Written by Hoppy Professor | 27 October 2009

Not carbonated after 2 weeks in the bottle. In fact, no signs of life. The bottle was a flip-top, so the gasket could have leaked. I've had a couple of other bottles not carbonated because of a faulty gasket. Some other folks who bottled from the same batch have seen signs of life in some of their bottles, but not fully carbed.

Written by Hoppy Professor | 22 October 2009

The festival is on Nov 7th this year. Our small group of 6 people will join several thousand people for this renowned event. An update will follow! We decided to try the evening session this time around, I'll let you know how it goes....

Written by Hoppy Professor | 22 October 2009

So I've been told by others involved with the cider making experiment that their bottles have not carbonated fully yet, so I haven't tasted yet.  Bottle conditining began a little over 2 weeks ago, so stay tuned for an update from me.

Written by Hoppy Professor | 22 September 2009

Last week we picked about 500-600 pounds of apples from two trees in our yard. On sunday we pressed those apples and made about 25 gallons of tasty cider. The plan is to ferment 10 gal of the end product into some hard cider. I've never done this, but it sounds pretty straight forward. We'll be heating 10 gal to 160F to kill any funk (we're not making a lambic!). and hold for 15 minutes. Some folks skip this step and let their cider ferment naturally with any wild yeasts in the fresh cider. We'll use the wort chiller to drop it down to a pitchable temperature and see what happens in 2-3 weeks time.  We are adding a White Labs cider yeast to our batch. Those interested in trying this should find unpasteurized cider. Stay tuned for an update.

Written by Hoppy Professor | 26 August 2009

Well only for AB InBev products so far, so no worries fellow micro lovers! Yet, the CNN article suggests that beer sales are down 1.5% because of the economy and the cost of ingredients and other materials needed by brewers could result in price increases across the spectrum from yellow liquids with beer flavor to those glorious micros. The solution, HOMEBREWING. I know, the cost of ingredients has increased, especially for hops, but you still produce great beers for minimal costs. If you are looking to shave a few more dollars off your brew bill, go all grain!

CHEERS!