Designing a beer (Pack)

[Jovial Monk]

Interesting day today at the shop. Did a partmash with a customer. Made out the grain recipe as I went along, consequently the ber is darker than anticipated.

Threw in 50g Amarillo hops late in the boil, my the shop smelled real purdy!

And despite a slow start (and the Adelaide Royal Show starting today) business picked up heaps after lunch and it was a good day in sales terms as well, topping off a great week! Sales way over target! Wooo!

[Jovial Monk]

How is your brewing getting on, Celetina?

[Jovial Monk]

Hey HS! Remember the beer with chocolate in it? I am about to make two Packs for a beer with coffe, vanilla and bourbon!

It is a porter, and any type of beer has been called a porter by someone at some time so you really can let the imagination run wild! In the wild and woolly days of the 18th & 19th centuries brewers and publicans really tried to give their customers a bang for their buck!

These charming types used to add poison! Poison including strychnine! You really thought you had had a good time when (if) you woke up the next morning!

Putting (very strong) porter in bourbon barrels for some months has now progressed to just adding bourbon. Surprisingly (or not) these Porters are absolutely delicious with very gentle hints of coffee or chocolate, bourbon and vanilla.

My Packs won't be strong--summer is approaching and the weather is warming up so fermenting a big beer outside of a temperature-controlled space (fridge, coolroom, cellar etc) is running the risk of Vegemite flavors in the beer. Come next April/May tho and I will put a 10% version of this Porter on the shelf! Then we can add up to 400ml of bourbon to it!

[Ethnic]

I'm looking forward to my rumpus smelling of beer again. I think we'll start brewing again this Tuesday. Nothing fancy, just Coopers Aussie ale. My mouth is already starting to water.

And to think a muslim woman could get the cane for drinking this delicious stuff .

[Jovial Monk]

And yet a Muslim woman needs a tinny or two the most: how would you like to go about on a hot saturday dressed in a black tent? Fuck that!

[Ethnic]

I have been reading about this chocolate stout stuff. Could be worth a shot in a year or two. Sounds delicious. What type of chocolate would you use?

[Jovial Monk]

You will have to be up to boiling wort. if you want an oatmeal stout as the base (very much advised) even up to mashing say 1Kg of grain (not rocket science, relax.)

The type of choc is either a very high cocoa butter chocolate bar or two or 180-200g cocoa powder, a good Dutch one, not bloody Cadbury drinking cocoa!

Bars melt in double boiler, add a soupladle of boiling wort, stir in to the melted choc, add to boiling wort and boil 15 minutes.

Cocoa powder, mix to a thin, lumpless slurry with as little water as you can, add a soupladle etc

[Ethnic]

You will have to be up to boiling wort. if you want an oatmeal stout as the base (very much advised) even up to mashing say 1Kg of grain (not rocket science, relax.)

The type of choc is either a very high cocoa butter chocolate bar or two or 180-200g cocoa powder, a good Dutch one, not bloody Cadbury drinking cocoa!

Bars melt in double boiler, add a soupladle of boiling wort, stir in to the melted choc, add to boiling wort and boil 15 minutes.

Cocoa powder, mix to a thin, lumpless slurry with as little water as you can, add a soupladle etc

Doesn't sound too difficult. In a year's time, I reckon I'd be up to the challenge.

[Jovial Monk]

With the weather holding up, better brew dark beers, like stouts, until next Mar/Apr.

You need to get into boiling. Get a stout/amber ale/dark Ale kit and make up a pack from

400g light dry malt
400g dark dry malt
200g dextrose or a really nice, tasty dark brown sugar

then look up brewing with a Series 1 Pack in my on-line manual and proceed. Word of warning, use a BIG pot, BE THERE as the fucking wort will try to climb out the pot and if it does it will burn on instantly on contact with your stove top.

[Jovial Monk]

If you like the Unibrou beers go and get a few: when the stocks in Aust are down to zero there will be no more Unibrou here! (Sound of funeral march, wailing & gnashing of teeth.)

Enjoying a La Fin du Mond--End of the world. As always, if it came while I was drinking this smooooth strong beer, I wouldnt mind