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Home Brew News No.10 13th October 2009
Welcome to Newsletter No.10 Last month we featured our Edwards Spirit Essences and were absolutely overwhelmed by the fantastic response. It is now our best selling essence and consequently, we will leave these fantastic essences at this price for as long as possible. If you haven’t tried their Super Smooth Kentucky Bourbon or their Single Malt Whisky with a few drops of Smokey Peat added then get on board today. We think these 2 essences are the best on the market and are also made here in Australia. Tsing Tao Beer Recipe We recently sourced this recipe for a customer who has relatives coming out from China for Christmas and were a bit worried about the cost of buying the real deal. 1 x 1.7Kg Morgans Export Golden Saaz Pilsner 1 x 1.5Kg Morgans Beer Enhancer (Previously Extra Pale Malt Extract) 500g Rice Extract (Purchase from your local supermarket or just leave it out) 1 x Morgans Saaz Hop Bag Slate Bourbon Recipe Margaret from Queensland needs a recipe for Slate Bourbon and we are stumped. If you have a good one, please contact us and we will publish it in our next newsletter. Product Change – Bottle Tree Please be advised our Bottle Tree (Code 53400) has increased from 63 to 81 bottle capacity at no extra charge. It can be used for stubbies or King Browns and certainly takes a lot of the pain out of the bottling process. New Product – Morgans Master Malts 1.5Kg This all new range of malts has replaced the Master Blends 1Kg and the Unhopped 1.5Kg range.  They include: Beer Enhancer 1.5Kg – (Will also be the Extra Pale Ale) Lager Malt 1.5Kg – (Will also be the Pale Malt) Caramalt 1.5Kg – (Will also be the Amber Malt) Dark Roasted 1.5Kg – (Will also be the Dark Malt) Wheat Malt 1.5Kg – (Replaces the 1Kg can) Mansfield Community Men’s Shed “The Keg” is the new home brewing section at the Mansfield Community Men’s Shed. An information session has been organised on 23 October 09 between 12.30 and 2pm. Anyone interested in forming a home brewing group utilising “The Keg” for preparation of home brews and storage in a temperature controlled environment is welcome. Pre-Mix Liqueurs We recently reported that Samuel Willards released a new range of 375ml pre-mixed liqueurs. We have since been able to sample all six and can confirm they all taste sensational.  The range includes: Chocolate Rum, Kafe, Melon, Butternut Schnapps, Sambuca and Irish Cream. They are very easy to use as you simply add each bottle to 750ml of spirit at 40 percent alcohol – No-mixing, no mess and no fuss. Our favourites are the Chocolate Rum and Kafe on ice. Lager vs. Ale Beers There are two main beer styles: Lagers - Pilseners, Bocks, Oktoberfest Beers, Australian Draught and Bitter Beers Ales - Pale Ales, English Bitters, Stouts, Belgian Ales, Brown Ales, Old Ales and Wheat Beers. The basic difference between these styles is the way in which the different yeasts ferment. Ale yeasts are called top fermenters because they gather at the surface and form a large layer or crust on the surface. Lager yeasts are called bottom fermenters because most of the activity takes place at the bottom of the beer and there is not as must crust above the surface. However, after fermentation, for either type of yeast used, all the sediment will finish on the bottom and another beer will be born. Beer Brewing Methods There are essentially three methods available to the home brewer by which they can brew beer. 1. Mash Brewing is the method used by commercial breweries. It is the most involved and takes the longest time to carry out. However, with a bit of practice, it is the method by which you can brew the best quality beer (although, if you make a mistake, you can probably also brew the worst). It is also the method in which the brewer has the most control over ingredients and outcome. The brewing process starts from the “raw” malted grains to extract the fermentable sugars, flavours, etc. To do this a mixture of water and grains is heated to various temperatures over time. The resultant “solution” is then boiled together with hops to extract the hops flavour, aroma and bitterness. This process can take, depending on your efficiency, up to 8 hours. 2. Malt Extract Brewing starts with un-hopped liquid malt extract. This extract is a condensed version of the first part of the mashing process which extracts the fermentable sugars, flavours, etc from the malted grains. This method allows the brewer to select from a variety of liquid malt extracts, additional malted grains and hops are added to brew the style of beer required. The brewer boils the malt extract together with the other ingredients to create the wort to be fermented. The process may take anywhere from a 1/2 hour to 1 hour. 3. Kit Brewing is by far the simplest method. The brewer only has to select from a range of cans of pre-hopped liquid malt extract (this is probably the hardest task in this brewing method) and mix this with a quantity (depending on final alcohol level required) of fermentable sugars in about 20 litres of water. This process may only take about 20 minutes. However, there is no reason why you cannot add additional ingredients to “boost” the flavour, aroma, bitterness, etc of the beer to be brewed in the same way as done in the Malt Extract method. Grand Marnier Recipe Add one 28ml bottle of Essencia Grandier Essence to 800ml Spirit @40% and 290ml White Sugar. Add 10ml of Orange Zest and soak for one week. Enquiries Every month we receive many enquiries from all over Australia. These range from recipes to distillation techniques. If you have a query, email us at sales@aussiebrewmakers.com.au or use the Contact Us tab on our website, or give us a call on 03 5779 1053. We are always happy to help. Happy Home Brewing Regards Aussie Brewmakers |