Brewing, anyone?

[Brokennock]

Does anybody have any old-school beer or hard cider recipes or methods they could and would share?
I prefer ales (not IPAs, can't wait for this IPA fad to end), stouts and porters.
Have an extra special fondness for Octoberfest beers.
Ciders I prefer unfiltered and on the tart side.

Care to share?

 

[Ohio.75]

I don't have old recipes, though I have made wine and beer. I think Townsends has a book or pamphlet. I too, would be interested if anyone had a period recipe.

 

[Ames]

Hard ciders? Its all about the blend. You need the right balance between four groups of apple characteristics.
I would also say you have to get the Brix high enough to get at least 9% alcohol to keep it safe. I go 10-11%. And I prefer sparkling cider made with champagne yeast over still cider.
The actual procedure would and has filled the pages of many a book.

 

[Brokennock]

Hard ciders? Its all about the blend. You need the right balance between four groups of apple characteristics.
I would also say you have to get the Brix high enough to get at least 9% alcohol to keep it safe. I go 10-11%. And I prefer sparkling cider made with champagne yeast over still cider.
The actual procedure would and has filled the pages of many a book.

Okay, thank you. For sake of discussion, and archiving our collective knowledge, can you make some suggestions as to blends of apples you've used and liked?
Any technique tips you've learned?
How about any "don't do this..." advise?

 

[Ames]

Biggest thing is sanitation. Messing around with apples for a one to two year project you better start off clean. Dont use windfalls from a pick your own operation. You dont know what was on the ground with those apples.
Wash and press the apples, then treat them in sanitized carboys with two Camden tablets per gallon. This will kill off the natural yeasts on the apples you cant control from year to year. A clean slate every season. Then you can add your prefered strain of yeast.
For varieties ......this is what I prefer. Your tastes may vary.
Sweet: Baldwin,Cortland, Rome Beauty. 40-50%
Tart: Granny Smith, Jonathan, Newtown Pippin.15-20%
Astringent: Liberty, Northern Spy, Dolgo crab apples. 10%
Aromatic: Cox's Orange Pippin, Grimes Golden, McIntosh, Red Delicious. apx. 20%
Any of these tree can be bought online NOW and shipped to you in the spring from Fedco trees in Maine. Apple trees are only as good as the root stock they are grafted onto. The trees in the big box stores are trash. Fedco is a serious supplier for anyone with a backyard or an orchard. Worth reading what they have online. Money spent on a handful of trees will pay you back in apples for decades.

 

[hunter thompson]

I use cooper stout kits and pilsner they are pretty easy to do.3 LBS OF CORN SUGER SOME EXTRA HOPS boiled 2.5 gallons ..(wort) then on the last 10 minutes of boil..Sparged into a glass 5 gallon vessel filled a lil over half way with cold water.WAIT until its below 70 degrees...pitch the yeast thats provided with the kit.attach airlock wait intuil its done working/burping around 7 days.SIPHONE off into a 5 gallon pail that i made with a gate valve and a peice of hose. bottle in 1 liter clear swing tops.4.5 gallons about 20.00

 

[Ames]

Part two:
After a few days have passed and the original yeasts have been killed off, you've added the yeast of your choice. Now the fun begins.
Initial fermentation should be done in a carboy with an air lock and a blow by tube into a half filled with water milk jug. DO NOT try this with just an air lock! Its not beer! It takes a number of days to get started, but once it does.....wow! Unlike beer, this primary fermentation can last six weeks. That's six weeks of constant eruptions, blown off gas and a smell like uncle Herb came to stay. Pick your fermentation room wisely, the spouse wont like this part of it at all.
After 6 or 8 weeks when things calm down you can rack the cider into a new (sanitized) carboy to finish. Starting in October, mine gets racked and then matures......for months. Bottling takes place around March. More on that soon.
Fun to know.....The old farmers used to do it in a barrel in the barn. They let it freeze in the winter. The water would freeze, but not the alcohol.
Late in the winter they would drill a hole in the ice and siphon off the "apple jack" from the center of the barrel. If you live up here there was a lot of ice around that golden core. That stuff in the middle would knock you over if not careful.
And stories abound of dropping a piece of meat into the barrel at the beginning for tannin's? Or niacin. I forget. Yes. Some say they would drop a mouse into the barrel. I know people that have done it. I think I'd stay clear of following a 1700's recipe to the tee. I use a handful of raisins in mine.

