Posted By Drew Vics on January 10, 2014

In an older article — written very early on in the life of Cryptobrewology, when I knew very little about beer or home brewing and even less about microorganisms — I think I said something about the alcohol level in beer probably being substantial enough to kill off bacterial contamination if the method of sanitization was not optimum.

My naive logic at the time figured that, during fermentation, bacteria would be killed off as alcohol was produced by yeast and increased in the solution.

That is so incorrect.

In cases of very mild contamination yeast, during its growth, can choke out other microorganisms that might otherwise succeed in establishing themselves, though that is not guaranteed, and it won’t completely eradicate them. Any microorganism that remains will begin to reestablish itself.

If the yeast does stifle the growth of bacteria during fermentation the resulting alcohol level may be enough to slow regrowth for a period of time after the yeast becomes inactive, but contamination will remain. The bacteria will grow and greatly reduce the shelf life of the beer. Microorganisms are a pretty hearty bunch.

It takes a lot of alcohol to kill germs, and there is just not enough alcohol in beer or wine to do the trick. Wine actually is conducive to the growth of bacteria!

Cecil Adams, author of The Straight Dope, found that “[Wine] resulted in the biggest and most abundant colonies, even more than in the raw sample.”

Hops is the boon to beer. Antibacterial qualities of hops reduce the growth of most microorganisms except, luckily enough, yeast. Still, this is not a sure thing, bacteria will always find a way.

There is no substitute for cleanliness and good sanitizing techniques, but if you’re not handy with Spray Nine or a mop bucket, brew a Double IPA and you should be okay. For a little while anyway. There is no way to completely eliminate bacteria. The idea is to work clean and sanitize to minimize contamination so that alcohol and hops can be more effective in lengthening the shelf life of your brew.

Here’s to clear, refreshing beer!

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Posted By Drew Vics on December 21, 2013

Our Farting Santa is on the mantel, tree is decorated, and we’ve watched National Lampoon’s “Christmas Vacation” about four times so far, probably another two or three to go before Christmas gets here next week.

Now that the last minute shopping and other busy stuff is done it’s time to relax a bit and enjoy the season for what it is. And what it is, is a time to spend with family and friends, enjoying the holiday spirits, and beers! I have a few holiday drinkies on my radar to help with that.

First on the list is a bottle my Aunt surprised me with during a visit Cindy and I made to North Caraolina recently. She’s not a real beer person — her standard is a Coors Light or two at family gatherings — but she told me that she had the opportunity to try a hearty seasonal ale that someone suggested. She loved it, and picked up a bottle for Cindy and me to try.

“Silent Night Imperial Stout” by Mother Earth Brewing Co. in Kinston, NC. I’ve never had one and am looking forward to enjoying it on Christmas Eve, if it survives the weekend.

We also have a brand new bottle of The Kraken, not beer, but just as important this holiday season, around here anyway. Not only is it my favorite dark, spiced rum (and I’ve sampled plenty), it is a great rum to use for Rum Balls!. You know, I haven’t had ‘Nilla Wafers since I was a kid, but I ate a few while Cindy was making rum balls and I can’t believe how I ever ate those things without barfing. Maybe the milk helped. Put it this way, these days they taste much better crushed up and soaked in rum for Christmas treats.

Whatever your beverage of choice is for the holiday, I would like to extend my warmest wishes to you for a Happy Holiday, and a winter season filled with plenty of warming spirits.

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Posted By Drew Vics on November 13, 2013

Since Christmas is nigh, and all of the department stores started reminding us of that on Halloween, I thought, “Hey, why not let all of the cool home brewers and awesomest friends of home brewers in Cryptobrewology land know about some great gift ideas!”

And so…

You may not be aware that I have updated and expanded the available designs and slogans at the Cryptobrewology CafePress store, but that will change shortly… I have updated and expanded the available designs and slogans at the Cryptobrewology CafePress store!

There are some seriously fun t-shirts, sweatshirts, aprons (helps keep the malt off your duds on brew day), mugs for your coffee brew, drinking glasses for your homebrew and a lot more to check out, all featuring great designs or slogans like the definition of “Hoptimistic” (there’s an IPA version too), “All Your Base Malts Are Belong To Us” (still funny!), “It’s All Good” for wine lovers, some fun famous beer quotes, and the original “What’s in Your Carboy” design as well as the newer one with the carboy cartoon on it. So take a look at the links and pics above, you might be able to get some of your Christmas shopping done early, and here are some quick links to categories:

Store Home | Glasses and Steins | Homebrewer Aprons | Homegoods (Pillows, Jammies, etc.)

Make sure to check our homegoods section, we have “Homebrewers Do It for At Least An Hour” PJs (ladies…), and T-shirts in the other category too!

Now is the time to grab up some great deals on t-shirts, pint glasses, steins, pillows, PJs and tons more for your home brewing friends or loved ones this holiday season. Great stuff there, and great prices too!

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Posted By Drew Vics on November 8, 2013

Okay I’ll admit that, though it gets easier with time and experience, home brewing is never quick. but jazzing up your beer into a more hearty holiday offering may be easier than you think, and if you have an un-carved pumpkin sitting on your doorstep like I do, you can still use it before it rots or gets smashed. It could help you get smashed!

Spiced Holiday Ales and Pumpkin Ales
A simple way to spice things up is to add some spice to your pale ale, brown ale or porters and you’ll create a nice winter warmer for the holidays. Add pumpkin puree to your fermenter, or near the end of the boil, and you’ll get a nice spiced pumpkin ale.

When adding fruits or spices to your beer you first need to adjust your hops. Bitterness and various floral components of hops can interfere with the effect you are trying to achieve. To keep it simple, stick with hops that have a mid to lower alpha acid content (8% or less) and also have complimentary aromas.

Good Hops for Spiced Holiday Ales and Pumpkin Ales
Hops with pine, spice, citrus or floral notes fit right in with Fall and Winter ales. Some good choices for this type of beer might be Cascade, Athanum, Fuggles or Kent Goldings. A suitable yet more fruity and floral, and somewhat spicy hop would be Crystal. While some of these may be used for bittering, their AA% is lower than more aggressive bittering hops. Also, you will add less hops than usual, only an ounce or so for a 5 gallon batch, and add them in the last 10 minutes of the boil, to extract only aromatic compounds.

What Spices Should You Use, and How Much to Add?
Common spices used for making holiday ales are clove, cinnamon and nutmeg. Even some corriander or ginger can add a nice spicy note to a beer. Use spices sparingly though, especially the heartier nutmeg, clove and cinnamon, they can ruin a beer if too much is used.

Spices can be very overpowering, and will continue to spice the beer as it sits, so consider steeping the spices within the last 10 minutes of the boil, or add the spice to the secondary, whole in the case of cinnamon, or coarsely ground nutmeg and clove, in hopsacks or nylon stockings.

If you add them in powdered form and leave them in suspension they will continue to add spice, making the beer eventually undrinkable.

Since we’re trying to affect the nose, it’s probably a better idea to just steep the spices in the last 10 minutes of the boil, as you would with aroma hops. This will also cut down on potential contamination that is possible when adding things to the fermenter.

For cinnamon, nutmeg and clove keep the addition below an ounce or so for a 5 gallon batch. You can use a little more, 1 1/2 ounce say, for things like corriander and ginger.

Adding some orange peel is also a good way to compliment the spice and add a pleasant citrus note to the finished beer. You can zest an orange yourself or find dried orange peel at your local homebrew supplier or try the Sweet Orange Peel at MoreBeer.com.

A blend of these spices, along with the orange peel and hops mentioned above, makes for a very interesting and fulfilling experience.

Making a Spiced Pumpkin Ale
Now that you have some spice, take your beer to another level by adding some pumpkin notes to the flavor and aroma.

The easiest way to do this is with a can of pumpkin puree, but in some cases pumpkin puree may lead to a sweet, rich pumpkin pie flavor, which might not be what you’re shooting for. In my opinion, residual sweetness in an ale, especially holiday ales, should come from the malt, not adjunct sugars.

For a true pumpkin flavor and aroma try using a real pumpkin. If you’re brewing your seasonal in the early fall you should be able to find one around.

If you’re brewing an extract recipe you will add the pumpkin to the boil. Pop the top, scoop out the pumpkin guts and take out some meat, cut it into 1 inch cubes and carmelize to strengthen the flavor. You will want to use about one pound of pumpkin, that’s a good starting point.

To carmelize the pumpkin, heat a large skillet over medium heat and arrange the pumpkin in a single layer if possible. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring or rolling the pumpkin to heat it evenly. After that, let it cool, then mash it up and you can store it in the fridge until you use it.

Add the carmelized pumppkin to the wort during the last 10 to 15 minutes. Longer time in the boil will impart more pumpkin flavor and aroma, less time will have more effect on the aroma.

If you’re doing an all grain batch you can roast the pumpkin and use it in the mash. There is a great guide to making an all grain pumpkin ale at the American Homebrewers Association website.

What else can you do with a pumpkin? Why not make it into a keg!

Hope this helps you get a good start on holiday brewing. Enjoy, and as always, Happy Brewing!

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Posted By Drew Vics on October 9, 2013

A few posts back I gave a quick review and overview of the new BrewDemon beer making kit. Well, BrewDemon products are now available at Amazon.com.

Get started with their Basic Beer Kit, Plus Beer Kit, and Signature Beer Kit, or buy components separately, like their 2.5 gallon Conical Fermenting System, bottles, or Basic and Plus refill kits, including American Prophecy Ale, Dante’s Delight Weizenbier, Hellfire Deep Red, or Twisted Monk Witbier, just to name a few.

Visit the BrewDemon page at Amazon.com and browse their selections.

A BrewDemon kit makes a great gift idea for the holidays, get someone you know brewing up some of their own homemade beer this year!

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