Christmas Ale - Bottling Day!

  After numerous false starts and failed attempts, I bottled my Christmas Ale today.  I had been trying to do this for a few days now, but various distractions (damn you, seasonal allergies!) kept me away. So today I decided to play hookie from work and do it!*

  Before bottling, I took another sample, with a gravity somewhere between 1.012 and 1.014, maintaining an ABV of around 7.8%, not significantly lower than the recipe's goal of 8.02%, although the ABV could go up a bit by Christmas due to aging.                       In all, I got sixty-two bottles.  For those of you doing calculations, that's a little over five and a half gallons, although the last ten or so bottles - having liquid from the bottom of the fermenter - are probably chock full of sediment, so if you get one (they're all set aside in one box, so I know where they are), just be careful.                                                                                                  The sediment is perfectly safe, and probably wont even significantly affect the flavor; it's just a little gross and slimy.  If you do get some of this beer, and you don't want the sediment, just pour carefully and you should be fine.

As usual, if you'd like a bottle or three, you'll need to come visit.  I won't ship these because, well, it's expensive.

 Behold!  This is the Spice Bill bag!  It contains the remains of ginger, vanilla, allspice, and cinnamon.  Now, it's just disgusting.

This is what's left at the bottom of the fermenter -- called trub.  (pronounced "troob")  It's all the sediment from the grains, sugars, and yeast, mixed with concentrated remains of hops and the spice bill.  After boiling the wort, everything is nicely suspended in the liquid, and over time everything begins to clear out, with the solid items slowly falling to the bottom.  While most of the hops and spices were separated in bags, and thus could be removed from the wort, the grain and sugar particles will eventually clump and fall to the bottom, as will the yeast - which over the last month or so has grown quite a bit.  When I opened the top and stuck my head in there to take that picture, the concentrated alcohols damn-near knocked me out.  Pretty awesome!




*Note to anyone who may or may not be reading this who may be from work:  I was actually legitimately excused for the day for other legitimate reasons which I will gladly explain in person if you have questions.  Don't fire me.  OK.  Now.  Move along!

Is it truly failure if you learn from the mistake?

In my last post, I laid out a potential recipe for my first attempt at root beer.  Later that evening, I made a 1-gallon test batch using an extract I got from Maryland Homebrew.

The recipe called for 1oz extract per gallon, which should've been 2 tbsp.  But I think they might've meant 1oz by weight, not volume because 2 tbsp was far too much.  Or, maybe they didn't expect me to add my own stuff.  In addition to the "basic" recipe (sugar, extract, and water), I added one vanilla bean (sliced, and scraped), and a tbsp of sarsaparilla root.  For sugar, I used 1 cup honey and 1 cup brown sugar.  It could've used at least another 1/2 cup.

  I let the vanilla and sarsaparilla simmer for about 30 mins or so, added the sugar, stirred until it melted, then added the extract.  Meanwhile, I had let the yeast wake itself up a bit in a cup of warm water and about a tablespoon of honey.  I used some "Fromunda" dry ale yeast from an older Mr. Beer kit.  While I put in the amount the extract suggested, the yeast was a little old, and I probably should've increased that, too, but I didn't want to risk over-carbonation and exploding bottles.

The end result was a sweet and somewhat tasty drink, but a little off.  I figured it was probably because it was warm, and needed a few days.

It's been a week.  I let the bottles sit out at room temperature for 4 days, then in the fridge the rest of the time.  While there's a bit of a refreshing flavor, it's obvious there's too much extract, and it just tastes like.... crappy root beer.  Even worse, while there is a refreshing *hisssss* when I open the bottle, there's almost no fizz, and practically zero head, which is essential to any root beer.  This means either not enough yeast, or not enough sugar. The bottles did firm up pretty good, so there was definitely some CO2 in there, but maybe because I used dry ale yeast (and old shit at that), it just took longer to build up CO2; next time I'll use normal bread yeast, which ferments faster.

There were somethings that went well: the honey was an excellent choice as it made the root beer significantly creamier tasting.  The sarsaparilla root was also kind of fun.  Can't really taste the vanilla though.

Next time, I'll half the extract, double the vanilla, and add a little extra brown sugar or honey.

It might also be better if I forgo the extract altogether.  I'd need to find a few extra roots, like wintergreen, cinnamon, and anise.

What's This?

Christmas Ale is coming along.  A little harsher flavor than I hoped for, but it should mellow out over time, and hopefully that damn vanilla will finally poke its head thru the hops and ginger.

  As it stands, the hops have overtaken the flavor (with 5oz in a 5gallon batch, that tends to happen!).  And the ginger, still quite noticeable in the background, really compliments the hops, bringing their flavors out even more.  It's a hell of a bite.  Not bad, but not what I wanted in a Christmas beer, which should have more notes of chocolate, vanilla, or honey.  Still, the fact that the sample - without refrigeration or carbonation - already tastes great is a good sign!

Testing today gave a gravity of 1.013, and an ABV approximately 7.5%.  That's nothing to laugh at, but not where I wanted it to be.  However, I buzzed from that 4oz sample for an hour, which was nice, and I could taste a pleasantly smooth aftertaste for the next 2 hours.  Like a stout or porter, this does taste better warmer.  I drank the sample at around room temperature, then refrigerated it, and warmer was definitely better.

  Unlike a stout or porter, this beer is really.... not black.  Opaque as fuck, but remains stubbornly brownish, like coffee with a splash of cream, or maybe sewage water.  This may be largely in part to my using bulk pilsen as the primary malt instead of amber or a darker.  I probably could get around this (amber malt gets expensive!) by reducing the pilsner a bit and adding another lb or so of chocolate malt.


