Cider and other unbeers...

[JonGoku]

I have some friends who like a good drink but just don't care for beer. This along with Brad's wonderful cider from last meeting got me thinking about alternative things that could be brewed for those who just can't appreciate the wonderfulness that is beer.

What all can be "brewed" at home that would fall in the unbeer category and appeal to the non-beer lovers? Cider, Mead, Wine...? Preferably I would like to go with the best short term option as it would be nice to have something ready in at least 4-5 weeks if not shorter. I'd love to have a nice cider, but correct me if I'm wrong, 4-5 weeks is a little too short for a Cider.

Cheers!

[brahn]

You could try making sake, that seems like it would be right up your alley. I tried it once with the B3 kit and was really happy with the results. I've wanted to try making it with less of a kit approach, but I've never gotten around to it.

I just checked and it looks like B3 no longer carries the sake kits, but they do still have the link on their menu. A quick search on google for sake kit reveals quite a few other options.

[lexuschris]

I would try a cider or a mead.

Early on, I enjoyed just grabbing a gallon of cider from the store, boiling it for a bit, and cooling it. Then pitch in a packet of ale yeast, and let it bubble away. (I even got a gallon cider jug size rubber stopper for the fermentation lock!)

(I know.. i just made Oskar have a apoplyptic fit ... sorry dude! I didn't know better at the time...)

I guess my point was, some of those 1 gallon experiments did yields some fun & tasty ciders, which my friends liked at the time. I certainly did not age them for any long period. Later on, I started pulling a pint of the cooled down cider aside in a grolsh bottle, and adding that back in post fermentation, and transferring into a 2L soda bottle. Those things can take a ton of internal pressure by the way!

(oh geez.. now i dunn'it ... time to step off the soap box. )
--lc

[maltbarley]

You could take the Bruery's approach and brew a berliner or hefe and then add fruit syrup on serving.

I'm just not a fan of young cider.

[kevinham]

Rootbeer.

[jward]

Rootbeer.

Hard Rootbeer?

You might send Oakaar a PM. He has spoken about mead being ready in a short period of time with the right recipe and process.

[JonGoku]

Thanks for all the feed back.

The sake things sounds interesting but also sounds like you need to guarantee your schedule for a the first couple of days and that might be too much at the moment. I had previously looked at it and found a really well written how-to HERE. Unlike brewing beer where you basically only have two days of work, brewing and bottling/kegging Sake seems a little more drawn out.

The short turn around mead sounds pretty interesting and I'd love to hear Pete's thoughts on that one although I'm sure it borders on sacrilege. Similar with the Cider, sounds like a cider is drinkable fairly quickly but not really recommended since it benefits well with aging.

[brahn]

I hadn't seen that article on sake brewing before, but that's a great reference. That's also what I meant when I said I'd like to try it sometime without the kit. The kit is much simpler, and I'm sure the results are nowhere near as good, but it was still fun and tasty. Basically with the kit if I remember right the rice, koji and yeast were all together and you just added some warm water and then just gave it a stir once or twice a day. At the end you just strain it through some cheesecloth and enjoy.

[JonGoku]

Well it looks like I'm going to try some of EdWort's Apfelwein. Once I get the deed begun I'll start a new thread with some details and pics of what I did. However if anyone else has made any and can share their experience please pitch in. I've already acquired enough ingredients for 2 batches, 10 gallons of Kirkland AJ, dextrose, and some KV-1116 yeast, but I'm still considering returning half the AJ and going with 5 gallons of another brand just to see if one is better than the other. Alternatively I may keep the same AJ and use a different yeast in each carboy. (Note: I'm against switching both juice and yeast because I want at least one constant so I can tell what changed what).

Cheers!

[kevinham]

Well it looks like I'm going to try some of EdWort's Apfelwein. Once I get the deed begun I'll start a new thread with some details and pics of what I did. However if anyone else has made any and can share their experience please pitch in. I've already acquired enough ingredients for 2 batches, 10 gallons of Kirkland AJ, dextrose, and some KV-1116 yeast, but I'm still considering returning half the AJ and going with 5 gallons of another brand just to see if one is better than the other. Alternatively I may keep the same AJ and use a different yeast in each carboy. (Note: I'm against switching both juice and yeast because I want at least one constant so I can tell what changed what).

Cheers!

Made some about 2 years or so ago, still have some bottles too, in fact you inspired me to open one so I am drinking it now. Anyways, I made it with Target brand 100% AJ, and from Oskaar's recommendation I used EC-1118 yeast instead. Tasted pretty good right off the bat, and got better with age. Don't think it will last over 2 years though, because this bottle I'm drinking isn't that great. A good tip is to use yeast nutrient, before and during fermentation. Maybe Pete can chime in and give you more direction on that. If you don't the yeast will starve for nutrient and produce a really awful smell that people on HBT describe as rhino fart. I bottled some still and some sparkling, I preferred the carbonated ones.

[JonGoku]

Made some about 2 years or so ago, still have some bottles too, in fact you inspired me to open one so I am drinking it now. Anyways, I made it with Target brand 100% AJ, and from Oskaar's recommendation I used EC-1118 yeast instead. Tasted pretty good right off the bat, and got better with age. Don't think it will last over 2 years though, because this bottle I'm drinking isn't that great. A good tip is to use yeast nutrient, before and during fermentation. Maybe Pete can chime in and give you more direction on that. If you don't the yeast will starve for nutrient and produce a really awful smell that people on HBT describe as rhino fart. I bottled some still and some sparkling, I preferred the carbonated ones.

Awesome Kevin, exactly the feedback I was looking for. Yeah, that thread on HBT is insane, I think I read through 130 of the 500 plus posts.

I also have the yeast nutrients on hand too to counter act the rhino farts. I might pick up some of the EC-1118 to see how it compares to the KV-1116. Whats sad is how simple that recipe is and how quick it would take to do, and the fact that I haven't been able to do it yet even though I've had everything on hand for two days.