Today it was time to bottle the second session of my brew. Mindful readers may realize that it’s already 8 days “old”. This time, I used the maximum of the proposed fermentation period in order to minimize the sediments. We will see how it works out. I worked alone, took it easy and used only the thick version of PET-bottles. Don’t wanna see another explosion…

BTW: Hej Mormor, I know that you don’t read my blog and I know that you wouldn’t understand English, but I have to publish these greetings anyway. It’s your 88th birthday today and I wish you all the best. In only two months we will meet again! Have a nice party today; I will drink to you tonight! Grattis på födelsedag, har det så bra!

BTW2: Have a look at the web page of Paulaner (a popular German brewery). They offer three different versions – German, Bavarian and English. Very funny and well done (click the arrow first)!
Via: Shopblogger!

Bist du voll, so leg dich nieder, nach dem Schlafen saufe wieder.

Today I started another round in my little brewery to make use of the second half of the concentrate. There is actually not as much to report; I didn’t change the procedure from the last time: Heating the concentrate, adding sugar, mixing with boiling water, adding cold water, stirring the brew, and finally adding the yeast. But of course I couldn’t keep my hands off my cam:

• Pic01: The second half of the concentrate
• Pic02: Brewing equipment
• Pic03: Heavy stirring
• Pic04: Adding Swedish water
• Pic05: Close-up of the brew
• Pic06: The bucket (2nd round) and the bottles (1st round)

I open the bottles from the first round approx. every 3 days in order to avoid another explosion. It’s incredible how much carbonate acid is still being produced. According to the schedule, the secondary fermentation should be over soon. It would be better to find a cooler location for the bottles, but up to now I haven’t had the perfect idea. Unfortunately, my house has no basement. Or didn’t I find it yet?

Ein bayerischer Papst? Na der kriegt nix von meinem Bier…

Just 2 pictures from the bottle which decided to commit suicide yesterday… Please submit your letters of condolence via comment form.

So ‘ne Flasche aber auch!

Well, another nice header for this post could have been “The Power of Beer”.
I was just coding a little this night as a heard a loud bang from the closet. I immediately knew what was happened – I store(d) my newly-brewed beer inside!

There have been enough warnings in the manual: “Use pressure-resistant bottles, e.g. returnable bottles or bottles for carbonated drinks”, “Don’t use non-returnable bottles”… Of course I decided to attend these orders and used PET bottles for the beer (which were filled with coke before). But you might know that these bottles are sold in different thicknesses.

Ultimately, the pressure in one of the thin bottles (the only one that was fully filled) became too high and the bottle eventually died a heroic death. What a f***ing mess! 1.5 liters of beer were scattered in the (fortunately closed) closet. The walls, my parent’s suitcase and my notebook case were covered with tiny drops of beer. A puddle spread out in my little passage. A scent of alcohol went through the air. What an eventful day!

Results:

• I have only 7 liters left from the first session. It’s a great pity.
• It took me at least 30 minutes to clean the mess (not counting the time needed to write this article *g*)
• The exploded bottle has a considerable hole at the bottom (a picture will be published later – my cam ran out of power). Carbonic acid could be used as a blasting agent I guess.

Findings:

• To be on the safe side, I decided to open the other, thick PET bottles as well. The amount of carbonic acid is enormous! I think I should open them every once in a while to prevent another incident.
• While opening the bottles, the carbonic acid creates a huge power. These forces cause the sediments to rise and blend in the beer. Seems like I have no chance to drink a clear beer, then.
• I need to get hold of more thick PET bottles before bottling the brew of the next session. I haven’t started now, but actually I planned this for the following days.

Was ’ne schöne Schweinerei…

Yesterday I called the Bier-Kwik hotline again. As reported before, I was a little bit afraid of the amount of sediments settling out in the bottle. Did I wait too shortly before bottling the beer? Was the primary fermentation still active? Did we work carelessly? Shall I decant the beer once again? And finally: Can I still drink that stuff?

The friendly madam on the phone allayed my doubts. The beer is of course still fermenting (second phase) and causes therefore the creation of the debris. Even if the amount is considerably high, the beer is still drinkable. In fact, this debris (containing the residua of the yeast and other airborne particles) is kind of healthy! So I can decide whether I want to shake the bottle before drinking or not…

Her statements were finally proved by the last litre of beer I still hadn’t bottled yet (after more than 7 days of primary fermentation). This time I was extremely careful and most of the sediment remained in the jug. But still, after some hours I saw a layer of debris at the bottom of the bottle. This seems to be fully normal. And I somehow have the feeling that the beer is getting clearer and clearer. Jättebra!

Na dann kann ich ja heut beruhigt einschlafen…

Yesterday was an important day for the Beer Brewing Crew (BBC). It was time to bottle the beer. After more then 5 days in the bucket of freedom, the brew had to be imprisoned.

After cleaning the PET bottles and the instruments (funnel, measuring jug) we decanted the beer into the bottles and added sugar for the secondary fermentation (the sugar converts into alcohol and carbonic acid). We didn’t stir the mix and it took a long time until the sugar cubes dissolved.

