For the first time since coming back to Florida in mid August, and the first time since having left Florida back at the beginning of June, I am brewing beer.
The goal here is a fairly strong IPA along the lines of Founders Centennial IPA. I've always been a fan of Centennial hops, and I have a bunch in my freezer to use up.
Beer brewing is one of the hobbies I still have, even as I get older. The beer usually turns out pretty well, and it's not a terribly expensive hobby once the equipment is purchased.
It does take a bit of time to haul all the equipment from the garage and set up. The whole operation takes about five hours. During this time, I can still be productive in non-beer related things. More often than not as of late, I'm writing.
I don't necessarily feel guilty if I'm just brewing beer and doing nothing else, but I do like to be efficient with my time. Multitasking is the best way to efficiently use the limited time we have on this planet.
I'm not going to be posting a how-to on beer brewing, but this is giving me an excuse to post something on steemit, and maybe some homebrewer out there will enjoy seeing someone else's setup.
Mostly setup and ready to go. There's a couple wheeled carts full of miscellaneous equipment just inside the house that I keep handy in case I need it.
| On and off rain all day. Mostly doesn't impact the beer brewing operation though. It does make things a bit...moist. |  |
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About 25 pounds of grain, 6 different types, all milled through my grain crusher.
Grain goes into my mash tun (where all the magic happens). I added a lot of rice hulls as well, which keeps the grain from compacting too much under its own weight.
Adding the hot water, then more grain, then more water, and lots of mix mix mix to keep it from clumping up into balls.
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After an hour at a certain temperature (151F, in this case), we drain the wort (the stuff that will soon be beer). |
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Adding the hops! 2 oz of Magnum, and a total of 4oz of Centennial. Can't have a Centennial IPA without a buttload of Centennial!
I didn't take any further pictures after this. It got super dark and rainy here (typical Florida summer), but it ended without major incident, and I added the yeast at the end, which officially makes it 'beer.'
I also got some writing done, so overall this was a productive brewday!
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://negativerealm.com/beer-brewing-vs-productivity/
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I have always wanted to do a brew. I've participated in the process as a spectator/sorcerer's apprentice once.
I don't think I'm meticulous enough to succeed at this, but I really want to do it one day...
Please reply to this comment so I can ex-post-facto reward this post that I did not get to within the first week! ;)
😄😇😄
Sir, your support by way of comments is enough of a reward for me.
I've yet to find a 'brewing partner' here in Florida. As it turns out, brewing involves mostly 'cleaning stuff' and 'sanitizing things'. I believe most folks think brewing beer is a process that somehow involves DRINKING beer as a critical part of the workflow.
By experience, I know this invites only sorrow and a great many mistakes.
Au contraire, mon ami, it is all part of my nefarious plan to eventually make everyone on Steemit aware that the "rewards window" does not close after only seven days... ;)
And, IMNSHO, brewing beer is a process that REQUIRES drinking beer... however, as a celebratory libation after the heavy lifting is all done and errors are no longer possible... ;)
And, yes, the cleaning stuff and sanitizing things, being activities that I'm not so good at, are part of my barriers to entry... and even more so, the necessity to do things at specific times in the future... :O
Oh, my!
I think my problem is that I brew in the mornings on the weekend, and beer and coffee just feel inappropriate together.
Nighttime, of course, is ok for beer consumption.
Maybe I should start just early enough in the morning so I can pretend it's still the night before.
problem solved
LOL!
Hmm, it looks like you're adding dog kibble at the end there Neg. Making beer always looks so gross considering it generally tastes pretty good. Although, so does kombucha.
This is so cool! It looks like quite an operation. I cannot be trusted with fancy equipment and would probably end up dumping it all into the pool. But I really enjoyed reading about it and seeing all the pictures! I hope it turns out well.
The works look good, Negativer. Here is something you might be interested in. I recently tried some super dry apple cider with hops. It was amazing. Bunkhouse I think it was called. To my knowledge you can only get it here but if you are looking to experiment.
I've heard of hopped cider; never tried it. I've brewed cider before, but just normal cider. Guess I'll have to take a shot at this too!
It was fabulous but the cider has to be dry or I think it would be a sweet, hoppy mess:) A wonderful substitute for those who are looking to avoid gluten ... had some dry mead with hops once too. It was also great. It is funny really ... not a fan of hoppy beers ... I prefer ales and even a stout if it isn't too ashy, but not a fan of pilsners and the like. But in cider and mead, hops are awesome.
Nice, so into IPS's at the moment. There are a lot of great micro-brew IPA's here that taste absolutely awesome.
Is there much of a craft beer scene up in Canada? I always picture it as Molson territory, and a wasteland of anything good.
Um, yup. I don't want speak disparagingly about the classics, but no one in their right mind drinks Molson unless you get handed one and don't want to offend that person... Sorry, craft or micro-brew beer for me - only.
Hey Neg! Happy to discover you have such kind of hobby. Wondering what kind of taste your beer would have. I stick to our nationwide brands and craft beers at some special occasions.
Cheers!
My beer is actually pretty good! This particular batch (if it turns out as I expect) is going to be a fairly bitter IPA.