 

[Brokennock]

Part two:
After a few days have passed and the original yeasts have been killed off, you've added the yeast of your choice. Now the fun begins.
Initial fermentation should be done in a carboy with an air lock and a blow by tube into a half filled with water milk jug. DO NOT try this with just an air lock! Its not beer! It takes a number of days to get started, but once it does.....wow! Unlike beer, this primary fermentation can last six weeks. That's six weeks of constant eruptions, blown off gas and a smell like uncle Herb came to stay. Pick your fermentation room wisely, the spouse wont like this part of it at all.
After 6 or 8 weeks when things calm down you can rack the cider into a new (sanitized) carboy to finish. Starting in October, mine gets racked and then matures......for months. Bottling takes place around March. More on that soon.
Fun to know.....The old farmers used to do it in a barrel in the barn. They let it freeze in the winter. The water would freeze, but not the alcohol.
Late in the winter they would drill a hole in the ice and siphon off the "apple jack" from the center of the barrel. If you live up here there was a lot of ice around that golden core. That stuff in the middle would knock you over if not careful.
And stories abound of dropping a piece of meat into the barrel at the beginning for tannin's? Or niacin. I forget. Yes. Some say they would drop a mouse into the barrel. I know people that have done it. I think I'd stay clear of following a 1700's recipe to the tee. I use a handful of raisins in mine.

Yes, made and consumed my share (Mayne more) of apple jack.
What temperature range does the room need to stay in for those 1st six weeks?

A friend makes cider but I haven't gotten all that involved,,,,,, in the making end of the process.

Interesting the way you describe the length of time the cider needs to work. And bottling it in March.
There used to be an old New England phrase used to compliment someone's cider, usually when "sampled" in late spring. That was to declare it, "good for the time of the year." Over time I often took this to mean that the cider really wasn't peak for close to a year.

 

[Brokennock]

I'm a might thirsty now.

 

[PhDBrewer]

What would you like to know?
Also for the apples, you want a variety to get different acids from them. If the apples you have are just sweet (meaning no flavor left after sugar is fermented) one can add a powdered acid blend to the must to increase perceived flavor and provide interest. Using you own apples is not an issue if you sanitize the must after pressing. Use Camden tablets as @Ames states or one can use sodium metabisulfite. (sulfites) before fermentation.
As for beer...
I can dig up some authentic recipes. They are "all-grain" meaning that you have to convert the starchs to sugars (mash process) before you convert the sugar to alcohol with fermentation. Not as a canned "extract" sryup which did not appear until early 1900's.
The misses and I are both BJCP judges & brewers.

~William

 

[.36Rooster]

Does anybody have any old-school beer or hard cider recipes or methods they could and would share?
I prefer ales (not IPAs, can't wait for this IPA fad to end), stouts and porters.
Have an extra special fondness for Octoberfest beers.
Ciders I prefer unfiltered and on the tart side.

Care to share?

I am certainly not with the fad...but i do know the last time i bit into a red oak acorn, and an early persimmon, they were about as enjoyable as i find ipas to be....bitter, like the last time i got my mouth washed with soap... its a rare person to enjoy the taste of one without acquiring it, but i am one of them...

Interesting bit though. India pale ale was the name given to an ale brewed by the british. They had found that on the long voyages to india, their beer would spoil, but by brewing it with an excessive amount of hops, the product was a beer that would, not only keep for the duration of the voyage, but also had a higher alcohol content, with a significantly more bitter taste, which many a british sailor quickly acquired...

 

[hunter thompson]

