfest Brewing Duel

Oktoberfest Fermentation

Oktoberfest Fermentation Temperatures

Oktoberfest Specific Gravity Reading

Oktoberfest Yeast Choices

Racking Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest Bottling Day

Gee, ya think we wrote enough stuff about it? Anyway, the NERHBC results were published earlier this week and one of us got a medal for their Oktoberfest. I won’t say who but it does bring the duel to a close.

Yeah! Another New Zealand hops to profile.  This time around, it’s Riwaka hops.

Developed in the HortResearch Hop Research Centre in the small town of Riwaka, they were bred from Saaz hops and NZ varieties.

I have a development year of 1997. I am unsure of when they became available commercially.

Origin: New Zealand

Aroma: Grapefruit. From description, it appears to be have west coast USA hop aroma properties

Alpha Acid: 4.5% to 6.5%

Typical Usage:  Aroma, but imparts bittering qualities like Saaz does when used early in the boil.

Beer Styles: Bohemian pilsner anyone? Could supplement other American hop late additions in an APA.