Remember, contest is still going… until midnight.

Samuel Adams Summer Ale
thepaintedman rates this:
The peppery goodness of grains of paradise. A Summer must!

Ithaca Apricot Wheat
thepaintedman rates this:
Yummy and fruity… even your wife will like this.

Tattooed Brews El Hefe
thepaintedman rates this:
Unintentional sourness is bad. Poor craftsmanship is worse.

Monks Café Sour Ale
thepaintedman rates this:
When it’s intentional, sourness can be a wondrous thing.

Labatt Summer Blonde
thepaintedman rates this:
Very drinkable, very smooth, lacking in flavor.

Tattooed Brews Poison Apple Dry Malted Cider (Batch #2)
thepaintedman rates this:
That damned unintentional sourness rears it’s ugly head… again.

Cricket Hill Hopnotic IPA
thepaintedman rates this:
Transition brewery does it’s job. Easy IPA for aspiring geeks.

Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier
thepaintedman rates this:
Just a hint of blackberry in well-crafted Belgian style white.

Miller Lite
thepaintedman rates this:
Sympathy points for Harry “The Kid” Henderson. Otherwise, it’s crap.

Killian’s Irish Red
thepaintedman rates this:
A high end cheap beer. Not actually an Irish Red.

I just locked up my 10 gallons of cider in my fermenters. This batch will be slightly different than my last, but should produce a similar product.

For my last batch I used Briess Dark DME, whereas this time I opted to use Alexander’s Pale LME (in a can). I won’t be divulging my exact amounts and such until I know it tastes good, but this was the main difference from my first 5 gallon batch to my current 10 gallon batch. I also added in some cinnamon and vanilla, not much but just enough to hopefully add a little something to the cider.

Despite debating whether or not to make 5 gallons of the cider sweet, I decided to stick to making it all dry. I like dry cider so I figure that it doesn’t matter if anyone else likes it. Besides, if someone wants it sweet they can just throw sugar in it, like it’s tea…

Expect an update on Poison Apple Dry Malted Cider in 2 to 3 weeks. And if you want me to set aside a bottle or two for you, just let me know.

After a battle lasting several weeks, El Hefe! has been saved… well at least a case and a half or so of it. May I first take the time to apologize to those who were given some as a gift prior to the reclamation project currently underway.

Let me step back, I brewed a hefeweizen (German wheat beer) some time ago. After 3+ weeks in the bottles it still had the mouthfeel of apple juice… meaning no carbonation at all. So prior to giving up, I decided to take 4 bottles and attempt to recarbonate the beer using Cooper’s carbonation drops and about half a pinch of yeast. The results were promising.

Today, a mere week after adding the drops, I cracked open the bottles. Carbonation has been achieved and a small head forms as the beer is poured into a pint or pilsner glass. All in all, a success!

Expect me to have about a case and a half ready in 2 weeks… and feel free to invite yourself over for a taste of El Hefe!

Brewing Next Week: 10 gallon batch of my Poison Apple Malted Cider.