Red Storm Stout

Date: 6-02-08
Brewing Music: IPOD on shuffle


Brewing Beverage: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

I ordered the supplies and recipe for a Chocolate Raspberry Sout. I know that the idea seems a little strange now, but I'm very excited to see the results. Because of my last effort in brewing, I've made EXTRA sure that I'm following the recipe step by step and following the brewing procedures closesly as well. Currently, the grains are steeping at 155.

The unique part of this recipe is that instead of adding finishing hopps, you add cocoa powder. And just before bottling, you add raspberry flavoring.

I usually like to brew on the weekend, but my beer delivery got crushed so I opened a sticky cardboard box of malt when it got to my house. So today when the replacement malt arrived, I was more than ready to brew. No problems thus far other than had to make an emergency run to the grocery store for cheese cloth.

I have an ice bath ready for the wort when it's done boiling so I can avoid my yeast problems from last time. I will be following this very closely to make sure nothing goes wrong because I plan on brewing again in a couple of days. I have the ingredients for a Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout clone recipe that I ordered during Austin Home Brew Supply's annual 10% off sale.

Thanks again to whoever it was that commented on this blog and directed me to Austin Homebrew. They have been fantastic and their customer service is great.

It's been a while

Well, it's been quite some time since I've updated this blog. There's good reason for it. I haven't brewed anything in the past 2-3months. And the reason for that is my IPA bombed horribly. It was the perfect storm of neglect. I killed the yeast because I pitched at too high of a temperature. I used the wrong kind of water (maybe). I waited FOREVER in secondary before bottling the beer. Too long. And the result was, instead of a nice imperial IPA, I got 50 bottles of something that looked like caramel and tasted like bleach.

On a positive note, the Apfelwein was excellent and I've started to really enjoy the taste when it very very cold. I think I'll make more and see how I can get a little more carbonation next time.

In closing, here's the official reaction when trying my flawed Imperial IPA:

Stone Ruination IPA Clone

Date: 2-10-08
Brewing Music: Cypress Hill - Black Sunday
Brewing Beverage: Spaten Optimator

Potential disaster tonight as I bottled the Chocolate Porter. I was about 10 bottles deep in the process when I realized I had forgotten to prime the entire batch. Then, probably a mistake, I returned all of the beer back to the bottling bucket and primed it. I don't know how this will affect the final product but I guess we'll find out in a few weeks.

The Apfelwein is viciously fermenting and has gotten a nice cloudy look to it. It doesn't smell bad either.

Currently, my Stone Ruination clone from Austin Homebrew is boiling away on the stove. I sampled quite a few of the Stone beers over the past two weekends and have settled in on a favorite: Double Bastard. The Ruination is a close second though, which is why I am giving this clone kit a try. The Levitation is also quite tasty.

Lastly, I have acquired a copy of Photoshop which I am going to use to design labels for my beer. At least attempt to. Should be a fun process. I found some very helpful information on labels on the Homebrew Talk message board. The thread I'm talking about can be found HERE.

Edwort's Apfelwein

Date: 2-06-08
Brewing Music: Phoenix Suns vs New Orleans Hornets
Brewing Beverage: Water (Basketball Tonight)

Yesterday I moved the Porter to the secondary and bottled the Pilsner. Today, I got my shipment from Austin Homebrew Supply in. In the shipment I got:

My First "Better Bottle" Plastic Carboy w/ Stopper and Lock
Stone Ruination IPA Clone
5 Pounds Corn Sugar
Thermometer
1 Packet of Montrachet Wine Yeast

I plan on starting the Ruination clone this weekend, but I was eager to give the Apfelwein recipe that's popular on Homebrew Talk a try. It's pretty straight forward and is supposed to be excellent.

Click Here For Edwort's Apfelwein Recipe

Brewer's Best Robust Porter

Date: 1-26-08
Brewing Music: Pearl Jam - Live On Two Legs
Brewing Beverage: Dos Equis Amber Stay thirsty, my friends.

I moved the Pilsner into the secondary tonight.

Next, I started a Porter from a make-shift brewer's best kit. It smells great as it's boiling right now. Taking the advice of someone who commented here, I'm going to order a kit from Austin Home Brew online and see how it works out. Also, I've made arrangements to attend as brew-off in early March so I can see how people have set up their all-grain systems. A little sampling won't be too bad either.

All malt, very dark and bitter. A great dark ale combining crystal and chocolate malts for a great tasting brew full of flavor and body.

Starting Specific Gravity: 1.050
Planned Fermentation: One week primary, one week secondary

6.6 lbs. Plain Amber Malt Extract
8 oz. Crushed Crystal Malt
4 oz. Crushed Black Patent Malt
4 oz. Crushed Chocolate Malt
1 oz. Clustering Hops (bittering)
1/2 oz. Willamette Hops(finishing)
1 package of Nottingham Dry Brewing Yeast

Purchase Kit Here

Brewer's Best Continental Pilsner

Date: 1-19-08
Brewing Music: Flogging Molly - Swagger
Brewing Beverage: 2 Below Winter Ale by New Belgium Brewery

Tonight I started my third, and what I think will be my last, Brewer's Best recipe kit. The Continental Pilsner.

