GLUTEN-REDUCED STARTING A MAKING A BREWING TECHNIQUES BARREL PROGRAM BIERE DE GARDE a, =e Iw i} “és GET SPICY ADDING ; RYETOYOUR BEER Vie yl c I'SACRATAREWERE "SAMEDREW RETAILER. =1T'S BOTH = CLONERECIPES www.byo.com oN tesa! ll E 06>WORLD'SLARGEST SELECTION OF HOMEBREWING ea ays ee ae ah ae coher) PRODUCTS! Vaan LUNs at neeie Be hE oe 140+ Hops In Si id & Dry Yeasts 180+ Brewing Grains 260+ Unique Joz to Tilb siz: + Options &M Recipe Kits iy BrewBuilt°——e BrewBuilt"— ay BrewSculptures X1 UNI Conicals BrewZilla & Di BrewBuilt® TC. Kettles BrewBuilt® IceMaster Brewing Sys HLT,Mash Tung Whirpool_ Glycol Chillers fas) Pe MOREBEER.COM * HOMEBREWER OWNED & OPERATED SINCE 1995, SHIPPINGA ahs a MeN SOUL OF BEER... st CNT TA aaa aa = ae Te ee DY are os ; Founders Brewing Co, i fi We'll see you at Homebrew Con wTMAY-JUNE 2022, VOL.28 NO.3 30 ALLIN THE NEIGHBORHOOD Ifyou brew it, they will come. Its not a coral in Towa, but Ron Colliers hamebrewing Nobby quickly took’ on life ofits own when more and mote neigh bors kept asking to participate inthe hobby. Eventually, the group went lo on a one-barel brewing system and treated a nano-size community homebreweny by Ron Collier 38 THE QUEEN'S MEAD Biren by the meadmaking bug during the pandemic Paul rovrther set ut to make a historic mead Not jst dy mead seeped histo but oe aio have been enjoyed by Queen Elzabet and posi crested by fnclent Cats who occupied Bain moe han 1000, Yeats atl Learn abou the Mistry and eelques to Ereate tis mead yurelt, by Paul rowther BREW Your own, EAGLE CATT 46 = VARIETALMEADS There are more than 300 honey varietals inthe United States, and countless others across the wort, Each has unique characteris that differ from another in taste, aroma, color and even mouthfeel. Learn more about Some ofthe most popular honey varieties and ips to treate your own varietal mead by Michael Fairbrother 52. WHAT'S BREWING AT THE LOCAL HOMEBREW SHOP Homebrew shops and craft breweries ae two of ou vorite places to hang aut explore what's new, and talk to ikerminded peopl, But wnat i the wo coula be Combined? Turns out there ares handful of homebrew Shops tat also operate craft breweries. We explore four of these unique hybrid models and share a clone recipe from each, by Kristen Kucharnea Lee Te TRC OME R CMEC CR Rie OUI) Tce Gi ! 6 : / as oe = ~s How to economically and successfully open a microbrewery Step-by-step instructions on renovating an existing commercial space, installing equipment and utilities, and brewing beer with the BREWHA BIAC system. Includes a budget and architectural drawings for a 1600sf brewery with 500sf/50 occupant tasting room. The BREWHA BIAC is a complete brewing system in sizes from 1/6 to 7BBL. Its the simplest way to brew the best beer. www.brewhaequipment.com/microbreweryTHE HOW-TO HOMEBREW BEER MAGAZINE Q departments MAIL ‘Areader asks about using a garage door opener to power a Grain mil. Another seeks more details about fermentation ontzl at Carillon Brewing Co, in response toa recent atc HOMEBREW NATION Now i the time to start planning your beers for summer and nothing says summer lke a frulted beer. Get some pointers ‘on brewing one slang with the latest products and events REPLICATOR ‘Abrewery that eschews IPAs in the modern craft beer wore is seemingly a rare commodity. Take 2 trp tothe Pacific Northwest to visita farmhouse-style focused brewery that oes exactly that TIPS FROM THE PROS. Rye adds a unique flavor to beers while also increasing head retention and adding a fuller mouthfeel. Get tips on brewing {three citferent styles with ye from the pros MR. WIZARD. How importants it to remove the tub before fermentation? Get the Wizard's thoughts on this tope as well as ani pth look at Munich-style mals, the importance of dacetyt rests, anda primer on dip hopping STYLE PROFILE ‘The French farmhouse style we know as bere de garde has a Somewhat fuzy history. Gordon Strong catches Us up on how the moder take ofthe beer style came tobe identied and the keys to crafting a quenching rendition of your own. TECHNIQUES Gluten intolerance and celia disease are twa related but distinct conditions. Beet fans in one of these camps need to {ake special precautions when looking to enjoy 2 cold one Get some help for brewing a gluten-educea eer. NANOBREWING Starting your own barre-aging program can be a daunting task, But for those dedicated tothe cause, Denver Ber Cas ‘Andy Parker has nine tps to get you going PROJECTS ‘The rise ofthe single-vesse brew systems has revolution ived the way homebrewers make beer. Bu they ae not with- fut thelr faults... mash temperature stratification is one of ‘them. Checkout one brewer's way to correct i LAST CALL Peer pressure isn't just a middle school phenomenon ‘homebrew shop awner who has spent his entire life immersed in homebrewing culture wants 0 remind you to be true to your own tastes and what you want to dik, @ where to find it 27 Fathers Day Gift Guide G65 Reader Service ss 69 Homebrew Supplier Directory 4 MAY JUNE 2022, BREW YOUR OWN cae Pickle Beer 13 Fair iste Brewing’s Madame R-Galle clone ...... 47 Biére de Garde 25 Fairgate Gingerbread Stout .... 36 The Queen's Mead..s.ssecss.6 44 Varietal Mead 51 Earth Eagle Brewing Co's New England Gangsta clone. . 56 Unicorn Brewing Co's Cliffhanger Kolsch-Style Beer clone... 56 New Ventures Brewing Co's Stuck on the Earth clone -.... 57 Patriot Homebrew Supply's Better Best Bitter clone. -.... 58 v995 CEE (e-— 1 pound of 2rov matt, which has 8 potential extract value of 1.037 in one ori924) EXTRACT VALUES Uiguid matt extract (Ue) “1053-1057 Gried matt extract (OME) = L045 EXTRACT FOR GRAINS: 2erow base malts = 1.057-1.058 Munich matt = 3.035 Vienna malt = 1.035 chocolate malts = 1084 Sark roasted grains = 1.024~1.026 faked maize and rice = 1.037- 1.058 Hops: We calculate I8Us based on 25% nop Utilization for a one-hour bol of hop pellets at specife gravities tess than {T0s0. For post boll hop stands, we cal ulate IBUS based on 10% hap utlza- tion for 30-minute hop stands at specific ‘ravites ess than 1.050. Increase hop. osage 10% if using whole Leat hops. Gallons: Wie use US gallons whenever gallons arePUIG i yen YAKIMA cRYeHOops: CH See Eat) Pt HOP PANT » “CRYO HOPS® © CE ER ANANTH ste Om edn SLO Neha el aN e eer) RUE anae SO Sueur eee eee cr produced using a patented cryogenic process thet gently separates the compar The unique Cryo Hops® process creates the most ideal environment for limiting oxidati hop oils and resins and delivering the highest quality product with the greatest alpha co large quantities of alpha acids and ols wth ess volume and greater beer yields. bY SHU at (CON Z Nea eoslew? sigesed pgs a oS BYO.COM eorron us.snen Den sp ost — ASSISTANT EDITOR ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Meads Ove ren {E ADVERTISING DIRECTOR ea 16 Whatis your =" Fm} doubled oa erates : Blaeetse hest advice cooRDiNAToR . Pera TecuNicaL EDITOR : Dove en new seat (ele forbrewinga exes manacer able mead is becoming popular CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Janell Kristiansen Learn the keys to making carbon~ Stensceoum Sow tlre Deoycoon, QUality summer ated, lower-alcohol meads that poles lager? meee" Basa ene EED Bra Smith, Cordon Sg Session.meads PRINT SUBSCRIPTION ee eam — EDITORIAL REVIEW BO/ ys Tomme Artur «Por Brewingtos seoter Whe se ree ee sett merece Perce ferro grea omnes fem ee Intps://oyo.com/ antcte/toggenbier-a-ye-twist- na-dunketweizen ‘Ana Jobson Brewing Constant Joh Maier «Regu Aes tire) Ralph Olson» RXV Entersries Mitch Steele + New Realm Brewing ae ret aa or en r Nok & es Stamatis = atose Barrevaged ce ‘wonderful oni eee Soeustaae = Bae fatale + eter erence inant Sining snd eee ec Saar | ye upa ln otsace Winrine teen ee ee ors Fess acerca ee ee Se barrels, https//byo.comvarticle/ beyond:-the-barrel/ Brow Your Own cnn Mencheste vr O82 - “ Se0e more to ue ADVERTISING CONTACT: regue Brow Your Own foironia contac that cont contain gluten Explore be'enjoyed by anyone. https/byo. comarticle/hotd-the-aluten/ e : evnan fast eveen@byacam) 6 MAY-JUNE 2022, BREW YOUR OWNe Brew your way through school. Auburn University’s new MS. in brewing AUBURN science and operations will help you master the art and science of brewing. Combines up-to-the-minute theory wit industry practice 's offered fully online Sete Is delivered by renowned and fully program cellent industry relations nt of gradua skar Blues Brewing on Sree credentialed faculty tn pro ‘four small pandernic ByYo.com MaysuNE 2022.78 MILLING WITH A GARAGE DOOR MOTOR ‘With regards to the “Build a Better Grain Mill article inthe March-April 2022 issue of BYO, would a garage door opener be close to the correct speed and torque to drive the grain mil (as 3 substitute forthe worm drive moto? Glen Rauwerdink + Hingham, Wisconsin Story author Greg Paterson responds: Glen that's o great idea! 1 Insteted a direct drive DC motor garage door opener in my brewery/ ‘garage and hadn't thought ofthat for a mil dive. From a quick bit af research It looks like the stondard overhead garage doar opener ‘motor uss the same kind f DC motor with warm drive gearboxes. The spare parts websites! ooked ot don't lst the motor specif- cations. few things to make sure you know when you select one: Torque output (°75 Nm or 50 bs, mine i 20 Nm), rotation speed (100-200 RPM), DC voltage, DC curent, shaft diameter You need the last thre to select your electrical hardware and mechanical transmission. Once you have itn hand, meesure the bolt pattern and moke sure it's securely mounted. | used 10-gouge stainless steet brackets on two sides of my gearbox. Hoppy future miling” FERMENTING AT CARILLON BREWING | really enjoyed Gordon Strong’ article about the old-timey brewing at Carillon Brewing Company, however it didn't mention “anything about how they manage fermentation temperature. It seems lke the barrels jut sit in the restaurant area at room ‘temperature, but perhaps they move them into a cold cellar or hhave some other method? I'd love to know the answer Mare Guay + Montreal, Quebec Story author Gordon Strong responds: “My observation was that they filed the barrels, pitched the yeast, and then didnt move them since they are very heavy at that pot. But, just fo be sure, 1 checked with one ofthe brewers Kye Spear, who sold, ‘Al we really dois try to get the wort down to around 64 °F (18 °Q by the time it goes inthe bare. Onc iti inthe borel we do nothing to adjust temperoture...just lt it stn the barrel until terminal The builing is air-conditioned and heated so its usually around 70°F (21 °Q inthe building al year round. MAY-JUNE 2022 BREW YOUR OWN contributors Ron Collier started homebrewing with friends 15 years ago, From the fst brew ‘onwards he's never brewed alone, When hhe moved to a new town in 2015 he met lots of new neighbors who quickly became friends as beers were shared. With curlosity piqued, many began joining Ran during his brew days. The groups brew sessions continued to get bigger and soon neigh- bors began installing their own kegerators, Eventually, ‘the group formed a neighbortiood homebrewery with a ‘barrel system supplying beer for 20 taps. These days, the group's hobby has grown beyond friendship or a social club ~ it's now central to their community. Has it gone full circle back tothe days of a vilage in Belgium 200 years ago? Maybe not quite ~ but iti part of their neighborhood. Beginning on page 30, Ron shares the story ofthe community homebrewery. Ieall started back in 1995, when Michael Fairbrother tried a cyser (apple and honey mead) forthe ist time, Since that fst sip he has developed a passion and a master ful skill at making international award-win- ning meads, cides, and beers. Michael opened Moonlight Meadery in Londonderry, New Hampshire in 2010 and recently opened Hidden Moon Brewing, which specializes in braggots, and Over the Moon Farmstead in Pitsfeld, New Hampshire, Michael isa past President of the Amer: ican Mead Makers Association He also helped develop and has taught the meadmaking course at The Honey and Pollination Center at the Robert Mondavi Institute at UC Davis, Starting on page 46, Michael shares information on some of his Favorite honey varietals and how to make your own varietal mead at home, ‘Andy “Barrel Herder” Parker has been a professional brewer for over 20 years. In BRS that time he's brewed, adjuncted,disman- A tled kegs, squeegeed floors, cleaned tanks, spoken at conferences, and at one point ‘managed a fleet of 5,000 oak barrels filled with dozens of diferent beers As the Director of Innovation at Denver Beer Company he oversees new product development ‘on small and large scales while very happily maintaining fewer than 30 barrels. He likes long walks on the beach, backcountry skiing, Tom Waits, and hoppy Pilsners Writing his frst “Nanobrewing” column, Andy shares his top tips for starting a barel-aging program, beginning on page 62._HIGH-EFFICIENCY ~ HOMEBREW RETAILER 73005: FRACTIONATING COLUMN FOR HOME USE TRANSFORM YOUR GRAINFATHER'G30 REI PRODUCES 93% ABV ALCOHOL & RECOVERS 95% OF THE ALCOHOL — FROM A WASH AVAILABLE THROUGH YOUR FAVORITE a O@EG www:stills} CE@ MAIL “As an aside, Kyle also noted that they had seen alot of brew exyvists by people who had seen the article. So that's a coo thing {for both of us to hear ‘THE PROS OF FLIP-TOP BOTTLES In regards tothe advantages and disadvantages of kegging from the March“Let’s Get Kegging” e-newsletter, one very good ‘option was left out. never got into kegging because | discov- feted 32-02 (950-ml flip-top bottles. t takes twenty 32-02, (950-ml flip-top bottes to bottle a 5-gallon(19-L) bateh. | can clean and sanitize those bottes in 25 minutes. No caps or capper involved, Once carbonated, | have a great way to trans- Port large amounts of beer. No need to worry about drinking the whale bottle —just recap it with the bail and keep co. It ‘ever goes Nat! The only disadvantage as apposed to kegging is carbonation time. Bottle conditioning takes time. On the other hand, by using 32-az.