Brew Dudes Homebrewing Blog

Making Hard Seltzer At Home: Process & Ingredients

On August 11, 2021

Yeah, I do say “Know Thy Enemy” at the beginning of this video. Hard seltzer has become very popular and if the data can be believed, it has cut into craft beer sales. As a homebrewer, it interests me to see if I can make hard seltzer at home and see how it stacks up to commercial versions. With a little help from our friends at OliveNation, I believe my attempt at knowing this rival beverage will be successful.

“Brewing” a Hard Seltzer

Hard Seltzer Recipe Ingredients

So, the ingredient list for hard seltzer is very simple. There is no malt to worry about or hops to fuss over. For the kit I got, it’s just corn sugar. The ratio for the recipe is 10 ounces (283 grams) per gallon (3.79 L). Once I had that bit of information, I scaled this recipe up to a 3 gallon (11.4 L) batch.

The yeast that was included in the recipe kit was good ol’ EC-1118, a champagne yeast strain.

The other ingredients in the kit were included to help the fermentation. There were packets of yeast energizer and yeast nutrients – items I had on hand as well – so I felt confident with the increase in batch size. There wasn’t a specification for the type of water to use but I used spring water to be safe.

Hard Seltzer Recipe Instructions

The instructions were easy too.
Heat up the water.
Add the sugar.
Mix well.
Boil for 10 minutes.
Chill to fermentation temperature
Pitch yeast
Add yeast nutrient/energizer at 24, 48, and 72 hours into fermentation

The flavoring for this beverage won’t be added until after fermentation so I may need to experiment with the Olive Nation extracts beforehand with sparkling water at a small scale to get my proportions right.

What’s Next?

Well, the “brew” was easy enough. Hopefully, flavoring and packaging will be just as easy. I would equate this experience to be like making cider at home since there is a flavoring step before packaging (back sweetening)

We’ll have a tasting in a few weeks – Check out the hard seltzer tasting video!

BREW ON!

Do Glasses Change Your Perception of Beer?

By John Krochune

On August 4, 2021

In Experiments, Videos

There are so many different beer glasses for different styles or even different brands, but do they make a difference? Do they have an effect on beer aroma and flavor? As a follow up to our discussion of beer glasses from a few weeks ago, we put it to the test. We pour beer into two different glasses and see if a glass changes our perception of that beer. Watch this video to see what we did and what we thought:

Do Pilsners taste better in a Pilsner glass?

Beer Glass Experiment #1 – Pilsner

For our first test, we poured a local craft lager into two glasses. Nightshift’s Nite Lite Craft Light Lager is a take on an American Pilsner so it made sense to compare the experience of drinking it in a regular pint glass vs. a pilsner-style glass.

The experiences were similar. I think the pilsner glass presents the beer in a more attractive fashion. That visual perception may enhance the beer’s flavor as we taste with our eyes first. Other than that, I could not tell too much difference between my perception of aroma and flavor between the two glasses.

Beer Glass Experiment #2 – NEIPA

For the second test, we wanted to see if the shape of a glass would affect the experience of a hop forward beer. So we poured a well known NEIPA from Vermont. No, not that one. Mike got Lawson’s Sip of Sunshine instead.

This beer’s aroma was quite detectable from six inches away from my nose in the tulip glass. In the regular pint glass, it wasn’t as present. You had to push your nose into the glass to get the same aroma strength. It was amazing to experience the difference. That tulip glass made a difference.

Doing Stuff So You Don’t Have To

Hope you enjoyed the outcomes of these experiments. It is nice to get some confirmation about the use of these beer glasses.

BREW ON!

Does Bad Beer Improve With Time?

By John Krochune

On July 28, 2021

In Brew Log, Experiments, Videos

Sometimes bad beer improves over time. We put this notion to the test with a couple of beers that we were not happy with the first time we tasted them. Did the hours and days help to improve these not-so-pleasant libations? Watch this video to find out!

Bad Beer Revisited

Take Two For Two Bad Beers

The first beer was dirty beer line pilsner. There was a thought that maybe with some further cold conditioning, the hefeweizen-like flavors would fall out and this beer would be more drinkable.

I think it was wishful thinking. The beer was still funky and worthy for the sink drain. We tried. Time was not on our side.

The second beer was my raw ale. I didn’t have any delusions about this one. My perspective was to understand what time would do to the beer, not necessarily hoping that basement temperatures would improve it.

