With the family travel plans and the centre of The action my house my father brother and I have been actively brewing for the last few months ! In this episode I brew beer!! It is a nice hobby that helps offset te shock of winter and the unavailability of my garden !
I always wonder how many Gardener/brewers there are out there. Let me know if you are !
[youtudotbe]https://youtu.be/sPp3tmFZGqc[/youtudotbe]
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Northernfox
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!potatoes!
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Northernfox
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My brother and I are going to try mead as soon as we can find enough honey! I think it would be a lot of fun!
I am an avid brewer and currently have Red Wine, Beer, Rasberry/Rhubarb Wine and Pincherry Wine going
I find it is a lot of fun to do and then there is the social aspect of enjoyment and sharing!
I am an avid brewer and currently have Red Wine, Beer, Rasberry/Rhubarb Wine and Pincherry Wine going
I find it is a lot of fun to do and then there is the social aspect of enjoyment and sharing!
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Northernfox
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rainbowgardener
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Last year I tried making lilac wine, but didn't have the right equipment and the patience to keep paying attention to it all those months, so it was a failure. I think I will try again next year, a little more seriously. After all, what can you do with a million lilac flowers? I can make jelly/syrup, but I don't have a use for gallons of it. I think I will make lilac essential oil for flavoring soaps etc. Maybe press some, candy some, but that would still leave me plenty for making wine with.
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Northernfox
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!potatoes!
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any edible flower can be made into a wine/mead. the classic is dandelion. takes a lot of cleaned flowers, make tea of them, add sugar or honey, yeast, probably some extra nutrients, you're off to the races.
I do all wild yeasts, 'cause I'm like that. got 8 things going currently, and a list of new things to start as soon as they are seasonally right, and/or when there's carboy space.
I do all wild yeasts, 'cause I'm like that. got 8 things going currently, and a list of new things to start as soon as they are seasonally right, and/or when there's carboy space.
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Northernfox
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rainbowgardener
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That's why I want to do the lilac wine. It does take a whole bunch of flowers ready all at the same time. I have dandelions, but not so many at once. People pick dandelions and freeze them, but that was seeming like a lot of work. But I have a huge old lilac tree that takes up most of half my front yard and gets covered in blossoms every year.
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Northernfox
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Gary350
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I have been making beer and wine for 40 years.
American beer tastes like piss water. The only good beer is Foreign beer. Supplies are getting expensive it is almost not worth the trouble to make it myself. I do all grain beer it is better and cheaper and easier.
I make wine because I love good wine. $5 wine is not good wine. $75 per bottle wine is good but the only way I can have that is make it myself. I buy the Gold Medal Winner kits and let them age 2 to 5 years before I drink them.
Mead is very good too but honey is very expensive. Last time I made mead it was a 1 gallon batch.
Have you tried dry Hops yet? Next time you make a batch of beer give it a try.
American beer tastes like piss water. The only good beer is Foreign beer. Supplies are getting expensive it is almost not worth the trouble to make it myself. I do all grain beer it is better and cheaper and easier.
I make wine because I love good wine. $5 wine is not good wine. $75 per bottle wine is good but the only way I can have that is make it myself. I buy the Gold Medal Winner kits and let them age 2 to 5 years before I drink them.
Mead is very good too but honey is very expensive. Last time I made mead it was a 1 gallon batch.
Have you tried dry Hops yet? Next time you make a batch of beer give it a try.
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Northernfox
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Oh man I have been trying to order hops seeds (rhizomes ) I want to make it from grain. I can get grain just not hops.
I plan on doing a few red wine kits that age a long time
just had two epic Christmas in a row
You are a master brewer ! 40 years! your right I have a hard time with American beer not good enough lol.
Any tips ?
I plan on doing a few red wine kits that age a long time
just had two epic Christmas in a row You are a master brewer ! 40 years!
your right I have a hard time with American beer not good enough lol. Any tips ?
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Gary350
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Buy the beer making book called, Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide. Read it front to back. It has some great recipes. You can get it cheap on ebay about $7 compared to $30 at the beer store.