I am hoping to start making my own recipes for my next few brews then moving on to more advanced techniques. I want to do this so I can get an entry into an Arizona home brewing competition. Being a new brewer, any feedback I can get from the judges in this competition will be great info. So, I need to create a few new brews for entry between now and the deadline of March 11.



For now, I decided on the Pilsner to make sure I had a wider range of experience when it comes to the Brewer's Best kits.

Pale color with full malt flavor. This beer can be enjoyed anytime to quench your thirst. A light beer with the infamous aroma and character achieved by using the Czech Saaz hop.

Starting Specific Gravity: 1.046
Planned Fermentation: One week primary, one week secondary (It worked for the stout, so why not try again?)

3.3 lbs. Plain Light Malt Extract
2 lbs. Plain Light Dry Malt Extract
12 oz. Crushed Carapils Malt
1 oz. Perle Hops (bittering)
1 oz. Saaz Hops (finishing)
1 package of Nottingham Dry Brewing Yeast

Purchase Kit Here

Brewer's Best Russian Imperial Stout

The Russian Imperial Stout was excellent. It's the first beer I made that I felt more than confident handing out to people to get their opinion on. A 20-year brewing veteran gave it a positive review. It's dark, strong, and delicious. And I think I owe it all to a mistake.

I was originally planning on fermenting the beer for only a week. However, I got sick and was unable to bottle it. So, it sat in a secondary fermentation bucket for an additional week. This, along with the fact that my fermentation lock clogged and caused the lid of bucket to blow off, made me worry that my beer might be ruined. I was completely wrong. By the time bottling finally happened, the stuff was smelling up my apartment- and not in a bad way. It was fantastic. If I could change anything, I might look for a slightly more bitter type of hops. Or simply more of them.

This full-bodied dark brew has an intense roast flavor with a huge malt influence. The slight hop bitterness is offset by a touch of sweetness from the grains.

Alcohol by Volume: 7.5%
Final Specific Gravity: 1.030
Fermentation Temperature: 70°F
Primary Fermentation Time: 7 days
Secondary Fermentation: 7 days

6.6 lbs. Plain Dark Malt Extract
2 lbs. Plain Dark Dry Malt Extract
8 oz. Crushed Roasted Barley
8 oz. Crushed Black Patent
1 lb. Crushed Crystal Malt
1 oz. Yakima Magnum Hops (Bittering)
1 package of Nottingham Dry Brewing Yeast

Purchase Kit Here

Brewer's Best Red Ale

The Brewer's Best Red Ale kit was my first try at recipe brewing. Instead of boiling a pre-mixed can and tossing it into the fermenter, recipe brewing actually involves making your own wort. The directions were easy to follow and what resulted was fantastic. Well, it tasted good, unlike my previous attempts at brewing. The only negative from this batch was that half of the batch was drank prematurely by an eager house guest. But, I felt like I was on to something. For the first time, what was in my glass actually tasted like a beer I would go out and buy.

Here's the specifics on the red ale:

A medium-bodied brew with a nice red hue. This recipe is as smooth as it gets with nice balance of caramel crystal malts and a touch of dark grain.

Alcohol by Volume: 4.5%
Final Specific Gravity: 1.009
Frementation Temperature: 74°F
Primary Frementation Time: 7 days
Secondary Fermentation: None

3.3 lbs. Plain Light Malt Extract
2 lbs. Plain Light Dry Malt Extract
12 oz. Crushed Crystal Malt
2 oz. Willamette Hops (Half for bittering, half for finishing)
1 package of Nottingham Dry Brewing Yeast

Purchase Kit Here

The Canned Malt Kits

My first three attempts at brewing were done using canned malt kits. I understand many brewers start wth this method and never make it past this point. Personally, I don't blame them. I don't know if it was just the fact that I was a new brewer, but these kits were horrible. I made the Irish Stout, The Great Ale, then an IPA. All three were equally disgusting. I think I still have about 30 bottles of these sitting in a garage somewhere. They had no flavor, or at least no desirable flavor. They left me feeling like I was cheated out of $20 and the small amount of time it took to boil and throw into the fermentation bucket. Instead of going into more detail, I can summarize the canned malt kits with a single image.

My Equipment

This is my first set of brewing equipment. It was purchased at What Ale's Ya in Glendale, Az. An apartment warming gift from my dad.

The True Brew Complete Kit



1 - 6.5 Gallon Plastic Primary Fermenting Bucket with Lid and Drilled Stopper
1 - 6.5 Gallon Plastic Bottling Bucket with Plastic Spigot
1 - 3 Piece Airlock
1 - Springless Bottle Filler
1 - Hydrometer
1 - 3/8" Racking Cane
1 - 5' x 5/16" Siphon Hose
1 - Bottle Brush
1 - Double Lever Capper