Beer Making 100: Kolsch

It sure looks like beer...but the verdict is still out on the taste.  Stay tuned for an update.  I titled this post Beer Making 100 because the photos should walk you through the steps, and will hopefully convince you the process is really fun and easy, but you'll definitely need Beer Making 101 (not found on this gardening blog) to really gain the confidence to make your own.  This post is simply an account of my project.

So just for some very quick background, in lieu of multiple gifts exchanged, my husband, sister, and brother-in-law have been doing a Secret Santa type gift exchange for the past several years. The gift must be homemade and should be inexpensive - about $20 or so. Part of the reason I pushed for this Secret Santa activity to begin with was to cut back on the ideas I have to generate for presents for my husband. I count my lucky stars about this guy, but honestly, after so many years, I'm plumb out of bright ideas. Of course, I repeatedly draw his name in our Secret Santa hat year after year!

This year, I decided to try my hand at brewing beer. The man likes his drink, and though the drink of choice is "beast", I decided a Kolsch (info at the very bottom) seemed a little step up. Then again, what do I know, I am not a beer drinker!

Homemade beer making is expensive. Though I knew I wouldn't stay in the $20 range, I didn't want to break the bank either (plus, we should probably start saving now for Scamp's next big veterinary adventure). This whole thing almost didn't happen, but serendipitously, my awesome friend Grace's awesome son Donn was awesome enough to loan me a carload of his awesome beer-making equipment! When Grace and I lugged it all to my car, I was like, look at all this stuff, doesn't it look fun?! Grace quickly replied no. The photo above shows just half of the equipment. The other half that I'll need once the beer is fermented is in my car. 

For the ingredients, I bought the kit above from Donn's favorite online supplier, Williams Brewing, and read then reread, and then reread, and then reread the instructions. I sorted through the equipment and found all these extra pieces I could not figure out what to do with. Who knew making beer would require so much tubing? I really need to stop hassling my husband when he ends up with extra screws and bolts after putting together the IKEA furniture.

This wouldn't be the new canine-loving me without sneaking in a photo of scamp.  But I do have a point that relates to this post.  The point is, stage your beer-making in a kitchen or other area that can get wet, and don't allow animals in the area because you want your area to be as clean and bacteria-free and as dust/dander free as possible.  Scamp is an exception to this rule because he's a sweetheart and won't bother nobody.  

3 DAYS BEFORE BEER-MAKING DAY

I "smack" the pack of yeast. I paid extra money for this special kind of yeast because I thought the idea of smacking the pack and the two liquids activating was so fun - like those glow bracelets you crack and shake. Supposedly it takes 1-3 days for the pack to swell up, indicating that the yeast is active. Glad I read the instructions before beer-making day!

DAY 1: BEER-MAKING DAY

First snag. The super cool piece of shit yeast packet is not swelling up (update: the yeast pack did end up swelling, but not until about a week after beer-making day). I scour the Internet and luckily there's a beer-making supply store reasonably close (about 45 minutes away). Maryland Homebrew is like a homebrewer's heaven. It's pretty darn amazing, and the people who work there are really helpful. I didn't mind sounding like a total idiot. They helped me figure out what I needed - which was a glass vial of yeast from the yeast fridge. I also had a few questions - in Donn's supplies were a plastic bucket (fermenter), a plastic bucket with spigot (the thing you use just before you bottle - duh, that make sense), and a glass "carboy" - like a glass water cooler jug. Turns out, my instructions were for a more simplified process but I had the equipment to add another step to produce a clearer beer! Yay! So the salesperson said a hydrometer really was pretty necessary to determine if the beer is done fermenting and ready for bottling. I didn't see one in Donn's supplies, so I bought one. I asked how far you're supposed to stick the thermometer-like thing in there and he said you're supposed to pour some beer into a graduated cylinder and put the hydrometer in there. I asked, well can't you just hold it in the bucket so it doesn't fall? He said no, you put it in and don't touch it. OHHHHH!! I get it now. The thing bobs freely in the beer and it sort of measures the density of the liquid. Or something like that.  Point is, it tells you that the beer is ready to be bottled.

Anyway, I get home with the yeast vial and hydrometer and get down to business. Everything else runs pretty smoothly. The water boils and I add the giant bag of heavy, sticky, malt (in first photo below). Five minutes later, I add bag #1 of hops. 50 more minutes later, I add bag #2 of hops. So far, it does not smell like beer and I'm concerned, but whatever. I'm sitting next to the stove, stirring occasionally and totally engrossed in Room by Emma Donoghue (highly recommend it). 

