(no subject)

[inahandbasket]

I just spent a chunk of my annual bonus (from current/old company!) on the bits and pieces needed to finally make good use of the kegging system that my cousin got us as a wedding present. Without sacrificing a good chunk of our fridge that is. I'm psyched. I've always wanted draft beer in the house. ^_^

Also we transfered the heather ale to secondary, and oooohhhh goodness is this gonna be a good one. We also added another 2oz of heather tips as a dry-"hop", but it's so good right now we're probably only going to leave them in for about a week before bottling/kegging.

Have the mini-fridge (thanks Target), need to build an insulated box with the soon-to-be-decapitated fridge, and install the 2-tap tower that should be coming in the mail later this week, and if all goes as planned we could have 2.5 gallons of heather ale on tap as soon as next weekend.

Also on the to-brew list:
Rye Pale Ale
Ginger Beer (again)
Re-attempt the Lapsang Souchong Scotch Ale.
- Need to research the fermentability of tea to see if that's what screwed us up last time.

Comments

[kyrelle.livejournal.com]

Mmmm... Lapsang Souchong is must about my favorite tea ever. If you figure out how to make it work, please let me know. And possibly invite me over for a tasting. :)

I'd be interested to know whether there is a problem with fermenting tea. I know tea contains anti-oxidants, which means it delays, inhibits, or flat-out prevents oxidation caused by free-radicals. Would that have an effect on the fermentation process?

[inahandbasket]

well it fermented just fine, but then it grew some kind of mold or fungus. Trying to figure out what that was all about.
It very well might just have been coincidence, but it's the only batch of beer we've ever lost so...

[squidproquo.livejournal.com]

Excellent! And you don't have to wait for a lightning storm to bring your creation to life, either.

When you're finished with the mechanical alchemy, let me know if you're looking for any test-tappers. ;o)

Is the ginger beer BEER or "beer"? Re: tea, I know Pu-ehrs are double fermented, so there might be extra fermentation info out there in reference to those (though I bet M. knows way more about it than I).

[inahandbasket]

It's a fermented beverage of about 3-4% alcohol containing mostly brown sugar, ginger, and lemon. I don't know where that leaves the capitalization and quotation marks. ;-)

[rainbow-spork.livejournal.com]

I suppose this is a totally pointless comment, but your icon made me go, "hey! I have that shirt!" and then it made me go, "Hmm, where *is* that shirt?"

And then your post made me figure out what the heck prosicated and I had originally been talking about tonight before we went off on a very long and interesting tangent that ultimately just became our conversation. (us? tangents? never! i'm sure you're shocked.) So thanks very much for a) solving that mystery, and b) answering the question that I'd forgotten I'd ever asked when I first walked into your house and saw a fridge sitting in the middle of your living room.

[albionwood.livejournal.com]

Aaarrgh! I have no bonus to spend on a kegerator! Take off every ZIG!!

[inahandbasket]

yeah, it was unexpectedly larger than expected, so I had some leeway in there. ^_^