(950-ml) fiptop bottles you can reuse them forever and never have to mess with the expense and ‘maintenance issues involved with kegging, ‘Wayne Baker + va emi That's a great pont, Woyne! These flip-top botles do certainly ‘make the task of botling easier and don't requite some of the eauipment traditional crown caps do. ADDING LACTIC ACID TO EXTRACT BREWS Re-reading older issues, | came across a recipe I'd like to brew. Inthe May-June 2018 issue (Take Me to Your Liter" by Elva Kowald and Horst Dornbusch) there isan extract recipe for Mu nich Helles. Inthe recipe the authors suggest adding 1 tsp. of lactic acid but | dort see when to ada it. When do you recom: rend adding lactic acid in extract recipes that call fori? Bryan Tomlinson + vio email 'BYO Recipe Editor Dave Green responds: "Good question. | would ‘add the tactic ocd os your brewing water is heating up. Fora beer like @ Munich hells is 0 good idea to have the boil pH onthe {ower side of things to minimize melanoiin reactions in the kettle, which outa be detrimental for this style if there is an overabun- dance of the melaroidn products. The lower pH wil slightly lower the isomerization ceacton rate aswell which for this style may ‘also be a good thing, but definitely something to keep in mind” WRITE TO BYO Have a question about something you've seen in BY0? Want to show off your latest DIY homebrewing gear or recipe? Write to us at: edit@bya.com, find us on Facebook: wor facebook com BrewYourOwn, Instagram: @brenyourownmag, or each out to us on Twitter: @BrenYourOwn. 50 TeX? weaver CAMP a ADVANCED HOMEBREW LAB SKILLS. ONLINE BOOT CAMP with Amy Todd MAY 13,2022,1 PM TO 5 PM (EASTERN) JOIN BREW YOUR OWN ONLINE FOR IN-DEPTH BREWING WORKSHOPS BREWERY FINANCIALS ONLINE BOOT CAMP with Audra Gaiiunas JUNE 17,2022,1 PM TO 5 PM (EASTERN) EACH ONLINE BOOT CAMP WILL BE LIVE, INTERACTIVE, AND ALSO BE RECORDED ‘SO ATTENDEES CAN WATCH THE VIDEO AFTER THE EVENT. byo.com/bootcamps 10 MAY-JUNE 2022 BREW YouR OWNDELICIOUS FLAVORS TO ENJOY! Apple Cider Hlard Ginger Beer Pear Cider Hard Lemanade —— > MAKES 5 GALLONS lee er a La) Mala P le Se he la E e free tte aAL) UPR S Naa) Ste TU ae AIS Lata Oleg ST & Order Now: ' BrewersPublications.com [a] #4 BYo.com MayiUNE 2022. 11@@% HOMEBREW NATION BEGINNER’S BLOCK BY DAVE GREEN FRUITED BEER tits core, beer really only needs three ingredients: Water, malt, land yeast. Hops were added later as a preservative and flavoring to beer, but many other ingredients were used to ‘add flavor prior to hops. Certain fruit, such as grapes, were very commonly added to wort as a supplement in some cultures, Fruit can typically bring acid- ity, flavor, and some texture to beer. It's no surprise then that fruit and beer ‘are a match that can really stand out in ‘a crowd. But there are certain pitfalls, brewers can fall into that can doom a beer. Let's take a spin through some ba- sics of crafting a fruit beer. MATCHING BEER WITH FRUIT ‘The first and most important part of crafting a good fruit beer isto properly pair the base beer with the fruit. More ‘delicate fruit should not be hidden by powerful roasted malt or other ‘competing components. While choco- late-dipped strawberries may be deli- cious, strawberry flavors are quite mild ‘and will easily be lost in stout. Sour beers, such as Berliner weisse or Gose, have recently become almost the de- fault base for fruit beers. There is a very {good reason for this as their acidity and rnon-confrontational flavors can really ‘make the fruit aromas and flavors pop. Milkshake IPAS and pastry stouts are ‘another more recent niche set of fruited beers. Tropical fruits such as guava, passion fruit, and mango are often matched up with either lightly sour or fruity IPA base beers to produce beer with almost a cocktail-or dessertlike array of flavors. Berry fruits like blueberries, ‘and raspberries can also make a big impact with sour-style ales, but can also stand up nicely to beers such as blonde ‘and amber ales. There is also a whole world of marrying grapes and beer as, ‘well. These hybrid beer-wine matches 12, maysune 2022 cary an amazing array of possibilities. Another notable fruit class is the stone fruits such as plum, cherry, and apricot. These fruits can be more expressive in their character and can stand up to some malt-forward beers. ‘Afinal nod goes to the pairing of ct: rus fruits with hop-forward beers. While tropical fruit can also pair well with New World hops with simitar charac: teristics, matching citrus like grapefruit, ‘orange, lemon, or lime with fruity hops like Centennial,Amarillo®, or Cascade can lft a beer’ profil. Using the zest or peels from citrus fruit isthe mast com- ‘mon, although some brewers will add the juice too. You just need to be careful with these additions as the acidity can overpower the beer easily TYPES OF FRUIT ADDITIONS There are several different ways to ap> proach adding fruit flavors, First is using fresh or frozen fruit. Even if you buy fresh fruit, many sources will advise you to freeze the fruit prior to adding it to beer. There are several sanitation steps you can take such as steaming the fruit, spraying the fruit with a metabisulfite solution (dissolved Campden tablets), (ora spray or soak in cheap vodka. But if you are going to be drinking the beer fairly young, contamination should not bbe an issue. Also, try to make sure the fruit is submerged in the beer. Fruit floating on the surface can greatly encourage micrabes to graw on them, They are safer in the harsher environ- ‘ment submerged in the beer. Buying aseptic juice (think not-from-concentrate orange juice) or big cans of fruit are two other available ‘options. These juices are already pas- ‘terized so you don't need to sanitize and are often in a puree form. Fruits can also come in concentrated form, as extracts or 3s natural flavorings. These can be especially helpful if you already BREW YouR OWN ‘added fresh fruit but didn't get as much flavor as you desired. You can boost that character with an extract or flavoring, GRAVITY CONSIDERATIONS Ill not go too deep down this rabbit hole as Mick Spencer wrote a great article on this topic in the BYO May- June 2021 issue tiled, “Ciphering Fruit Beers.” But to paraphrase, and counter to most inclinations, most fruit adi- tions will actually tower the potentiak. alcohol content of your beer. The only exceptions may be in the case of low-aicohol beers like table beer as your base andjor in the case of using a very high sugar content frit tke grapes. Consider the case of raspberries, whose pulp’ gravity is 3 paltry 1.016. Ifyou add 10 tbs. (45 kg) of raspbervies to a beer, you are greatly watering the beer's strength down, Wine grapes on the ‘other hand may clock in over 1.100 there isa reason grapes were so loved by many of our ancestors... that’s alot more alcohol than raspberry wine TIMING AND AMOUNTS ‘There is no right answer in this cat- cegory, but generally fruit should be added after active fermentation has died down, possibly in secondary fer- mentation and off the yeast cake. This will allow the subtle fruit aromas a better chance of surviving into the final product. How much to add is highly de- pendent upon what you are after, either a subtle hint of fruit, or a big juicy-frit blast If using fresh or frozen fru, a ‘good starting point for many fruit types might be around 1 Ib. per gallon (0.12 kg/l) of beer, but a big fruit bomb, 3-4 lbs. per gallon (0.36-0.48 kg/l) may be needed, But again, extracts and fruit flavors may be used as a supplement ifthe price tag and prep works seems daunting when looking to purchase 20 lbs. (9.1 kg) of mangos.& STORY BEHIND THE LABEL JOHN & MADELYNNE PURSGLOVE + AUDUBON, NEW JERSEY f you are on the hunt for a beer that is nice and refreshing on a hot day, Fe got a recipe for you! We had tons of cucumbers growing in the garden and ‘we were making a ot of pickles. | stum. bled on a recipe for salt pickles: https// spicetrekkers.com/recipes/salt-pickles. Since there was no vinegar involved I decided to use that to salt a Gose. The Gose was just 50% Pilsner malt and 50% white wheat | then ket tle-soured the wort with same Swanson probiotic capsules in a keg in a hot shed (August heat) for 3 days.| fermented with SafAle US-05 and when that finished | cut up two cucumbers from the garden and added them to the 5 gallons (19 L) in the fermenter Finally | added about % cup (120 mL) of the pickle brine. This summer | will be doing it again but will ‘add more brine and also some fresh dil to really make it much more pickle-like. PICKLE BEER (6 gallons/19 L, all-grain) OG= 1.046 FG= 1.010 ABV = 4.7% INGREDIENTS 4.75 lbs. (2.2 kg) 2-row pale malt 4.75 lbs. (2.2 kg) white wheat matt 2 large cucumbers (chopped) % cup (120 ml) pickle brine 3.75 AAU Sterling hops (10 min.) (0.5 02/14 g at 7.5% alpha acids) 4 Swanson probiotic capsules, SafAle US-05 yeast (or similar clean fermenting yeast strain) ¥4 cup corn sugar (if priming) STEP BY STEP Mash at 148 *F (64 °C) for 60 minutes, then raise mash temperature up to 170 °F (77 °O) and hold for 15 minutes. Sparge with enough water to collect PHOS PADD Ss 5 gallons (19 L) in a Corny keg. Once cool enough, pitch the Lactobacillus and purge the keg with carbon dioxide. Hold temperature in the 90s °F (mid 30s °C) for 3 days. Boil wort 15 minutes, adding the hops with 10 minutes remaining, Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C) with ale yeast. After fermentation is complete add chopped cucumbers. After § days, add the pickle brine. Transfer to keg and car- bonate to 2.5 v/v or bottle and prime. —— Fermentations Build Your Own Beer! 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MASTER THEBREW RECIPE CLUB eT eee] tL) ee na a eet) Rn Tliaeitesiecism Na =e AL)BREWssSIPHON rst ad i UsoaS OFTHE) [BI Y hon use code: BrewBeast wee en Eo Ss iO etainess | Res trae EIU g cee ena ea lam eas) The Flomebrewer Wate fal Answer Book Cem Cgc ete Direct, from the pages of BYO azine tis conprevensive col Raton? questore and qaever: Geoortint oars advice for btn fee nouee Cand the. gavanced Hobo Romeoreier" and evsyone Goveriggneaty every situation homebrewer gould encounter, Brewer Fay Indexed ofganized by tres Fn anowers fo your questions and thes 19 your problems fas Available at better brewing ‘supply shops and bookstores Ar rr ™_ > Ww Peres ener= & + aT Bo ie - TTR sae Cm i SL bom rs . » CYT MUA ]ai tt) Ret rt oleh ame Tastebuds rcby Ron Collier ‘gate Brewing’s story begins with my story. T started to appre- ciate beer in the late Bos at the Horseshoe Pub in Hudson, Massachusetts, where they had 100 beers on tap — pretty amazing back then. My co-workers and I ran through the list more than ‘once top to bottom. That is where I realized some beers belong at the top, and other ones belong at the bottom. T moved a lot over the next couple of decades, mostly to places that did not have good beer selections. When I finally came to Florida just after 2000, the market was just starting to get going but it was still hard to find even a decent bottle shop. By now my brother had been homebrewing for several years and winning competitions, and my sis~ ter had mastered meadmaking. But 1 ‘was always living in small places and I could not really follow suit. Fast forward a couple more years and around 2007 I got a Mr. Beer kit and made my first batch of hefewei- zen. It turned out OK, but I wanted to make it better. It’s fair to say that from that first brewing experience I ‘was hooked, In short order I got the gear for 5-gallon (19-L) partial extract batch es on the stove and quickly transi- tioned to full-volume boils using propane and really started making progress towards consistently good beer. In 2015 I moved to a new area and a great neighborhood called Fair- gate with great neighbors and a very social environment. I immediate- ly had brewing partners and drink- ing buddies who were really inter- ested in the process and wanted to help and Iearn more about brewing. Brian and Gary were always pester- ing me to teach them, show them, let them do the work, while pushing toward what was next. Other neigh- BYO.com May-iUNE 2022. 31bors also joined in periodically. With a growing audience enjoying our beer regularly, it was time to scale pro- duction up. I moved to 10-gallon (38-L) all-grain batches, and I builta 6-tap keezer. As time passed and more people sampled the beer, lots of folks start- ed bugging me about going pro. It was a nice dream, yet always felt out of reach, But I was really enjoying brew- ing bigger all-grain batches. As more of my neighbors and friends joined in the fun, it was clear that I would once again need to increase batch sizes to accommodate. As more of my neigh- bors got taps (we now have more than 20 taps between us that we fill) and more friends started participating, it became a real community event on brew day. We might have 15 or 20 people show up, sometimes bringing thelr kids to play with mine, and we began making a day of it. Same thing with kegging. Over time, new folks moved into the neighborhood, and others started becoming regulars at the events But to scale up the gear to accom- 32. MAY-JUNE 2022 The Firgote Brewing sytem i @ BBL two-vessel electric Blichmann Brewéasy™ Pro system witha custom manway for ease cleanup ofthe spent gras, modate, we needed more money than Twas willing to spend by myself on a hobby. Hit with this reality, acouple of the guys began asking the questions ‘Just how much money?” and “What could we get for it?” and “Should we target