I cool the wort (that's lingo that we homebrewers use to describe the stuff in the pot) by putting it in the sink with cold water. Hours later, when cool, I sanitize all the rest of the equipment I'm going to use tonight and then slowly pour the wort into the plastic fermenter leaving the sludge at the bottom of the pot. I top it off with water until I have 5 gallons of liquid. I add the yeast (and notice it now instantly smells like beer) and stir. I put the lid on and add the airlock to the top. I fill the airlock with water and then hope for the best! Apparently I'll start to see bubbles in the airlock in a day or so, indicating that the beer is fermenting.

This is how the project is being hidden during the fermenting process.  A cover on top read, "Do not open or Santa will not come".  I'm taking advantage of the fact that my 42 year old husband believes in the jolly old white guy.

DAY 3:  THERE ARE BUBBLES IN MY AIRLOCK!!!  THERE ARE BUBBLES IN MY AIRLOCK!!!  This is a really good thing.  A harbinger of proper fermentation.

DAY 7: TRANSFERRING TO CARBOY
There is really weird vocab related to beer-making.  On day 7, it is time to transfer the beer to the glass "carboy".  See the nasty ring around the bucket in the photo above?  That's also a good thing (really.  It says so in my directions).  That's another sign that the beer has been fermenting (and settling down).

I now see the benefit in transferring this stuff from container to container.  The transfer leaves a layer of (easily cleaned) sludge at the bottom.  Anyway, the beer goes into the carboy and then it's plugged with a rubber cap that has a hole in it for another airlock.  It goes back into hiding for another 7 days.  I'm not constantly checking, so I'm not sure if there are bubbles in the airlock.  It's supposed to still be fermenting, but at this point, I'm a little over the excitement of watching for bubbles.

DAY 14: BOTTLING DAY!!!
The most time consuming thing about beer-making is sanitizing all the equipment.  There's a concentrated dark solution that must be diluted a gazillion times with water.  Everything that comes into contact with the beer must sit in (or be filled with) the solution for several minutes, then drip dried.  An easy way to do this is to fill the big buckets with solution and throw the cleaned equipment in there as well.  That sanitizes the equipment and the bucket.  Not rocket science, but something I didn't think of until the guy at the store explained it.  In the photo below, I have the bottles sanitized and am using the dishwasher racks to dry and hold the bottles until they're ready to be filled.  Another important thing to mention, the siphon thingy is a must-buy if you're going to make your own beer.  It has a little hand pump thing that starts the siphoning process and the bottom of the rod that goes in the full container has a little rubber cap on the bottom that prevents the sludgy stuff from being sucked into the new container.

So anyway, the beer in the carboy is siphoned into another plastic bucket.  This bucket looks almost exactly like the same one from the first step, except it has a spigot at the bottom.  The beer is beer-brown in color, but when I stir the priming sugar in, it immediately starts foaming.  Knowing the beer-brewing industry, I'm sure there's an interesting word for this chemical process.

After the priming sugar is completely stirred into the beer, I start bottling!  I bought these bottles from The Container Store.  I'm sure there's a more economical option, but for my purposes, there was a convenience factor to buying from the store down the road.  The beer basically needs to sit in a warmer place (my bedroom closet) for a week or so to build carbonation, then can be chilled.  You might remember that I bought a hydrometer, which was supposed to determine whether the beer was finished fermenting and ready to be bottled.  Well, I tried to avoid looking at the precise little tool sitting among my supplies because in the end, I was too tired to check (and worried that I would have to recap the carboy and clear my schedule for  another day to bottle).  I figured ready or not, this beer would be bottled on the designated bottling day.  Crossing my fingers and hoping for the best...

I'm not a beer convert, but I can say that there is definitely a not-unpleasant earthy/organic aroma to this beer.  It was actually very lovely compared to the canned shit (in my humble opinion) my husband typically drinks.  As I've found with just about any project, there's a specialness to homemade that doesn't compare to commercially manufactured.  Voila - the finished product - 3 of many, many bottles of my home-brewed Kolsch!

Info from the Williams Brewing website about this beer...

Kölsch is a pale, mildly hopped ale, with a unique soft fruitiness in the finish. Developed in the German city of Cologne, Kölsch has become increasingly popular in Germany in recent years, perhaps due to its unique quality of being an ale with the refreshing lightness of a lager, yet with the more complex, fruity finish of an ale. True German Kölsch is rarely seen bottled in the United States, probably due to German law which states Kólsch can only be brewed in Cologne, and only by one of the 22 licensed Kölsch breweries. Alcohol: 3.8%, IBU's 27.  William's Kölsch is an authentic rendering of this famous Cologne beer style, and can be either consumed quickly like an ale, or lagered (stored cold) after bottling for 8 weeks to develop the milder traditional flavor.

GBBD, GTTC, ironies, birdseed ornaments, Scamp update

Happy Garden Blogger's Bloom Day! Though I'm sure many of us are in the autumn perennial clean-up phase, there are still colorful blooms all around the world. Visit May Dreams Gardens on the 15th of each month to check it out. While you're here, check out the rose below. A pretty little yellow rose that seeks out the sun coming from unfortunately the direction of my neighbors' house. As you can see from the weeds on the neighbor's fence, they are not big garden aficionados. Still, the plants I care for end up greeting them as they walk out of their side door and meet the world each morning. ho hum...

In other ironies, I thought the sight of big old mushrooms growing next to the bottle of fungicide was pretty humorous.


And still more ironies... This is our typical farmers market booty. Pear cider, lemon bar with brownie hiding underneath, the sausages that the Amish family grills up, apple walnut turnover, lemon drop cookie. Not a single vegetable in sight.


I'm still harvesting these beautiful peppers (and wondering what to do with them). For those who have been enjoying the Garden to Table Challenge, I must officially put the meme into dormancy for at least the season, perhaps indefinitely. I'm going into my annual anti-cooking kick, in preparation for making Thanksgiving dinner.


Though it looked like cooking, what we're doing below is following Garden Gate magazine's recipe for birdseed ornaments.


We doubled the recipe, but the original recipe below makes six ornaments. You'll need 3/4 cup white or wheat flour, 3 cups bird seed mix, 1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup raw peanuts, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 ounce unflavored gelatin, 3 tablespoons light corn syrup. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Microwave the water until boiling in a glass measuring cup, then dump the gelatin in and stir until dissolved. Stir in the corn syrup and pour the liquids over the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Spoon the "dough" into a muffin tin. While the mix is still moist, poke a hold with the back of a wooden spoon for hanging. Allow the mix to harden for at least three hours before dumping the cakes out of the pan. Allow to dry overnight and add a ribbon or raffia for hanging.

We used a mini-muffin pan to do some extras and strung them in a chain to hang below.


This was the dregs that we made into a ball. Poked a hole through the middle with a chopstick.

These heart shaped ones were pressed into a cookie cutter.


Finally, precious Scamp below. You can see the area of his back that was shaved in order to do the surgery. They also shaved the back of his head where they also did something - not sure what. He's about...3.5 weeks post-surgery now and still slipping and sliding on the floors a little bit, but pretty sure-footed on carpet and grass. We've even been going for very short walks in the past few days and he's mostly out of the crate except for while we're out of the house. His bowel and bladder control came back about...2.5 weeks post surgery. It's pretty fricking miraculous. The last thing I'll mention about this whole ordeal is how interesting the reactions of people have been. A few posts back, I typed out the whole saga, and if you read it, you know it was a huge dilemma whether we should do the surgery or not. I have had someone say, "Wow, you have taught your kids a wonderful lesson about life". And the following day, when I conveyed the ordeal to a co-worker, she said, "Wow, my kids would have learned a quick lesson about life", an exact opposite lesson that the first person meant about life.

Here's Scamp - waiting patiently for food to drop. He's lost some weight since we've adopted him - a good thing since he was on the overweight side. Now that he's made great strides towards recovery from his surgery, we're back to getting to know each other.

My favorite store: the quarry

Best shop in town! I drive onto the scale with my car on the way in and wait for the guy to give me the thumbs up. I prowl the premises, load up with about 30 large rocks, drive back onto the scale and get a second thumbs up from the guy.

Total price: less than a brownie and frappucino. Rewards: creating a new raised bed! I honestly can't think of another store that I walk out of, receipt in hand, feeling so giddy from!

I knew I took a picture of this for a reason. Ha! The screen tried to load about 67 times before I had to literally pull the plug. It's a little indicative of how I feel these days.

Fer at My Little Garden in Japan is hosting a Carnival. Hop over there and see what other gardeners in the world are resolving for 2011.

I've been putting off a New Year's post for now...24 days, but figured I'd get my thoughts together to be a part of the fun.

But that last word is all the fun you'll get from this post - which is more of a journal reflection/vent and a diversion from the usual entertainment found on this blog (see Saturday's post for a movie review, a use for rum, and the cutest monkey thing you ever did see). You don't want to continue reading unless you got some time on your hands.

STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS (the union between my garden and I): Current state: tired. I'm not invigorated like I usually am at this time of the year. My seed catalog is marked by post-its but the order is not in. I have not opened the perennials catalog. I have not done my usual organizing such as writing in gardening reminders and tasks in green pencil on the big calender. My piano which is where I stage my seed starting is covered with the paraphernalia of ongoing projects. Some of the perennials in the front have still not been cut down. The hellebores are a mess. In the backyard I see frozen wilted chard, erect garden stakes next to no plants, pieces of edging lifted from a frozen ground swell, and various bowls, spoons, and cups my little one played with in the fall that we never brought inside. I also see that EVERYTHING needs to be pruned (including all the bamboo from the neighbor's yard that is creeping into mine). All this just makes me more tired. I just need more time. As much as I love the gardening season and working outside, I hope spring doesn't come for at least several more months - like 6 or so.

LIFE (as it relates to gardening): I'm tired. Have I mentioned that? Life is good. I have so many things to be thankful for. There are fun things to look forward to and fun trips to be planned. As usual, I'm working on something big (bigger than any project I've taken on) that I'm totally passionate about, but it's very time consuming. I'm not trying to complain here because I'm a capable and energetic person, and I love my life, but...here goes...I have young children and am actively involved in their lives (which currently means I play a lot of Super Mario Brothers and do a lot of carpooling). I work full time. I am trying to lose 15 pounds (ever seriously tried to lose weight? It's a lot planning, cooking, logging, etc.). I have a book group which I started (so I can't really drop out - and plus, I really enjoy it, but finding time to read often becomes one more thing I "have to" do). There are the usual household things. Though I work full time, I'm off by 2:40pm, and hubby is off at 6, which means I'm often doing dinner, doctor's appts, haircuts, kids' activities and things like that - and no, I'm not opposed to take out. Plus, I try to maintain some semblance of a social life and have dinner with a friend every week or 2. I'm not happy that I am only able to post on my blog once or twice a week, and especially that I'm not able to visit my favorite blogs save for once a week or two. The secret time-consuming project I mentioned earlier is a major focus in my life right now and I'm not able to give that due attention. There's just the overarching feeling that there's way too much to do and not enough time (before anyone suggests it, my husband does help out). I have also been dreaming about a new blog that would be very exciting for me. I've never been one to have trouble focusing or prioritizing, but every one of these balls is one that I WANT to juggle - at least for the time being. I used to have trouble with volunteering for things all the time, but I've made a conscious effort not to do that very often anymore (and have reconciled any guilt that this produces). OK, I've derailed from the gardening topic, you may have noticed. All this that I mention just explains why there is little room to get uber excited about spring.

VEGETABLE GARDEN GOAL: When I do get my act together, my main vegetable garden goal this year is to keep up with my harvests. I tend to neglect my garden and work in spurts, often trashing tomatoes that have rotted or lettuce that has bolted. I have a huge sensitivity to mosquitoes but this year, I'm going to set aside some going out clothes (like big pants and a hoodie) that I can put on easily and zip outside to stay on top of the harvest. THEN, when I do bring vegetables in, I'm going to use them. The biggest benefit of my Garden to Table Challenge has been that I've worked my brain to figure out delicious ways to use my harvests. I really look forward to this.

PERENNIALS GOAL: I am not going to buy ANYTHING this year (hopefully). I'm going to carefully update my paper "map" of plants and bulbs and mark in the garden what has survived, what needs to go, where there are holes, and how everything looks season to season. Then, in the fall, I'll fill in but ONLY if I really need/want to.

NATURE GOAL: I would like to learn more about birds and butterflies. People who have visited this blog may know that I'm afraid of butterflies, but last summer, I made it a personal goal to work on this. I am probably not ready to fully enjoy the summer Butterfly Show, but I now realize that butterflies won't hurt me (ha ha ha!). I would like to get a butterfly and/or bird book and learn more about the diversity of these subjects. It would be fun to be able to name the different birds I see - and maybe even get to learn their songs.

There you have it - more than you ever wanted to know about where I'm at - in my head, my life, my blog, and my garden.

