Tasting Day!!

I have been waiting patiently for both my beer and the wine to be ready to truly try.  It's hard to sit back and wait when you are so sure that you have done it right.  That what waits for you in those bottles is going to be something that you are proud of.

The beer was terrific.  Clean and crisp just what I wanted.  The only thing complex about it is that it is so simple without any unwanted flavours.  It holds its head well and has just the right carbonation.

The wine turned out exactly as planned as well.  It is of course a very sweet wine with the addition of the raspberry juice but I think I did well to balance it with enough oak to take the edge off with destroying it.  It will be the perfect deck drink.

Just about right

I've been talking about some commercial brews that I've tried lately because there hasn't been much to say regarding my creations.  There still isn't. 

I drew a sample of the wine yesterday to check for clarity and well just to have a little taste.  Being a dark red it is really hard to tell by looking at the carboy if it is clear or if it still needs time.  I like to get a couple of mouthfuls worth in a clean glass and then sip until I can see through it.  If it looks good and clear I will leave it another 4-5 days and then bottle.

I was really happy with the overall flavour.  Usually I find these kits to be way to sweet for me.  I tried something different by adding some French Oak to the secondary.  I thought it might balance out the sweetness a little and it helped immensely.

While it still kept its sweet fruitiness that makes it a great summer drink it dialed it back just a little and leaves a more pleasant finish.  You don't really notice the oak right now at all.  All I noticed is that where there used to be a sharp sweetness no is a little softer.  It'll be interesting to see what happens as this wine ages a little.  Whether the oak becomes more prominent or if the fruit remains the emphasis.

The only other update to make is that the Lager is almost fully carbonated now.  I put a single bottle in the fridge to chill for a day and I will try it out for a full update tomorrow.

Beer Review #1 - Hoptical Illusions

I was in the liquor store a while back looking for something different to try when a friend and his wife were over.  He usually drinks my home brew and enjoys the majority of what I make but normally buys light American style "beer".  I knew that he does enjoy a stronger flavoured beverage when one presents itself though. 

I'm luck enough that my local store carries a number of quality craft beers.  But this psychedelic brew was new to the line up.  It was being promoted as an Almost IPA which caught my attention.  I like a good pale ale if there is enough hop to it.  So into the cart it went.

On first taste there is no question that the brewmaster.was very generous with the hops. He was almost too generous.  I don't think that it was that there was too heavy but the choice of variety was not quite right for me.  I found it too cirtus and sweet.  When I'm looking at a heavily hopped beer it want it to be more on the bitter side balanced by the malt flavour.  Don't get me wrong I enjoyed 3 bottles of the brew but it wasn't exactly what I was expecting.  Craig really enjoyed it.  He didn't get the same almost tangy sweet taste that I experienced. 

I may not purchase this again but I will be looking for other beers from The Flying Monkeys Brewery.  I find that craft brewers like this are helping bring beer back to life.  They aren't trying to make a beer that everyone will like.  But I'm sure everyone will like one of their beers.

As for Hoptical Illusions I'd give it about a 7 out of 10.  It was a good beer but not really to my taste.

First review - Malivoire Wines

When I started making beer and wine a few years ago I truly believed that the only time I would want to buy a bottle of something was when I was out to eat or if I had some how run out at home.  What I learned was that I don't buy nearly as much from the liquor stores as I used to but I appreciate what I do buy in a different way.  This is not to say that it is better or worse than what I can make it is just different than what I do and I can really taste the differences.

This being said I also can't drink my creations fast enough to be constantly fermenting something.  I thought that I might use the times when I had nothing relevant to say about my beverages to comment on some of the beers and wines that I have been sampling.

Living in the heart of the Niagara wine region my wife Jill and I have the luxury of being able to take an afternoon and drive through the region stopping by winery after winery tasting what each maker has to offer.  While we don't have the opportunity to do this as often as we used to we still try to get out every once in a while.

One of our absolute favourites has always been Malivoire Wines in Beamsville.

