Episode 1 of the Homebrew 101 files


I know! I know I mis-pronounced mesquite (it should be mes-keet). I had a bit of fun with Photoshop.

Gruit Ale Recipe

This my friends was an experiment, almost alchemical in undertaking. The idea behind it is to go a bit medieval in the brewing process that we know so well today. You see, before the widespread use of hops as the conservative of our brews european peoples used a slew of other herbs commonly called Gruit. Just like curry is not a spice, but a mix of spices (pepper, chili, cloves, coriander, cumin, paprika, ginger, turmeric, ...); In the same way Gruit was not a single additive to the brew but a mix of herbs, these herbs it is believed were:

• yarrow
• mugwort
• sweat gale
• Marsh rosemary
• ...
  

To make a long story short, the Church at the time thought that all of this was all a bit too pagan. These herbs were reportedly hallucinogenic and were often described as libido enhancing. The Church attempted (and succeeded) in controlling the rampant use of these herbs by becoming the single source of Gruit. Latter when Hops was discovered as a better preservative to a brew, the Church actually imposed laws (in Germany these laws are still place) on how a brew should be brewed.



So all of this to say that I attempted to re-create what those crazy pagans were drinking back then. It didn't work all that well. Below is my recipe, somehow my batch turned, I guess I didn't get the correct proportions of gruit. I will keep you posted on new experiments.

Fe-Fiada is Irish Gaelic for fairy fog.

Carolina with Sam Adams, in Boston!

Its me, Carolina, in Boston! I went there with 2 friends for 3 days it was fun. And yes I tried Samuel Adams beer!!! it was a good beer!
I support Sean in his homebrewing even if we do it in small 51/2 appartment rooms! LOL If everything goes well next year we should be in our own house! :-)

Belgian spiced Christmas Ale

I have been looking into how to make a Christmas ale. I have never had one. Researching these seasonal brews I have, however, found that quite a few breweries around the world do produce some versions of this ale. In the Montreal area I know of none.

I went to my local home brew shop, and talked about the recipe that I have been throwing around in my head. He gave me some great ideas, one of which was to use a Belgian Abbey Yeast. I have been playing around with adding in some sour mashed wort to the boil, question of giving it that extra Belgian micro biota feel. Is that a good idea?



Almost a month after bottling, the following comments were made concerning the brew:

Good carbonation
Very dark reddish color
Smell of vanilla is strong
A bit acidic (yeast selection issue)
Very strong alcohol
Spicy amazing taste




With this brew I really had a lot of fun making the label. I enjoy working on getting everything to fit into a 5cm x 5cm space. Plus it adds a bit of professionalism when comes time to serve it to friends, family and guests of the house.

Samhain Porter

My Goat Scrotum Porter has been renamed. I just finished making a label for it. A "Samhain fire" with the face of the green man in the background is what it is seen on the front, I am still working on the back. Don't know what Samhain is, follow the link and look it up. Same goes for the green man.

Goat Scrotum Porter:
Scandinavian-Maple-Martinique Version

The label for my freshly brewed Porter will read as follows:

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

William Shakespeare (Macbeth Act 4 Scene 1)

This brew recipe is actually not all that far from the truth. The actual recipe is based on the Goat Scrotum Porter recipe found in the "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, 3rd edition". I changed it around abit. Mainly instead of adding brown sugar, and black strap molasses, I added in approximately the same quantities (I think) granulated maple sugar and "Sirop de Canne" from Martinique. The brew is currently conditioning with some honey, but having tasted it beforehand I would say that it will be very good once aged (maybe a couple of months). The juniper berries used in the boil really give it a tangy and different taste. I used White Lab's East Coast American Ale Yeast.

Anniversary Ale

Brew Lab notes taken concerning an Ale Recipe that was made to celebrate our (Nina's and mines) first year wedding anniversary.
It probably went well. But I don't have any real recollection of this important Ale. The first anniversary I remember however.

That's one thing that is important take notes. It will save your life when you are trying to decipher something you had did in a recipe a long time ago, and whether there is anything that needs changing to make it better.

Its like a made chemist's log book.

Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison wrote in his diary the following entrancing paragraph:

The sun has left us on time, am going to read from the Encyclopedia Britannica to steady my nerves and go to bed early. I will shut my eyes and imagine a terraced abyss, each terrace occupied by a beautiful maiden. To the first I will deliver my mind and they will pass it down, down to the uttermost depths of silence and oblivion.

Charlie Papazian, in his The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, re-used this in his intro to a light-bodied hoppy beer recipe that he titled "The Sun Has Left Us on Time" Steam Beer.

This brew of Charlie's I have not yet tried, mainly because light beers don't get me all that excited. I much prefer heavier more complex flavored dark ales. I brewed a Gruit Ale this weekend. Gruit Ale is what ale used to be before hops were discovered, and promoted by the Church as The way to brew. Gruit itself was a mixture of commonly available herbs that when added to the brew kettle provided the same antiseptic effects as hops. As well, according to many sources the herbs when in the presence of alcohol do not cause a low, depressive, sleepy effect on the system, as hops does, but more of a stimulating, mildly hallucinogenic, and intoxicatic effect. I will post my Gruit Recipe shortly, and when conditioned and ready the results of this brew lab experiment.

Welcome

This is the first post on the newly created "Brew Lab" blog, welcome.

Its going to be a concerted effort, between myself and my wife. I am the brew scientist, I am recently married, and I am trying to convince my beautiful wife that there is a reason to home brew, and to enjoy it.

My wife, Annabel from Carolina, is my trusty side kick through this entire experiment.

We are going to offer our readers (you!) with the results from the lab, the sometimes comical anecdotes of how it affects our life, and currently being worked on Brew Lab 101 series of movies. Welcome and keep a recent eye on the up and coming posts.