Brew Time Again.... Again

Well its been way too long. The last thing I brewed was our St. Patrick's Day Savannah Special Green Witbier. Not a bad beer to end on for a while.

A lot has happened since those days of March. A long presidential campaign has recently come to an end and the landscape of American financial institutions has been profoundly altered, just to name a couple.

And what is a graphic designer who services the homebuilding industry to do? Drink heavily...

So in that spirit, I'm getting back to homebrewing in the holiday corridor (Nov 1st - Jan 1st) starting with a hard cider. Five gallons of good, slightly hard cider to act as a festive holiday drink for myself and fiancee and as handmade gifts for friends and family (which will remain a surprise in that I am the only one who reads this blog!)

I have been stocking up on wine bottles and bought tasting corks from the local homebrew supply shop. I am going to start with this basic recipe, making some modifications:

http://www.tastybrew.com/newrcp/detail/257

Thats all for now... I will post once I get actual ingredients.

Garnet's Homemade Beer

To the tune of Barrett's Privateers by Stan Rogers, brother of the featured Garnet Rogers

Oh, the year was nineteen seventy-eight
How I wish I'd never tried it now
When a score of men were turned quite green
By the scummiest ale you've ever seen

Refrain
God damn them all, I was told
This beer was worth its weight in gold
We'd feel no pain, shed no tears
But it's a foolish man who shows no fear
At a glass of Garnet's home-made beer

Oh, Garnet Rogers cried the town / How I wish...
For twenty brave men, all masochists who
Would taste for him his homemade brew

{Refrain}

This motley crew was a sickening sight / How I wish...
There was caveman Dave with his eyes in bags
He'd a hard-boiled liver and the staggers and jags

{Refrain}

Well we hadn't been there but an hour or two / How I wish...
When a voice said: Gimme some homemade brew
And Steeleye Stan hove into view

{Refrain}

Now Steeleye Stan was a frightening man / How I wish...
He was eight feet tall and four feet wide
He said: Pass that jug or I'll tan your hide

{Refrain}

Stan took one sip and pitched on his side / How I wish...
Garnet was smashed with a gut full of dregs
And his breath set fire to both me legs

{Refrain}

So here I lay in me twenty-third beer / How I wish...
It's been ten years since I felt this way
On the night before my wedding day

{Refrain}

Brew Time Again

So it has been quite a bit since I have contributed to this blog, but here goes. I am going to make a simple 5 gallon batch of grape wine from juice concentrate. I found a website that I think has posted a fantastic recipe for just this.

I'm going to the brew shop tomorrow (i have the day off YEAH!!) and I am picking up a hydrometer, wine yeast, pectin and anything else i think might be needed for this batch. I am pretty sure this recipe is legit since this looks exactly like the recipe for wine from welch's juice concentrate i saw in Dr. Holme's lab book. The recipe claims the wine should be ready within about 35 days.

Savannah's brew league has a meeting this February the 6th. Josh and I are going to be going. I will take pics of steps taken with the wine, lookin forward to home brewing again.