Fermenters of SFN, unite!

[ecoli]

Anybody else on SFN an amateur (or professional?) fermenter? I've been making beer (malt extracts only so far) for less than a year, and think it would be cool to start making cheeses - though this sounds a lot tougher.

 

Who else dabbles in fermentation?

[iNow]

I brew with friends frequently. I'm a big fan of the IPAs and Brown Ales. Nice.

My manager from last year... he even distills his own spirits. Basically, everything begins as a vodka or everclear type product, and then he adds flavors and toasted oak and things like that.

 

 

There are a lot of great brewers popping up here in Austin. I'm hoping they get the up front capital needed to make a name. There are already some great ones, like Independence brewery and also 512 brewing.

 

 

Cheese is something I love, but I'm not familiar how to make. If I'm not mistaken, it's a milk product with something added to curdle it, and you scrape the chunks as it solidifies... something like that? Seriously, I have no idea. I saw a show on the Cooking channel or Fine living like 3 years ago and that's the extent of my knowledge on cheese fermentation.

[ecoli]

I brew with friends frequently. I'm a big fan of the IPAs and Brown Ales. Nice.

I've brewed pale ales, and a dark blueberry bitter. Looking to branch into more/different styles soon.

 

There are a lot of great brewers popping up here in Austin. I'm hoping they get the up front capital needed to make a name. There are already some great ones, like Independence brewery and also 512 brewing.

Yeah, it's definitely a nation-wide phenomenon. In fact, I'm leaving on a trip sunday to travel to breweries in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan and meet up with some other beer nerds. I'm gonna end up at Michigan summer beer fest at the end of the week. My liver is gonna hate me, but I love microbrews.

 

Cheese is something I love, but I'm not familiar how to make. If I'm not mistaken, it's a milk product with something added to curdle it, and you scrape the chunks as it solidifies... something like that? Seriously, I have no idea. I saw a show on the Cooking channel or Fine living like 3 years ago and that's the extent of my knowledge on cheese fermentation.

 

My girlfriend's mom makes paneer and yogurt, and claims that it's not difficult. I don't think paneer is actually fermented though, you just need vinegar. Yogurt is easy because you just add your yogurt cultures to whole milk and keep it warm for a few hours.

[Sisyphus]

I make my own beer. I've done IPAs, dark brown ales, bocks, pilsners, marzens, and witbiers. Next I'd like to try a saison, and then maybe go for a Belgian trippel.

 

I also make my own yogurt, and yes, it is extremely easy.

[iNow]

I also make my own yogurt, and yes, it is extremely easy.

So, it's just pouring some vinegar into your milk, and voila?

[Sisyphus]

So, it's just pouring some vinegar into your milk, and voila?

 

Ha. It's basically just growing growing the right kind of bacteria in milk. Here:

 

1) Boil a few cups of milk. (I use the microwave.)

2) Let it cool until it's warm but not hot.

3) Stir in a spoonful of yogurt. (From the previous batch, or plain from the store.)

4) Let it sit uncovered at about 115 degrees for 8-12 hours or so. (I just leave it in the off oven overnight, kept about that warm by the pilot light.)

5) Cover it and put it in the fridge.

 

Obviously, my recipe is vague...

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Have you experimented with different flavors or varieties of yogurt? I imagine one could put some frozen fruit in a food processor, then dump the chunks into the yogurt.

[Sisyphus]

Have you experimented with different flavors or varieties of yogurt? I imagine one could put some frozen fruit in a food processor, then dump the chunks into the yogurt.

 

Yeah, sure. You can just add stuff to it when you're going to eat it. Sometimes I put in the the blender with fruit, or add honey or something. Usually I just have it straight or with granola.

 

Also, supposedly you can also make it "Greek style" just by letting it drain through some cheese cloth for a while, but I haven't tried that yet.

[iNow]

I'd never put two and two together and realized that brewing, making cheese, and making yogurt were so similar. Awesome.

 

So... Who dry hops?

[Moontanman]

I've brewed pale ales, and a dark blueberry bitter. Looking to branch into more/different styles soon.

 

 

Yeah, it's definitely a nation-wide phenomenon. In fact, I'm leaving on a trip sunday to travel to breweries in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan and meet up with some other beer nerds. I'm gonna end up at Michigan summer beer fest at the end of the week. My liver is gonna hate me, but I love microbrews.

 

 

 

My girlfriend's mom makes paneer and yogurt, and claims that it's not difficult. I don't think paneer is actually fermented though, you just need vinegar. Yogurt is easy because you just add your yogurt cultures to whole milk and keep it warm for a few hours.

