Recently Greg and I had engagement photos taken. We hadn't originally planned on having any taken, but somehow we came around to the idea, and boy what a good one it was. Not only did we get a ton of amazing photos, but it also gave us a chance to hang out with our photographer before the wedding and get comfortable with having him take lots of pictures of us. Our photographer is amazing and does amazing work. So so happy with our choice. Here is the link to his post with a few of the photos.
In other news, we also bottled up the smokey porter this weekend. The smokey-ness has not really mellowed out as we had expected. The recipe said that the smokey flavor was very subtle. Ours is basically the exact antonym of subtle. I guess that would be unsubtle. Or obvious. Or distinct. Whatever the word, it is certainly smokey. We still have hope that it will mellow out while it is in the bottles though. We want to have homebrew at the picnic on the night before our wedding, so it has some time to come around. And we should have time to make one or possible two more batches, and those will certainly not be made with any smoked malt.
Showing posts with label beer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beer. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Back to Brewing
Greg and I both thoroughly enjoy the brewing process and the brewing results. Unfortunately our schedules don't really allow for that to happen as often as we'd like. Luckily Red Barn Brewing is back in business! On Sunday night we brewed our third batch of beer: a smoky porter. I am hoping it will be delicious, since a porter is generally my most favorite type of beer. Originally I had wanted to do a caramel coffee porter, but once we found the smoky porter recipe, that sounded like a perfectly good option. Signs of fermentation weren't really noticeable until Tuesday evening, as seen below:
Sidenote: In the background of the first photo you can see the super-sweet beer cases that Lisa and Dustin gave us for Christmas! Dustin made them in the woodshop. The each hold 12 beers (they even filled them with label-removed bottles!) with dividers, and have strong rope handles, and have a bottle opener attached. A very classy beer-transportation device, to be sure.
Sidenote: In the background of the first photo you can see the super-sweet beer cases that Lisa and Dustin gave us for Christmas! Dustin made them in the woodshop. The each hold 12 beers (they even filled them with label-removed bottles!) with dividers, and have strong rope handles, and have a bottle opener attached. A very classy beer-transportation device, to be sure.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Red Barn Brewing, Take 2
It has been far too long since we brewed Night Barn, our delicious nut brown ale. As an ode to the end of summer, we thought it necessary to brew another ale. Though it would have been perfect in the mid-summer's heat, the persistent heat of mid-September will prove an equally perfect setting to sip on our newest creation: a Kölsch style ale with a hint of chamomile. Technically, we won't be able to label it as a Kölsch since we are adding the chamomile, but that's okay. Either way, this should turn out to be one tasty beverage.
As I type, the wort is chilling in the sink eagerly waiting for the yeast to be pitched. I'm not sure if the wort is eager, but I sure am. This recipe didn't quite make the standard 5 gallons, it's more around 3 or 3.5 gallons (darn, only 3.5 gallons), but that's quite alright. More updates will be necessary to keep everyone updated on the status (and flavor) of this one.
Oh, and if you are curious, this ale recipe is one step more "difficult" than the last. Instead of using purely extract, we have elevated our brewing skills to the "grain steeping" level. The beers snobs refer to this as "partial mash". I'm sure if a beer snob is reading this and affirm that it is indeed a partial mash (it truly is one), they're likely resenting being called a beers snob. However, think about it. If you know what a Kölsch is and can appreciate the style of the beer and the potential for awesomeness that chamomile adds: you're a beer snob.
As I type, the wort is chilling in the sink eagerly waiting for the yeast to be pitched. I'm not sure if the wort is eager, but I sure am. This recipe didn't quite make the standard 5 gallons, it's more around 3 or 3.5 gallons (darn, only 3.5 gallons), but that's quite alright. More updates will be necessary to keep everyone updated on the status (and flavor) of this one.