Jill and I discovered this winery the year it opened.  There were only a few wineries in Niagara at the time and we weren't really a fan of most of them.  Our first experience with Malivoire had us tasting with the actual wine maker as they hadn't hired anyone else to do it yet! 

A staple from their cellar is their Ladybug rose.  Malivoire describes it this way "Brilliant coral pink-hued, dry and fresh with intense, toothsome fruitiness. Fresh strawberry, rhubarb and rose petal on the nose. Lingers on the palate with mouth filling red cherry and tangy flavours."

Not being as elegant as them I would say that it is a lightly sweet and fruity wine that goes well with summer.  None oaked it is crisp and refreshing.  We always buy a bottle and it never lasts more than a day or two before we drink it.

I had never even heard of a Foch before I tried this wine.  It was an immediate favourite. The fruit came from 37 year old local vines and was hand prepared to preserve the tenderness of the grape.  (Now that's being serious about your product)  Once again I'll give you their take on it.

"Dark purple, redolent of smoke, plum and dark chocolate, and rugged in the mouth. Tasting reminds you of blueberry, plum, dark-roasted coffee and vanilla. Soft and medium-length on the finish" 

I will say that it is definitely a full bodied red but surprisingly fruity and smooth.  It has just the right amount of Oak to balance it out.  I purchased one bottle and have hidden it away for a special occasion.  Another year of aging was recommended by the winery so lets see if I can hold off that long!

If you act fast I would also recommend their Forgotten Row Chardonnay.  It's just as the name suggests.  They forgot a row when they were harvesting but since the fruit was still perfect the wine maker produced 50 cases of a very robust and just a little sweet vintage.  I would have loved to have a bottle but at $40 and having to much oak for Jill's taste the Foch was a better choice.

I highly recommend stopping at Malivoire if you get the opportunity.  The people are terrific and the wine is even better.

Malivoire Wine Company Ltd.
4260 King Street East
P.O. Box 475
Beamsville, Ontario
Canada L0R 1B0
905-563-9253

Visit their website here



Summer drinks - update

Just after my last post I checked on the beer and it had almost reached a final gravity but wasn't quite there.  I wanted to remove the hops and let the beer age a few days on its own before bottling.  I also wanted to finish the wine in a glass carboy.  I always worry about off flavours with the plastic when I start getting close to bottling so avoid it whenever possible.

I transferred the beer 3 days ago into a secondary and let it settle again.  Once I was happy with the clarity and I was satisfied with my final gravity reading of 1.005 I bottled the lager. 

A use the Cooper's carbonation drops since I prefer to know that each bottle is getting the exact priming sugar that is required.  I use 1 Litre PET bottle for bottling mostly.  I have some single serving size bottles as well and will fill 2L pop bottles when doing a batch for friends if they prefer.  I use a little less sugar than some but allow it to fully carbonate before I drink.  I find it holds a better head this way for some reason.

Once I had the beer all bottled I went ahead and transferred the wine over to the other glass carboy.  I added the Potassium metabisulphite and began the degassing process that I should have completed by tonight.

So far everything looks very, very good.

Summer Drinks #1 - Wine

I'm a little late this year.  I've been so occupied elsewhere that my fermenters are all empty.  Every single one of them.  So on July 1st I finally decided to get back to work. 

Being in the summer drinking season I decided that I needed to start a few batches that would not only be light and refreshing but would also be ready to drink with a minimum of aging.

Let's talk wine first.  Once a year my beautiful wife asks really nicely for a cheap fruit flavoured wine.  I always end up breaking down and make her one.  Her favourite is the Niagara Mist Raspberry Merlot kit by Vineco.

I've made this kit a few times now and it always turns out well.  My local supplier sells these kits for $52.00 and the corks, labels, and seals usually add only about another $10.  So by the time I'm done we're looking at around $2.00 per bottle.

I follow the directions fairly closely for these kits.  The flavour packs don't allow for much tinkering so I concentrate on the clarity and crispness.  I want it as clear as possible without any leftover syrupy feel that you sometimes get from the flavour packs.

