Well, I’m back again. I’m actually going to be doing two posts today, one right after this, because there’s been some beverage-related stuff that I’ve been holding off on posting for a while, and because I just got a new computer. Whoo!
Merry-making has been the primary goal since I got home (and after I finished my last research paper that I brought with me). Mom’s taken up home brewing as her potential next career, and we are now brewing alcohol (hard cider and beer) in the laundry room. Who needs laundry? Actually, it’s already like Junk Storage Room #5, so it’s fine. Although I’m still not sure where the laundry baskets went.
Mom started brewing before Thanksgiving, so we’ve had some cider and beer tasting recently. Both have gone pretty well, except I’m pretty sure the cider is actually moonshine or something, because I felt quite tipsy after a glass and a half with snacks. Cider, FYI, is supposed to be the sissy drink to bring to a party. On the other hand, it tastes quite good, if a bit dry and less sweet than your average cider. The beer was a bit hoppy (tastes of hops, not bouncy), but otherwise good. I’m only going to do a bit of commentary on what we were doing while brewing, since there’s zillions of sites on how to brew. A few links are provided below. The photos are from our first taste test and our latest brewing escapade, in which we made some hard cider (VERY easy), some basic beer (a Sam Adams clone), and a pumpkin beer.
First, the tasting!
Brewing and fermenting! Brewing took about three hours for the gallon of cider (about fifteen minutes of the three hours) and the two-and-a-half gallons of beer we made. Then we leave them alone for three weeks, bottle (an hour or so), leave them alone for another week or so, and then we can drink. Mom says the cost about breaks even, and there isn’t too much in the way of labor.
Some sites Mom’s used and liked: