Homebrew Two Log

Started with:

1 Can Cascade Imperial Voyage Pale Ale Extract
1 Safale US-05 Yeast
Sugar that I didn't write down. Doh.

Preactivated yeast in ~20degree water for 30 minutes.

Boiled for 15 minutes. Soaked 25g hops in boiling water for 15 minutes, added water to boil for last 5 minutes. Let hop ball float for 5 minutes prior to that.

SG 1.041

Bottled: 22/4/2011
Final Gravity: 1.014

First of all, this isn't an April fools! Took the car in to get a Warrant of Fitness today. Did it pass? No, it did not. In fact it came back with a laundry list of problems that's going to be expensive to fix. We're not happy. I'm not happy. Tui won't be happy when she goes hungry. Ok maybe it's not quite that bad.

Annoying though! And as much as I wish this was an April fools prank, it's not. It'd be a shit one if it was.

Tim

Welcome to Silly Video Corner! Here's today's silly video. Enjoy. Be sure to follow the instructions.

Today I bottled some ginger beer, I've had a ginger plant in the kitchen all week and each day I fed it with ginger and sugar. I washed out 8 bottles and mixed up a batch, I hope it turns out tasty.

I also installed an extractor fan into the Biltong Box. It's just a little fan that'll wizz around and keep the airflow going through the box. Our first batch of Biltong was very, very tasty. It had a bit of a plastic taste the first day we tried it but by the second day that'd gone. I was super impressed with how nice it was. I can't wait to make more.

Otherwise, all it's done all day is rain. We went out and did a bit of shopping, had some breakfast at the local French Cafe and have generally had a quiet day.

Tim

My beer stopped bubbling on Monday. Never a good sign, means that it's stopped fermenting. I threw some more yeast in last night, just yeast from our fridge. When I checked it this morning it seems to be bubbling away again, so I hope it turns out OK. I think my attempts to stop it getting too cold at night backfired and probably heated things up too much. Sadness.

The meat's drying out pretty well in the biltong box. It needs some more holes though because condensation's forming each night. I'm just wiping it away with a paper towel for the moment, I bought an electric fan which I'll install this weekend so it'll be a fully ventilated biltong box!

Finally the ginger beer pot I have going in the kitchen seems to be going well, its fermenting nicely on the shelf.

Tim

My beer was getting too cold, so I built a box for it and shoved a lightbulb in it. I also made a Biltong box, so we can make our own dried meats.

I took some photos of both things. The Biltong Box is now lined with foil and has 3 bits of steak hanging from the rails. Fingers crossed.

In other news, the car's perfect now. Better than it's ever been.

Tim

- Brewing Log -
19/03/2011

First beer in a long time. Trying to make an IPA.

Ingredients
One Can (1.7kg) of Coopers Lager Hopped Malt Concentrate.
1kg of Coopers Brewing Sugar (dextrose and maltodextrin)
Dry Ale Yeast (Safale s-04). Pre-activated by placing in 500Ml of Warm water for 30 minutes.
CopperTun Goldings Finishing Hops, 15grams.

Method
Boiled Malt Concentrate and Sugar together for 10 minutes in 4 litres of water. Steeped hops in 500 hot water for ~5 minutes then placed steeped water and hops back into boiling pot. Boiled for 10 minutes with lid on.

Took off stove, placed in cold bath to cool for 30 minutes covered. Tipped into fermenting bucket, back into pot, into fermenting bucket into pot and finally back into fermenting bucket to oxygenate. Added water up to 20 litres. Poured back and forth 2 more times.
Restired yeast in its water fully before tipping...