Should I Brew That?

Archive for December, 2009

Myself and Shane brewed a Kiwi infused Belgian Wit a while back and now that the brew is bottled and ready to consume I wanted to post about the brew day. Everyone that knows my tastes in beer will be questioning my recipe choice as I am not one to drink nor actually like fruit based beers.

With that said, as I was perusing through Sam Calagione’s book “Extreme Brewing”, I came across his recipe for a “Kiwit”. A Belgian Wit with kiwi fruit added. This recipe peaked my interest and I decided to get together with Shane and brew it, and I’m glad I did!  This turned out to be an excellent beer and will now be one of my regular rotations on my brewing schedule.

Here is the recipe breakdown:

.5 lb Torrified Wheat Grain

.5 lb 6 Row Pale Malt

2 Teaspoons Gypsum

6.6 lbs Wheat Malt Extract (LME) -65 minutes

1 oz. Tettnanger Hops (pellets) -60 minutes

1 oz. Williamette Hops (pellets) -10 minutes

.5 oz. Crushed Coriander -10 minutes

1 Teaspoon of Irish Moss (optional in my opinion) -10 minutes

4 lbs of fresh, peeled kiwi fruit (peeled and cubed) -end of boil

Yeast: WLP400 Belgian Wit (see hop chart for substitutes)

Starting Gravity: 1.052     Finishing Gravity: 1.014    Target ABV: 5%

Merry Christmas to all! Look forward to a brand new year for SIBT, its been a slow start but we have a lot planned for the new year!

Cheers!

Brad & Shane

I have been wanting to build my own stirplate for yeast starters for some time now and have been sitting on the parts for far too long! With the help of my good friend Tim Grubb of http://www.sizeoflife.com/blog/ fame, I finally got it done.

Parts:

I used a Netgear router adapter (output 7.5 volt) as my power supply, however any adapter within the 5-12 volt range should be sufficient.

4 inch computer fan.

Hard drive magnets. I only used one. You can also buy rare earth magnets online from a number of places, including Radio Shack (or “The Shack” as it’s now called).

2″ diameter steel washer

Approximately 1′ each of black and red wire

From Radio Shack, you’ll need the following:

7″ x 5″ x 3″ Project Enclosure: Part Number 270-1807

25 ohm 3 watt Rheostat (aka Potentiometer): Part number 271-265

12 Volt DC/30Amp Rocker Switch with LED – Part Number 275-018

Silver Tone Knob – Part Number 274-424

Not handy with a soldering gun?:

3/16″ Fully Insulated Quick Disconnects (16-Pack) – Part Number 64-3134

I have to give credit where credit is due so here is the link to the build steps posted over at http://tinyurl.com/yjjdjx3

Thanks to Anthony Lopez for the post and Tim Grubb for the build assist, I can’t thank you both enough!

Any questions about the build please let me know!