SwimModSponges Posted March 27, 2021 Author Share Posted March 27, 2021 All right, bottling portion of brew weekend is done I'd say. Six 8oz bottles, six 12oz bottles, six wine bottles, about 2 gallon carboys, and enough that wouldn't quite fit in any of it to have me way too buzzed this early. Gonna start my next batch tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted March 27, 2021 Author Share Posted March 27, 2021 Here's my full yeild- 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted March 28, 2021 Author Share Posted March 28, 2021 Honeysapple 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wacky1980 Posted April 7, 2021 Share Posted April 7, 2021 I've been thinking of taking a swing at making whiskey. I spent the last couple days toasting some oak for a beer project, but now I'm thinking it might be more fun to distill some liquor and then age it on the toasted oak. God damnit, just what I need...another distraction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted April 7, 2021 Author Share Posted April 7, 2021 Don't tell the feds you're operating a still they don't like that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wacky1980 Posted April 7, 2021 Share Posted April 7, 2021 4 minutes ago, SwimModSponges said: Don't tell the feds you're operating a still they don't like that. they don't got's to know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted April 7, 2021 Author Share Posted April 7, 2021 So, looks like a lot of the maple syrup solidified and sunk to the bottom, which doesn't seem to be a problem for my hungry yeast. 20210407_125853.mp4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted April 7, 2021 Author Share Posted April 7, 2021 So we had an assessor come by today to take pictures of the house for refinancing, he comes up from the basement and tells me i've got a delicious smelling brew going, then starts talking shop about how he did a blackberry one, and also- adding onion to apple improves it apparently? That's crazy but i could see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wacky1980 Posted April 16, 2021 Share Posted April 16, 2021 finally got this bitch drilled out, painted, and put together. i'm gonna try tackling a bunch of the wiring this weekend if i don't get sucked into other projects. this control panel gives me tingly bits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 Well, today's the one month mark. Testing day. I'm guessing based on my last few brews it probably went dry at around 11%, maybe a bit more given the bit of extra sugars from the syrup. Still have a jar each of honey and syrup for step feed/back sweetening, but maybe I'll keep this recipe dry- last time I kept it dry and it came out pretty good, and my other recipe came out really sweet so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 Wow... Only got down to 1.044. 4%. Well, the good news is it's still bubbling fairly actively, but still... After a month, that's sorta concerning.+ I don't think it's stalled, just really slow... I mean the taste is for sure there... Wondering if the preservatives in the cranberry juice fucked me over. Think what I'll do is try pitching more yeast. Hmmmm..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted April 30, 2021 Author Share Posted April 30, 2021 Took a reading today, bit more relieved. Burned off .014 points of gravity, up to ~6% ABV. Acerglyns take a long time I guess. Well it doesn't need to be done until september so we're ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted May 8, 2021 Author Share Posted May 8, 2021 Weekly check- yep its going good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted May 15, 2021 Author Share Posted May 15, 2021 I gifted a bottle of the Peach Mellowmellon to my friend at work who also brews, he gave it a sip on his lunch break, and he said it was the best mead he's ever tasted. @wacky1980 i should ship you a bottle, im very proud. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wacky1980 Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 i'd swap you a bottle for a bottle sometime, sure. i don't have much available right now besides a hoppy stout that may or may not be worth consuming. we're gonna try making a couple seltzers maybe this week for kicks. and i have ingredients on the way to brew a witbier, an ipa, and a shandy. but those last 3 have to wait until i get the brewery built out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted May 18, 2021 Author Share Posted May 18, 2021 Goddamn im proud of this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wacky1980 Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 i may have asked before, but are those carbonated or still? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted May 19, 2021 Author Share Posted May 19, 2021 Still, I've never tried carbonation but i imagine it would be nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted May 19, 2021 Author Share Posted May 19, 2021 Weekly check on the Honeysapple- Went mostly dry at 9% or so, added 3 more pounds of honey. I hope that's enough, I've got additional maple syrup to add but I was hoping to get up to my yeast tolerance to just use the syrup as flavoring. I like to finish around a 1.2 specific gravity, that's about the exact right sweetness in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted May 24, 2021 Author Share Posted May 24, 2021 Soooo... today i met my wife's friend who brews and is starting his own meadery, really cool dude. Did a tasting of our brews, he had a straight honey and a blackberry, i brought my ginger peach Mellowmellon. Its good to taste other people's works, get an idea of what's what. Personally i like a complex flavor and mine really shows that. His was very alcohol