Holiday Cider

Today I whipped up some Holiday Cider. It should be ready for Christmas and New Years. It is a mix of apple juice and cranberry juice with a little brown sugar and cinnamon. I'm hoping its tasty.

Holiday Cider

3 gallons Musselman's 100% apple juice
2 gallons Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail
1 lb light brown sugar
5 sticks cinnamon
1 packet Safeale US-05 Yeast

Starting Gravity - 1.060

Buzzy Beer Tested

I cracked a bottle of Buzzy Beer the other night. It was delicious. it is just starting to carbonate. It has quite a ways to go. I think it should be ready by Christmas.

Sleazy T Ale Bottled

I bottled the Sleazy T ale today. I used 7.5 ounces of corn sugar and 1 1/2 cups water for the carbonation. It is a little more than usual because I have not been getting the carbonation that I want lately.

Final Stats:

Starting Gravity: 1.040
Finishing Gravity: 1.010
Alcohol By Volume: 3.87%
IBU's: 29.5

Sleazy T Ale Racked

I pulled the ale off of the hops and into another carboy today. I don't have time to bottle it today so I'll let it sit without hops for another couple days.

Joe's Ancient Orange Mead Bottled

I bottled Joe's Ancient Orange Mead today and got 9 bottles. The final gravity was 1.034 which makes the alcohol content about 10%. It tasted pretty orangy so I think I will let it bottle age for a year or so before trying any. It needs to mellow. My wife wants me to do a cranberry mead so that will probably be the next small batch mead I make.

Sleazy T Ale - Dry Hopped

I added a plug of hops to the Sleazy T secondary today. I will dry hop it for 5 days and bottle next Wednesday.

Buzzy Beer Bottled

I bottled the Buzzy Beer today. I estimate the final alcohol by volume to be 10%. I have to use an estimate because in order to bottle condition and carbonate the beer, I had to add an additional 1 1/4 cups of Munton and Fison Extra Light Dry Malt Extract. Before I added it, I measured the gravity at 1.023 with an ABV of 9.9%. I expect to get an additional .01% or so from the carbonation and conditioning process.

Final stats:

Class: Belgian Dark Strong Ale
Starting gravity 1.100
Finishing Gravity 1.023
ABV ~10%
International Bitter Units 14



By my calculations the beer should be ready to crack on December 21st (10 weeks from now.)

Sleazy T Ale Moved to Secondary

I moved the Sleazy T ale to the secondary. I measured the gravity at 1.014. Right now the alcohol is 3.35%. It will sit in there for at least a couple weeks, maybe more depending on how long it takes to clear.

New Yeast Pitched into Buzzy Beer

I pitched the culture of yeast into the Buzzy Beer. It took quite a while to get going from culture but it finally started bubbling. I also added a fresh packet of yeast.

Irish Red Carbonating Slowly

I tested another Irish Red today. It is carbonating but SLOWLY. It may have to age quite a while before it is fully ready. It has a marvelous flavor, even with light carbonation.

Hard Knox Cider Bottled!

Done today! It is about 7.5% alcohol.

Almost time to bottle Buzzy Beer

Today I am making an attempt at reculturing the east from the Buzzy Beer. The goal of this is to repitch some active yeast into the Buzzy Beer about 3 days before bottling. Here is how I did it -

Boil 2 ounces Munton and Fison Extra light dry malt extract in 2 cups of water for 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature in a sanitized 1/2 gallon container. Then grab 1 "thief" amount of Buzzy Beer from the secondary and drop it into the container. Gently swirl to aerate and top with airlock.

We'll see how this works. I may end up just buying another bottle of the yeast and pitching that if my culture attempt doesn't work.

Sleazy T Ale Brewed

Starting Gravity = 1.040
IBU's = 29.5

Buzzy Beer Tested

Specific Gravity today = 1.023. Estimated alcohol by volume ...


wait for it ....



wait for it ....

9.9%!!!

Sleazy T Ale Updated

I changed the hops for Sleazy T Ale a bit:

1 oz Fuggles (pellet) 4.9% boiled 60 minutes
1/2 oz Goldings, East Kent (plug) 5.4% boiled 15 minutes
1/2 oz Goldings, East Kent (plug) 5.4% dry hopped 5 days

I think I might brew tomorrow.