So I was looking at the spent grains one of the times I had them and decided to make cookies with them. I will pass on the recipe and tips to those of you out there.
2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup spent beer grain
2 (ish) cups flour (add slowly and adjust if need be, you may want about 1/2 to 3/4 more)
Start by putting the grains through a food processor to get the hulls smaller, otherwise they might get stuck in your teeth (my kids did not like that part)
Soften the butter and mix in the sugar. Next mix in the grains, then add the flour until it becomes slightly sticky. Scoop this out with a spoon onto a cookie sheet making small lumps and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Leave them on the sheet for another 2 minutes before removing to a wire rack.
Enjoy.
Just to let you all know you can put spent grains in just about anything. Use them in bread to add flavor (substitute 1 cup grain for 1/2 cup liquid and 1/2 cup flour). Cakes (banana and zucchini "bread" come to mind) and to add body to soups.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Yarrow Barleywine
My wife @sidheherbal bought me a book called "Sacred and Healing Herbal Healing Beers". In it is a entire chapter on Psychotropic beers. I wanted to try my hand at Gruit but I'm unable to easily locate two of the ingredients, so I went with just one. Yarrow.
I did not have the fresh Yarrow (although it grows rampant in my yard) and since it is my first time using a even slightly Psychotropic herb (in brewing), I decided to use a little less than that recipe calls for, and since I was already changing the recipe I just went for the gusto and totally changed it.
7 3/4 lbs light malt extract
1 lb American Munich
1 lb Chocolate Malt
1 lb Flaked Wheat
1 lb Flaked Oat
1 1/2 ounce Yarrow
I am not sure what temp I mashed the grains at, I just brought 2 1/2 gallons water to right before a boil and dumped the muslin bag of grain in then set my electric stove on low and left it for an hour.
Then I used my fermenter bucket and a large strainer as a cheap batch sparging system. I then used 2 gallons hot water from my tap and rinsed the grains, then poured that back into my brew pot.
I know most say to boil your wort for at least an hour before chilling but I'm lazy. I brought my wort to a boil (which took at least 30 minutes) then tossed 1 ounce of yarrow into the pot and turned off the burner and put on a lid. I let that sit for 45 minutes before transferring to the fermenter bucket where I had 1 gallon cold water from my tap (keep in mind I have a well and it wicked cold out there) .
I am going to let that sit until tomorrow morning when I will pitch the yeast. I usually do a starter but I think this beer is big enough that I wont this time, I am just going to open the pack of dry yeast and toss it in
-Next Morning-
After some coffee and a bagel I check gravity. It reads 1.052. It's a little low for what my calculations said but no matter to me. I cut open the packet of yeast and pour it into the fermenter, snap on the lid and put in an air lock.
-That Evening-
It is bubbling away nicely. I hope there is enough head space and I don't wined up with a mess.
-Update Jan. 30 2011-
Just finished transferring to secondary. It probably could have gone another 2-3 days but as I have stated earlier I am an impatient brewer and that is probably my downfall. The hydrometer test was at 1.28 as of now but since I lost the bottom of my raking cane more troob went into the secondary than usual so there is still plenty of room for improvement. I will let this set in the glass secondary until it's clear (or I "deem" it clear) which I hope will only take a week but it may take longer. I still do not know what I want to prime (if I want to prime) with. I might get some maple syrup or maybe get an extra 1/2 cup malt from my next batch, or maybe just use some turbinado sugar. Ill take suggestions and consider them seriously.
-Update Feb. 15 2011-
Well its been longer than a week but hey its all right. So I finally bottled the Yarrow Barleywine that did not really turn out a Barleywine. It got stuck around 1.024 for the last week so I only used 1/4 cup maple syrup to prime with. It may not be enough or it may be too much only time will tell. Stay tuned for the first tasting.
I did not have the fresh Yarrow (although it grows rampant in my yard) and since it is my first time using a even slightly Psychotropic herb (in brewing), I decided to use a little less than that recipe calls for, and since I was already changing the recipe I just went for the gusto and totally changed it.
7 3/4 lbs light malt extract
1 lb American Munich
1 lb Chocolate Malt
1 lb Flaked Wheat
1 lb Flaked Oat
1 1/2 ounce Yarrow
I am not sure what temp I mashed the grains at, I just brought 2 1/2 gallons water to right before a boil and dumped the muslin bag of grain in then set my electric stove on low and left it for an hour.
Then I used my fermenter bucket and a large strainer as a cheap batch sparging system. I then used 2 gallons hot water from my tap and rinsed the grains, then poured that back into my brew pot.
Added the extract.
I know most say to boil your wort for at least an hour before chilling but I'm lazy. I brought my wort to a boil (which took at least 30 minutes) then tossed 1 ounce of yarrow into the pot and turned off the burner and put on a lid. I let that sit for 45 minutes before transferring to the fermenter bucket where I had 1 gallon cold water from my tap (keep in mind I have a well and it wicked cold out there) .
