This is a log of the brews I have made, how they turned out, and the recipe. I've brewed wine, champagne and beer so far, with ciders and meads in the future. I like brewing because it combines my love of beverages, with my love of cooking, with my love of science. Basically, its a fun hobby that results in an enjoyable beverage to share with friends and family.

About the Recipes: I've taken a shining to the program QBrew and now use it for my beer recipes. It calculates quite a bit of data, including estimated gravity readings, estimated alcohol percentages, bitterness levels, and more. It even allows you to compare the estimated values with the BJCP style guidelines for the style you are brewing. Whats more, the program is open source, and has versions for OS X, Linux and Windows, making it the only true cross platform brewing calculator (to my knowledge). You can download the recipe for each of my beers in QBrew format, which is an XML based format. Eventually, I might write a script to parse this file and allow downloading in other formats, like text, html, StrangeBrew, ProMash, etc.

• October '02 Champagne - Our first brew, a hand crafted X-mas present.
• May '03 Liberty Pale Ale - An American style Pale Ale, my first beer.
• June '03 White Zinfandel - A brew kit aquired for Madalene's birthday.

Info: This was a 3 gallon batch from a Champagne ingredient kit purchased at Worm's Way. Instead of using the weak dry yeast included in the kit, we used a WYeast "Smack Pack" of Liquid Champagne Yeast. This brew was made for the express purpose of having something interesting to give out for X-mas presents, hence, nearly all of it was given away, rather than consumed 'in house'.

Recipe: Because a kit was used, we have no recipe. However, we did modify the kit by using the WYeast Liquid Yeast instead of the included dry yeast.

Batch Notes: We followed the instructions very carefully. The wine spent 6 days in primary fermentation, and 11 days in secondary fermentation. The yeast was very vigorous, and brought us to our target Final Gravity of 1.005 in no time. The batch was bottled in 750ml glass champagne bottles, and bottle conditioned for natural carbonation. We put a rather charming label on it and decorated with gold mylar.

Results: When a taster bottle was opened at 5 weeks from bottling, it was found to be a little yeasty, and a little more 'citrusy' than was pleasant. However, at 8-10 weeks, when the majority of the bottles were opened, the champagne was found to be much more mellow. The level of carbonation was just right. All in all, not a perfect batch of champagne, but quite good, and an excellent first brew. Plus, everyone loved the gift, because even though it wasn't perfect, it's secret ingredient was love, and no one can make fun of a beverage that has love in it.

Fermentation Details: Temperature began at 71 degrees F, and raised to 76 by the third day of fermentation, which was held throughout the fermentation. The below graph shows the change in specific gravity through the days.

Info: This was my first beer batch, an American style "Liberty" Pale Ale. The style is defined by its light amber color, lack of 'caramel' flavors, and strong hop presence. It is a distinctly American interpretation of the English Pale Ale, and typically uses citrusy American hops like Cascades.

Recipe: This is the basic recipe used for the batch. Download QBrew recipe file for more details.

• Style: American Pale Ale
• Batch Size: 5 gallons
• OG: 1.042
• FG: 1.011
• Estimated Color: 12
• Estimated Bitterness: 42
• Estimated ABV: 4.1%
• Grains:
  • 5.40 lbs Pale Malt Extract (Liquid)
  • 1.00 lbs Crystal 60L Crushed Malt
• Hop Schedule:
  • 60 min - .75 oz Northern Brewer (8% AAU)
  • 30 min - .75 oz Cascade (6.3% AAU)
  • 15 min - .75 oz Cascade (6.3% AAU)
• Yeast: WYeast 1056 American Ale - Smack Pack
• Notes: Steep Crystal grains for 30 minutes at 150 degrees F. At end of steeping, remove the grains, bring to a boil, add the extract and begin the hop schedule. Ferment in primary for 2 weeks, or 1 week in primary and 2 weeks in secondary.

Batch Notes: Dennis helped me with the wort boil. We did a 4 gallon boil, and topped up to 5 gallons in the fermenter. We made a 1L yeast starter 48 hours before brewing, which was pitched at a little past high krausen. One problem was that our original recipe had specified only a half pound of the Crystal 60L, but in our zeal, we accidentally steeped the entire pound. We made a last minute modification to the recipe, and shrugged our shoulders. This ale is on the dark side of pale, but who cares, its not a competition ale or nuthin'! Fermentation proceeded a little slower than I had wanted, even with the starter, the yeast was looking a bit sluggish. However, it all came out fine. It spent 10 days in primary.

When I went to move the brew to secondary, I noticed a problem. Our carboy was only 3 gallons! No wonder, since our first champagne batch was only 3 gallons, but it had slipped past me to get another one. So, I racked 3 gallons of the beer into the secondary fermenter, and left the rest in primary. The batch that stayed in primary got bottled 7 days later, and the batch that was moved to the secondary waited another 14 days until bottling. The first batch, that stayed in primary, was bottle conditioned, and given away as gifts, except for one bottle for the cellar. The second batch, that moved to the secondary, was bottled into two 6L bottles for my Tap-A-Draft. One was bottle conditioned, and the other force carbonated in the Tap-A-Draft.

Results: This beer is obviously too caramel-y and sweet to be a proper Pale Ale, it is also a bit too dark. There isn't much body, due to the low gravity, but it has a good finish. The malt flavor is good, and the hops are strong. Aroma is good and citrusy. There is a slightly sour note, as though there was some lemon juice in the batch. However, I doubt this is sign of infection, just a not-so-perfect batch. I'll be opening the second Tap-A-Draft bottle, which bottle conditioned on its own, soon, and I hope its a bit better since it had more time to mellow out in the bottle. Same goes for the 'gift' beers.

Fermentation Details: Temperature began at 72 degrees F, which was held throughout the fermentation. The below graph shows the change in specific gravity through the days in primary fermentation.

Info: This was a 5 gallon batch from a White Zinfandel ingredient kit purchased at Worm's Way's St. Louis store. Instead of using the wimpy dry yeast included in the kit, we used a WYeast "Smack Pack" of Liquid Champagne Yeast. I gave Madalene the kit for her birthday, so she could have a sweeter wine around.

Recipe: Because a kit was used, we have no recipe. However, we did modify the kit by using the WYeast Liquid Yeast instead of the included dry yeast.

Batch Notes: We followed the instructions very carefully. The wine spent 7 days in primary fermentation, and was just moved to secondary fermentation a few days ago. Fermentation started off a bit slow, but was very consistent, bringing us to (and a little past) our target FG of 1.010.

Results: No results yet, as the wine isn't done! In about two weeks, we'll bottle the wine, using a few 1 gallon growlers and some clear 750ml bottles. Then it will age for about 3 months. I tasted the batch as we were racking to secondary, and it tastes perhaps a bit too dry, but with good flavor. Age should turn this into a fine Zinfandel, though it may come out too dry as my initial tasting suggests. Perhaps we shouldn't have used such a vigorous Champagne yeast for this batch.

Fermentation Details: Temperature began at 75 degrees F, which slowly lowered to 72 degrees F over the 7 days in primary. The below graph shows the change in specific gravity through the days.