gear that could grow or even fit Into a future professional venture?” ACOMMUNITY AFFAIR It soon became obvious I was not in this alone. So off we went trying to fig- ture out what was the best gear to get, ‘what it would cost, and who was will- ing to share in the investment. It was, at this point we started having busi- ness meetings and eight of us became core members (myself, Brian Donley, Ken Sierra, Guy Tortorii, Jon Tomsu, Joe Abad-Santos, Rob Cirillo, and Joe Barravecchio), We were having a blast — we created a website, Facebook page, grabbed a domain, registered an LLC, and started creating logos and ‘designs (in part for fun, and in part just Incase this venture did turn into more than a hobby). There was plenty of early excitement. We drafted up doc uments about what it meant to be part BREW Your own, of the community brew group, how to participate, and lai out details of the financial investments (more details about this are in the sidebar on page 34). Over the course of a few business ‘meetings we started down the path to Fairgate Brewing, a non-commercial neighborhood brewing collaboration. One ofthe questions we had to an~ sswer was about the legality to brew as ‘much beer as we began talking about. In a quest for that answer we spent significant time researching — and ‘made a point to really understand — regulations, taxes, and licensing at federal, state, and local levels as best wwe could. Understanding the bound- aries significantly informed what we chose to do or not do, We also brought questions that were answered by in- dustry attorneys at a BYO Nanocon Online event, which was really help- ful. We learned a lot and have been diligent about managing to appropri- ate thresholds and behavior. We are conscious about brewing, frequency and batch sizes so we stay below the federal government's 200 gallons (757 L) per year threshold allowed for‘a married household. And we never sell any product nor invite any of- ferings or tips. To get licensed in our location is a big step that requires ef- fort and investment we aren't willing to make at this time (although it is an option others may wish to consider, even if they don’t plan to sell their beer). Lastly on this subject, we have an agreement that if you want the beer you have to be part of the brew- ing process, which most people want to do anyway and which again sup- ports the community approach, ‘The next area where we spent a great deal of research was on the ‘equipment that best fit what we were looking to achieve. We ended up buy- ing a customized one-barrel (31-gal- lon/ix7-L) two-vessel electric Bli- chmann BrewEasy™ Pro system using the BrewCommander™ controller. ‘The Blichmann Pro guys were awe- some to work with and helped cus- tomize the mash tun with a manvway. ‘At 100+ pounds (45¢ kg) of dry grain ina recipe, you ain’t lifting that out — so a mash tun doorway and a shovel ‘were a priority! We coupled that with a ‘two-barrel jacketed Ss Brewtech Uni- tank, grabbed a BrewBuilt [ceMaster ‘MAX 4 glycol chiller, and layered in all the supporting gear. The brewery is in a dedicated bay of my garage. We plumbed dedicated water, ran a pair of additional 240 GCI lines and some additional 120 GFCI lines, and added tables and shelving so that everything had a place. For those wondering, all- in was a little less than $15,000. Split ‘eight ways, it was manageable. But great gear does not necessarily make great beer — we needed to learn a bunch about the new gear as well as the scale and the process. There were changes we needed to consider and ‘opportunities to leverage. We jumped fat the opportunity to attend BYO NanoCon Online in 2020 and picked uup great info there (and have been attending annually, since). So much good stuff. In 2019 we also signed up for the BYO Boot Camps in Den- ver, Colorado for spring 2020. Well, COVID changed those plans, but sub- sequently @ couple of us made it to the re-schedulled November 2021 Boot Camp in Denver. Ken went down the start-up track and I went to hone my brewing craft. It was a fantastic ex- perience! I loved getting to meet and learn from folks like John Blichmann, John Palmer, Gordon strong, and ‘many others, Great people, great con- tent, and loads of inspiration! ‘THE BREW DAYS Ie is always a joint effort when we brew. We make a Google poll and vote (on what type of beer we will make for each brew session. Folks sign up for how much they want and contribute pro-rated to the purchase of the in. sredients, I will assemble a recipe and then a bunch of us head out to our lo- cal homebrew supply shop, Southern Brewing & Winemaking in Tampa, Florida. We have a fow of their beers while we select the ingredients and talk through the brew day. ‘Then we decide who will be lead brewer for the day. I will usually do a walk-through in advance with the lead brewer ~ re- viewing our gear, our procedure and ‘manual, as well as the recipe and pro- cess for the day, We all agreed that ‘we would take turns in different brew day roles to keep people involved and prevent anyone from being “stuck” in a role. “Why do I always have to clean the mash tun!2” is not a conversation anybody wants to have. ‘With gear this big, it is always easier with many people, and some- times requires more than one. The lead brewer controls the process and timing and assigns jobs. Setting up and assembling the gear requires a couple people. We usually brew under a large tent so that’s gotta go up. Ta bles, chairs, food, cups, trasheans — basically we set up for a block party Milling over 100 Ibs. (45 kg) of grain can take an hour, mashing in can take three people, shoveling out the mash tun and transporting the spent grain is 3-4 people. Lifting the 55-gallon (210-L) empty mash tun just to go hose it out is two people. Cleanup at this scale must be many hands in par- allel with everything else. A Unitank that's over 6-feet(1.8-m) tall doesn't ‘move, so it’s all CIP (clean in place) to clean/sanitize so that means ex- tra work with pumps and hoses. One thing I always appreciate is the num- ber of times people ask, “What can 1 do?” Guests are always excited to get involved, learn, do the heavy lifting, cleaning, etc. I's a good time for ev- eryone — and in the end the result is beer, so we all win! ‘A couple of days later we breve. Usually, a core group of 3~4 of us get started a litle earlier and then other brew buddies and their families and friends will cycle in and out over the day, often bringing food and good stories with them, ‘The beers always have a way of naming themselves, generally from some little quirk related to the brew day or kegging day or something somebody said, and bam — just like that the beer earns its name. Exam- ples include Hot and Dirty Belgian Blonde, Germ-In Stout, and others. It is always fun, After brewing, we use a Tilt hy- rometer and TiltPi setup so every- one can follow along. fermentation progress on the web and on the brew: ery monitor over the keezer. 