Wedding Reception (Beer / Cider / Wine)

[CrealCritter]

Now, I like ginger ale..... Hmm.... never thought of it as a n ale, even though that is the name.... I also like to eat sauerkraut....

I made some blueberry ginger ale once it was delicious. I should make it again because it really helped with my arthritis pain in my hands and fingers. There seems to be a lot of health benefits to ginger and when you naturally ferment it, it seems like it makes them more availible. At least I think so, anyways.

The hard part is creating the "ginger bug" which is natural yeast contained within ginger root used to ferment the ginger ale. But once you make the bug, you can keep it alive as long as you want by feeding it. So you can use some of it to ferment future ginger ale recipes. I found out that the ginger root must be organic to make it all work. Some ginger root has been irradiated which ofcourse kills all the ensymes in the root so no chance to get it to ferment, let alone make the bug.

The success post is here, if you want to give it a go.

Blueberry Ginger Ale (SUCCESS)

Since i drink a pint bottle a day, I need to get another batch brewing pretty quick This will be take 2. It helps to have a nice lady friend who works in the produce department at the grocery store. She called me today and said "I got a sexy organic ginger root saved for you" :) Now this...

www.sufficientself.com

The recipe I used is taped to the glass carboy in posts 13 & 14. It turned out very well and my granddaughters also liked it. I also did a cherry and pineapple ginger ale also but I didn't post them here. It's fun to experiment with different natural fruits to get different flavors. I always wanted to try a peach ginger ale but never got around to it.

Let me know if you want to give it a go. and I'll try and point you in the right direction. It's very easy to make. Warning it does contain some alcohol but it's minimal. So it's truly a soft drink.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

Both beers have been in secondary fermentation 8 days now. Hopefully you can see the clear beer, it's only cleared about 3/4" from the top. It still has a long ways to go but usually starts clearing faster after a couple of weeks.

Very high level explaination of what's happening. The yeast is cleaning up after it'self, eating every last little bit of nasty tasting stuff it can. As it runs out of stuff to eat, it drops out of suspension from the top down. This is a Ale (top fermenting) yeast strain. Lager is a Bottom fermenting yeast strain but a this stage both lager and ale yeast behalves the same.

I don't filter my home brews, so it's a matter of patience. I would say time wise it's a little more than 1/2 way finished. Every homebrew behaves a little different, to keep the hobby interesting.

Blond Ale, easier to see the clear beer on the top.

Irish Red Ale not a very good picture to see clearing.

Some home brewers "Cold Crash" at this point. Which is just like it sounds. They stick the carboy in cooler at about 34 degrees fahrenheit. After a few days the yeast drops to the bottom but in my opinion, leaves behind off flavors. I don't like cold crashed beer, I can tell with just one sip if the beer had been cold crashed or not. I would rather let the yeast clean up and have a nice natural and enjoyable flavored beer. Like I said to me it's patience... and It's worth the wait

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[farmerjan]

Very interesting.... thank you for the "lessons" .....

 

[CrealCritter]

Very interesting.... thank you for the "lessons" .....

I'm sure you've heard "bottom of the barrel" before

 

[CrealCritter]

This is kind of a neat picture of the blond all with no artificial lighting to see the different stages of yeast falling out off suspension. It's maybe a little less than 1/4 of the way cleared. Patience...

The Irish red ale is about 3/4 of the way done clearing. I'll probably wait until the blond ale is done and rack both at the same time. That way I'll only have to clean and sanitize my brew gear once. Notice the brown haze near the bottom.

Anyways back into the dark they go.


Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

First blond ale sample. Yep, most definitely my Blond Ale recipe. Tastes a lot like tangerines on the front end, with a grapefruity taste on the backend. It's the 4 additions of hops during the boil, that gives it the unique flavor. It's a pretty low ABV and an easy drinker. It should do nicely for the wedding (if I don't screw it up somehow).

And first sample of Irish Red Ale. After a lot of study, I created the initial version of the recipe. Then tried tweaking it 6 times. Each version grew a little worse. Like most things in life simpler, is better. So the original version is the best. For the original version, just eliminate the flavor hop addition from version 3 I have posted.

I really like how smooth it is, start to finish and the slight hint of sweet roasted barley and East Kent Golding hops arroma, that reminds you it's Irish. This will also do well for the wedding (again, if I don't screw it up somehow.)

So far both brews are good, by me. Looks like we may be on our way to a successful wedding request. Just glad I don't have to brew another batch. I would like to get these on CO2 gas and age for a while @ 35 degrees.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

Success both brews took longer to drop clear than I expected but was worth the extra wait.

I think it's difference in the water from our old place to our new place. We are on a totally different water supply now. Next batch will prove or disprove my suspicion. Probably a bit of excess calcium in the water, if I had to guess. But this water produces a smoother brew, so I'm not at all complaining. People forget or overlook... The number 1 ingredient by volume in beer, is water.

Jesus is Lord and Christ