Oh, and if you are curious, this ale recipe is one step more "difficult" than the last. Instead of using purely extract, we have elevated our brewing skills to the "grain steeping" level. The beers snobs refer to this as "partial mash". I'm sure if a beer snob is reading this and affirm that it is indeed a partial mash (it truly is one), they're likely resenting being called a beers snob. However, think about it. If you know what a Kölsch is and can appreciate the style of the beer and the potential for awesomeness that chamomile adds: you're a beer snob.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Red Barn Brewing
Our latest and greatest adventure: home brewing. We had purchased a book a while back in hopes of actually getting started, however, we found ourselves limited by time and not wanting to get in way over our head. A visit from my friend Bruce, though, changed our mind on the whole concept. With his encouragement, he and I paid a visit to the Lebanon Health Food Store (LHFS) where he informed me of the equipment which would be necessary to get our feet wet. A day later, and we had read the first "beginner's chapter" of our brewing book and were off to LHFS to get our supplies!
While what we did is still considered brewing, it was by no means complicated. The simplest way to start is by brewing with only malt extracts. This means that all of the grains have been malted, mashed and evaporated with the hop extracts mixed in (for the case of hopped extracts). In terms of brewing, this greatly reduces the amount of time and effort necessary for a successful brew; perfect for newbies.
The very first thing is to sanitize EVERYTHING that could possibly come into contact with the beer. This is accomplished using StarSan, an acid based, food safe, rinse free solution. Mix with water and soak whatever needs to get sanitized. After a quick air dry the tools are ready to go!
Actually brewing was quite simple: we mixed the malt extracts (hopped and unhopped) in a large stock pot with 1.5 gallons of water and boiled the mixture for 45 minutes. The wort (the hot mix of grain and hops) is then added to 3 (in our case 3.5) gallons of cold tap water in a Better Bottle and left to cool down to ~75 degrees F. If you've ever taken a course on Thermodynamics or even basic chemistry you know cooling 5 gallons of a water mixture takes FOREVER.
Finally, though, the wort reached the desired temperature and we were able to measure the original gravity (a measure of the wort density to that of water) and pitch the yeast (pitch is a fancy brewing term for add).
Above we see the wort in a state where the yeast has started to work it's magic and is beginning to produce the first bit of CO2. Below, we have the wort with the yeast several hours later. The yeast has really started to pick up the pace and is creating a vast amount of CO2 as it produces the alcohol for the beer.
Oh, so you're wondering some of the specifics of the beer? Well, right now we don't have a lot of information to give, as the wort is currently fermenting. We can provide some simple details:
Name: Night Barn
Style: Nut Brown Ale
Original gravity: 1.046
While what we did is still considered brewing, it was by no means complicated. The simplest way to start is by brewing with only malt extracts. This means that all of the grains have been malted, mashed and evaporated with the hop extracts mixed in (for the case of hopped extracts). In terms of brewing, this greatly reduces the amount of time and effort necessary for a successful brew; perfect for newbies.
The very first thing is to sanitize EVERYTHING that could possibly come into contact with the beer. This is accomplished using StarSan, an acid based, food safe, rinse free solution. Mix with water and soak whatever needs to get sanitized. After a quick air dry the tools are ready to go!
Actually brewing was quite simple: we mixed the malt extracts (hopped and unhopped) in a large stock pot with 1.5 gallons of water and boiled the mixture for 45 minutes. The wort (the hot mix of grain and hops) is then added to 3 (in our case 3.5) gallons of cold tap water in a Better Bottle and left to cool down to ~75 degrees F. If you've ever taken a course on Thermodynamics or even basic chemistry you know cooling 5 gallons of a water mixture takes FOREVER.
Finally, though, the wort reached the desired temperature and we were able to measure the original gravity (a measure of the wort density to that of water) and pitch the yeast (pitch is a fancy brewing term for add).
Above we see the wort in a state where the yeast has started to work it's magic and is beginning to produce the first bit of CO2. Below, we have the wort with the yeast several hours later. The yeast has really started to pick up the pace and is creating a vast amount of CO2 as it produces the alcohol for the beer.
Oh, so you're wondering some of the specifics of the beer? Well, right now we don't have a lot of information to give, as the wort is currently fermenting. We can provide some simple details:
Name: Night Barn
Style: Nut Brown Ale
Original gravity: 1.046
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