Part two:
After a few days have passed and the original yeasts have been killed off, you've added the yeast of your choice. Now the fun begins.
Initial fermentation should be done in a carboy with an air lock and a blow by tube into a half filled with water milk jug. DO NOT try this with just an air lock! Its not beer! It takes a number of days to get started, but once it does.....wow! Unlike beer, this primary fermentation can last six weeks. That's six weeks of constant eruptions, blown off gas and a smell like uncle Herb came to stay. Pick your fermentation room wisely, the spouse wont like this part of it at all.
After 6 or 8 weeks when things calm down you can rack the cider into a new (sanitized) carboy to finish. Starting in October, mine gets racked and then matures......for months. Bottling takes place around March. More on that soon.
Fun to know.....The old farmers used to do it in a barrel in the barn. They let it freeze in the winter. The water would freeze, but not the alcohol.
Late in the winter they would drill a hole in the ice and siphon off the "apple jack" from the center of the barrel. If you live up here there was a lot of ice around that golden core. That stuff in the middle would knock you over if not careful.
And stories abound of dropping a piece of meat into the barrel at the beginning for tannin's? Or niacin. I forget. Yes. Some say they would drop a mouse into the barrel. I know people that have done it. I think I'd stay clear of following a 1700's recipe to the tee. I use a handful of raisins in mine.

I DO IT WITH a blow tube in jug if it over reacts some beers do some dont,

 

[PhDBrewer]

Does anyone have an interest in mead?

 

[GoodRabbitPilgrim]

The IPA fad has ender, now it's hip to drink sour beers...

Dr Smurto's Golden Ale all grain recipe is one of my favourites. I pretty much only brew my own recipes now though.

 

[Brokennock]

What would you like to know?

Whatever you would like to share.
But, mostly looking for traditional information within the lines of our historical interests here.
And not necessarily all about what I want to know.
What would you want to share with someone thinking about this question that shares our historical interests when they find this forum next year, or 10 years from now?

And yes, I would think there is an interest in mead, maybe for a whole new topic.

 

[Brokennock]

I am certainly not with the fad...but i do know the last time i bit into a red oak acorn, and an early persimmon, they were about as enjoyable as i find ipas to be....bitter, like the last time i got my mouth washed with soap... its a rare person to enjoy the taste of one without acquiring it, but i am one of them...

Interesting bit though. India pale ale was the name given to an ale brewed by the british. They had found that on the long voyages to india, their beer would spoil, but by brewing it with an excessive amount of hops, the product was a beer that would, not only keep for the duration of the voyage, but also had a higher alcohol content, with a significantly more bitter taste, which many a british sailor quickly acquired...

I actually didn't mind the occasional IPA when they first started coming out.
I'm just tired of going to small breweries or stores that stock a lot of craft beer and over 90% of what they have is IPA.
I'd still rather have a good IPA on a hot day than most clear beer.
Yes, I'm noticing the trend shifting to sours,,, not sure that is any better, might be worse.

Also, I'm looking for folks to share traditional brewing information and recipes. So, an IPA might be appropriate here in this space.
Not sure it is appropriate to Colonial America or early United States. But, given it's history, might have a place here.

 

[Ames]

What temperature range does the room need to stay in for those 1st six weeks?

That depends on the strain of yeast used. The optimum range will be listed on the packets of some. Err on the cold side if unsure.
My prefrence is Premier Cote des Blancs, with fermentation in a cool room, 60-64.

 

[Ames]

Part three: In the early spring the cider should be close to clear and have a pleasant taste, just not a finished taste yet. Because I prefer sparkling cider, I prime the whole batch with 1/2 tsp. dextrose per pint. Racked into SANITIZED champagne bottles, corked and wire baskets a must. Beer bottles may explode if the carbonation builds to high levels.Then its off to the root cellar to rest, out of sight- out of mind. You can sample a bottle at 12 months, but I think its far better at 24 months.
Planning ahead helps. Over the years I washed and stored over ten dozen champagne bottles just for cidering. The old tub helps contain any spills as you work.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Does anybody have any old-school beer or hard cider recipes or methods they could and would share?
I prefer ales (not IPAs, can't wait for this IPA fad to end), stouts and porters.
Have an extra special fondness for Octoberfest beers.
Ciders I prefer unfiltered and on the tart side.

Care to share?

There is Libations of The Eighteenth Century.
It was written before the internet was available, so not as detailed as it would be today. It was written for novice and beginning brewers and living history folks like us..., not master brewers, so it's not too complicated.

Check your PM for more information.

LD

 

[jefair1]

Hard ciders? Its all about the blend. You need the right balance between four groups of apple characteristics.
I would also say you have to get the Brix high enough to get at least 9% alcohol to keep it safe. I go 10-11%. And I prefer sparkling cider made with champagne yeast over still cider.
The actual procedure would and has filled the pages of many a book.

Publish it. I am sure people would buy it. I would.