Indeed distilling is illegal here though I've seen some home brew shops that have distillation equipment and somehow made whiskey and bourbon. I can't say if it was legal or not, but I definitely wouldn't chance it. Having an open flame in a room full of alcohol vapors doesn't seem like a good idea! I know a few friends that came back with slivovitze which is pretty much the same as samogon. It's a bit different over there as moonshine here is mainly distilled primarily from grains and/or corn where as "moonshine" in other countries in Europe is made from fruits (pears, apricots etc..). That's just from what I've heard from friends and read online though. I can't really say much else since I've never been there @dshramek That looks awesome! I have another week left for my double red ipa before I will bottle. So I might have a picture in 4 weeks from now. My next batch will probably be a brown ale or a Scottish ale, though I'll use my California yeast since I saved it from my last batch. Once it warms up I'm going to fire up my smoker and do a smoked rye ale. Get a nice batch of smoked malts mixed with rye.
Here is the Ginger Lemongrass Ale Super fruity Pale Ale with a healthy dose of ginger root & lemongrass. Very lemony with a strong bite from the ginger. Lots of Citra hops. Great carbonation. Very refreshing. 6%abv, 2 of these & you feel real good. Next brew day will be an ESB. Hopefully tomorrow.
I use a hydrometer. You take a sample before you ferment the beer and weigh its density. You do the same after fermentation, before bottling. The variation between the two measurements gives you the alcohol by volume(abv) %. By top end, do you mean how much abv%? I really don't know the limit. It all depends on fermentable sugars. The highest I have brewed was a Belgian Tripel, at 11%. It took the addition of candy sugar to get that high. And boy, it packed a punch. 1 12oz glass of that and you were through. Problem was, it tasted so good and took about 30 minutes for the alcohol to hit you, you were already half way into your second glass and thoroughly snockered. And I was able to get the ESB brewed today. In five weeks it will be ready to drink.
Going to have to resist the urge to buy all the kit for now lol. Sounds good. Has John made progress?
Just saw this thread, I'm from Baltimore. Where do you get your supplies? I homebrewed some honey wheat ale a year ago with my dad and we got it from MD Homebrew in Columbia. It actually turned out pretty well, despite being my first time doing it.
Nice! I'm actually from Newark, DE originally and now have family out in Avondale and Harrisburg so I'm pretty familiar with your area. Nothing like the smell of mushroom farms early in the morning! Though maybe that was only hockessin and avondale... I know of a place in Columbia, but the one I go to is called The Thirsty Brewer, http://www.thirstybrewer.com/. It's a little west of bel air and a quick drive for me. There's also a place in Newark, DE called 'How do you brew'. I just bottled my double red the other day and it was at 8.4%. Probably perfect as I'd like to have more than one when I enjoy it! I just can't believe it took me this long to get in to brewing.
Well, it is exactly 1 month since I brewed the ESB & here it is Very flavorful, smooth & mildly hopped. Color is spot on. Profile is perfect. Very proud of the result. PROSIT Next on deck is a Lemon Wheat.
Ok That's It!....I'm driving to Tennessee tonight!....Have a glass ready when I get there... :cheers:
funnily enough a group of us at work have all just started. We're doing a super basic cider first, just apple juice, sugar and yeast. Mine is still fermenting away to itself, but a couple of the guys have finished theirs and have had results in the 11-13% abv range. I'm definitely going to graduate to doing beers after this, I like the look of that 80' posted earlier, used to drink a lot of that back when I was younger.
That looks good! I just put a pale ale on on the primary last night. I'm actually planning on moving all my equipment to the basement. Going to get a natural gas burner setup with a vent hood. Lots of other things involved like air handling, water supply etc but won't bore with details. http://hopville.com/recipe/1700215 It's very simple (and inexpensive). Trying to do a yards philly pale ale clone. I'll take a pic when it's ready.
Brewed a Lemon Wheat for the summer, yesterday. Here is a Shandy I made yesterday, too. Took one of my homebrewed Lemongrass Ginger Ales, & mixed it with Santa Cruz Organics lemonade. So tasty & refreshing. If anyone is interested, a Shandy is a half & half mix of Lemonade or Limeade mixed with Beer, usually a light ale or lager. Perfect for summer refreshment.
That's really interesting. Are you able to figure the abv after you mix it? Also, I wonder what a lemonade mix would do in the primary My philly pale ale clone will be ready for consumption this weekend, just in time for Memorial day! I'll take a pic. It turned out very clear, in a good way.
I would guess the abv would be based on how much lemonade you mixed with. I usually do a 1/3 lemonade, 2/3 beer mix. So my Beer is 6%abv, rendering it approx. 4% after mixing. I have wondered the same thing about adding a lemonade mix to the primary or secondary. I have yet to find a recipe doing this. I also don't want to try it blindly, messing up a 5 gallon batch. maybe I will do a half batch & find out.
Smoked Pale Ale So I smoked 5 pounds of 2 row american with hickory for about 50 minutes. The only words I can use to describe the flavor are "smoked ham", "bacon", "sweet". It tastes like you are drinking a delicious smokey piece of salty pork. While that may seem disgusting, it's actually incredibly delicious and perfect for the weather now. If you want my exact recipe and steps just PM me. This beer goes perfect with just about any food, especially cheese! It tastes best close to room temp. http://ethanwolkowicz.net/images/smoked_pale.jpg Sorry for not posting the image directly in the forum. It's late and I didn't feel like editing it for forum viewing
That's a very thick beer. Spoiler The glass would be empty if it were a normal beer, you know, having the glass on it's side :nerd:
