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Graff a la Brandon O
Oct. 8th, 2013 05:07 pmAlright, so, brewing time. I am currently making Brandon O's Graff ( http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/graff-malty-slightly-hopped-cider-117117/ ) with of course some alterations.
Also: my apartment smells like malt and hops.
Okay, so I basically followed the base recipe with a bunch of alterations and details: I used 1.1 kilos amber liquid malt extract instead of 2 lbs dried malt extract, and 1/2 lb crystal 120L, because I like those dark roasty tastes a lot. Instead of buying apple juice, I used a can of Vinter's Harvest apple wine base, so basically apple juice concentrate, diluted up to 4 gallons. The hops I picked were wakatu, because I loved their smell. Yeast is Safale-05.
For my first official wort-making, it's going well. Things taste good. I'm not sure I like the intensity of hop smell in here. Wish me luck! Will record specific gravity later on.
[Edit: 1.04 specific gravity or about 5% potential alcohol]
[Edit on Nov 04, 2013: I went to bottle this pretty late, end of last week, and I hadn't transferred it to an airlocked carboy. It tasted distinctly sour: I kind of liked the taste, did some research, consulted, and ended up priming and bottling half of it to see where it goes. I am worried that it will form a pellicle in the bottles, in which case I'll throw it out. If not, and it carbonates, and I like it, I will drink the half I kept. But: I think my primaries are scratched enough to harbour bacteria, and I trust cleanliness of glass, so I'm running everything in glass for awhile. Next update will be when it carbonates.]
Also: my apartment smells like malt and hops.
Okay, so I basically followed the base recipe with a bunch of alterations and details: I used 1.1 kilos amber liquid malt extract instead of 2 lbs dried malt extract, and 1/2 lb crystal 120L, because I like those dark roasty tastes a lot. Instead of buying apple juice, I used a can of Vinter's Harvest apple wine base, so basically apple juice concentrate, diluted up to 4 gallons. The hops I picked were wakatu, because I loved their smell. Yeast is Safale-05.
For my first official wort-making, it's going well. Things taste good. I'm not sure I like the intensity of hop smell in here. Wish me luck! Will record specific gravity later on.
[Edit: 1.04 specific gravity or about 5% potential alcohol]
[Edit on Nov 04, 2013: I went to bottle this pretty late, end of last week, and I hadn't transferred it to an airlocked carboy. It tasted distinctly sour: I kind of liked the taste, did some research, consulted, and ended up priming and bottling half of it to see where it goes. I am worried that it will form a pellicle in the bottles, in which case I'll throw it out. If not, and it carbonates, and I like it, I will drink the half I kept. But: I think my primaries are scratched enough to harbour bacteria, and I trust cleanliness of glass, so I'm running everything in glass for awhile. Next update will be when it carbonates.]
