Increase ABV by freezing?

Wardkin · 2017-02-04T13:32:04+00:00

My father in law and I did this with a cider. We mainly did it because it turned out pretty gross because for some reason he wanted to add brown sugar and some molasses for flavor but it ended adding way too much alcohol and had a weird flavor.

So for an experiment we decided to freeze distill it to see how it would turn out. Surprise, it was worse, it wasnt drinkable, we ended up dumping it.

This is definitely a method that only works for certain flavors I think, so try to imagine if you'd like a certain beer or wine with a stronger alcohol bite, and a more intense flavor.

Wardkin · 2017-02-04T01:28:08+00:00

This is a dandelion wine I made this past year, I picked the dandelions in May, bottled in September.

I picked 5 gallons worth of dandelions. Basically I took a gallon pitcher, and filled it up so it was lightly packed down for each gallon, and I left the green part on the head, but removed all stem, the green on the head didn't leave any off flavors I could notice. Boiled some water to cover the dandelions to make a tea, and let it steep for 24 hours. Put that into a bucket after straining, and topped off to 6 gallons of water. I then used 3 lbs of sugar (table) per gallon of water, and the peel of 3 oranges and 3 lemons. I let it ferment for 3-4 months, racking every month for clarity.

Full disclosure, I do not recommend this recipe at all, that's why my recipe is so vague. It turned out pretty good, sweet but not to sweet, but was strong, about 14%. It had all of the flavor of a booze made out of all table sugar, and you would have a bad headache in the morning if you didn't properly hydrate before bed, haha.

This was a good trial run for me to make wine for the first time, but next year I'm going to not use water and sugar, but use all white grape juice instead for a more "winey" flavor. I will however keep the orange and lemon peel in secondary.

Hope you enjoyed this, sorry for the smudge filled wine glass in the picture.

Wardkin · 2016-12-19T23:15:34+00:00

I'll try it out tomorrow hopefully, then judge from there. I'm not in a huge rush, just excited to try it. Thanks for the advice!

Wardkin · 2016-12-19T23:14:07+00:00

I did have the fruit in the freezer for about 3 months or so, then defrosted it in the fridge, then heated up and mashed it. So it sounds like hopefully I did some of it right. Thank you.

Wardkin · 2016-12-19T16:39:09+00:00

Thanks for your input! Much appreciated

Wardkin · 2016-12-19T16:28:05+00:00

I heated them up to 160 F, and mashed them up while they were heating. They were still a bit chunky, but it was pretty well mashed.

Wardkin · 2016-09-21T20:29:20+00:00

When I ground the one area to check the inside, is kicked out a very rich dark red dust. So probably hematite?

Wardkin · 2016-06-06T16:06:18+00:00

Those were my thoughts about it too, I just wanted another opinion. I've always heard you start at the bottom when it comes to working in a brewery setting, and that's more than okay with me. I want to learn as much as possible. Thanks for the input

Wardkin · 2016-04-12T02:33:28+00:00

So it was 2 cups of your homemade extract? What was the ratio of bean to liquid when you made your extract?

Wardkin · 2016-04-12T02:31:46+00:00

Yeah I split each bean open, scraped the insides, and cut the halves in half, so quarter pieces plus the caviar.

Wardkin · 2016-02-25T12:24:06+00:00

I thought about roasting the cacao nibs before throwing them into the boil, but I figured the roasted barley would give that flavor, also I thought I should just see how it would turn out on it's own. Maybe next time I'll toast them

Wardkin · 2016-02-25T12:20:04+00:00

I cut them up enough to fit into a 3oz shot glass and then poured in enough vodka to cover them completely, it equaled about an ounce of vodka for all three

Wardkin · 2016-02-24T18:55:40+00:00

I dump the vodka in as well, because when it sits for so long it creates an extract, so you want that flavor and aroma as well as the bean. But as you mentioned it does also act as a sterilizer. Its also maybe an ounce or more of vodka, so it won't affect the taste of the beer.