 

 

I've been thinking of getting into the fermintation of things... Dark blueberry bitters sounds wonderful! I had a buddy who made MJ beer once, it was wild to say the least! You have a recipe for the blueberry bitters?

[iNow]

What about kimchi? Anyone ferment some cabbage and spices, or... like ecoli referenced... make krauts? It's ridiculous how just thinking about this thread makes me salivate.

[ecoli]

I've been thinking of getting into the fermintation of things... Dark blueberry bitters sounds wonderful! I had a buddy who made MJ beer once, it was wild to say the least! You have a recipe for the blueberry bitters?

 

I'll try to find my notes for that one... I'm sort of disorganized ATM but I'll be back in 2 weeks.

 

I make my own beer. I've done IPAs, dark brown ales, bocks, pilsners, marzens, and witbiers. Next I'd like to try a saison, and then maybe go for a Belgian trippel.

 

Nice! I'm glad to see we got a few homebrewers on the site... It does seem as if beer attracts scientists, whether its due to the process of fermentation, or whatever.

 

I'd like to try some belgian styles... I'm also really getting into saisons and berliner weisses but I'm afraid to brew with Brett.

 

What about kimchi? Anyone ferment some cabbage and spices, or... like ecoli referenced... make krauts? It's ridiculous how just thinking about this thread makes me salivate.

 

My friend who's a fermenter has made kimchi (also kombucha and now kefir (sour yogurt-like). I'm getting a bit pecking myself. It tasted great, I'd like to try this stuff for myself.

 

I'd never put two and two together and realized that brewing, making cheese, and making yogurt were so similar. Awesome.

 

So... Who dry hops?

 

Haven't done it yet. Actually I have to get all new brewing supplies so perhaps I'll get a secondary to dry hop in. However, I'm moving into a new (tiny) apartment in NYC - first time with roommates as well - so I'm hoping I'll have enough time to keep doing it.

 

You have a recipe for the blueberry bitters?

 

disregard my previous note.. I found my recipe:

 

(for 3gallon grew)

.3 lb crystal 120 malts

.3 lb chocolate malts

.6 lb flaked oats

 

I crushed and let these steep in a grain bag for 30 minutes, keeping the temp between 160-170F

 

Mixed in 3.3lbs of dark LME and .2 lbs of molasses. Did the hour long boil, hopped after 30 and 45 minutes (bittering (fuggle) and finishing (liberty), respectively).

 

Cooled to pitching temp and added blueberry juice (3 pounds of frozen blueberries, juiced and sterilized by brief boiling) to the primary. Pitch with Safale-04, british Ale yeast.

 

OG was 1.035 which rounded up to 1.036/7 when corrected for temperature (which was a little high, around 80F).

 

 

Note - this is a low gravity beer, which means low alcohol. Final count was about 4% abv, I think. If you want a higher gravity, add a lighter base malt.

[Djordje]

I only did liquors so far... Does that count?

[lemur]

Good idea for a thread. Does anyone know if the dry brewer's yeast sold as bulk food can be used for brewing and/or bread-baking? I assume it is made by collecting froth off of brewing beer but I don't know if it can be re-activated and how or if it is dead or what.

[SMF]

I made my first batch of home brewed beer in 1968 and have no Idea how many hundreds of gallons, in five and ten gallon batches, that I have made. I have a homemade semi-automated mash mixer mash tun and only make all grain ales, mostly California versions of English ales. My family has been involved in brewing. My father was a national prizewinner, my brother owned a home brewing and wine making store, and my son is a Master Brewer (he passed the exam and ran a brewery) and has a degree in enology (he now has a high level position in a winery). I have dabbled in wine and cheesmaking and, if you think about it, making yeast bread also involves fermentation.

 

Lemur, yeast is one of the most important components of a good beer and you will be very disappointed if you don't use only a pure high quality yeast made just for brewing beer, and use it correctly. SM

[Xittenn]

I would like to try to make some mead. I made creme fraiche last night ....

[ecoli]

I only did liquors so far... Does that count?

You have to ferment before distilling, don't you?

 

btw - really happy this thread came back

 

I made my first batch of home brewed beer in 1968 and have no Idea how many hundreds of gallons, in five and ten gallon batches, that I have made. I have a homemade semi-automated mash mixer mash tun and only make all grain ales, mostly California versions of English ales. My family has been involved in brewing. My father was a national prizewinner, my brother owned a home brewing and wine making store, and my son is a Master Brewer (he passed the exam and ran a brewery) and has a degree in enology (he now has a high level position in a winery). I have dabbled in wine and cheesmaking and, if you think about it, making yeast bread also involves fermentation.

