Brew Dudes

Fall is the perfect time to dive into cider making, and that’s exactly what we did for this batch. Mike took the lead, combining freshly pressed local apple juice with a generous dose of honey to create a hard cider that’s as intriguing as it is flavorful. The idea came together when he decided to add a little extra punch to a simple cider, and the result is sitting right here in our glasses. It’s crisp, a little floral, and carries the kind of tartness that reminds you of biting into a fresh apple. Let’s dive into how it all came together.

Honey Apple Cider Recipe

For this batch, we started with 4.5 gallons of fresh-pressed apple juice from a local orchard. While the exact blend of apples isn’t disclosed, the juice offered a robust starting gravity of 1.050. To fortify the cider and give it more body and complexity, Mike added 3 pounds of local honey. The honey addition bumped the starting gravity to 1.060. To ensure it dissolved completely into the fermenter, the honey was warmed gently. Letting the honey jar soak in hot water to make it easier to mix with the juice.

The cider was fermented with Nottingham yeast. This strain was chosen for its high performance and ability to highlight the fruity character of the apples. Mike added a bit of yeast nutrient to help kickstart a healthy fermentation. After a couple of week, the cider fermented down to 1.008, creating a dry, punchy cider. After fermenting for a few weeks and conditioning in the keg, the cider was ready to serve. While it’s still a bit cloudy, the flavor is undeniably bold and refreshing.

Thoughts On Our First Pours

This cider is a burst of apple flavor with a touch of floral complexity from the honey. It’s not overly sweet, as the honey’s sugars fermented out, but you still get a subtle essence of its floral and earthy notes. The finish is dry, with a nice tartness that lingers on the palate. While it’s not something we’d drink by the liter, it’s perfect for a single glass, maybe paired with a hearty dinner or even as a base for brining a Thanksgiving turkey.

Cider making is a quick, satisfying way to shake things up from brewing beer, and it’s as simple as juice, yeast, and a little creativity. If you’re curious, give it a try—it’s a fun experiment that might just surprise you.

Brew ON!

Mike went back to another style that he brewed in the recent past – the American Light Lager. Inspired by the recipes he formulated last year, Mike brewed an all-malt light lager that’s as straightforward as it is satisfying. As he poured this golden beauty from the keg, we could see it was another great edition of the style he created, the American Homebrew Lager. Keeping the all malt grain bill – no adjuncts here – he crafted refreshing and pure drinking experience we couldn’t wait to dig into.

The Recipe: Ingredients and Process

To get that crisp, light experience, you have to choose the right ingredients and follow procedures. Here’s what Mike put together.

For 3.5 gallon batch

Grains:

62.5% Weyermann Pilsner Malt
33% Vienna Malt (from Weyermann)
4% Carapils (for foam and head retention)

Water Additions:

2 ml Lactic Acid (to balance pH)
2 grams Gypsum
1 gram Calcium Chloride

Hops:

1 oz Willamette (60 minutes) – 5.8% Alpha Acid
1.5 oz Sterling (flameout) – 7.8% Alpha Acid

Yeast:

SafLager W-34/70 German Lager Dry Yeast

Mash Schedule:

40 minutes at 152°F
20 minutes at 156°F
10 minutes at 168°F

Fermentation:

Primary: 55°F for approximately 2 weeks
Lagering: Brief exposure to slightly warmer temperatures, then cold storage

Outcomes:

Starting Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.012
ABV: 4.75%

Final Thoughts On This All Malt Light Lager

Tasting this beer, we are impressed with how well it strikes a balance. It’s light and crisp with just the right body to keep it from feeling too thin—truly, a beer that’s crafted for quality and drinkability. The bitterness is subtle, allowing the delicate maltiness from the Pilsner and Vienna to shine through without distraction. Sterling hops bring in a noble character that adds just a hint of complexity without overpowering. Compared to a macro lager, this has far more depth, yet it retains that smooth, clean finish we all appreciate in a lager. It is another great addition to the homebrew lager series.

BREW ON!

Well, it’s become an annual thing. It is the return of Miketoberfest! With a few improvements and some adjustments, Mike aimed for that honey-colored, easy-drinking festbier that’s perfect for fall. It’s brewed as a traditional yet slightly tweaked Märzen-style brew that would be as satisfying as a giant soft pretzel—zippy hop notes with that unmistakable bready malt flavor. So, let’s dive into the details of this brew and what makes it just right for kicking back in the crisp autumn air.

