Peach Tej

So I have started my first batch of Peach Tej. My wife had bought a crate of wonderful peaches and I stole 3 to go into a 3 gallon batch of Tej.
I first cut the peaches so that I could get the pit out and then blended (in a blender) them with a little bit of water to a liquid state. That got poured into my sanitized carboy and capped with an air lock while I bottled the last tej I made (yes the one I made last month and have done nothing with since). I bottled straight from the primary carboy and stuck those bottles straight in the fridge. I did not get a final gravity reading because I was in a rush to get the peach stuff made and get out of the way. (we have a small kitchen and when one person is in it doing something everyone else suddenly has something to do in the kitchen.) I also wanted to use the left over sludge from the first to start the second.
So the liquified Peaches and the previous troob go into the carboy.  I then mix the honey with warm water until I can pour it into the carboy. I then top it off with water from the tap, cap that with the airlock again and set it in the basement to let it rock.
Within minutes it was going pretty strong.

This is the part where I go over what many people will say was a mistake. First I did not peal the peaches, this is sometimes considered a mistake because there is a natural yeast on the skin of peaches much like what is on the outside of grapes. most people do not want this yeast to "infect" their batch of carefully prepared must.  I personally don't care. I know it will not be a big problem (if at all) because of the full starter I tossed in with the peaches. Also if the peach yeast does change the flavor some then all the better because I would get tired of drinking the same thing over and over (hence why I have yet to duplicate a recipe).
Secondly I did not boil the water. My water goes through a water purifier that uses bleach and a charcoal filter, nothing should have gotten through. I have been drinking this water for almost 4 years now and have yet to get sick from it.

"Take a Chance"

I have started my first spontaneous fermentation. On July 4th 2011 at 3:15 pm I mixed 1.75 cups raw honey with 4 cups warm water in a 1/2 gallon mason jar. Initial Gravity reading was 1.130. I used this as a starter for a larger batch.

  As you can see the initial starter was working fine. I had it sitting in the corner of my kitchen by an open window with a washcloth rubber-banded around the top. I (or my wife) would stir this with a chopstick 2-3 times a day. by the second day it was starting and by the third it was really starting off. I waited till day five to make sure that the yeast had really taken hold of what was there because I was adding it to four gallons of water which I did at 2:00 today July 9th, 2011.




The gravity reading after the rest of the 5 lbs, and 4 gallons were added was 1.048 with a estimated finishing gravity of 1.012 (according to Qbrew, but I personally think it might go lower.), and estimated A.B.V. of 4.7 (we'll see about that).

I have moved the carboy to the brew corner of my basement where I will let it sit for 1-2 weeks before either transferring it or bottling it depending on what happens. I might take a gallon of this and dry-herb it for another couple weeks. Maybe with some oak chips and coffee beans, or with some Borage.

Spontaneous Fermentation

I have been reading about and thinking about doing a "naturally fermented" mead commonly known as Tej (an Ethiopian honey wine). I first read about this in Sandor Katz's book "Wild Fermentation".

A basic recipe is:
    3 quarts water
    3 cups honey (preferably raw)
Mix this in a large enough open container and stir till mixed thoroughly. Leave uncovered by a open window for 3-4 days (longer if cool outside) stirring when you think about it (about 2-4 times a day) till bubbly. When it starts to bubble good transfer it to a gallon carboy and cap with an air lock. let ferment for 2-4 weeks until fermentation slows. Bottle and drink or age.

Any number of fruits or herbs could be added at just about any stage of the process. Chopped fruits in the beginning will get it started faster and stronger while some herbs you may want to put in during the sealed fermentation or aging stages.

Any spontaneous fermentation will tend to be cloudy and might taste a little funky.

An informative page is here

Sidheherbal's birthday mead

So the mead I have been working with is now in the bottle (bottles really, I did get 27). I had added an extra 2.5 lbs. of honey and the rest of the yeast and let that roll for another week or so.  I then tested it and decided that it could use just a hint of bitter to work with the sweetness of the dandelion flowers. I took a half gallon of dandelion leaf and made another infusion with them and added that. Another week rolls by and it has completely fermented out. No foam or even flecks on top and it had dropped clear. I took a gravity reading and it was at 1.000. I was totally excited, I fermented a mead back to water.
I then transferred that to a third vessel to make sure it was done and (after a few days) added another pound of honey to give some sweetness to the completely dry mead. At bottling time it was wonderful, I almost cant wait till the 13th for Sherri's birthday but I guess ill have to (there's only 27)

As for the mint chocolate brew... I tossed it. I know there are people who would scream about this but i figure that we (my family) have gone gluten free and I don't want to spoil that with a potentially bad beer.

Now I just need to think about the next mead I'll make.

The Long Awaited Update

Well it has been a while since I last shared with all of you out there.  I have to admit though I have not really been doing a whole lot of brewing.  I did get a mead in though. I started with 2.5 lbs raw honey in 2.5 gallons of warm water and let that sit till room temp. I then tossed in about 1/2 packet of Fermentas US 05. I know what your all gonna say "That's underpitched!!" Well dont worry Ive been listening to some brewing podcasts (Basic Brewing Radio mainly with Final Gravity when it comes out) and in particular those with David Myers from Redstone Meadery  and I have found out that this could actually be called a starter at a potential 1.035 (I forgot to take a reading). I started this about 3 weeks ago and it formed a nice krausen by the time I got home the next day. I has continued to bubble along at the same rate since then although the thick krausen is no longer present, just a little skim of carbonated foam on top. I also added 1/2 gallon of Dandelion Infusion from fresh dandelion flowers from my yard (note I pulled the yellow flowers from the green head and had only the yellow flowers and none of the green.) I am going to add some more honey as soon as I get it, and will probably add the rest of the yeast at that time. 

