Some updates

Well, I've done a LOT since my last update.

-Almost completely finished my keezer
-Brewed another APA (same recipe. I was closer this time with an OG of about 1.04 but still not where I'd want to be).
-Bought enough grains, yeast, and hops for 4 more batches (Watermelon Wheat, Apricot Wheat, Scottish Heavy, and Oktoberfest/Marzen.)
-Bought some more equipment (3 Better Bottles, siphon, some CO2 gauges)

I plan on brewing the apricot wheat tomorrow.

The apfelwein has been pretty tasty. It's a bit strong and tart. People don't really know what to think of it at first, but I think it grows on you.

I tapped the APA, but it could probably use a bit more time conditioning. It's not bad, but hopefully the second batch is better.

More rhizomes

We added Cascade and Nugget rhizomes to the hop garden today.

First All Grain

I brewed my first all grain beer last Weds (6/10/08). A few things went wrong, but I think they will be easy to fix. My mash was a few degrees too high, and I think that is what caused me to miss my OG. It was 1.03 instead of 1.05 (aka WAY off). My siphon didn't work well (or at all), and I had to go to using the spout on my kettle. This cause quite a few things to happen, the worst being not getting much of the hops out. I think to fix this next time I am going to use a hop bag. I only got ~3 gallons out of it.

Apfelwein

I made my first alcoholic drink today that isn't beer. It's a German hard cider. All the people on one of the brewing boards I read rave about it, so I decided to make a batch. It's real simple, pretty much just 5 gallons of apple juice, some corn sugar, and yeast. Let it ferment out for a few weeks, and you're done.