Katwaxer.com

Sparged with 180degree water.

Temp Corrected Scale
UnCorrected Original: 1.066
Specific Gravity 1.065
Est. Final: 1.01
Esr. Alcohol By Weight: 6 %
Est. Alcohol By Volume: 7.5 %

Just washed up and started my water for todays brew. New batch of jumpin jupiter using a slight different hop schedule. Same times but replacing some if the bittering hops with a different variety. Dropping 2oz Cascade in favor of 1oz Magnum difference of 0.5% alpha acid. I don’t imagine I’ll see much difference there.

Will record my gravities as I proceed today.

Strike temp: 167f. Stabilized at 160f

Used the last of my 5.2 ph stabilizer

Separate my hops while the mash does its magic into plastic cups stacked from boil at the top to finishing at the bottom labeled each cup with time to drop in. Added irish moss to a cup for 15 when ill put my cooler in also.

Might as well throw this out there. Find me on Facebook!

Thad Nutting

Ok. Now that I’m calm. I should be able to recover this by adding more yeast and nutrient. It’s going to be a dry mead as the temperature ranges are far more forgiving. It’ll be stored in the bedroom closet (warmest room in the house at night).

Ok. So not so good news. Thought “Hey this looks clear.. it’s been long enough…..I should bottle it.” Did the smart thing and double checked the gravity. 1.046. AFTER 6 MONTHS. Lesson: Check Gravity EVER Step Of The Way!!! It doesn’t take much. Just a couple samples and BAM. So tomorrow I will have to grab some more yeast and nutrient. I’ll take stock of what I have. Maybe some DAP.

Doomsday, Sept. 11th 2001.

Al-Qaeda, backed by a nuclear middle east strikes. Four planes are hijacked and used as delivery devices for smuggled nuclear and biological weapons in concert with simultaneous strikes across the world. In retaliation the US launches a full scale war against Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Eventually it is learned that both France and Russia are involved with development and distribution of said weapons to the powers involved. China and North Korea declare war on their neighbors and soon international alliances crumble entirely into a total global war.

Incautious rapid development of radiation and plague treatments lead to a virulent mutagenic virus. Mass hysteria and bigotry against the “changed” draws the war from international to suburban. The war lasts 10 years. The last 5 years proceed into the heart of nuclear winter. Climates change causing coastal waters to recede. Resources are stretched thin and already thin populations draw together in isolated pockets. The years of Dark Ice are in full swing for 20 years. By 2026 things begin to heat up again but the world has already changed.

2069 – Civilizations begin to recover. Trade and communication lines begin to open up from far removed settlements. Power hungry factions begin preparing to expand. The world we know is far different.

Well I just transferred the hard cider. It’s about a week later than I had wanted to. I made some minor additions. I added a handful of oak chips, 3 small sticks of cinnamon and about 5 whole cloves. I’m hoping that’s not too much. The real addition to this recipe though is a Malo-Lactic culture which will turn the Malic Acid into Lactic Acid and give it a smoother flavor. I’ve noticed there was a bit of a butterscotch smell coming from the fermentor which I am assuming is a build up of Diacetyl. We’ll see how it goes. It’s still a bit cloudy. I’ve moved it to the basement to cellar for a bit. This should work well for clarification, and after 2-3 months I will either transfer and age, or bottle. Either way I shall probably use Superclear KC to clarify it if it’s not mellowed out enough for my visual tastes.

Well the Amber Ale didn’t inoculate. I think it had been bottled too long and had fallen dormant. I pitched the same Safale US-05 that I’d used in the Amber and within a few hours we were off. In talking to the guys at The Cellar in Shoreline I have an idea for another batch.

5 Gallons Martinelli’s 100% Apple Cider
3 Lbs Corn Sugar
Safale US-05
Wyeast #4007 Malo-Lactic Culture

Bottle with 3/4 cup Corn Sugar.

I think with the above recipe I’ll come away with a cider that still has some residual sugar sweetness, and some carmel or butter notes from the Malo-Lactic Culture.

Well tonight my buddy Dean and I put together a batch of cider. 5 gallons of boiled water several cans of 100% apple juice concentrate, some sugar, and a splash of my Amber Ale to inoculate it. I used an American Ale yeast in that and hoping that this will do the trick. It’s all pretty quick and dirty but we’ll see how it goes! O.G. of 1.084.

I transferred my Mead today to another secondary. Just marking the calendar.

I’ll be moving this batch downstairs tonight to finish. Should bottle in about 3 weeks.