I do not want to dwell on this too much, but I want to note that the Brew Druid uses the metric system for the recipe program and process analysis.  The reason is mostly because fluid flow and heat transfer models are among the things we want to explore, and the mathematical principles of those subjects are just easier to apply with metric units.  For those who may have forgotten or are unfamiliar with the difference, the metric system is based on mass (grams) while the British gravitational system is based on force (pounds).  Mass and force are not the same.  The difference is significant. I remember in junior high…

Honestly, I was opposed to making the first official Brew Druid recipe a wheat ale.  I probably won’t ever post that opinion on the actual Brew Druid site, but it’s the truth.  As noted in an earlier post, a rather unremarkable discovery of an old home brew bottle cap was presented to me by my collaborator as an omen regarding the direction we should go with our brew project.  It was a green cap with an “A”.  See that former post for details but suffice to say that we could not find exactly which recipe that the cap came from.  In all likelihood, it was probably a wheat of some…

I unintentionally quit brewing beer a few years back.  I was determined to develop some all-grain recipes and hit a few big bumps that got me temporarily derailed.  For those who are not familiar with the brewing process, the alcohol and flavor in beer comes from fermentation of barley sugars.  Homebrewers get their barley sugars in one of two ways, either with a ready-to-use malt extract or by mashing malted grains.  Either way is fine and capable of producing great beer.  The extracts are far easier to work with and are often where most brewers start.  Extracts are added to water, boiled and ready to go.  The alternative method of…

My partner in the Brew Druid Project did finally find his old brew recipe book. And as should have probably been expected, the notes are incomplete. There is no documented beer that was bottled with a green cap with an “A”. As near we can tell, it was from either a beer called “America, Fuck Ya Red, Wheat and Blue Ale” (a blueberry wheat) or “Ape Man Jermyn Wheat Ale” (an orange wheat). There is a wide range of beer styles in the recipe book, so it is strange that the most likely candidates were both fruit infused wheats. As far as I can see, they are the only two…

So the Brew Druid Project is a collaboration with an acquaintance. We’ve both brewed in the past separately. We have different ideas about what we want to do with the project, but we do share some philosophies about the brewing process. We are trying to get it together to enough to brew a batch by the end of the month. It means, however, that we both need to rummage through out brew supplies and make a plan. I have some doubts about my partner’s commitment to doing that. I have some doubts about the condition of his brew equipment as well. I can count on him to grab on to…

I think my next brewing is going to be in October. It has been a while since my last batch and I am finding myself at a crossroads. In order for me to do the kind of brewing I want, I need some equipment upgrades. I’m going to spend the time leading up to that brewing planning and documenting the plan. Plan details will be presented on Brew Druid. Posts here will summarize status of the project and content changes on the site.

We’re on the back half of hop season at my house. Some of the vines are definitely past there prime. There are a few that might still be fresh, though time is getting short. I harvested a small amount the other morning before work and left them in a brown paper beg on the back porch. I might have time to make another harvest tomorrow morning. I will be posting pictures on the Brew Druid site in the next week or so, hopefully. I am a little weary of using homegrown hops for the brewdruid project. I think I know most of the strains, but I have no idea how…

Brewdruid.com is to be the main location for project notes and schedule. Updates will be posted here.