You can see it oxidized some and the flavor was still pretty bad. I learned a lot from the comments posted on the original raw ale video that will guide me if I decide to brew this beer type again.

Time Can Be On Your Side

Just because we didn’t have good luck with these two beers getting better with some conditioning time doesn’t mean you won’t. We have had plenty of good luck with more time on the beers. So, don’t give up – but dump it if necessary.

Brew ON!

Zappa Hops SMaSH Beer Tasting

By John Krochune

On July 21, 2021

In Hops, Videos

In our never ending quest to learn more about hop varieties, John picked up half a pound of Zappa hops. For this evaluation, he used one ounce of hops and brewed a 1 US gallon batch. After the beer was ready, these Brew Dudes had a taste and discussed in this video. Learn more about what we thought in this Zappa hops SMaSH beer tasting video!

Brew Dudes Zappa Hops Beer Tasting Video

Zappa SMaSH Brewing Notes

As always, the SMaSHes that we brew for hops understanding are 1 gallon batches. As the definition of a SMaSH beer goes, we only use one malt and one hop variety.

For that small of a batch, we use 2 pounds of malt. It’s mashed for an hour at 150 degrees Fahrenheit or 66 degrees Celsius. Then, we boil for a hour.

The hops are added at 15 minutes to go in the boil, then at flameout, then a dry hopping addition.

We ferment for 10 days at 68 degrees Fahrenheit or 20 degrees Celsius with US-05 yeast. Using about a third of the packet works well for us.

I have mini kegs so I package the beer in one of them. Usually, I am rushing to force carbonate for a video session.

Our Beer Tasting Notes

You can check out the details that I read from when I was on the video here. The descriptor boast a lot of fruity notes, like breakfast cereal aroma and flavors. The pellets didn’t smell like fruity anything.

When I first sniffed the bag, it had a strong petroleum aroma – motor oil to be exact. The aroma carried through to the aroma of the beer.

I didn’t find the aroma to be too strong. It was fairly light and it took a while to reveal itself. Again, more earthy than fruity.

The flavor had some fruitiness but the majority of the notes were in that herbal, earthy range.

Honestly, this variety was a bit of a letdown. The use of the Zappa name made me imagine the aroma and flavor profile of this hop would be wild and fun. They are weird and so was Frank, but I regret to report that it is kind of a bad weird.

Let us know your thoughts on these hops. We hope you had a better experience.

BREW ON!

Beer Glasses Discussion – Not A Comprehensive Review

By John Krochune

On July 14, 2021

In Equipment, Videos

A viewer asked us to talk about beer glasses so we did. Beer glassware has a long history and in certain parts of the world, it’s an artform or, at least, a branding tool for a brewery. These Brew Dudes collected all of our beer glasses and put together a non-comprehensive review, since we don’t have every single beer glass style in existence. We do have many though and this video should give you a good idea about the style types and why they are the way they are.

A Beer Glass For Every Beer Style

First, we should get one thing out of the way. There’s a debate that beer glasses do not make a big difference in the experience in tasting a beer. Mike, being the scientist, believes that the shape of the glass absolutely makes a difference. Physics plays a part in how the beer is expressed in the glass and it will change the way you perceive it.

Me? Being the non-scientist, different beer glassware has been around for centuries. If the notion that different beer glasses make no difference in the presentation of beers is true, then we have all been duped for a long time. I find that hard to believe.

Beer Glasses Notes (Not In Video)

Rather than repeat what’s in the video, here’s some thoughts I had. You should totally watch the video, though. It has great information.

If you’re looking to build a beer glass collection, there’s some pillars of glassware that are paramount.

Pint Glasses – Every collection should have at least 4 pint glasses. They can be American or British – it doesn’t matter to me which country you choose. These are your everyday glasses. They are versatile, sturdy, and easy to clean. Use them often.
Tulip Glasses – Have some beer glasses with stems. There are styles that you want to savor. You may not want your hand to warm them up too fast. If you think they’re too fancy, get over it. Learn to appreciate the full spectrum of beers.
Mugs – As much as I may have dissed mugs in the video, I like them. Get some big ones. Brew sessionable lagers and have a gathering where you can drink them by the liter. Pair the beer with some great food. Mugs are essential for this beer experience.

Lastly, you can buy some of these. They are hard to clean.

Tell us your beer glass thoughts. Cheers and Brew on!