forward. ... I think mine are better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted May 24, 2021 Author Share Posted May 24, 2021 And my friend from work returned my bottle filled with his own brew. Breaking into it right.... now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted May 24, 2021 Author Share Posted May 24, 2021 Very well done, maybe even better than the other guys id say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted May 31, 2021 Author Share Posted May 31, 2021 Dinner with the folks tonight, dad grilled steak. Brought mom a big bottle of the mellomellon to share with grandma and one of my aunts who also makes wine. I brought a sample bottle of honeysapple 2 to split. The mellomellon is for sharing with family. Not to drink tonight. Yeah. We had it darn near polished off by desert. Re-filled the empty sampler bottle for them and just drank the rest. Shits good man, shits goddamn good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted June 6, 2021 Author Share Posted June 6, 2021 All right, fermentation on this batch seems to have stopped- only at about 10% though. I used a different yeast so that may have something to do with it, also I'm not sure I got an accurate gravity reading when I step-fed it on account of it not being as well mixed as I wanted. Seems like fermentation stopped at a 1.010, dryer than the mellomellon (I'm ok with that because while the mellomellon is absolutely delicious it is also pretty dang sweet). Also I still need to back sweeten with maple syrup and I don't want all the flavor to ferment out right away. Adding vanilla to smooth it out too. Thinking that's going to be an ingredient I use in (maybe) all of my recipes- Vanilla for smoothness, tea for mouth-feel, ginger for tang and to carry flavors (the tingle seems to make the flavors linger like that song from the cranberries), raisins for body and depth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted June 6, 2021 Author Share Posted June 6, 2021 Whipped together this winter recipe- flavor profile I'm going for is something like a chocolate orange. Winter- Spiced Coffemel Bouchet 2 gallons cold-brew coffee 1 gallon spiced orange tea (constant comment) 5 Jars of honey 1 jar caramelized honey 1 ginger root 1/2 bag raisins 2 packs yeast 1.5+ gallons water 5 teaspoons vanilla extract (in secondary) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted June 16, 2021 Author Share Posted June 16, 2021 Racked today. 5 full gallons backsweetened with maple syrup, cranberry, and vanilla. Maybe a liter left over, drinking some now. Its young yet, but its getting there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 hoo boy... Went to pop open a bottle of the second bottling of the mellomellon (the remaining less than 2 gallons that sat on lees and got super neglected until I got around to it, so it's just for me, not worth giving to guests) and it fizzed over like nothing else. Went a lot drier too, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted July 17, 2021 Author Share Posted July 17, 2021 God damn thats a lot of booze. Minus 1 liter bottle that i bumped qith my elbow while putting them on the shelf. RIP. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted July 18, 2021 Author Share Posted July 18, 2021 Next batch starting out at 1.084. Pretty consistent with my starting gravity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted August 20, 2021 Author Share Posted August 20, 2021 1 month on the coffee mead. Didn't end up bochet-ing it in the primary fermentation, just coffee, tea, ginger, clove, allspice, orange zest, and raisin. Went dry at 1.0000. Cloudier than nothing else but I mean that's to be expected since it's still in primary. Taste is pretty much exactly where I wanted it to be at this point in the process. The acidic flavor from the orange blend into the acidic flavor in the coffee so you've got this one acidic flavor that mingles between fruitiness and bitterness. Next step now that the coffee is done- add the creamer. I really want to bochet this. Buy a little thing of honey at the grocery store and cook it up in the crock pot, then when it's nice and carnalized I'mma dissolve it in some more coffee along with cocoa and vanilla. More cloves too. Gotta say I was really worried about how this one would turn out- when I try to capture the flavor of orange and coffee together in my head toothpaste always wants to join in because my brain thinks breakfast. But no, exactly where I wanted it to land before I planned to hit it with backsweetening in the secondary. Gonna be real goddamn good this december. Next mead is going to be a recreation of the peach honeydew brew with dandelions added. The one after that though? Plum, currant, hibiscus, ginger. Mmmmmmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted September 8, 2021 Author Share Posted September 8, 2021 Did another taste tonight with the father in law. Very coffee. He really liked it, but i mixed in a little cocoa and vanilla into mine to see what the taste i'm aiming for is like. I liked it, but both he and the wife liked the original more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted October 20, 2021 Author Share Posted October 20, 2021 Got another review back on the coffee mead from somebody I gave a sneak peek to. He says it's the best one yet. He's a huge coffee drinker though so... Still not sure I'm happy with this batch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted November 21, 2021 Author Share Posted November 21, 2021 Well I finally bottled that motherfucker. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted December 2, 2021 Author Share Posted December 2, 2021 Just got 80 oz. of black currant jelly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.