For our latest foray into homebrewing, we looked to the Clone Brews book I got Adam for our paper anniversary. CloneBrews, 2nd Edition: Recipes for 200 Brand-Name Beers
Brewing
Brewing requires beers to drink, of course!
Adding hops to the wort.
The recipe called for orange peel, among other things.
The brewing was fairly easy; made even more so by some schmancy equipment we procured: a giant stockpot and a propane burner. It was much more pleasant to brew at scale out in the fresh air, rather than trying to jam into our kitchen and use our tiny pots.
Cooling down the wort.
The wort, prior to getting the additional water.
Bottling
This bottle filler lets you fill the bottle from the bottom up, which is better for the beer (technically still wort).
Silliness with wort… this is basically flat beer. Sampling the dregs is a good way to preview your brew…
or at least, it’s good fodder for speculation.
Beer time!
The final product definitely fit the description in the book: “finely carbonated and displays a large, white, creamy, dense head with a bright golden color,” though I suppose that might be more of a bright golden-caramel color in our case. Close enough.
Sampling… good stuff.
The clone brew was smooth, and tasted like a Belgian tripel, so success there. It has a dry, slightly bitter finish and has gotten more marked as the beer comes into peak maturity (it’s at two months, with a 2-6 month peak). Our hydrometer claimed 4.5% ABV, but everyone who drank it noted that it felt like more… more like the expected 8.5%. Not sure what that was all about, but even folks who didn’t know it was supposed to be 8.5% remarked about the beer’s effect.
All in all we think it turned out well, considering we did have to make some availability-based substitutions to the recipe. Our next brew will probably come from the Clone Brews book, too!
*The owner of this website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking spatialdrift.com to Amazon properties including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. I always link to products I use myself and I will always label these links for you, so you don’t have to click without prior knowledge.
emily
Nerd. Foodie. Gamer. Homecook. Perpetual planner. Gardener. Aspiring homesteader. Direct response graphic designer. I use too many damn commas.
That looks fantastic. I have been wanting to do a homebrew for many years now. Congrats on your anniversary!