# What's in the fermenter?



## CalicoPrairie (Nov 1, 2015)

I have some hard cider and some strawberry wine. What about you?


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## Buckeye_brian (Jan 14, 2014)

Nothing today...but this weekend I am brewing a smoked Porter. That's right...smoked. We are having a beer competition at my beer club Super Bowl Sunday. The winner of the contest gets to show case their beer at our tap room (also our beer brewing supply & local hang out for us Bloatarian types).

The recipe has to be unique and yours. No kits. It also has to be written down and documented well so it can be duplicated.

I have going to try and duplicate a "kit" recipe with a few mild changes. The big change will be instead of boiling the wort over a traditional burner or on the stove...I am going to brew it in my wood fired smoker.

The very first time I ever brewed (basic brown ale), my electric went out 5-minutes into my boil, hence the electric stove quit. I went outside and started a fire in the smoker and finished it over an open fire. To date, it was one of the best beers I have ever brewed. I am hoping the smokiness works well with the Porter (which I think it will).


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## CalicoPrairie (Nov 1, 2015)

That is such an interesting idea! I haven't tried my hand at brewing beer yet, just experimenting with fruit wines mostly, which makes sense when you have an abundance of fruit being given to you, or an orchard. But craft beer is my very favorite choice, so I'm hoping to learn to make that soon. Might be a while before I try it in my smoker, though! You'll have to let us know how it turns out!


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## Jade1096 (Jan 2, 2008)

Right now everything is in secondary:

1. BlackBriar Mead (will bottle in January)
2. Cranberry Mead (will bottle in January)
3. Chocolate Salted Caramel port
4. Pear Mead
5. Strawberry Mead
6. Sack Mead
7. Freezer cleanout Wine (all the fruit in my freezer. ALL of it)
8. Blackberry and DME wine
9. OH Henry Mead (peaches, figs, and rose)

and several 1 gallon experiments.


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## woodsy (Oct 13, 2008)

Got some IPA going, 5 gals.; Columbus hops, just added 2 0zs. more hops after 
it stopped fermenting for added flavor/aroma. This one has about 6 1/2 ozs hops in total .Will bottle in about 5 days.

Also just bottled 5 gals. hard cider. Its a dry cider but added some sugar when bottling for a carbonated dry cider. Should be ready in a couple weeks.

Thinking Mead is next, have some surplus honey from the hives this year.
Maybe a blueberry mead seeing we had a good blueberry harvest.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

I told my wife last night I need to go buy some more apple juice.. I'm down to my last 12 pack... This time though, I think I'll put some orange zest in it to add a little bit of bite to it..


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## spud (Feb 3, 2007)

october fest
blueberry mead
raspberry mead
blackberry mead 
when I get some more honey, rose hip mead


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## Cobber (May 22, 2015)

Malt vinegar made from a porter grain bill, will taste like a cross between porter and soy sauce.


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

CalicoPrairie said:


> I have some hard cider and some strawberry wine. What about you?


 I have 2 gallons of tomato and two gallons of jalapeno wine working now to make my winter spiced sipping blend.


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## SueMc (Jan 10, 2010)

5 gal hard cider
5 gal blackberry wine
Will be starting a batch of mead. Mead will be new for me but I had a great honey harvest from my three hives so will give it a try.

I also need to do Jade's freezer cleanout wine. I have more fruit in the freezer than I have carboys right now but need to get busy. After the mead I want to use the several pounds of elderberries that I have in the freezer.


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## Jade1096 (Jan 2, 2008)

Sue, 

I threw in some rosehips, rose petals, and dried elderberries into the freezer cleanout wine as well.

It is absolutely incredible. I'm sad I only made three gallons, but man is it wonderful.

eta: I bet it would be fantastic if you did it as a mead.


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## Buckhuntr (Oct 4, 2012)

I just started my first hard cider. 5 gallons apple juice, 3# brown sugar, a bag of cranberries (chopped) and a good-sized hand of fresh ginger root (also chopped). 
My first mead is in secondary.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

Just started me a new bottle this morning... I found some Sam's Choice Apple Juice. It's not from concentrate. They claim it's strictly pressed juice. I also can not find anywhere on the bottle it says Pasteurized.. COOL!

I tried some of it and OH MAN... that's some great juice, so I'm hoping it will come out really good.. The color of it was spectacular.

Here's my Recipe.. 

3 gallons of the juice

Two small peeled navel oranges broke open and dropped in

3 teaspoons diammonium phosphate

and


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## Jade1096 (Jan 2, 2008)

Did you add any honey or sugar to it?

I use that apple juice all the time and it's always worked out just fine.

You may consider adding a bit of sugar or honey if you added the orange pith and all. I find the white pith can add a bit of bitterness to your beverage.
That yeast is good stuff as long as you like your brew absolutely bone dry.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

I never add any sugar. I've found that when you do, it takes on a different flavor from raw sugar, than rather just complex sugars being converted.

My cider usually comes out somewhere between 7 and 9%.. That's more than enough alcohol for me, so that's also why I don't add more.

I took the rind and the pith off. I don't like that bitter. As far as the yeast, yes, I really like a dry drink... I've been using this for quite a while.. I also use their Curvee yeast too...


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## Jade1096 (Jan 2, 2008)

Ah...gotcha.
Sounds good.

I've never brewed anything with an ABV that low. Can you just bottle it as is and it will keep, or do you have to do something else to it to keep it from spoiling?


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

I charge a bottle with a teaspoon of sugar (I like fizzy pop ) and fill the bottles... I usually drink them before they could ever have a chance to go bad, but I have never had a bottle spoil... About the oldest bottle I had that I drank was a couple months old...


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## woodsy (Oct 13, 2008)

So I got a 5 gal batch of traditional mead going, everything going good .
OG about 1.110 , got honey from a failed hive.
Been step feeding it nutrients and stirred it to degas it for the first week.
Planning on doing 1 gallon batches in secondary fermentation adding fruit to some and spices to others.


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## poischis (Feb 2, 2011)

I am fermenting my first batch of hard cider... 6 gallons in the carboy. Just apple juice and 1kg of brown sugar and yeast. Should be done in 4 weeks.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

I'm going to bottle some Passion Fruit Hard Cider this morning... Without any carbonation yet, it's tasting really interesting.. 

I've got 3 gallons of Apple I'm going to bottle tomorrow;


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## LuLuToo (Dec 19, 2015)

Fermenter? Please tell me more.

LuLu


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

LuLuToo said:


> Fermenter? Please tell me more.
> 
> LuLu


This is just an example picture I borrowed off the web...


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## SueMc (Jan 10, 2010)

I did finally get the mead going. We had mostly black locust honey from last spring and mostly clover harvested last Fall. I used the clover because it seems more "substantial" than the locust which is so lite and wonderful! I haven't done a full freezer clean out wine as discussed a few posts back but did thaw enough elderberries to make a five gallon batch.

I know this is not the same as wine and beer making but right after Christmas when fresh cranberries were on sale I infused a bunch of chopped berries in vodka and simple syrup. I recently strained the berries out (and dehydrated them) and the resulting cranberry liqueur is really nice! I plan on doing peaches this summer.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

I was getting ready to bottle up some apple cider tomorrow morning, but as I was sitting at the table tonight (I keep my fermenter on top of the fridge where it's real nice and warm) I hear the air lock rattling a couple times a minute.. I was thinking WHaaaaa??????... Appears my cider is going into a secondary fermentation.. How cool.. Haven't done that yet with any, so I"m going to let it keep cooking and see how different it is than my other batches.. 

I've also got a batch of Peach Mango fermenting.. I tasted a bit of it the other night using a thief, and oh man is that going to be an interesting drink.. 

