We don’t normally write about it a ton on this website, but Nate and I both homebrew. Lately, I’ve been branching out and trying some new and unique stuff. Most recently, I did a sour mash for 26 hours in order to make a sour wheat-rye beer. Not only has this given me the opportunity for creative expression, it gives me a chance to make some great beers for my pleasure (and, hopefully, for a future brewery).
Like I said, normally I don’t write about brewing, but I think I might do it a little more often. Part of the reason I am choosing to do so is not only because brewing never ceases to amaze me but also so that we can all have a little more appreciation for the work that goes into making a beer. I just want to briefly describe the process that went into making this sour beer.
The first thing I did was to run to The Bruery’s provisions store, which is about 40 minutes away. I picked up all the necessary supplies for my recipe and headed back down the line. Actually, a friend went with me and wanted me to help him do a Wit, so I planned on putting my beer on top of his yeast when it was done. (Therefore, we had to brew my friend’s beer first…I won’t bore you with the exhaustive process.) Anyway, after about a week of fermenting, I moved the Wit to a secondary fermenter for lagering.
A day before I moved the Wit, I put my grains in water and maintained the temp at 104 for 45 min. Subsequently, I raised the mash up to 122 for 45 min. After that, I raised the temp to 153 for 90 min. Then I cooled the mash to 135 and added 1/2 pound of fresh malt (this was for souring) according to Papazian’s suggestion. I stirred well, closed my cooler (this is where I mash), and wrapped it in blanket. After 26 hours, I started running 200 degree water through the grains in order to extract the sugars and sours. When I finally finished that, I boiled for 90 minutes, added my hops, and then cooled the beer. When my sour was cooled, I put it on top of that yeast.
When I heard a bubble after 42 minutes of the beer being on yeast, I didn’t think much about it. Within an hour the bubbles starting becoming more frequent. Within an hour and a half it was freaking out. I’ve never had a beer bubble like this or this quickly. Truly amazing!
Why am I telling you this? A few reasons. One, making beer is hard work. This one in particular had a lot of extras that I don’t normally do. Two, beer is joyous to make. Seeing your beer take-off, turn-out, and be appreciated is a great joy. Three, I want to stress that there is a reason for the higher cost of good beer. Good beer is more labor, ingredient, and time intensive. There is no replacement for a beer that has blood, sweat, and tears in it.
Please consider home brewing as a hobby–it is very rewarding. I do understand that brewing will not be for everyone, so at least let me make this appeal: The next time you buy, pick-up, or taste a beer, remember that your good beer is more expensive for a reason. Cheers!
“There is no replacement for a beer that has blood, sweat, and tears in it.”
Hear, hear.
Sour mashing is in my future, but my current schedule is all wintry ales.
Let us know how this sour rye turned out! That sounds awesome.
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I think I’m ready to dive in to homebrewing, but I’d really appreciate some input. I don’t know where to start. I need something simple that I can’t screw up too bad, but I want to feel like I’m brewing beer and not adding Packet A to Bucket 2 and stirring. Know what I mean? I’d also like to start with a dark beer, because they’re sexy. Any suggestions where to begin?
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Nice post. The process of making a homebrewed beer is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever been a part of, and with each batch I keep learning more and more about the art and science behind this wonderful tradition.
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@Erik. I can’t resist taking hydrometer readings throughout the process. Within 11 hours I had 4%. I’m expecting a dryer 7.5% beer. I will let you guys know how it turns out. I am having so much fun with experimentation.
@Arron. Thanks. You have plenty of really good posts about beers you are brewing, so you are an inspiration in that sense. It really is true that you just keep loving it more and more, which makes you want to do it more and more. It’s a vicious cycle. I’d love to have more space so that I could have tons going at once. But for not even 400 square feet I’m doing well. Two carboys full of beer at once is about the limit.
@Jim. The series that we posted is 8 parts on how to do partial grain brewing. I also have a recipe for a milk stout on the suggested recipes part. I think you could start by using some syrups but could also mash to specialty grains. Try reading that series on how to home brew and then I can suggest some stuff. Maybe a little email correspondence is in order.
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@ Jim…
pull the trigger! Brewing is a complete joy, and IMHO is something every beer-drinking man should experience at least once.
For equipment, local homebrew supply stores have all that you would need. Or, you could try looking at your local craigslist. We’ve put together many brewing sets from there.
For a dark beer, stout, porter or even dunkel weizen are dark, simple, and yet rewarding beers to start with. Stouts and porters are especially fun do the the endless possibilities to enhance the recipe.
And lastly, brewing with friends is a great experience. Great fellowship, good beer, and a wonderful time.
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@jim, go for it. get on twitter ask questions. I think you’ll find the homebrewing community is extremely willing to help out a newcomer to the party.
@beer_scientist. Damn that’s a long mash. are you going to share the recipe. I just order ingredients for a sour saison, using bret in the secondary. I haven’t done much in decoction mashing, but it is on my short list. Go big or go home… right
Can’t wait to read more on your beer!
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If it turns out well…I’m more than happy to share the recipe. It was a long mash. I did think about using a Bret or Lambic yeast, but thought I would see how this turned out and tweak thereafter.
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@Big Tex. So many sentiments that I agree with. Stouts and Porters are especially good…you can hide imperfections.
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@Big Tex and beer_scientist: I think I’ll go for a stout, especially if they’re forgiving – just what I need. I’ll have to find a beer supply around here and figure out what i need. I also read the 8 parter on how to brew – makes it a bit intimidating that it takes 8 parts to explain
@Simply Beer: Great Twitter suggestion – I hadn’t considered that.
Here goes nothing.
How much space is required for brewing, BTW?
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Not a ton of space is required if you are judicious about placement. I’ve got 340 square feet to work with and brew regularly.
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Hey, Jim…
My first attempt, I went to what was my local shop at the time (Austin Homebrew Supply), and filed through their recipe book for something that looked good. The folks there helped me get my ingredients together, and printed off the instruction sheet for the beer. A brewing recipe is very much like other food. A little of this, and a little of that… use this heat for X amount of time. Heck, if you’re still feeling somewhat intimidated, invite a friend along.
Basic brewing is a good podcast for all things homebrew. Check it out.
http://www.basicbrewing.com/
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[...] by admin on September 28, 2009 I think I’m ready to dive in to homebrewing , but I’d really appreciate some input. I don’t know where to start Original post: The Overexcited, Complete and Utter Joy of Homebrewing | Thank … [...]
I have just begun on the homebrew adventure myself. I cannot recommend highly enough the people on http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk. Incredibly knowledgable, warm, and helpful people.
Good Luck!
For twitter I usually use a couple of searches (hashtags) of:
#beer
#brewday
#craftbeer
Hope this helps.
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@ everybody: Thanks to you all for the great tips. I talked it over with my wife, and I think Christmas 2009 is going to be all about the home brew gifts.
In the meantime, I’m going to read up as much as I can so I’m confident going in. My wife has agreed to be my brewing partner, which is awesome because she’s a research scientist and an excellent candy maker, all important traits in brewer, I expect. She also loves craft brews as much as I do, so she’ll have a stake in the outcome as well.
I’m sure I’ll blog all about it as I go, so stay tuned and wish me luck – I think I’m going to need it!
Thanks again!
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Wow! You never know which posts people are going to respond to. Thanks for all the assistance, guys and gals. The thankheavenforbeer community is great!
@Jim. I’m glad you are taking the plunge. The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Papazian and Stephen Syder’s The BrewMaster’s Bible are very nice starting points. Of course, I’m always open to help where I can. I think that I’m going to do a series on how to mash, too.
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I’ll mention the free resource you can read now while you wait for Amazon to ship your other books, John Palmer’s How to Brew:
http://www.howtobrew.com/
He also does the Brew Strong podcast on The Brewing Network:
http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/Brew-Strong
I don’t homebrew myself, but I’ve stockpiled information for when I finally start!
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Great article Mike,
Everybody don’t forget our humble how to brew series (mike referenced in the article) for pointers:
http://thankheavenforbeer.com/category/how-to-brew-series/
I have never experienced a more rewarding hobby myself. All my buddies who have helped me brew a batch catch the bug and start stockpiling equipment.
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If there is a keen interest in the subject, we can start doing some more frequent articles about homebrewing. What does everyone think?
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@Howard. I’m excited for you to brew. Some time when I’m in Indy we could brew something together.
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I don’t know how soon that can happen, I have a standing embargo from my wife. She told me I can spend as much as I want at the store, but no making it at home. She knows my fickle ways will lead to cobweb-coated homebrew equipment in the garage. Now if you ever need help disposing of homebrew, I know of a reliable facility … my kitchen table!
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Love reading this stuff! Can’t wait to hear how Jim’s project turns out – sounds like you have good help! This is the kind of stuff that would have made science class a lot more interesting I think. BTW, Michael’s series mentioned up above is a great read.
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I am still planning on jumping into the home brew realm. I decided to wait until winter since we do not have a cool enough room in our house during our 95 – 100 degree Summer days for the fermenting process.
Once it starts cooling down, however, it’s game on.
Mike’s brewing series is excellent. I learned a ton from his articles!
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Thanks! I love the compliments. We’re actually going to launch one on mashing in the next month or two (we hope). It’s really good to hear that you are planning to launch brewing on your own still. The temps really are going to be crucial, so I’m hoping that it cools down and stays down for you.
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December / January should be ok. I’ve been reading about the subject as much as I can in the meantime. I think you also might remember that we have a very good home brew store here in town as well.
Can’t wait. My daughter looks cooking, so she’s excited to help me brew.
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Cool! Papizian is a good intro on the subject. Snyder has a lot of recipes. Keep me posted…we’ll have that mash stuff up by then.
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Scott, you may want to consider some novel ways of cooling down your fermenters if you decide to brew something during warmer times. Some folks use a wet t-shirt. The set the fermenter in a tray of water, and drape the fermenter with a t-shirt, which wicks the water up. Evaporation is an endothermic process, which has a cooling effect. Or, you could spring for an extra piece of brewing equipment: a window-unit air conditioner.
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Funny you say that, Tex. If you noticed my title, it’s clearly a rip from Papazian’s title. I think the method you mentioned is found in there (not implying that you ripped it), which is why I recommend that book. It has nice tips. A fan blowing on that towel is even more effective.
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Thanks for the info Big Tex and Mike! Great ideas. I have considered several ways to keep the fermenters cool, but I wanted to wait to eliminate the potential temp fluctuations from my first batch.
Excellent info from this site as always!
Cheers guys!
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[...] by using some syrups but could also mash to specialty grains. Try reading that series on how to Home brew and then I can suggest some stuff. Maybe a little email correspondence is in [...]