The Greening of Gavin

TGoG Podcast 068 – Home Brew Beer

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As you may know, I make home brew beer.  Not only is it economical at 20 cents a bottle, it deliciously thirst quenching, and quite welcome after a hard days graft in the garden.

Not that I am promoting consumption of alcohol, far from it.  Everything in moderation of course.

However, if you are into beer or cider, this podcast episode is for you!

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So, as I am currently recovering from a knee operation, I took the liberty of ripping a recording I made way back in June 2010 that I made during a home brew workshop that I gave.  The information is still very relevant and is how I make beer here at home.  I talk about making cider from a kit, and how to make beer from a kit including primary and secondary fermentation, and how to bottle the beer.  There is also a Q&A at the end with audience interaction.

The audio is a little bit noisy, and I cleaned it up best I could, however the content is full of gold nuggets for anyone thinking of making their own home brew beer.

Also, if you want to learn more about home brew beer making, then this link will take to you all the blog posts I have ever written about the process; www.greeningofgavin.com/category/beer

Home Brew Beer

Home Brew Beer!

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Until next time, stay green and keep keen!

Party Time!

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What a weekend!  I have never had so much fun.  Best. Party. Ever!

Home made beer, home-made pizza, and lots of local fare.  Everyone had a brilliant time.

Here are a few pictures from the evening.

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This is my birthday cake that we served up on my actual birthday.  Kim and Sina made it from 28 cup cakes that they made and decorated.  It was delicious!  One cup cake filled me up.

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Here is the antipasto spread that Kim put together on the night of the party.  Local olives, local and imported cheese, and my favourite, infused olive oils (basil, garlic, chilli, sun-dried tomato) with sourdough bread to dip.  Delicious.

Then there were the pizza!

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The oven was ready to cook after three hours of heating.  There was a production line setup.  Dad put the individual pizza onto trays after Kim and my sister Teena made and brought them out from the kitchen.

Then with my trusty peel and lineman gloves, I cooked them.

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Then Adam, my eldest son, cut the pizza and served it to the hungry guests.

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What?  Thirteen more to go?  Blooming heck!

Actually we made 16 pizzas, thinking that there may not enough.  There was a selection of garlic and cheese, pepperoni, Hawaiian, and vegetarian.  All ingredients were as local as we could get them.

By the time I got to pulling out the fourteenth pizza, everyone had had their fill.  We popped the remaining two into the freezer for a rainy day.

We received nothing but praise for the end result.  There is just something about wood fired pizza that makes all the difference to the taste.  It must be something to do with the speed that they cook.  It only takes 3 to 4 minutes per pizza!

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My beautiful wife, Kim

It was so well organised.  There was even a tribute song after dinner which I will add to a podcast episode in the near future.  Kim (guitar), Dave (guitar), and Pam (flute), played a rewritten version of  “All About You” by Thomas Fletcher to me and all the party guests.  It was the biggest surprise of the evening.

Absolutely brilliant, and as they played, all my children and their partners sung in the background.  I cried tears of joy, in front of the entire party.  Yes, I am a sensitive guy.

So a big shout out goes to all who attended, and whose privacy I have chosen to protect by not posting their photos.  Believe you me, there were many guests.

Had a ball, and enjoyed the entire evening.  Cooking, talking, drinking (in moderation), and mingling.  The second half of the evening was spent sitting around a brazier telling stories and dad jokes.

Brilliant, but a little weird, because the entire weekend felt surreal being and celebrating fifty years of life on this big blue-green marble.  I don’t feel a day over 21!

Must be all this good, green living.

Brewing Beer For My Birthday

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I have a birthday worth celebrating coming up this year, the big Five-O.  It is later in the year, so one has to prepare for these things, especially if one is to enjoy it in line with ones values.

So what better way to celebrate than with a few good home-brew beers, and a pizza party.  Now, the beer ain’t going to brew itself, is it?  Yours truly had to make some.  Out with the beer kit, and ferment away!

What I like about brewing beer is that it is relatively simple if you stick to some simple rules, after a week or so you get a great result ready to bottle.  I put a Cerveza brew down about two weeks ago, have let it ferment for a week, then I let it settle for the next week.  This is my simple technique of clearing the beer without having to use finnings.

Anyway, tonight was the night to bottle it.  With Ben at the camera, and helping pass me the bottles for filling and capping, here is how events panned out.

Warning: Ben doesn’t know how to tell me to say cheese when taking photos, so some of them are, lets say, unexpected.

Filling beer bottles

Filling beer bottles

See how clear the beer is out of the fermenter.  It took me a few years to figure out that if you leave the beer for that extra few days or so, the beer clears a lot better, and there is enough yeast in the bottle for secondary fermentation.  It doesn’t go bad in the fermenter if you leave it sealed during that time.

Capping the bottle

Capping the bottle

Nice shot of my head, but you get the general idea that I am placing the bottle with crown seal, then pushing down on the lever to seal the bottle.

Unawares shot by Ben

Unawares shot by Ben

See what I mean about caught out without the opportunity to say cheese!  But wait, the next one is even better (not).

Even better unawares shot

Even better unawares shot

Anyway, enough silliness.  23 litres of beer fills sixty-six 330 ml bottles.  That is a lot of beer, but not enough for the party as I am expecting a few guests who like a home-brew or two.

Home-brew beer undergoing secondary fermentation

brewing beer undergoing secondary fermentation

So tomorrow sometime, during my downshift day, I will be making some more beer and a batch of cider.  Both of these will be kit versions.  More than likely I will make a Canadian Blonde beer, and a low joule cider.  The cider can be rather dry, but refreshing.

Then, and only then, I will have enough beer for the party!

I really enjoy making my own beer.  It gives me a sense of accomplishment that you don’t get if you buy it commercially made.  You also drink it sparingly because it is precious.

If you want to see how I brew beer, have a look at this post titled Home Brewing Workshop.  There are three videos taken during the workshop that explains most things that you need to know to make your own beer.

Who makes their own beverages?  Is it cost effective and what does it taste good?