1 also use RaspberryPints on the monitor to track and display kegs, beers, and taps. When it gets close to finishing fermentation, we usvally set up the spunding valve and capture the last few points of gravity to naturally car- bonate. Then we add alittle more CO, as we cold crash it to clarify Mysietapheezer with digit display to rack and monitor the hegs, Bees and ops. BYO.com MayiUNE 2022. 33SETTING UP THE PARTNERSHIP ‘When we looked at forming a partnership, we wrote down a few things that helped keep us on track. I'm sharing the ‘main areas we focused on here in case other homebrewers ‘may consider such a partnership with friends and neighbors 100. After all, while the homebrewing hobby is all about fun and good beer, when there are significant investments shared it makes sense to hammer out the details from the start. Our brewery charter includes: + Clarifying our WHY ~ Why were we doing this, and were we all on board? And how would we know if we started to stray. Purpose, vision, mission, goals, et. + Describing our WHAT — What we did and did not want to do or be. This included future aspirations. What we are now land what we might be in the future (pro) and being clear about making the decision to go forward, Discuss and docu- ‘ment what being part of the original partnership means for 2 potential commercial venture going forward. Even if we never go that route, we thought it was important to clarify and write it down so everyone knew what was or was not available, to whom, and when. + Assigning shares and voting rights ~ Who was in, who was ‘not, who had a vote. Describing how a new member could be ‘added and how and when a member could exit. IF the mem- bership changed, what happened to the shares and the voting rights. This even included transferring shares to beneficiaries ‘as well as someone abandoning the group or moving out of the area, right through to dissolving the partnership and what ‘would happen to the gear. Clarifying the exit situations at the beginning was a litte challenging but well worth the peace (of mind later and may eliminate future conmict ‘What actions needed votes and who could do what with- ‘out votes - We also nailed down what it meant to “buy-in” financially, where the money was going, how the spending ‘was shared and logged, who could spend,and when did the spending need approval by the partnership. + Roles and responsibilities - These almost fell into place with people volunteering for titles/responsibilities they were passionate about and possessed the required skills, Marketing/branding, communication/social media, sales, brewing, finance, and our rotating brew day roles. + What is owned by the partnership vs. individually ~ Ev- erything from equipment to intellectual property, recipes, names, and ideas. + Laying out the foundation of a business plan — Started the lengthy list of to-dos, to-decide, to-learn, and to-partner with. 4 MAY-JUNE 2022 Kegging days are always fun be- cause we can sample straight from the Unitank to get started. Folks who signed up for some of the batch show up with their kegs and growlers, In- cevitably we end up needing to run a cleaning cycle on some of these that ‘were not well cared for. Then we san- ize and fill before folks take their kegs back home to their own taps to enjoy. Cleaning up after 30, 40, or 50 gallons (115, 150, of 190 L) of beer is definitely a real community effort, but after kegging and sampling it seems to go quickly. Closing out 2021, with COVED and everything else, we got distracted and did not make our usual fall beer — either my Pumpkin Pie Ale or the crowd-favorite Smoked Pumpkin Porter. We just missed the window of timing. So, after Thanksgiving we took a run at a Gingerbread Stout. 1 took a long time to dial in the right spice / Ingredient mix to get it where ‘we wanted it but in the end all the ‘work was worth it and the beer re- 4) BREW Your own, ceived glowing reviews. We kegged it ‘on New Year's Eve, and since it was cold crashed and carbonated in the Unitank it was great to ring in the New Year with. We are happy to share that (scaled down) recipe on page 36. From the beginning, Fairgate Brewing was founded on the princi- ples of community, friendship, and fun, Coming out of the BYO Boot Camp 3-day brewery start-up track we an- swered the question “can we do it (go ro)” with a “yes.” But, at this point, ‘we are not ready, and we are unwill- ing to risk sacrificing the founding principles we hold so dear. So, for the immediate future we will continue to invite people to come and enjoy the experience and the products that we call Fairgate Brewing — our friends 4& family neighborhood brewery part- nership in Wesley Chapel, Florida, Who knows, maybe some day we'll expand beyond the neighborhood. + https://fairgatebrewing.com/ + https://www.facebook.com/ fairgatebrewingCrores ina if} € Fermentis vist fermenticom o et or » Lesaffre ° © CRAFT BREWERY START-UP ONLINE BOOT CAMP Learn from decades of experience from three craft brewing experts to help you achieve your dream of opening up a brewery. Walk through the steps, planning decisions, financial keys,and legal > strategies you need to know if you want to launch a successful commercial craft brewery. Get oa byo.com/bootcamps BYO.com MayiUNE 2022 35FAIRGATE GINGERBREAD STOUT (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain) OG= 1.088 FG= 1.021 IBU= 51 SRM =50 ABV=9% INGREDIENTS. 8.8 lbs. (4 kg) North American 2-row malt 2.1 lbs. (0.95 kg) Munich malt 15 oz. (370 g) flaked oats 13 02. (370 g) Carapils® (dextrin) malt 41.1 lbs. (05 kg) black barley (500 *L) 11 oz. (310 g) crystal malt (60 °L) 8.5 o7. (240 q) Special B malt B oz. (230 g) crystal malt (40 °L) 5.5 oz. (155 g) crystal matt (120 °L) 2 bs. (0.9 kg) molasses (60 min) 18.2 AAU Magnum hops (60 min.) (1.3 02/37 g at 14% alpha acids) 1 Whiriloc tablet (15 min) {Ltsp. yeast nutrient (15 min) spice tincture #1 (10 min) spice tincture #2 (secondary) Wyeast 1318 (London Ale II), White Labs WLP066 (London Fog), or LalBrew Verdant IPA yeast % cup corn sugar if priming) SPICE TINCTURE INGREDIENTS 6g vanilla beans, Grade B (split scraped, sectioned) {60 9 ginger root (coarse grind with skin in food processor) 8 whole allspice berries (coarse grind) 2 tsp. cinnamon stick (coarse grind) 2 whole cloves (coarse grind) 1 tsp. whole nutmeg (coarse grind) Vodka to cover STEP BY STEP Create spice tincture five days prior to brewing, To do this, add spices to a glass jar, cover with vodka, screw Cn lid, shake to mix thoroughly. This tincture will be divided into two equal amounts and account for both tincture additions (or split the ingredients into {wo jars from the start and make two separate tinctures), On brew day starting with reverse ‘osmosis water, add salts toward a dark brown beer profile ~ sulfate:chloride