BTW, has anyone ever tried the Skeeter Pee Recipe on the web? I'm thinking about trying it, but it has some things in it I don't have.. but maybe I need to buy?
http://skeeterpee.com/


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## SueMc (Jan 10, 2010)

I haven't yet but bookmarked these threads for future reference:
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=68

I get most of my info in general from winemakingtalk.com and Jack Keller's site


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## Cobber (May 22, 2015)

Sounds like it is going through malo-lactic fermentation. Can be good, can be bad depending what you want as an end result.

http://www.cider.org.uk/part3.htm bottom of page


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## Jade1096 (Jan 2, 2008)

In Secondary:

1. BlackBriar Mead *Bottled*

2. Cranberry Mead *Bottled*

3. Chocolate Salted Caramel port *Tasted this. Holy smokes is it wonderful. Added a vanilla bean and a bit of oak and put this one back to bed*

4. Pear Mead *added cardamom pods to this, so far, so good* 

5. Strawberry Mead *Bottled*

6. Sack Mead

7. Freezer cleanout Wine (all the fruit in my freezer. ALL of it)

8. Blackberry and DME wine *Bottled*

9. OH Henry Mead (peaches, figs, and rose)

10. Mead made with Maple syrup, hickory syrup, and yaupon holly honey.

11. Erlking Mead

12. Cherry mead (added mahlab and vanilla)

Thinking about starting another 6 gallon batch of Strawberry Mead (actually this is more finding the time to do it...Manthing has made it quite clear that more of this will get made).

Also needing to find time to start a peach/lavender mead.
My peach/lavender jam sells out every year so I'm thinking mead will make a nice translation of the flavors.


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## kinderfeld (Jan 29, 2006)

Brewed this recipe the other day. The fermenter is going nuts!

Should make a good lawnmower beer!!!

*Recipe Type:* All Grain
*Yeast:* Safale - 05
*Batch Size (Gallons): 5*
*Original Gravity:* 1.040
*Final Gravity:* 1.005
*IBU:* 14.3
*Boiling Time (Minutes):* 90
*Color:* 2.9
*Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp):* 14 Days at 68 Degrees
*Additional Fermentation:* Keg and chill for 10 days

*Ingredients:
------------**
6.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) 
2.00 lb Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) 
0.50 lb Minute Rice (1.0 SRM) 

0.50 oz Willamette [5.20%] (60 min) 
0.50 oz Crystal [3.50%] (60 min) *


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## cesium (Jan 9, 2008)

Just finished brewing a Red IPA for my daughter. I did a 90 minute mash which allowed me time to bottle a Black IPA, and a 90 minute boil during which I bottled an Amber Ale. Still have a light Belgian that my wife likes and a Belgian Quad for me that are in the fermenter until mid-week. Two wines now ready to bottle also. I am planning May's brews tomorrow....but I think I will have three wines to start, a cream stout (since my last one is not that great), and a couple IPA's for May. 

I am off from May 29 to mid-August, so plenty of time to sample :buds:


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## kinderfeld (Jan 29, 2006)

Just kegged this the other day! Smelled and tasted fantastic! 
Can't wait till it's ready!

:nanner:



kinderfeld said:


> Brewed this recipe the other day. The fermenter is going nuts!
> 
> Should make a good lawnmower beer!!!
> 
> ...


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## kinderfeld (Jan 29, 2006)

Brewed up an IPA SMaSH recipe the other day with pale malt and cascade hops. It calls for a secondary with a dry hop addition. :rock:


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## chrisenamels (May 5, 2016)

Apple and elderberry wines both ready for bottling The next one to be made will be elderflower, it'll be out sometime this month, just have to find some trees on the area we moved to a couple of years ago.


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## kinderfeld (Jan 29, 2006)

kinderfeld said:


> Brewed up an IPA SMaSH recipe the other day with pale malt and cascade hops. It calls for a secondary with a dry hop addition. :rock:


 Just kegged this. Can't wait till it's ready.