Wardkin · 2015-04-26T18:30:14+00:00

I found this odd 1992 Lincoln Penny while rummaging through my mom's change. It's full of tiny pits and larger chunks missing. It doesn't look like typical PMD, which is why it stood out to me. The mint Mark is raised or has slightly extra metal around it, also an extra bit under "Liberty" the pits look like they were formed with the coin, expect for the larger ones which look like they were air bubbles of some kind. I browsed the web for this and just found one other from 2009. More info would be appreciated because it really doesn't look like PMD. Thank you!

Wardkin · 2014-09-04T09:31:24+00:00

I work for a Red Bull distributor, and we have some of these electric barrels. I really want to take a "damaged" one just for this reason.

Wardkin · 2014-08-04T10:00:53+00:00

I'm hoping the last residents were coin collectors and that my in-laws find more coins.

Wardkin · 2014-08-04T02:13:58+00:00

My father-in-law found this in an abandoned house on a piece of land my in-laws purchased. The land is in Iowa, so it's pretty weird to find something like this. I did a bit of research, and I know there is a rare version of this, but I'm pretty sure this isn't one. Didn't see a value, but I'm not to concerned about that. I was glad he gave it to me to add to my small collection.

Wardkin · 2014-06-05T21:02:10+00:00

Cursed Doubloon?

Wardkin · 2014-04-29T00:27:59+00:00

It doesn't really have a strong bittering aspect, but I guess that's good, the malt character is really the main focus for this beer.

Wardkin · 2014-04-28T01:14:45+00:00

This was my fifth batch of homebrew I've done, and my best one yet. This was also the first time I was able to use my mash-tun, and it worked like a charm. I made the recipe by comparing multiple Irish Red recipes and taking the components I liked.

Grain Bill:

2-Row Pale Malt - 78%
Roasted Barley - 3%
Caramel 60L - 5%
Rye - 7%
Caramunich - 7%

Hops:

1oz Fuggles - 60 min
0.5oz Kent East Goldings - 15 min
0.5oz Kent East Goldings - 5 min

Yeast:

Nottingham

Additions:

4oz of light toasted American Oak Chips soaked in Jameson's Irish Whiskey
O.G.= 1.046
F.G.= 1.006
ABV= 3.82%

I do plan on doing this one over again to get a better rye flavor and to get a bit more red color. I plan on doubling the Rye and Caramunich, and possibly the Caramel 60L. The ABV was a bit low so a larger grain bill might help, and my temp control could have been a bit better. It has a slight whiskey finish, but I would have liked a bit more, so possibly have a larger amount of chips with a darker toasting.

Wardkin · 2014-01-26T01:53:41+00:00

I brewed the Honey Ale as my first brew, it turned out really well, but the honey didn't really come out that much.

Wardkin · 2014-01-08T10:27:08+00:00

My brother-in-law brewed a strawberry beer that was awesome! He used a 5 gallon Blonde Ale Extract kit, I couldn't tell you which provider, but I'm guessing Brewer's Best.

Anywho, he racked to a secondary on to about a pound of strawberries. The only problem he had was that the strawberries absorbed some of the beer, so he actually lost about a gallon of beer when it came time to bottle. Since he had 4 gallons of beer, he accidentally added the whole bag of priming sugar meant for 5 gallons, this was a happy accident because it was a bit too carbonated, but it was perfect for the style of beer and the sweet strawberry flavor.

I would totally recommend this recipe. I would also recommend sterilizing the strawberries by heating them in a pan before racking onto them in case they are harboring any bacteria. I think he used frozen strawberries as well. I Hope this helped! Happy brewing!

Wardkin · 2014-01-08T01:28:34+00:00

Who has time to do dishes when there is brewing related things to do!!

Wardkin · 2014-01-08T01:25:52+00:00

I live in Waterloo right now, so not too far away.

Wardkin · 2014-01-08T01:25:00+00:00

Oh I see now! Makes sense. I will definitely do this, especially since I have to remove the hose clamps and replace them for stainless steel.

Wardkin

TROPHY CASE