After sterilizing everything I added about 1/2 of the juice concentrate to my primary.  I like to add about half then start to mix in the water.  I find that I get the concentrate to combine better this way since I am not trying to move all that heavy concentrate off the bottom.  Once it has been combined I add the bentonite.  Please don't just sprinkle it on top make a slurry and pour it in it just makes it so much more effective.  Now I add the rest of the concentrate and top up to 23L.  Mix really, really well and take my initial reading. 

Take the reading people. I listened to some "experienced" home winemakers and they talked me into assuming that if I followed the instructions it was a waste of time to take the readings since "they always end up right".  Without those readings you don't have a starting point or any reference as to where you are in the process.  There is a reason why the instructions give an estimated reading. Take the readings and become familiar with what they mean.

For this wine in particular I had a reading of 1.085.  I have found that this is about right for the balance later on so I didn't add any sugars to it. 

Now we wait until I see most of the bubbling stop and take another reading to make sure we are in the right range.

Summer Drinks #2 - Beer

Once I finished getting Jill's wine started I cleaned up really well and got my beer making equipment ready.  Which is just my wine making equipment with the addition of a scale and large stainless bowl.

Since I do not have the time or equipment to create full boil beers I begin with quality extracts and build flavour from there.

I chose the Blue Mountain Lager kit produced by Morgan's Brewing for this batch.

I have used a few of the Morgan's kits as my base in the past.  They have always turned out well but what I like about them is that there are no surprises.  The description they give of their final product is very close to what you do end up with making it easy to adjust to your taste without having to necessarily make a batch to check on flavour first.  (I do recommend that you do make a batch of the bases though).

After sterilization I warm the can in hot water for a few minutes so the malt will pour easier and then add it to the fermenter.  I use warm water to rinse the can but add it all to the primary so no flavours are lost down the drain.  I incorporate the water and malt together well with the mixing spoon. 

Now for the sugar.  The instructions always say to add a kilo of Dextrose or the brew enhancer.  I have always found it very difficult to locate the brew enhancer but doing some research I have discovered that it is a mix of Dextrose and Malto Dextrin. Malto Dextrin is a sugar that doesn't fully ferment and gives a much nicer mouth feel to the final beer.

Since the sugars that go into the beer make such a huge impact on the flavour I weigh them out myself at home.  I added .75Kg of Dextrose, .3Kg of the Malto Dextrin and then another .3Kg of dry pale malt extract. I like my beer a little more malty than this kit makes.  If you notice I also added just a little more than a Kilo of sugars.  This is because I still want the alcohol content to be in the normal 5% range and with the Malto not fully fermenting it would end as a light style.

Because I added a little extra malt to the mix I try to balance it out with some dry hopping.  I add about an ounce to an ounce and a half of dried cones to the wort now.  I find that this way it gives me the aromas that I am looking for without the "green" flavours since it only sits for a few days until I transfer to my secondary. 

Add the yeast and now we wait.  A few days from now and we will be ready for the secondary.

About the Fermenter

Hello all.  I started brewing my own beer about 3 years ago.  Nothing special buy the kit follow the instructions, drink the beer and repeat.  Then a while later I started making wine with my father.  Same thing buy kit, follow instructions, drink wine and repeat. 

Now this process made some perfectly acceptable beverages that many of my friends would happily consume.  But I was never truly happy with the finished product.  They always ended up tasting well "homemade".  There was always something not quite right about them.  So I started doing some digging.  Found some reputable websites and spoke to some actual beer and wine makers and found there were some relatively simple things that I could do to make a world of difference to the final products. 

This blog is going to be about the average home fermenter.  Notice I say fermenter that's because from my little plastic bucket I have created many different drinks.  Wine, beer, port, even some really good ciders.  I believe that if you limit yourself to either beer or wine than your missing out.  There is a world of difference in making these drinks and learning one has helped me understand the other a little better.

All my recipes have used the same basic equipment.  A plastic primary, glass carboys, syphon, scale and mixing spoon.  That's it.  That is all you'll need. 

So if you're interested in getting started go to a reputable supplier and get a starter kit that will have all you need and give it a try.