Science Expo Project: coloring carnations

Fun for the youngest plant scientist ~

Want to try this at home? This is all you might like to know:

• Use about 20 drops of food coloring (or a good squirt if you're not watching and your 5 year old is not patient!) per 3/4 cup water (approximate - no need to measure).
• Carnations will be fully colored in about 24 hours.
• After they're colored, you can change the water. Carnations will be fresh for a good 10 days or more.
• BONUS: cut a slit in the stem. Place in 2 different colored cups of water. Predict what will happen.
  
  
  
  

Gifts - part 1 (show and tell)

Just wanted to share some gifts, both sent and received. First, I made this box (decoupage) below for my childhood bestest friend Kelly, who recently lost her sister way too young. Michelle will live in our hearts forever.

The idea to do a bean mosaic was inspired by Meredith of Great Stems. A little out of the ordinary I know, but when you have been giving the same man gifts for the past 20 years, you start to run out of ideas. It's based on his horoscope sign - cancer. Can you see the symbol, the stars, and the crab?. It is meant for his time travel (don't ask - especially since I don't have answers).

This was a gift I recently received - one of the most amazing gifts ever! My sister was my secret Santa this year. The deal: under $20, must be homemade. She created a journal with bits a pieces taken from my blog! I can't tell you how incredible it is to read a simple quote and remember why I wrote it a year ago, how I felt, how proud I was, how scared I was, how fun something was, how inspired I was, and how funny I thought I was at the time!! Best gift ever - and best sister ever, huh?!

Oh - and to know that she read almost every word of it all!!!

Got a match?

...neither do I. But I do have these cute little matchbooks containing seeds. I wish I could say I came up with this ridiculously creative gem myself, but I followed the guru herself (or at least her team of gurus), Martha. Here are directions if you'd like to make these adorable seed packets, originally intended to be wedding favors.

Readers who responded to my giveaway last week (now closed) will receive their packages in the mail soon!

The greenish thumb potager, before and after

I love working with stone. Though the stone you see above does not necessarily stack like legos as one might imagine, one quickly figures out how to turn the stone around and around to expose the most attractive face, how to steady the stone with adjacent stones, and how to backfill with gravel or soil to create a sturdy wall. I constructed the little potager above in a couple of weeks this spring, working about an hour a day between work and picking up kids. It has served my needs beautifully, and I'll show you why...


Above, you see my first vegetable garden. What an eyesore....and the animals! Can you feel my frustration? Raised beds are a necessity for me. The original veggie garden ground-breaking almost turned into a shovel-breaking as most of what's under the grass is large tree roots, heavy clay, or rocks. In the photo below, you'll see the original year one garden - the L-shaped garden. You'll also notice lots of shade. Though I'm not always so astute, I was wise enough to chart the sunlight in my backyard and found the sunny hours were between 12pm and 6pm. I built the raised beds directly under the sun, as most of my backyard is shaded. Year two brought an expansion (naturally, right?) - a 4X4 square to fill in the L. Below, the inspiration for this garden (my then 7 year old) is helping me plant garlic. See that horrible slope behind her? It's covered in weeds, poison ivy, sunken in dips, tree roots, and broken liquor bottles from the previous owner of the house. Something had to be done.

After much research and a summer of unlimited and unnatural confidence, my husband helped me build the stone wall. The steps lead to a walk that leads to a little sitting area on the slope (outside the left edge of the photo). The plan is to move the fire pit to this cozy sitting area. I'm really pleased with the wall project. The only problem is...it really calls attention to the ugly wooden vegetable garden. I thought about using stone, but envisioned that a large, rectangular, stone vegetable garden would look too "heavy" and too boxy. At the same time, I really wanted to expand as much as possible while still keeping the garden out of the shade.

After ruminating over this for two years, I found the potager below to be the perfect solution. It was easy for me to build myself. There was left over stone from the wall project. The stone maintains a consistent look, but the potager design keeps the garden from looking too utilitarian or heavy. The four rectangles allowed for a slight expansion while still providing paths between the beds so as to prevent trampling the soil. The rounded corners at the center of the potager helps soften the edges. I also love the potager's symmetry. The design maximizes the gardening area under the sun. In the separate beds, I also added monarda, lavender, and a selection of herbs and marigolds in an effort to attract pollinators and beneficials. Of course, having a space in the center allows for a container planting that is a beautiful focus as I walk to the back yard from the side yard, or as I look out the back window.

Though I anticipate minor repairs each spring, the results are well worth it.