ratio of about 0.7, Mash in pale, Munich, flaked oats, and Carapils® via under let to stabilize temperature at 150 °F (66 °Q,, then wait 30 minutes. Add re- maining grains to top of mash after 30 ‘minutes, shallow mix these grains into ‘the mash. Vorlauf for 30 minutes then transfer wort to boil kettle and boil Add molasses, hops, kettle fining, and yeast nutrient per ingredients lst. For the first spice tincture — add the spices toa strainer bag, place it into boil at 10 minutes remaining. Do not discard ‘the vodka. Pour in vodka at flameout. Whirlpool for 15 minutes. Chill the wort and transfer to fer- rmenter. Pitch yeast at 68 °F (20 °C) and hold temperature for the duration of active fermentation. After one week drop yeast cone (or rack to secondary) and add second tincture (both the spices and vodka) into fermenter. Let stand for at least one week. Force car- bonate to 2.3 v/v or bottle and prime with corn sugar. Partial mash option: Replace the pale malt with 6.6 lbs, (3 kg) of light Liquid malt extract and reduce the Munich malt to 1.5 tbs. (0.68 kg). The steps will nearly parallel the all-grain instruc- tions. Place the Munich malt, flaked ‘oats, and Carapils® in a mustin bag and steep in 2 gallons (76 L) of water at 150 °F (66 °C) for 30 minutes. Place the remaining grains in a separate bag and add these grains for the remaining 30 minutes of the mash. Place both bags in a large colander and wash with 15 gallons (5.7 L) of hot water. While heat is tumed off, stir the liquid matt extract and molasses into the wort, Stir until fully dissolved then top up to 6 gallons (23 L) and bring the wort up to a boil Follow the remainder of the all ‘grain recipe instructions. &Non eed j Types of Mix-Stits to Take for a Whit! Turbo power for maximum stirring efficiency Made with the finest Food Grade materials. Tre best quality hops since 1999 § STATS eh Steel res and Staink Monster Mixers 3 perl JUNE 23-25 PITTSBURCH CHoP&BRW Hon Hi Episod: Recip. chopandbrew.com BYO BINDERS! inde holds 10 CCS ems Cela the Best Beer, Mead & Cider browyourowneterecom Deeg ae BYo.com MayiUNE 2022. 37The ueen Ss Mead Recreating an ancient beverage fit for a queen by Paul Crowther some drink, must learne it of the ancient Britaines: who therein doe paile all other people, One excellent receit Iwill here recite: and it is of that which our renowned Queene of happie memorie did so well like, that she would everie yeere have a vessell of it First gather a bushell of sweet-briar-leaves, and a bushell of Tyme, and halfe a bushell of Rose-marie and a pecke of Bay leaves. Seeth ail these, being well washed in a Furnace of faire water: let them boile the space of halfe an houre, or better: and then poure out all the water and herbes into a Vate and let it stand till it be but milk- warme: then straine the water from the herbs, and take to everie six Gallons of water, one Gallon of the finest honie, and put it into the boerne, and labour it together halfe an houre: then let it stand ‘or two daies, stirring it well twice or thrice each day. Then take the liquor and boile it anew and when it does seeth, skim it as long 4s there remaineth any droile. When it is cleere put it into the Vate as before and there let it be cooled. You must then have in read- inesse a Kieve of new Ale or Beere which as soone as you have emp- tied, suddenly whelme it upside downe, and set it up againe, and presently put in the Methaglen, and let it stand there three daies a working. And then tun it up in Barrels, tying at everie Tap-hole, by a pack thread, a little bag of Cloves and Mace, to the value of an ounce. It must stand halfe a yeare before it be drunke. - Charles Butler, The Feminine Monarehie (1609) C C He that listeth to know the many and sundry makings of this hol- 38 MAY-JUNE 2022 BREW YoUR OWNThe 44900 reign of Queen Elizabeth [was one oft hese wos fond of mead andi sei ove ar Charles Butler's ary 70h Mead has a strong history in Brit- ain, Welsh antiquarian Tole Morganwg, claimed the very first name for the is land of Great Britain was said to be Y Vel Vyns: The Honey Isle,’ named for the sheer quantity of wild bees buzz- ing around the dark forests that can- opied much of ancient Britain. The Greek explorer Pytheas travelled to Britain in the 4th Century BC and re- ported the Celtic inhabitants of the time were keen beekeepers and made mead from honey and wheat So ‘mead production on Britain as an is~ land predates Roman settlement, the Viking invasions, the formation of England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and the United Kingdom by over a thousand years. Last year I was on a bit of mead~ making binge since we were all stuck in the house for a while (mead was my sourdough) and while modern meads 40 Mayu 2011 BREW YouR OWN tend prosperity fr England The Queen, 78 mead described inthis article os deaied ny book The Feminine Monarchie: Or the History of Bees were fun I wanted to make something abit more historical, I saw a reference to a book called The Feminine Monar- hie: Or the History of Bees written by the Elizabethan scholar Charles But- ler that contained some mead reci- pes. The book in fact includes three recipes, a lower ABV mead, a heavily spiced metheglin, and the herbal me= theglin recipe in the introduction, but the book is so much more than just mead recipes. ‘The Feminine Monarchie is not just concerned with mead but all aspects of bees and beekeeping. In the intro- duction to the book, Butler states he spent time researching the nature and properties of bees to do some good for them, as they do such much good for us, He called bees “delightful, profit- able and necessary creatures.” He re- ally cared for bees and wanted to write a book to help the bees themselves as much as beekeepers. The book earned Butler the moniker of the “Father of British Bee Keeping.” To try and un derstand just how important Charles Butler is in this history of honey, beekeeping, and mead I reached out to John Owen, a renowned beekeep- er, author, and vicar who wrote the foreword in a recent reprint of The Feminine Monarchie. John told me that what made The Feminine Monarchie stand out was that it was “scholarly, well organized, and well written.” Charles’ work was evidence-based and his writing was based on first-hand observations with supporting footnotes. The book “laid out clear procedures for keep- ing bees in straw skeps.” This book was the manual for beekeepers at the time, Even though the popularity of straw skeps has waned since, in fa- vor of more efficient moveable frame hives, John notes there is a still a lot of practical information in the book of use to professional and amateur bee keepers today. One of the big advancements in the book is implied by its name; the “feminine monarchy” the title refers to is that of the bees themselves, The {queen bee is the only female bee with fully developed