I would love to make whisky and bourbon but sadly the laws in Florida need to be updated, very badly. I'd love to make a Chocolate Rye Bourbon. Or are you saying you are looking to make a beer that is based on an Irish Whisky?
My wife doesn't drink beer, but if she did, she would love both. She is a huge Cilantro fan, and loves Key Lime. I'm not a big fan of actual key lime pie, but would probably appreciate it as a beer as I joke I have a few odd addictions aka thing I try to have only one but just can't stop myself. Anything with lime (except key lime pie as it is too sweet) is very addictive to me. When you are ready, you should try doing a kettle sour, it was really easy and turned out amazing. I can say it wasn't a major difference over the philly sour, but giving you a choice of yeasts afterwards was a bonus.
Would be nice to have "0%" alcohol brew recipes / methods. I find it nice to have a lower abv/no alcohol choice on the kegerator from time to time. I've tried Hop tea/water (the drinkable kind, not add to fermenter kind) in the past and it was "OK" at best.. since I had no recipe to follow.
Sadly at the moment, I'm avoiding 0% as I've seen what professional brewers have to go through to make that stuff and most still taste watered down. It is a lot of work. I am considering some really low ABV beers. And yes, I WILL be doing a few things that will fall into the "Hop Water, and even a "Tea" type brew. The Hop Water will of course be 0 abv, as I really enjoy hop water.
😀Great suggestion as someone had given me some natural Pistachio flavoring which I gave to my wife. (I doubt she ever used it.) I like pistachios but would prefer something else like Pecans, but I think Pistachios do have a more distinct flavor which is something you would want to stand out in the beer. I recently tried my first peanut butter Stout. I Really didn't care for it. I love crunchy peanut butter, but usually hate anything else with peanut butter flavor. (I'm like that with Hazelnuts too.)
Don’t get me started! I eat crunchy peanut butter with a spoon at night like late dessert treat! 😂 I had one amazing pistachio heavy stout that was crazy and some peanut butter stout too from an another brewery in Montreal. We are lucky to have so many breweries in Quebec! When I’ll return home in June, I will try to brew some of my own inspired by your Channel and some others. ;)
I was thinking about making a kartoffelbier but using just over 2 cups of instant mash potatoes. Not many videos on german potato beer and none using instant mash.
That is an awesome recommendation. At first I thought you might be messing with me, until I did a bit of research. I love potatoes and beer, so it sounds like an amazing combination. (Now I'm craving my homemade Potato soup. I guess I know what we are eating this weekend.) I've added this to my list and am very interested in doing this one.
I actually have a few of those videos planned for this year. (Wanted to do them sooner.) I went to White Labs in Sept 2022 for 3 days of training and learned a TON! They were impressed at one thing I do with yeast, and highly recommend it over yeast harvesting. If you are trying to harvest yeast for from a beer that you purchased, that is something different. If you are trying to harvest yeast from one of your previous fermentation, don't. Instead double your yeast starter and store half away and pitch the other half. This will allow you to get twice as many generations out of the yeast with less mutations compared to capturing it from fermentations. (Plus it is a lot safer from getting a Lacto infection.)
@@BitterRealityBrewing Now I really like that method and would love to see how you go about this. Do you worry about pitch rate or any of that stuff, or just add 1/2 your starter for each batch and it's good to go? I think it's the pitch rate that is throwing me off, like how do you calculate it for yeast you previously propagated or is it nothing to be concerned about. I've got tons of questions, so maybe I should just wait for the video, lol. Thanks again for your videos Mike, I really enjoy them and have learned a lot.
I learned all about pitch rates and how to calculate it correctly at White Labs (loved taking that class). I can eventually do a video on that, but personally I just stick to over pitching. The issue with true pitch rates is to know how much of the yeast you are pitching is "Viable" and to do that you must do yeast counts using a microscope and a stain. I've done a handful, and although I find it kind of enjoyable, it takes a lot of time. Most people would run away from home brewing if that was a requirement to brew. I feel if you are using fresh yeast and following recommendations you should be good 99% of the time. If you are using older yeast, overpitch every time and always have a backup yeast incase you pitched dead yeast aka non-viable. I really want to do a video on the yeast counting and viability, but I'm not sure how many people would enjoy it and it would take a lot of work to produce that video with decent images. I am looking to do a video this year discussing it and giving a higher level overview.
I read through the styles and the BJCP. With the ranges allowed and no examples to sample it can be hard to know how close I got. I have resolved to enter into a couple of homebrew competitions and see what others think.
Update me on what you enter and how well they do. I will tell you to look at some of the recipes that made it in previous years, and I think you will notice about half were on the higher side of the abv for the styles they represented. A judge once told me one of the best ways to place is to go big or go home.
Great recommendation as I could always cut 6 gallon batches into 3 gallon batches in separate boils to save time and knock out 2 at a time side-by-side. I do have one coming up that I want to brew with a very uncommon hop and I have a few other uncommon hops that could add to the event.
Clawhammer is getting ready to release a Keg Menter. They are waiting for an updated, safer lid and then they will be out the door. I'm one of the first to order and plan to use them for Ciders.
Actually I have done that with a Fermzilla All Rounder, but sadly I didn't think of doing a video on it. The key is to ferment in a pressure fermenter of course, and using a quality floating dip tube like the FLOTit 2.0. This is a very cost effective solution for an all in one solution. I'll try to do a video on this, this year.
The Clawhammer kegmenter has a lot of options but it is expensive. I ordered a FLOATit 2.0 to try it in a keg. Is the beer quality as good without transferring to a serving keg?
Dying to brew lately, but been doing a stupid amount of shorts, other videos, and reorganizing. Looking to brew this weekend with my Dad who is 79 and knows almost nothing about how to brew beer.
Thank you for the preview of this coming year. You are one of my go-to people when I muck something up, or, if I want to learn something new.
Thank you for the kind words. If you ever get really stuck, email me "Mike (at) BitterRealityBrewing.com and I can try to assist.
@@BitterRealityBrewing that is very kind and I will. Thank you.
Happy New Year Rick. Keep up the great posts. 🍻
Thank you and thank you for the kind words. Have an amazing 2024!
I'm going to do a Irish whiskey recipe for a beer.
I would love to make whisky and bourbon but sadly the laws in Florida need to be updated, very badly. I'd love to make a Chocolate Rye Bourbon. Or are you saying you are looking to make a beer that is based on an Irish Whisky?
We will be brewing an Irish Whiskey featuring Jameson Green Label for a friend who just beat cancer
I’m playing with cilantro and lime in a philly sour. Also playing around with a key lime
My wife doesn't drink beer, but if she did, she would love both. She is a huge Cilantro fan, and loves Key Lime. I'm not a big fan of actual key lime pie, but would probably appreciate it as a beer as I joke I have a few odd addictions aka thing I try to have only one but just can't stop myself. Anything with lime (except key lime pie as it is too sweet) is very addictive to me. When you are ready, you should try doing a kettle sour, it was really easy and turned out amazing. I can say it wasn't a major difference over the philly sour, but giving you a choice of yeasts afterwards was a bonus.
Would be nice to have "0%" alcohol brew recipes / methods. I find it nice to have a lower abv/no alcohol choice on the kegerator from time to time.
I've tried Hop tea/water (the drinkable kind, not add to fermenter kind) in the past and it was "OK" at best.. since I had no recipe to follow.
Sadly at the moment, I'm avoiding 0% as I've seen what professional brewers have to go through to make that stuff and most still taste watered down. It is a lot of work. I am considering some really low ABV beers. And yes, I WILL be doing a few things that will fall into the "Hop Water, and even a "Tea" type brew. The Hop Water will of course be 0 abv, as I really enjoy hop water.
Happy new year!
Brewing stouts with nuts like pistachios?
😀Great suggestion as someone had given me some natural Pistachio flavoring which I gave to my wife. (I doubt she ever used it.) I like pistachios but would prefer something else like Pecans, but I think Pistachios do have a more distinct flavor which is something you would want to stand out in the beer. I recently tried my first peanut butter Stout. I Really didn't care for it. I love crunchy peanut butter, but usually hate anything else with peanut butter flavor. (I'm like that with Hazelnuts too.)
