This helped me brew today...

2 hour brew & more

Okay, here is the deal. Going on vacation next week,will not have any beer legged for July 4th if I don't get it done now. So I also really want to see if I can keep refining the 2HB process. So yes, success on both counts. After seeing another brewer's spreadsheet (thanks Gary) I set up my timeline on two parallel tracks. Started at 1:54 and was pitched and picked up at 3:55! And I kegged a pale ale into a corny & the teakettle , so yes we will have Homebrew for the fourth.
And I'm enjoying a lovely Fat Tire too. Ah,good deal.

No time to brew

Learning how to post from my iPad....did get to brew over memorial day weekend. I made a mistake with some grain at the mill, so voila, the wiener-wizen. About 50/50 of both,used the thames valley II yeast. It blew up so I guess I pitched enough.........

2 hour brew, revisited, again

Another Sunday, another try at getting the 2 hour brew even better.

You must have a five gallon kettle and a wort chiller. You have to get your fermenter sanitized the night before, then all I needed to do was rack the sanitizer into a bucket to sanitize the strainer, measuring cup, stopper and airlock. The kitchen needs to be "brew-ready" when you walk in the next morning. So okay, done.

Now the brew.

Bring 1 gallon of water to a boil in the brew kettle. Bring another 2 gallons to a boil in a smaller pot. When the large kettle is boiling, turn off the heat and mix in the extract. Stir well with the paddle and top off with the now boiling water from the other kettle. Now that the smaller kettle is empty, heat up enough water to cover grains to 165F. Start steeping the grains and go for 30 minutes. I'll remove the grain bag, heat it up to a boil and pour that "tea" into the kettle. Boil for only 50 minutes. That shouldn't change anything dramatically. Chill and pitch.

So far:

8:55 Walk into kitchen. Get water going, mix extract in, bring to boil.

9:35 Boil starts. Timer set for 50 minutes. Siphon sanitizer, get some hot water into malt bucket to get it all out, set aside.

10:00 Get grains in bag into strainer; more hops added

10:12 Wort chiller goes in; grain tea brought to boil, added to kettle

10:31 Boil done, chilling begins.

11:05 Chilled, pitched and the kitchen is clean

Not bad...................

Can she do it?

Sadly, sometimes life gets in the way of brewing. So, make it into a challenge. Today, a single decoction Maibock, into work by 11 a.m. Can she do it? Yes, I can. My old Maibock recipe: pilsner, Vienna, cara-hell, white wheat and a bit o'honey malt. Mmmmmmmm. Hella bock slurry and Hallertau tradition hops. Love it. So the solution: mash, decoct and sparge before work. Come home and boil and pitch. It's 5:30 and I'll be done in about a half hour. Oh yeah, take out pizza is helpful. But I do have a pan of brownies in the oven so that's all good.

American rye: very clear, maybe a little too hopped for the style, but good for me.

What's in the pipeline today......

Well, since I absolutely don't need to bring home any more carboys (unless we build an addition to the house) I'd better get into bottling mode this week. I have two ciders to bottle. One seems a fair bit more clear than the other, so probably will bottle that one. Also have a Chardonnay , a Brunello, and a Trio Blanco from last summer to bottle. Can't say I have enough bottles/rack space to do all three wines though. Have a dunkel to rack and another pilsner right behind that. I'm thinking about the bock I want to do next....last year's version was quite nice. A hellesbock with honey malt and a pound of honey, one decoction. Mmmmmmmmmm. Maybe I'll do that again, maybe I'll think about other ones. The bock slurry would make a fine Octoberfest too. Haven't done one of those in a while.

The picture is a medieval drinking vessel from the Musee du Cluny in Paris.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

The forecast is one of extreme cold for the next couple of days. Water pipes are cracked and pictures of outside thermometers are fun to send to family in Florida. Think I'll brew a Munich style dunkel. My sweetie likes them and I have a Hella-Bock yeast that will go into something stronger next. Haven't decided if I'll make a bock or maybe an Oktoberfest..............

Dunkels are not easy to find commercially brewed. Monkshof is delicious and a local brewer, Allan van Anda at Trapp Family Brewery makes a nice one. Had it last night at the Farmhouse. Hope mine is just as good.

Racked the rye this week. Pretty good. And already it looks like it will clear out nicely without the dread rye haze.