You can order rhizomes on ebay starting about April. Experiment with beer to find what you like so you know what hops you want to grow. It will take 3 years to get a good crop about 1 ounce of hops per plant. It takes a really big plant to get a little bit of hops they grow 25 feet tall during the summer then die back during the winter. The plants do not like extremely hot summer weather.
I have a great recipe for German Oktoberfest beer recipe if you want it. It makes an EXCELLENT Lager beer. It is also good dry hopped.
I like Dark Beer it has a lot of flavor. American beer is like mixing a Soft Drink with 90% water. No flavor. If you like flavor make foreign beer.
Experiment and have fun try and find a few beers you like.
When you make wine buy the best kits Gold Metal winners are always good.
I have make wine from fruit but kits are the best and the easiest.
You can order rhizomes on ebay starting about April. Experiment with beer to find what you like so you know what hops you want to grow. It will take 3 years to get a good crop about 1 ounce of hops per plant. It takes a really big plant to get a little bit of hops they grow 25 feet tall during the summer then die back during the winter. The plants do not like extremely hot summer weather.
I have a great recipe for German Oktoberfest beer recipe if you want it. It makes an EXCELLENT Lager beer. It is also good dry hopped.
I like Dark Beer it has a lot of flavor. American beer is like mixing a Soft Drink with 90% water. No flavor. If you like flavor make foreign beer.
Experiment and have fun try and find a few beers you like.
When you make wine buy the best kits Gold Metal winners are always good.
I have make wine from fruit but kits are the best and the easiest.
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Northernfox
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I spent a little bit of time researching hops. I am not sure I have the room for them with my grapes and the rest 
I might have to find a local source or snag some neighbours yard
I have been brewing beer for a few years and wine for the last 2. I have found the Gold Medal ones are the best! a little more costly but at the end of the day well worth it!
This year I did start doing fruit wines. They are still in the process of aging I am very excited for them next year!
I am going to go check out that book!
I might have to find a local source or snag some neighbours yard I have been brewing beer for a few years and wine for the last 2. I have found the Gold Medal ones are the best! a little more costly but at the end of the day well worth it!
This year I did start doing fruit wines. They are still in the process of aging
I am very excited for them next year!I am going to go check out that book!
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ElizabethB
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Northernfox. I was scrolling through older post and came across yours. It brought back memories of the time Dad decided to make beer. He got a recipe from a friend. Gathered all of his supplies, made the beer, bottled and capped. At the time there was an open space between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling. He thought that would be a perfect, out of the way place to store his beer.
A few weeks later we were all awakened in the wee hours of the morning by what sounded like gun fire - lots of it. Dad grabbed his shot gun and pistol and went to investigate. 80% of his beer bottles had exploded from the heat at ceiling level! What a mess!! Glass and beer everywhere! Ceiling to floor! Every cabinet had to be emptied and the appliances moved. It took us 2 days to clean up the mess and the house smelled like beer for weeks. Of course Dad could not help because he had to go to work. Mother did insist on hiring my Aunt's housekeeper to help with the clean up.
After that Dad did play around with wine making but never attempted to make beer again.
Not funny at the time but good for a chuckle now.
A few weeks later we were all awakened in the wee hours of the morning by what sounded like gun fire - lots of it. Dad grabbed his shot gun and pistol and went to investigate. 80% of his beer bottles had exploded from the heat at ceiling level! What a mess!! Glass and beer everywhere! Ceiling to floor! Every cabinet had to be emptied and the appliances moved. It took us 2 days to clean up the mess and the house smelled like beer for weeks. Of course Dad could not help because he had to go to work. Mother did insist on hiring my Aunt's housekeeper to help with the clean up.
After that Dad did play around with wine making but never attempted to make beer again.
Not funny at the time but good for a chuckle now.
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Northernfox
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That is a common problem with beer making. the yeast was probably not done fermenting and when they got warm they went nuts!
the disaster stories are much more fun years later I have been working on beer for a good number of years now and want to try my Great Great Great grandfathers method I cant wait to do this with my brother!
the disaster stories are much more fun years later
I have been working on beer for a good number of years now and want to try my Great Great Great grandfathers method I cant wait to do this with my brother!