Don’t get me started! I eat crunchy peanut butter with a spoon at night like late dessert treat! 😂
I had one amazing pistachio heavy stout that was crazy and some peanut butter stout too from an another brewery in Montreal. We are lucky to have so many breweries in Quebec! When I’ll return home in June, I will try to brew some of my own inspired by your Channel and some others. ;)
I was thinking about making a kartoffelbier but using just over 2 cups of instant mash potatoes. Not many videos on german potato beer and none using instant mash.
That is an awesome recommendation. At first I thought you might be messing with me, until I did a bit of research. I love potatoes and beer, so it sounds like an amazing combination. (Now I'm craving my homemade Potato soup. I guess I know what we are eating this weekend.) I've added this to my list and am very interested in doing this one.
Would you consider doing a video on your yeast management and how you harvest, wash, store, calculate pitch rate, and eveything in between?
I actually have a few of those videos planned for this year. (Wanted to do them sooner.) I went to White Labs in Sept 2022 for 3 days of training and learned a TON! They were impressed at one thing I do with yeast, and highly recommend it over yeast harvesting. If you are trying to harvest yeast for from a beer that you purchased, that is something different. If you are trying to harvest yeast from one of your previous fermentation, don't. Instead double your yeast starter and store half away and pitch the other half. This will allow you to get twice as many generations out of the yeast with less mutations compared to capturing it from fermentations. (Plus it is a lot safer from getting a Lacto infection.)
@@BitterRealityBrewing Now I really like that method and would love to see how you go about this. Do you worry about pitch rate or any of that stuff, or just add 1/2 your starter for each batch and it's good to go? I think it's the pitch rate that is throwing me off, like how do you calculate it for yeast you previously propagated or is it nothing to be concerned about. I've got tons of questions, so maybe I should just wait for the video, lol. Thanks again for your videos Mike, I really enjoy them and have learned a lot.
I learned all about pitch rates and how to calculate it correctly at White Labs (loved taking that class). I can eventually do a video on that, but personally I just stick to over pitching. The issue with true pitch rates is to know how much of the yeast you are pitching is "Viable" and to do that you must do yeast counts using a microscope and a stain. I've done a handful, and although I find it kind of enjoyable, it takes a lot of time. Most people would run away from home brewing if that was a requirement to brew. I feel if you are using fresh yeast and following recommendations you should be good 99% of the time. If you are using older yeast, overpitch every time and always have a backup yeast incase you pitched dead yeast aka non-viable. I really want to do a video on the yeast counting and viability, but I'm not sure how many people would enjoy it and it would take a lot of work to produce that video with decent images. I am looking to do a video this year discussing it and giving a higher level overview.
I read through the styles and the BJCP. With the ranges allowed and no examples to sample it can be hard to know how close I got. I have resolved to enter into a couple of homebrew competitions and see what others think.
Update me on what you enter and how well they do. I will tell you to look at some of the recipes that made it in previous years, and I think you will notice about half were on the higher side of the abv for the styles they represented. A judge once told me one of the best ways to place is to go big or go home.
How about SMASH beers using not so common hops and your recommendations for what they pair well with.
Great recommendation as I could always cut 6 gallon batches into 3 gallon batches in separate boils to save time and knock out 2 at a time side-by-side. I do have one coming up that I want to brew with a very uncommon hop and I have a few other uncommon hops that could add to the event.
I recommend Bravo hops
I’ve been thinking about fermenting and serving from the same keg to make things easier. Have you tried this or made a video on it?
Clawhammer is getting ready to release a Keg Menter. They are waiting for an updated, safer lid and then they will be out the door. I'm one of the first to order and plan to use them for Ciders.
Thanks. I’ll take a look at clawhammer
Actually I have done that with a Fermzilla All Rounder, but sadly I didn't think of doing a video on it. The key is to ferment in a pressure fermenter of course, and using a quality floating dip tube like the FLOTit 2.0. This is a very cost effective solution for an all in one solution. I'll try to do a video on this, this year.
I love the Clawhammer Keg fermenter design, but it is very expensive, especially with some of the accessories I would have to have with that system.
The Clawhammer kegmenter has a lot of options but it is expensive. I ordered a FLOATit 2.0 to try it in a keg. Is the beer quality as good without transferring to a serving keg?
Let's brew bro!
Dying to brew lately, but been doing a stupid amount of shorts, other videos, and reorganizing. Looking to brew this weekend with my Dad who is 79 and knows almost nothing about how to brew beer.