 

Awesome! I'd like to pick your brain sometime. I just made a coconut cream stout (extract + specialty grains) that should be ready to crack open next week. Very psyched.

[SMF]

Xittenn, I have not made mead, but I know several folks who are expert. I have tasted plain, or show, mead that could convince someone that it was a flawless, but difficult to identify, white wine. There are a great many variations (e.g. braggot, melomel, cyser) that are a lot of fun. Some equipment is required, but less than for beer brewing, and honey can be relatively inexpensive when bought in bulk and sometimes when it is local. I would highly recommend that you get a good book because there are some important tricks and chemical adjustments that need to be done to get a good product. Get more than one book.

 

Ecoli, I don't make flavored beers, but feel free to pick away regarding technique. In regard to distilling, I know some moonshine hobbyist. Several are very technical and scientific, but two are Appalachian traditionalists from the region.

 

SM

[lemur]

Lemur, yeast is one of the most important components of a good beer and you will be very disappointed if you don't use only a pure high quality yeast made just for brewing beer, and use it correctly. SM

I know different yeasts are sold for different purposes. I was just wondering if anyone knew whether the bulk-food brewer's yeast I have can actually be activated. If nothing else, it could be used to ferment old carbs I have lying around and then distill the alcohol off using a pressure-cooker with a coiled piece of copper tubing sticking off the vent-pipe.

[SMF]

Lemur. This would work fine if the yeast can be activated, but quality bulk bread yeast is inexpensive and will work fine if all you want to do is make alcohol. If you want a little more efficiency for a higher starting gravity get an inexpensive champagne yeast. I am adding that for alcohol production from plain starch there are some nutrients that should be added to the ferment. There are several mixtures at your local or an online brewing store. SM

Edited March 19, 2011 by SMF

[sacscale]

Anybody else on SFN an amateur (or professional?) fermenter? I've been making beer (malt extracts only so far) for less than a year, and think it would be cool to start making cheeses - though this sounds a lot tougher.

 

Who else dabbles in fermentation?

 

 

I've brewed some beer and a little wine but on a cautionary note I've heard bad things about bathtub cheese and one of my most vivid memories is when my father tried to make beer, he must have bottled it a little too soon because there was a problem with the bottles exploding.

[SMF]

Sacscale. Home brewing and making cheese are not rocket science. With a little study and planning ones first batch can be as good or better than anything that you can purchase ready made. With wine making it may require some more work, especially in finding quality grapes. SM

[sacscale]

Sacscale. Home brewing and making cheese are not rocket science. With a little study and planning ones first batch can be as good or better than anything that you can purchase ready made. With wine making it may require some more work, especially in finding quality grapes. SM

 

 

I used elderberries, it turned out pretty good.

[SMF]

Sacscale, fruit wines are highly undervalued. Even though grapes are a fruit, this is how wines not made from grapes are often referred to, usually as beneath consideration, by members of the enthusiastic wine culture. I once had a sparkling plum wine made by a professional wine maker, not an adherent of attitudes of popular wine culture, made at home from a tree in his back yard, that would knock your socks off.

 

Early on, before I got my beer brewing perfected, I made a bunch of fruit wines. I had very good success on one batch of wild blackberry wine and one batch of pear wine. This was a long time ago before there was any accessible information available to home wine makers, only a terrible book from England, and most of my wines were mediocre. Now you can assemble a modest and inexpensive chem lab that will allow you to make sure that your yeast has all needed nutrients, make adjustments in acidity and other flavors, rack frequently without concern for oxidation, and so on. SM

[sacscale]

Sacscale, fruit wines are highly undervalued. Even though grapes are a fruit, this is how wines not made from grapes are often referred to, usually as beneath consideration, by members of the enthusiastic wine culture. I once had a sparkling plum wine made by a professional wine maker, not an adherent of attitudes of popular wine culture, made at home from a tree in his back yard, that would knock your socks off.

 

Early on, before I got my beer brewing perfected, I made a bunch of fruit wines. I had very good success on one batch of wild blackberry wine and one batch of pear wine. This was a long time ago before there was any accessible information available to home wine makers, only a terrible book from England, and most of my wines were mediocre. Now you can assemble a modest and inexpensive chem lab that will allow you to make sure that your yeast has all needed nutrients, make adjustments in acidity and other flavors, rack frequently without concern for oxidation, and so on. SM

 

 

Yeh, had a problem getting it to ferment and had to add some enxymes, it didn't have a chance to oxidize. Speaking of rocket science, I just replaced our water heater and am getting pretty good at soldering copper tubing (non-leaded of course) and was thinking of trying to build a still.