  I'd like to take a moment to share my first draft label.  Most likely some of this will change, including the name, but this is roughly what the label will look like, barring a radical redesign.

Note that with this large a batch, I can expect 50+ bottles, so not every bottle will be labeled.  Maybe one or two in each 6-pack, describing what insanity the imbiber has just gotten into.  As with Humperdinck, this label will have a QR code in that blank spot in the bottom right corner that will take you to whatever blog post I write that describes the final product.

Some may be disinclined to the title.  But I removed overt necrophilia references, so that's progress, right?

I'll take another sample in a few days, and see where everything's at.  If things are relatively consistent, I'll go ahead and bottle it.  If not, maybe another week or three will do the trick.  The beer will condition in the bottle for at least 3 weeks before it's debut in early December, and that might do a little more to temper the spiciness than anything else.

And now for something completely different...

On a completely different note, I've taken up an interest in making root beer!  Partly because my kids are starting to get very interested in my brewing hobby, and this is something they can help with (and enjoy!), but also because I've got a lot of vanilla beans left over.  I'll be heading to the LHBS (Local HomeBrew Shop) this weekend for bottles, and will probably grab some root beer extract, too.

  Looking at several recipes online, it seems pretty easy, especially compared to making beer.  Basically, you add everything in, simmer it a bit to extract the flavors and melt the sugars, let it cool, and viola! - drinkable root beer!  Then add yeast, bottle it, and let it sit and carbonate for a few days, and it's a finished product.  If I use common bread yeast, the alcohol content will be negligible, too.  As an alternative, I could forego the yeast and use an expensive carbonating machine (I'm poor), or mix the concentrated form with seltzer water (that's kind of gross).  So bread yeast it is!

The recipe will probably look something like this: 

• 2qt water
• 3 vanilla beans, scraped
• 4 whole star anise
• 2oz dried sarsaparilla root

Boil water, put the above ingredients into a fine mesh bag, simmer together for 20 mins.

• 2oz root beer extract
• 2lb honey
• 2.5lb cane or brown sugar (maybe half/half?)

Slowly add these items, stirring until dissolved.  Simmer at least 10 more mins.  Remove mesh bag, and allow to cool in a sink full of cold water.  Add all ingredients to a 5 gallon fermenter/bucket, increasing water until it's at 5 gallons.  Let cool to at last 80F (70 or cooler is better, but not cooler than low 50's); any warmer could kill the yeast.

• Add about 1tsp baker's or dry ale yeast*, gently stir.

Pour root beer into sanitized bottles (I'll be using plastic ones with resealable caps, as they're less likely to explode.  All the sugar means the yeast will ferment quickly!), let set a few days until carbonated.

When they're ready, they need to be refrigerated to stop fermentation.  This prevents unwanted alcohol buildup, but also prevents over-carbonation, which can lead to excessive fizziness, or even combustion.
*This is why bread yeast is best -- it ferments real quick, then generally stops (sorta), as opposed to beer or champagne yeasts, which could ferment for months or longer.   Dry ale yeast will carb a little faster and maybe better, too, but needs to be refrigerated t avoid explosions.  Some recipes call for champagne yeast.  Champagne yeast can continue to ferment down into the lower 40s F, meaning it could carbonate and combust in your fridge!!

 The yeast-carbonating method should take about 3-4 days.  It will likely result in minor sediment at the bottom of each bottle, but probably nothing major.  So long as the soda is poured carefully, it should not be noticeable or affect the flavor.

Fine print:  There could be a negligible alcohol content of up to 0.25% by volume - again, hardly noticeable, and safe for consumption by children.  For those more prudish, let me put that in perspective.  Most beers contain 5-7% alcohol (more than 20x what would be in these bottles).  Most light beers have around 4% ABV (Bud Light sits at 4.2%, for example).  In order to obtain as much alcohol in your body as you would get from drinking a single 12 oz Bud Light, you'd have to drink at least sixteen 12oz bottles of yeast-fermented root beer over the course of a single hour (because the human body removes alcohol at a steady pace).  Even so, it wouldn't affect your body the same because all the extra carbohydrates from all those root beers would absorb some of the alcohol, similar to how one would get drunk more slowly on a full stomach vs empty.  That, and you'd be too busy with an upset stomach and a bursting bladder because you drank 192 ounces of root beer in a single hour! (a gallon is 128oz)  By comparison, O'Doul's "non-alcoholic" beer has 0.4% alcohol, double what's in yeast-fermented root beer, and is still considered "non-alcoholic" and safe for minors to drink in moderation.
  Finally, the human body naturally produces alcohol - almost as much as 2 beers' worth over the course of a day!  Therefore, this negligible amount would not have any effect on minors.  Now you've been schooled.

Phew!  Ok, having said that, I'm probably going to make root beer.  Very soon.  Again, I won't ship it -- the yeast could make the bottles explode.  But if you're in or near Maryland, feel free to contact me or drop by and grab a bottle!

I'll post more about this once I get the process started.

More Fine Print:  Don't let your children drink and drive.  That's just illegal.  The creators of The Bruster/Armbrewster cannot be held liable for any instances of alcohol poisoning or other sickness resulting from imbibing in my products.  Drinking naturally carbonated root beer in excess for the purpose of getting "a buzz" may be hazardous to your health and may result in stomach sickness or discomfort, etc, but will still not likely produce an alcohol-induced buzz.  That's not very smart, and I don't advocate it.  Find a real beer and save your liver.  Or maybe root beer schnapps.  Or, if you really want to get buzzed from my root beer, add liquor, such as spiced rum.  Unless you're under 21.  Then don't.  When I state or imply this is safe for children, I mean this as an opinion.  I am not a doctor.  My research came from the Internet, for God's sake!  Enjoy responsibly.