reproductive organs and is usually the mother of the en- tire bee hive. Charles Butler was the man that named the queen bee. Be- fore Butler, observers had noted the larger bee that seemed to be central to the hive but ancient Greek schol- ar Aristotle named it the king bee, as, it was believed at the time the most important bee had to be male. With careful observation, Butler noted the “king” laying eggs and was the first person to crown the monarch cor- rectly as a queen bee. Butler did still think drones laid eggs however, so he didn’t get everything right. Butler's desire to right this his: torical wrong to the queen bee was probably born in at least part because he grew up under the reign of Queen Elizabeth T. Queen Elizabeth's prede- cessors had seen times of great up- heaval and her long 44-year reign was largely one of stability and prosperity for England. She was widely loved by the English and Butler refers to her as.the “Queen of happy memory” as she passed away six years before the pub- lication of The Feminine Monarchie. ‘And so yes, the recipe at the begin- ing of this article is no ordinary ree- 3: But a mead enjoyed! by none other than Queen Elizabeth I herself. But its historical links go much further back in time, Whilst Butler asserts this is ‘a mead drunk by Queen Elizabeth, he claims it is a much older recipe: One ‘made by the ancient Britons. 1 asked John Owen what time period Butler ‘was referring to and John said it was almost certainly referencing pre-Ro- man Britain, So a recipe enjoyed by ‘one of our most famous monarchs, first made by ancient Celts? If 1 was unconvinced before, I was now ex- ‘tremely excited to recreate this mead. DECONSTRUCTING ‘THE QUEEN'S MEAD P've not been able to find any writ- ten histories detailing Celtic mead recipes or meadmaking techniques. It Is unclear where Butler got this recipe as he does not give a source. Perhaps this recipe was passed down orally over the centuries and this is its only written record. Perhaps this was a drink enjoyed by Queen Elizabeth as well as Queen Boudicca some 1,600 years earlier. Deconstructing the recipe had a few hurdles from the onset. The first of which is the lexicon Butler uses. Beyond the obvious archaic lan- ‘guage, Butler uses modern words but with very different meanings to how they're used today. A key example is four different words for mead: Mede (mead), methaglen (metheglin), hy- dromel, and meth, ‘Meth and hydromel are used in- terchangeably by Butler to refer to any honey-based alcoholic beverage. ‘These days, “meth” isn’t commonly ‘used to refer to meads and lnydromel Is used to refer specifically to meads that are lower in alcohol. Where we would use “mead” as the generic term now for any fer- mented honey drink, for Butler the word is used to mean a lower ABV mead to be drunk young (within six months of fermentation). Methegtin ‘we'd now understand to mean a mead infused with herbs and spices, but for Butler the term simply means any higher ABV mead, to be aged at least a year before drinking, So this gives us our first clue about the Queen's mead — it was a me- theglin so it was stronger and was aged. But pinning down the specific strength is trickier than it might at first seem, Gravity measurement wasn’t a part of brewing or meadmaking un- til the invention of the hydrometer in 1790 by William Nicholson. Be- fore then to replicate a recipe you just replicated the same ingredients, but every homebrewer knows you can follow a recipe and get a very differ- ent starting gravity because of slight differences in ingredients, process, and equipment. The same issue exists here for the honey. We don’t know the sugar content of the honey they were using in the 17th century ver- sus what we have now. In fact, But ler refers to two different classes of honey — coarse and fine — to further complicate matters. So although it’s tempting just to follow Butler's ra tio of 1:6 honey-to-water, the result might be something quite different from what Queen Elizabeth enjoyed ‘The good news is that for the ear- lier mead and metheglin recipes But- ler actually leaves us a rudimentary system for checking gravity. Butler didn’t have a hydrometer but he did have eggs! “For the making of mede, ifthe must, when itis all together be not strong enough to beare an egge the bredth of a ‘wo pence above it, then put in as much of your course honie into it as wil give it that strength” And for the stronger metheglin: ‘“Methaglen is the more generous or stronger Hydromel: being unto Mede as Vinuma to Lora. For it beareth an Egge the breadth of a groat or six pence and is usually made of finer hony, with alesse proportion of water...” Butler invents the hydrometer 200 years ahead of time, measuring water density by floating an egg. The groat or six pence at the time had a diam- eter of roughly one inch (23-25 mm), this equates to a small hen’s egg, To take this egg measurement 1 made one quart (1 L) of sugar water at room temperature and put this in a large bowl. I gently placed an egg in the bowl and it floated. I then slowly add- ed water and at the point the egg sank. took a gravity reading of the liquid. It ‘was 1.072, indicating a starting gravity of 1.073 is the minimum Butler saw as acceptable for a metheglin. This will result in a mead of around 10% ABV when fully fermented. This requires 2.8 Ibs. of honey per gallon of water (13 kg per 3.8L). For the herbs, Butler uses the ar- chaic measurement of a bushel. A bushel is a measurement of volume rather than weight, equal to 9.6 gal- lons (36.4 L). So two and a half bush- els of herbs is a whole lot, to say the least, and certainly not a home- brew-size batch. Annoyingly, Butler does not quantify the amount of water we should mix these herbs in so con- verting this down to a smaller batch isn't straightforward. ‘The other metheglin recipe in the book does, however, specify a quan- tity of water and includes a ratio of half an ounce of rosemary per 16 gallons of must (1 g per 4.3 L). For a 1-gallon recipe; however, this would equate to 0.03 oz. of herbs (~0.2 g/L), ‘which would be far too low. This rec however does have a number of other spices: A ratio of six ounces of herbs and spices per 16 gallons. We're still looking at quite small numbers = 0.375 ounces of herbs per gallon (28 g/L), ‘To add to the confusion, there is a question of what Butler means by a “gallon.” You might assume he means a UK. gallon (4.5 L) and we need to adjust for U.S. gallons (3.8 L). However this is before a gallon was standardized in Britain and there were in fact three types of “gallon” used in Britain at the time, each with slight- ly different volumes: A wine galion, a com gallon, and an ale gallon. We can’t be absolutely sure which gallon measurement Butler was using here, ‘but a source from 1806 states at least in the early 19th century: “All liquids BYo.com MayiUNE 2022. 41