Brew Dudes Homebrewing Blog

Cider Tasting Video With Tips On How You Can Make Your Own

On May 7, 2014

Hard Cider (as we call it here in the States) is on of the fastest growing segments of the ‘craft’ alcoholic beverage marketplace. Not only that but its also become quite the regular fermentable for John each fall. Living in New England that can only lead to one thing… New England Hard Cider.

New England Hard Cider is pressed apple juice fortified with sugars (sometimes honey), then usually aged with raisins, spices and sometimes oak. John has been developing his technique for making hard cider over the past couple years. The results are showing tremendous progress. (As evaluated by this admittedly non-commercial cider drinker.) Here is the cider tasting video:

This most recent batch improves on prior year versions by sourcing locally pressed apple juice without preservatives. Using some locally sourced honey (did you know John’s become quite the Mead maker too???) and raisins-induced secondary fermentation, this 2013 batch is outstanding.

The cider starts with a very pleasant acidity but yields to a bright apple finish. In the aftertaste, there is a lingering tartness that is refreshing and makes you want to drink more.

The body is light and may be under the 1.010 gravity reading that was taken at bottling because some ale yeast was added to eat the added priming sugar but also the residual sugars the English Ale yeast didn’t get to.

As a fan of John’s work, I really felt like this cider was a winner. I gave it my highest cider award, which is to say that I wanted to drink a lot of it and then make some bad decisions. The next step is to get it into the hands of some cider experts to see if it is truly a good cider or not. If John can send it to be a part of a national cider competition, he might be able to get better feedback than he has received in the past.

If you were hoping to follow along at home, here are some of the other posts related to the making of this cider.

First, this is the post of the cider making day back in October.

Check out this post if you want to know how to ferment the cider using raisins.

Here was the bottling day with some initial thoughts on how it tasted.

Cider ON!

How Not To Start A Homebrew Club

By John Krochune

On May 5, 2014

In Homebrew Club

So we did kick off our homebrew club on Saturday to golf claps. A few of the people were able to make it out and we did watch Mike brew a saison. We ignored the #BigBrew suggested recipes and Mike just brewed something he wanted. We were living the homebrew spirit. No rules, right?

I had a few items on the agenda but we didn’t get to all of them. One of the items was naming the club. All the famous ones have great punny names. I just can’t be bothered. I would rather call it TBD* brew club than to name it anything witty.

I did give some tasks away to one of our new members to figure out. One of those things was to find a place where we could meet regularly. We could rotate homes for the short term, but we will probably need to find a place that can handle a large group as we grow. So he is already starting to think about a neutral site to hold meetings.

The second thing was to think about a website for the club which doesn’t need to be complex at all. At first, it just needs to be a few pages with information about the club and how to join. So, we will need a platform to build a site that has the ability to grow.

So, we got things moving and that’s one thing to be positive about if I am to be the positive guy. I think with clubs, you need to have the project manager keeping the thing rolling. To get the organization going, you need to have someone keeping the idea top of mind and pushing the members towards the goal.

You need that force in a group. People need to know what is expected of them and what their role is. It’s going to be slow going, I think, but I am a tenacious guy and we’ll see this through.

If you have tips on not only getting homebrew clubs off the ground, but any club or organization started, please let me know. Help is always appreciated.

Brew On.

National Homebrew Day 2014

By John Krochune

On May 2, 2014

In Homebrew Club

Tomorrow is National Homebrewing Day and we are finally taking part in it. We were trying to figure out why we hadn’t over all these years. There was a notion that we had a conflict, but upon reflection there was no real reason; just a lack of preparation and planning.

This year is different. There is a plan even though it is a loose one and was not executed as efficiently as it could have been. We will be hosting a Big Brew event and we registered the event on the site (uh, twice) here.

We are using this occasion to launch our homebrew club, which we talked about in an earlier post. There are a number of people who expressed interest in the club attending, which is a good thing. Not that having just two Brew Dudes hanging out on a Saturday is a bad thing, it’s just not much different from an ordinary weekend.

This is the Big Brew day, dontcha know?

So Mike will be brewing something tomorrow and we’ll start talking about the club using Parliamentary procedures to ensure proper discussion and discourse.

We’re going to get kicked off at 11AM EDT and we’ll do the toast at 1PM our time. We’re hoping to try out some good homebrew from other people who come out and hang with us.

If you don’t know already, we’re in Massachusetts in the USA. You can check out the details of the event (one event – even though it is there twice) on the AHA page and contact us if you have any questions.

Even if you don’t want to be a part of the club, it would be great to have you come over and enjoy the day. The weather is supposed to be nice and the homebrews will be nicer.

If you can’t make it, you can follow along on one or more of our social media outposts. You can see the full list on our Contact page.

Brew On!

Finishing the Kegorator

By Mike

On April 30, 2014

In Videos

Last week I showed the step by step process of putting faucets and a drip tray on an upright fridge. Taking it from a mere cold storage kitchen appliance to draft beer super hero. This week I decided to show how a few key internal changes and some organizational features make the whole thing real become a kegorator.

To me the biggest factor is increasing the accessibility to the top of the kegs. It can be a real challenge if the amount of space above the kegs is tight. To remedy that I like to pull out the stock fridge base shelf and put my own in there. That tends to buy you a couple more inches above the kegs. Making disconnecting the gas and draft connects much easier.

Second is mounting that gas manifold to the side wall. Be careful doing this. If you use screws that are too long you might puncture a coolant line hidden in the side wall.

Something I didn’t mention in the video is the use of some sort of dessicant in the base. A dessicant like ‘Damp Rid’ absorbs the humidity in the fridge. In a chest freezer set up this is a must as the bottom fill pool with moisture. Most fridges actually drain the water out the back. But the dessicant eases the work the fridge does a evaporating that humidity out the back.

In the end, there is nothing like a well tuned kegorator. Once set up right there really is every little intervention needed. So you can keep the door closed and keep the cold in.

BREW ON!

Mead Making For A Wedding

By John Krochune

On April 28, 2014

In Brew Log

Well, I was contracted by a guy I work with to make a whole bunch of mead for his wedding. He wants to give out bottle of the honey wine as favors for his guests.

This request is the first that I have received where I have been asked to make a fermentable for gifts. I have long thought of brewing up some strong beers to give out as presents for people I know. Now, I am making gifts for people I do not know, which is a start.

Maybe I will get around to making something for friends and family of my own.

I don’t really know this guy well, but he seems cool and we got to talking about beer and mead. Then, the next thing I know he is asking me if I would make something for his wedding.

SURE! Why not? That’s how these things go.

To make sure he knew what he was getting into and as proof that I could make something that wouldn’t make everyone go blind, I brought in a bottle of mead that I made last year. It was some of the honey wine that I aged on oak for a few months. After a year or so in the bottle, it really cleared out nicely. I remember it tasting very much like a Chardonnay.

Even though I wasn’t there to taste it, he did report back that he and his friends finished the whole bottle and they were very happy with it. I don’t know if that was the mead talking or what, but it was enough for me to get the plan in motion.

I started to price out the bulk honey I would need to buy. He found some bottles he wants to buy for the favors. Now, we need to find a place that does some nice labels. I know I have a few places that I have used in the past. I just need to refer him to those sites and see what he thinks.

The price limit is set at $500. I think we should be able to make 10 gallons of mead for less than that price, don’t you think?

As always, I don’t charge for my wares and I told him it would be a privilege to make something for his wedding. No fee required.