above: the rugged German (left) looms over as the fake-Frenchman (center) and the real-Frenchman (ground) rack the cyserYou can’t always get what you want (i.e. a perfect cyser on your first try) but sometimes you get what you mead. Ha. In the latest edition of the Drinking Goat Brewing Co. (DGBC), we had the largest brew-crew on record, with three regulars and two newbies. Sadly, the beautiful Swiss lady couldn’t join us, however the DGBC men were joined by the avid Archeologist and the auburn Appalachian (both women, how fun!). We also learned three valuable lessons:
1) Champagne yeast may not be the best route to go when shooting for a final alcohol content by volume (ABV) of 5.5% (because champagne yeast targets an ABV of 12%).
2) When trying to tweak the specific gravity of your must, THINK before adding water willynilly.
3) Don’t stick your face in the primary fermentation container just after you open it, as the concentrated alcohol vapors will make your eyes, nose, and mouth hurt for hours (and in the real-Frenchman’s case...days)
above: after primary fermentation, the apple parts, lees, and vanilla beans are caught by a filter; thus we rack our cyserOur community covenant approved taste tester (curious...) thought our cyser lacked body and tasted a little weak. This was disheartening. To the DGBC crew, it smelled like a common European cloudy cider. We hope that with another few months of aging and bottle priming (carbonating) with honey we can fix our mistake, but we make no promises. We’re still looking forward to it though, because we made it!
The rugged German and the fake-Frenchman picked up some French oak chips for treating and rounding out our ultra dry red wine during a trip to Chicagoland Winemakers Inc. After treating our dark brown oaky delicious sexy...oak...in a warm water bath with crushed Campden tablets, they were added to our re-racked wine. The oak chips will be removed in a month when our wine is ready to be bottled.
above: the French oak chips soak in a warm sulfur bathUpcoming brewing events involve oatmeal + rye stout, bottling wine (we’d love to use your empty red wine bottles), and titrating to determine our ultra dry red wine’s acidity (which we may or may not have to treat with limestone).
above: the rugged German (left) and the fake-Frenchman (right) sort grapes for the ultra dry red wine (this photo is from the archives)
You folks Crack. Me. Up.
ReplyDeleteGabe, I looked up the Bible reference. I can see why the independent streak of a goat would appeal to college students. You have been told what to do so much of your life, it is good to be able to make decisions for yourself.
ReplyDeleteI also see the goat is a term refered to in many independent brewing groups. I seems to be a way of identifying with home brewing.
None of us are neutral we are all growing in one direction or another. Every direction is not God's direction, but this is immaterial to one who is not made a life choice to follow God no matter what, regardless of the consequences.
To your direction thing/concept. We're all growing yes, in a given direction, but each person's perspective is defined by the direction God has them growing in. We're either getting closer to God and growing closer to Him or were not may be the case, but we're also being grown in Him and being sent outward from the Body to reach others. I'm being grown/sent in a different direction than some. Growth looks very different for different appendages on the Body of Christ.
ReplyDeleteAnd what this really comes down to is that I LOVE goat cheese. And I'm a little upset they are so misrepresented in Biblical literature [joking]. But I think I understand what Christ was getting at, for the most part.
I like that. I so agree that growth looks very different for different appendages on the Body of Christ. Often the parts that are most different are rejected by the "Body/Church" because they do not seem to conform or fit in. I often feel like a growth that many a pastor has tried to have amputated but unfortunately for them God gets to pick who we are.
ReplyDeleteRather incriminating photos, no?
ReplyDeleteGlad you have an approved tester...
Call me for the next round of love-labor. Me join.