But the trickiest part was to get rid of the layer of debris that collected at the bottom of the bucket. I thought that we managed to do this, but today I realized that this stuff appears in the bottles now. Shit! I think I have to call the hotline again.
I still have one liter of un-bottled beer – from the very bottom of the bucket. I don’t really know if I can use it or not.

Anyway, under normal circumstances there’s nothing more to do at the moment. The secondary fermentation process takes about 10 days, and then I have to find a cooler place for the maturation.

• Pic01: Cleaning the bottles
• Pic02: Beer Brewing Crew: Sarah, Marcel, Kathi
• Pic03: Marcel, filling the first bottle
• Pic04: Undocumented filter techniques (highly inadvisable)

• Pic05: Insights
• Pic06: Debris at the bottom of the bucket
• Pic07: The preliminary outcome

Thanks to Kathi, Sarah and Marcel for their (mental) support, I’m sure that you guys are as curious as me about the result. Will it be drinkable?

Sorry, aber diese Hefe ist mir einfach nur suspekt…

Slowly but surely it’s getting tricky. The brew is close to the end of the fermentation process, and this raises a couple of questions: What is the perfect time do bottle the beer? Can I use a coffee filter to get rid of the yeast? Are these little spots really tiny froth clusters? Why is the yeast top-fermenting, even though it remains at the ground of the bucket?

I decided to demand additional help (after consulting my personal assistant) and called the holy hotline of Bier-Kwik. After describing the current state of the brew, they recommended to wait another day. Coffee filters are not allowed, that does somehow not work with the concentrate (?). Top-fermenting refers (in this particular process) reportedly to the temperature of the fermentation, not to the position of the yeast. Hmm.

Whatever, I trust in their pool of experience and will prepare everything for the big day tomorrow. Sugar cubes and sufficient bottles stand by, as well as a funnel.

The above pictures show the blessed bucket and its contents during the last days. In comparison to the BBB03 post, you can see the dramatic progress and change.

Hopfen und Malz, Gott erhalt’s!

The fermentation process is in full activity. This is how the brew looks like right now:

I’m a little bit afraid of missing the final point of the process before I can bottle the beer. If I’m too early, the fermentation will go on in the bottles. If I wait too long, the beer can “turn” and get sour. There is a tool called “Bierwürze-Spindel” (yes, a special kind of spindle) to determine the end of the process, but of course I do not have that stuff. Maybe I’m gonna ask Google for some hints and tricks tonight.

Anyway, I now have my personal beer coach on board. I hope that Kathi can bring in her theoretical knowledge in industrial beer production, what she studied in Vienna.

Frau Lebensmitteltechnikerin, wollen Sie sich diese schwere Last wirklich aufbürden?

Monday, April 04, 2005. It’s time to setup the brew! I’m somehow skeptical if everything works out as expected. One can make so many mistakes and Murphy’s Law knows that I will. But hey, we should start our endeavor with the required optimism. The mixture will turn into tasty beer, or – yet another soft drink… I expect to get a kind of sweet and amber beer, called “Landbier”. I used half of the concentrate to produce about 10 liters. This is what I’ve done so far:

• Pic01: The tools and ingredients: concentrate + yeast, bucket, measuring jug, manual
• Pic02: Close-up Bier-Dose – the product is called BIER KWIK
• Pic03: Around 800g sugar will be transformed into alcohol and carbonic acid

• Pic04: The tin with the concentrate is heated in order to make it liquid
• Pic05: Danish sugar, in the background the tin in the pot
• Pic06: The first view of the concentrate, after opening the tin

• Pic07: Self-portrait, after putting the concentrate into the bucket
• Pic08: Steam arises, after adding 2 liters of boiling water – Stir, baby, stir!
• Pic09: Now it’s time to add and stir 7 liters of cold water

• Pic10: 10 liters base material
• Pic11: The yeast, used to start the fermentation process
• Pic12: The mixture after adding the yeast

• Pic13: Everything done so far – now it’s time to wait
• Pic14: The depository for the swill
• Pic15: Stylish Systembolaget cover

Nun dann: Gut Ding will Weile haben…

The pope is dead and I feel free to start writing my own bible – the holy Beer Brewing Bible! What the hell?

As you might know, alcohol is quite expensive in Sweden. While I would never ever drink beer out of cans in Germany, I got really used to it here in Umea. But still, a single can costs at least 10 SEK (approx 1.10 EUR), which is twice the price of a reasonable bottle in Germany. So why not producing your own booze?

My father felt sympathy with me and gave me a do-it-yourself “brewage set” as a Christmas present last year. It contains a heavy tin including the beer concentrate (enough for 20 liters), a small packet of brewer’s yeast and a detailed instruction manual.

And now, the time has come to start the endeavor. Everything is prepared to turn water into beer. The process will last a couple of weeks and I will report on the progress continuously. I have therefore created the new category My little Brewery. The posts will be numbered and marked with BBB, which is short for Beer Brewing Bible.

I hope I can enjoy my brewage at the fabulous Brännbollsyran at the end of May. If you see me then, feel free to ask for a sample!