I am going to let that sit until tomorrow morning when I will pitch the yeast. I usually do a starter but I think this beer is big enough that I wont this time, I am just going to open the pack of dry yeast and toss it in
-Next Morning-
After some coffee and a bagel I check gravity. It reads 1.052. It's a little low for what my calculations said but no matter to me. I cut open the packet of yeast and pour it into the fermenter, snap on the lid and put in an air lock.
-That Evening-
It is bubbling away nicely. I hope there is enough head space and I don't wined up with a mess.
-Update Jan. 30 2011-
Just finished transferring to secondary. It probably could have gone another 2-3 days but as I have stated earlier I am an impatient brewer and that is probably my downfall. The hydrometer test was at 1.28 as of now but since I lost the bottom of my raking cane more troob went into the secondary than usual so there is still plenty of room for improvement. I will let this set in the glass secondary until it's clear (or I "deem" it clear) which I hope will only take a week but it may take longer. I still do not know what I want to prime (if I want to prime) with. I might get some maple syrup or maybe get an extra 1/2 cup malt from my next batch, or maybe just use some turbinado sugar. Ill take suggestions and consider them seriously.
-Update Feb. 15 2011-
Well its been longer than a week but hey its all right. So I finally bottled the Yarrow Barleywine that did not really turn out a Barleywine. It got stuck around 1.024 for the last week so I only used 1/4 cup maple syrup to prime with. It may not be enough or it may be too much only time will tell. Stay tuned for the first tasting.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Willow Wine
I know what your thinking, your thinking "What the hell is this guy doing? He's making a mockery of homebrewing!"
Your probably right, but oh well. I do have a good reason for this though. Willow contains salicylic acid which is the main part of aspirin. Also my wife @Sidheherbal makes Tinctures out of herbs and grain alcohol. I figure if I can brew a wine out of the herbs then maybe that would be cheaper (and I would get to brew more often).
I decided to go with a simple willow bark wine to start with (because we are running out of the tincture). I boiled 3 ounces of willow with 2 gallons of water for 30 minutes, then transfered that to the carboy. I then made a simple sugar solution of 1 gallon of water and 7 lbs of white sugar. To make the solution just heat until it becomes clear. I then put that in the carboy.
I wanted to use the troob of the pine wine since it was still a little active and I was transferring that to a secondary but I don't think it was quite enough so I also pitched in (two days later) the saved troob from the volcano mead and the apple cider I had made earlier.
I made this on New Years Day.
I tasted it today, there is a faint alcohol smell under the bitter earthy smell of the willow. There is no alcohol taste and it is still way to sweet, I also cannot taste the willow in it as strongly as I thought I would but maybe it will come out later after it ferments out some.
So it's Tuesday march 1 and I have learned another lesson, even if a "wine" seems to be stuck at 1.022 for two weeks, it probably isn't. I had bottled this about 2 1/2 weeks ago and its carbonating nicely. I did not mean to carbonate it but it's doing it. I have lost one bottle, but it may have been bottle fatigue or cracked earlier I'm not sure what happened.
As for the taste it is wonderful. it could be a little dryer but it is still very good. the willow taste is even less than prior but so is some of the sweetness. The smell is still the same as prior.
Your probably right, but oh well. I do have a good reason for this though. Willow contains salicylic acid which is the main part of aspirin. Also my wife @Sidheherbal makes Tinctures out of herbs and grain alcohol. I figure if I can brew a wine out of the herbs then maybe that would be cheaper (and I would get to brew more often).
I decided to go with a simple willow bark wine to start with (because we are running out of the tincture). I boiled 3 ounces of willow with 2 gallons of water for 30 minutes, then transfered that to the carboy. I then made a simple sugar solution of 1 gallon of water and 7 lbs of white sugar. To make the solution just heat until it becomes clear. I then put that in the carboy.
I wanted to use the troob of the pine wine since it was still a little active and I was transferring that to a secondary but I don't think it was quite enough so I also pitched in (two days later) the saved troob from the volcano mead and the apple cider I had made earlier.
I made this on New Years Day.
I tasted it today, there is a faint alcohol smell under the bitter earthy smell of the willow. There is no alcohol taste and it is still way to sweet, I also cannot taste the willow in it as strongly as I thought I would but maybe it will come out later after it ferments out some.
So it's Tuesday march 1 and I have learned another lesson, even if a "wine" seems to be stuck at 1.022 for two weeks, it probably isn't. I had bottled this about 2 1/2 weeks ago and its carbonating nicely. I did not mean to carbonate it but it's doing it. I have lost one bottle, but it may have been bottle fatigue or cracked earlier I'm not sure what happened.
As for the taste it is wonderful. it could be a little dryer but it is still very good. the willow taste is even less than prior but so is some of the sweetness. The smell is still the same as prior.
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