The Miketoberfest 2 Recipe

This recipe yields a honey-colored, malty lager with balanced bitterness and spicy hop notes, inspired by classic Märzen but with some tweaks.

Batch Size: 3.5 gallons

Grains

• 46% Weyermann Pilsner Malt
• 46% Vienna Malt
• 8% Caramunich I (approx. 35 Lovibond for color and bready flavor)
• 1 ounce Midnight Wheat (for color adjustment)

Water Adjustments

• Lactic Acid (for pH adjustment)
• Gypsum: 2 grams
• Magnesium Sulfate: 1 gram
• Calcium Chloride: 1.5 grams

Hops

• Sterling: 0.5 ounces at 60 minutes (7.8% alpha acid)
• Hallertau Mittelfrüh: 1 ounce at 15 minutes (2.8% alpha acid)
• Hallertau Mittelfrüh: 1 ounce at 5 minutes (2.8% alpha acid)

Yeast

• Wyeast 2308 Munich Lager

Mash Schedule

Outcomes

Original Gravity (OG): 1.055
Final Gravity (FG): 1.015
ABV: 5.25%

Celebrate The Season!

This beer came together beautifully! The color is spot-on—a warm, honey-like amber that catches the light, and the aroma hits you with spicy hop notes that keep you wanting more. The Vienna malt gives it a smooth middle, while the Caramunich adds body without overpowering. I might even try extending the lagering time next time, just for fun. Mike and I agreed this would be perfect in a stein with a big plate of sausages, and maybe next year, we’ll set a batch aside for months of true Oktoberfest-style aging. For now, we’re thrilled with this Miketoberfest and can’t wait to keep raising our steins all season long. Cheers to good brews and better company!

BREW ON!

You know, I like harvesting hops straight from my backyard and brewing up something special with them. Every year, I take what I grow and make a unique Harvest Ale to capture the season in a glass and 2024 is no exception. This time, I’m using my Chinook hops for a batch that’s a bit of an experiment. We’re have a small one-gallon pilot batch to see if these hops are good enough for a full five-gallon brew. In this video, we’re tasting the this year’s crop to see if they make the cut!

2024 Harvest Ale Recipe (Pilot Batch)

I gave it a go for a one gallon batch and will scale up (5x) for a brew session later.

Water

Spring Water with 2 grams of Gypsum

Grains

Weyermann Floor Malted Bohemian Pilsner Malt – 91% of the grain bill
Bestmalz BEST Red X Malt – 4.5% of the grain bill
Briess Carapils Malt – 4.5% of the grain bill

Hops

1 ounce of homegrown Chinook hops – 60 minutes in the boil
2 ounces of homegrown Chinook hops – Whirlpool for 10 minutes at 180°F (82°C)

Yeast

1 packet of LalBrew Verdant IPA Yeast

Mashed at 150°F (66°C) for an hour. Boiled for an hour

Fermented at 65°F (18°C) for 10 days

Cold crashed for 2 days and then transferred to serving vessel

Original Gravity: 1.050
Final Gravity: 1.012
ABV: 5%

Tasting Notes and Final Decision

This Harvest Ale looks great, with a deep golden color reminiscent of Sierra Nevada’s classic beers, and the aromas hit with that classic “C-hop” character we like to have in American ales. There’s a bright citrus note, somewhere between red grapefruit and candied orange, which is really inviting. Taste-wise, the Chinook brings a bit more bitterness than we expected – a clean, slightly pithy bitterness with earthy, spicy undertones. The malt provides a nice background without stealing the show, though there could be a dialing back of the Red X malt for the full batch. This one’s definitely got that throwback vibe, like an early-2000s American ale, which makes it perfect for sipping around a turkey fryer this Thanksgiving.

So, did this year’s crop make the cut. We say yes! The hop character from this crop of Chinook is surprisingly clean and vibrant. There will be a full batch to share around the holiday table. This would be a solid Thanksgiving beer, cutting through those rich holiday flavors without overpowering.

If you have the chance to grow your own hops, do it. I like having this option for an annual brew.

Cheers and BREW ON!