The mint chocolate mud is still sitting in the tertiary carboy because by the time I found time to bottle, it had started to grow a white mold on top.  I stepped back and thought "Well now what? Do I toss it? Or bottle it?" so I did some research and talked to my boss (who also homebrews) and found out that the mint chocolate mud is now possibly a Belgium too. "The white mold is safe, just push your raking cane down past is slowly and try not to take too much down with it. And don't try to get that last little bit like we both do, just let it go" he says nonchalantly and then concludes with "Now if you do ever see any other color like red, blue, green... I'm serious... especially black... take a roll of duct take and wrap the whole top, bubbler and all, and get rid of it. that can kill you!"
So here I am a couple weeks later the carboy is still there with the Mint Chocolate Belgium still in it. I know I should just bottle it and set it off in a corner somewhere for the next 5 years but... Anyway that is where I am at right now.

Chocolate Spearmint Ale

I have had some good chocolate stouts in the past and wanted to try my hand at some chocolate beer. So I started doing some research. Most of what I was seeing was using Hershey's chocolate syrup but that just goes against my principals, but I did find some places saying that you could use any form of chocolate from bean to nibs to powder to bar or chunk. Most recommended between 2 - 8 ounces and using less if using powder. I have read use in every stage of the process, bean in both the mash or boil, nibs and powder in both boil and just fermenter, the bar or chunk was typically suggested to be in the boil around the last half or so.
I want to point out the importance of the selection of a quality chocolate what every way you go because you never know what mineral oil will do to a beer. So the closer to the natural state you can get your chocolate the better.
I chose to go with Dutch process cocoa powder, bought from my local market. One whole pound of it. Thats right I did say earlier that most people suggest using less than a half pound and less for powder but nobody said you had to, also those guys were using hops. I used one ounce of spearmint bought from my local herb shop. And last but not least the ferment-able sugar, 7.75 lbs light malt extract.

Now to the process.
I brought 1.5 (ish) gallons of water to a boil, then removed it from the heat to add the malt extract. Once the malt extract was mixed in well I placed it back on the burner and brought it back to a boil. Then I added the Spearmint with cover on for 30 minutes. Then added 1/2 the chocolate stirring vigorously for about 5 minutes.
After the boil I poured the rest of the chocolate into the primary bucket and dumped the wort (mint and all) on top added about another gallon warm water and stirred that up, then added the rest of the water cold.
I snapped the lid on to the bucket and shook it for about 3 minutes to aerate (something I almost all-ways forget to do) then put a twin bubble airlock in the grommeted hole and let it cool till morning

Sat. Feb 19 2011
Starting gravity at room temp (64) was 1.064 and I poured the dry Fermentis Safale US-05 yeast into the bucket.

That night
Bubbling nicely, I cant wait to for the first racking so I can get my first tasting.

Saturday Feb 26
The bubbling of the twin bubble airlock slowed from once every 8 seconds to every 12 seconds to every 2 minutes (well I saw it bubble and waited 2 min till I said "It's done" and stopped watching). So I grabbed my hydrometer and took a reading 1.018. "Woohoo" I said and racked to the secondary carboy. This is where I tell you why everyone only suggests a couple of ounces of chocolate powder. The sludge was so thick that I was forced to start the siphon with the racking cane suspended in the bucket (meaning I could not just let the racking cane tip rest on the bottom of the bucket, I had to start with it off the bottom and slowly lower it to the bottom). I was able to suck off more of the liquor than usual but there was also about 3 times the troob.
I took a sample of it when it started to run "clear" (after the initial bout of troob pickup after setting down the racking cane but before the second troob pick at end of transfer) and it was really REALLY chocolaty with a very powerful hit of spearmint in the nose and on the front of the tongue. although there both really strong in their respective flavors neither is stronger than the other so it is balanced. the only problem really is that all the sweetness is gone. it is almost like eating dry mint leaves and bakers chocolate.
Its in my glass carboy down in the basement now, current ambient is around 50 but the weather is about to change now so it may be a little warmer but should not go above the upper 50's. I hope this cooler secondary fermentation helps drop some of the suspended matter because right now it looks like mud. Another week or three and Ill bottle this

Spiced Mead

Thurs. Feb. 17 2011
I am trying my hand at another mead. Its going to be kinda small but that will be okay. I have 5 lbs of raw honey from Honey Gardens and I'm making 3 gallons.

Recipe
10 3inch long pieces of cinnimon stick (broken)
3 nutmeg (chopped)
2 tablespoon (approx.) whole all spice

5 lbs honey (raw)

3 gallons water (VT well)

I boiled the spices in half the watter with top on for 1 hour then strained. Used the hot decotion to "melt" the raw honey. poured the mixture into the 3 gallon carboy and added cold water from tap (no I'm not worried about contamination) till full (well the top line at least, I need to leave some head room).

Starting gravity was 1.062

The next morning
I popped off the rubber cork and airlock off and just pour the dry Red Star Premier Curvee yeast straight in. I replaced the cork and went to work.

That night
Fermentation had officially started.