Springtime IPA

As part of my birthday gift this year, my HLM gave me some really cute pint glasses to enjoy my homebrew.  The lighting might make it hard to see that they say "Special Brew" on them and have some hops and barley in the image.

Today I decided to try my latest brew in them, a seasonal IPA that the fine people at Mr Beer put out for the spring.  It's pretty hoppy (as one would expect from an IPA) and pretty heady and about a 6.5% abv, which is making me pretty happy on my day off work.  And it tastes even better in my birthday glass, while sitting out on the balcony with my feet up.

Tequila Stout

For the third beer I brewed, I decided to try something a little different, and I used some agave syrup in it.  Agave, of course, is what tequila is fermented and distilled from, so I thought it would make for an interesting brew.  I made a nice dark Irish Stout and added a bunch of agave and a few peppercorns for some added bite.

In the end, it made a deep dark stout - the agave gives it a sort of a tangy finish, but of course not what a distilled tequila would give.  It has a fairly good head on it, and will definitely keep me warm this winter.

Beer for Nerds

When I posted about my first beer, I mentioned that I had plans for something darker and stronger and more complex.  Well, tonight I finally got to crack a bottle of my second brew.  As planned, I made this one darker than the first, by adding a nice brown malt extract.  I also added some brown sugar for body (and for increased alcohol - should be around 6% for this one) and some extra Fuggle hops for aroma.

The end result is a beer that is darker (I would call it a dark brown ale, not quite a stout) with a smooth mouthfeel and a nice creamy head.  The aroma of the hops is more subtle than intended, probably because I added them later than would have been ideal.  Live and learn.

I have a stout conditioning in my closet right now, and a witbier fermenting in my brew keg, plus some exciting plans for a collaboration with my HLM.  Crafty girl plus clever chef hopefully equals kick-ass beer.

Brew Mistress

While the fiber arts are my main passions, I am also an aspiring DIY-er in many other fields, as well.  Artisan breads and cheeses, homemade wine... I have a lot of plans, but most of them take a lot of space and/or equipment.  Living in an apartment means my space is limited, and buying so much beautiful yarn has certainly limited my funds.

Some time ago I found a beermaking kit online that interested me because it was both simple and economical.  Rather than expensive and spacious carboys and buckets and grainmills, this system uses a relatively small 2-gallon PET keg to ferment the beer, and that's about pretty much all the equipment I need.  The smaller volume is perfect for me, too, since smaller batches mean more chances to play around and create something new.

The starter kit I got (on amazon.ca - yay free shipping!) came with two types of ready-made beer mixes, a pale ale and a golden lager - light beers are not my personal preference, but what the heck, they're nice for summer.  I made the first batch (a simple American Blonde Ale) precisely according to the instructions, since that gave me a chance to get used to the process.  It took me maybe a half hour to have it ready to go, and then I had to wait patiently for a couple of weeks to allow it to ferment, before I got to bottle it.  After bottling, I gave it a week to carbonate, then another week and a half to condition (which allows the yeast to do some more work and improve the flavour.)  On Monday, I finally cracked the first bottle and gave it a taste.

As I expected, it's a very basic blonde ale, nothing fancy.  Being an unfiltered homebrew, it is cloudier than most macrobrews, both from the proteins and the yeast suspended in it.  If my response to the first pint is any indication, it seems a lot stronger than the 3.7% than it's purported to be, although I couldn't calculate the actual percentage of alcohol until I get a hydrometer (why do hobbies always require more equipment?)  Today I put a wedge of lemon in there and it brightened it up quite a bit.

I have big plans for my next keg - something a bit darker, a bit stronger, a bit hoppier...  I'll let you know, by the end of summer, when it's ready.

Beer & Honey Bread

I am past the heel on my second sock, but today I took a few minutes out of my yarn-filled day to make some bread. I found this recipe for Honey Beer bread by way of foodgawker, and couldn't wait to try it. I just happen to have everything I need in the house, and it sounded like such an easy recipe.


Suffice to say it was super quick and really couldn't be easier. The recipe warns against overmixing, so I was very careful not to, which left it a bit lumpier on top than it could have been. Better safe than sorry, I say. I will mix it a bit more, next time. You may be wondering how it tastes. It is over half eaten, if that answers your question. I ate mine buttered, with a nice hunk of goat brie on the side. Bliss.