This week my buddy Dave invited me to his home to make a batch of beer with him. A whole new experience for me, I took a lot of snaps at different stages. We started about 2pm and finished around 10pm. It's a full day's work, with lots of waiting for the right moment to add something or cool something, etc. But a lot of fun as my buddy Derek joined and Dave supplied us with plenty of homemade beers and ales as well great stories from his world travels. Cheers Dave.
Below are some snaps with a brief description of the process according to my blurry memory.
The first step is to get some yeast going. This is a yeast starter with dry malt extract.
Then heat water to 71 degrees. Dave always uses wired thermometers to accurated gauge and maintain correct temperature. Though I have doubts about his method of measuring water volume. Look at that handwritten scale!
The water is then added to this cooler which holds grains like wheat and roasted barley.
Then we wait and drink Dave's homebrew while the hot water converts the grain starches into sugars.
Dave sometimes referred to this website, hopsville.com, to calculate times needed use their free hoppiness indicator.
Next we slowly pour the solution into the bucket. Slow is important so it won't be cloudy from sediment and stuff.
And then slowly pour the solution back in along the sides of the cooler. This helps to settle the grainbed. It's called vorloffing.
Dave multitasking.
All the solution is then drained, new water heated to 80 degrees and the procedure repeated once.
When the second solution is ready, both are added together and brought to the boil. The hops are also added at different stages. Dave used three hops; Warrior, Amarillo and Centenial. He also addes Irish Moss, a type of seaweed, for flavour.
Dave's scales, which he insists are only for measuring hops and seaweed.
Dave calulating hop input times and weights. Uh, I'm no expert, but wouldn't it be best to do calculations before we try six types of homebrew?
Checking the density of the concoction.
When the 75 minute boil has finished, we use a Dave-designed cooler. Cold water is pumped through this copper piping to cool the liquid as quickly as possible.
The yeast is then added and the whole batch is sealed up in a sterile container with a gas release device on top.
It is definitely a lot of work. And the ingredients don't seem to be cheap. But it's also a really fun way to spend a day. And judging from the quality of Dave's homebrews, it's well worth the time, effort and money.
Below are some snaps with a brief description of the process according to my blurry memory.
The first step is to get some yeast going. This is a yeast starter with dry malt extract.
Then heat water to 71 degrees. Dave always uses wired thermometers to accurated gauge and maintain correct temperature. Though I have doubts about his method of measuring water volume. Look at that handwritten scale!
The water is then added to this cooler which holds grains like wheat and roasted barley.
Then we wait and drink Dave's homebrew while the hot water converts the grain starches into sugars.
Dave sometimes referred to this website, hopsville.com, to calculate times needed use their free hoppiness indicator.
Next we slowly pour the solution into the bucket. Slow is important so it won't be cloudy from sediment and stuff.
And then slowly pour the solution back in along the sides of the cooler. This helps to settle the grainbed. It's called vorloffing.
Dave multitasking.
All the solution is then drained, new water heated to 80 degrees and the procedure repeated once.
When the second solution is ready, both are added together and brought to the boil. The hops are also added at different stages. Dave used three hops; Warrior, Amarillo and Centenial. He also addes Irish Moss, a type of seaweed, for flavour.
Dave's scales, which he insists are only for measuring hops and seaweed.
Dave calulating hop input times and weights. Uh, I'm no expert, but wouldn't it be best to do calculations before we try six types of homebrew?
Checking the density of the concoction.
When the 75 minute boil has finished, we use a Dave-designed cooler. Cold water is pumped through this copper piping to cool the liquid as quickly as possible.
The yeast is then added and the whole batch is sealed up in a sterile container with a gas release device on top.
It is definitely a lot of work. And the ingredients don't seem to be cheap. But it's also a really fun way to spend a day. And judging from the quality of Dave's homebrews, it's well worth the time, effort and money.