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## Cobber (May 22, 2015)

Buckeye_brian said:


> this weekend I am brewing a smoked Porter. That's right...smoked.
> 
> I have going to try and duplicate a "kit" recipe with a few mild changes. The big change will be instead of boiling the wort over a traditional burner or on the stove...I am going to brew it in my wood fired smoker.
> 
> The very first time I ever brewed (basic brown ale), my electric went out 5-minutes into my boil, hence the electric stove quit. I went outside and started a fire in the smoker and finished it over an open fire. To date, it was one of the best beers I have ever brewed. I am hoping the smokiness works well with the Porter (which I think it will).


How did this work out in the end?


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## Jade1096 (Jan 2, 2008)

In Secondary:

1. Chocolate Salted Caramel port 

2. Pear Mead added cardamom pods 

3. Sack Mead

4. Freezer cleanout Wine (all the fruit in my freezer. ALL of it)

5. OH Henry Mead (peaches, figs, and rose)

6. Mead made with Maple syrup, hickory syrup, and yaupon holly honey.

7. Erlking Mead

8. Cherry mead (added mahlab and vanilla)

9. Peach/Lavender mead

10. Raspberry Bochet (cooked the honey in my crockpot all day along with a vanilla bean....it made the whole house smell amazing)

The only things I have planned now are two more meads, one an herbal blend from my garden (lemon balm, bee balm, etc), and one made from the neighbors rose bushes.

We plan on buying a house next summer so I'm wanting everything bottled by then so I don't have to move full carboys.

These last two will be my last batches for the next year. If I can stop myself that is....


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## rwur961615 (May 24, 2008)

Watermelon wine. Ready to bottle.
Rick


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## shaky6 (May 15, 2015)

I've got a brown India rye ale in the secondary right now with a Galaxy dry hop. Next month in Enterprise, AL the LBS is hosting a homebrewing competition for its Octoberfest celebration. This is going to be my first entry into a homebrewing competition ever. I hope it turns out well. 

Last month I finally bought an old chest freezer and a temperature controller to do the fancy temperature controlled fermentation bit, and used a liquid yeast for the first time. It tasted pretty awesome coming out of the primary.


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## Jade1096 (Jan 2, 2008)

What do you guys have in the fermenter now?

In primary I've got :

1 gallon pomegranate/date mead
6 gallons blueberry mead made with buckwheat honey and maple syrup

1 gallon of berry kombucha


In secondary:

Peach/lavender/ginger mead
Raspberry bochet
2 different batches traditional mead using different honey types
2 different herbal blended meads
jujube mead
American persimmon mead
mesquite bean mead


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## chickenguy (Mar 22, 2017)

CalicoPrairie said:


> I have some hard cider and some strawberry wine. What about you?


apple/wild grape mix in one and homegrown tobacco leaves in the other(not for drinkin)


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## yetavon (May 8, 2017)

I need to get my stuff back out and set up after we move....haven't brewed in several years


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## shaky6 (May 15, 2015)

Farmhouse blonde. 2 row, lightly toasted 2 row, and a touch of wheat. Easy on the bitterness with some extra finishing hops for flavor and aroma. 4th generation British Ale II from wyeast.


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## crazyknight (Jun 25, 2017)

Got a batch of white zinfandel bubbling. Nice and fruity. I will probably start another batch before this one finishes. Wife loves it. I'm looking forward to honey to show up at the local farm again to start a batch of mead.


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## BigJ (Nov 5, 2010)

started 5 gal. of blueberry wine tomorrow I'm starting a blackberry port


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## RoBlaine (Mar 24, 2015)

Five gallons of Sunchoke blossom wine started. Let two medium clusters of Elderberries steep for 15 minutes in the hot blossom broth. It smelled spicy. First time adding Elderberries.
I've used simply blossom broth, sugar and a few raisins for natural yeast in the past and it makes a very interesting, different flavor of wine!


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## mitchell3006 (Apr 1, 2010)

5 gallons hard cider and 5 gallons red wine.


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## lunalupis (Mar 14, 2013)

I've got 5 gallons Ginger Cider w/ a Safale US-05, and 5 gallons traditional Irish Red Ale, but I used a Belgian Ale yeast in it for the heck of it!


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