Flagon Slayer Brewery

Wow, time flies. I’ve been brewing a lot more than I’ve been writing lately, which is good for me, bad for those following along at home. I did find the time to finish writing up my favorite of the latest brews, the Christmas Cyser, and it’s one I’d really recommend.

Big news on the Flagon Slayer front, as well. It’s become a sort of travelling brewing party, and as a group, we’re attempting to make two batches a month, showing up on the weekend to whoever has an empty carboy. That being said, I’d like to welcome Chris and Ross on board!

January is Porter season: Chris brewed one (his first brew!) last week, and I’ll be putting one down this weekend if all goes well, and post the recipe.

Finally, I just have to share this: Linux-Based Wine Cellar Monitor. How cool is that?

First and foremost, if you haven’t been to http://www.asciimation.co.nz/bender/, you must. Simon is my new hero for building a real live Bender Fermenter. Words can not express.

I’ve been looking into growing my own hops, and it looks surprisingly cheap / easy / fun. Farms will ship you hop rhizomes for $3-$5, depending on the variety, so when they come back in stock early spring I’ll be picking some up. Odd to think about planning which hops you’ll need for brewing a beer a year or two from now, but I like the idea. It gives it a sort of permanence as well as adds pure homebrew points.

This Friday, as I’m sure you all know, is St. Bartholomew’s day, the patron saint of beekeeping, and in Cornwall the Blessing of the Mead is still celebrated every 24th of August. As such, I’ve decided on a Flagon Slayer party, where we’ll be showing Jeremy how to brew by making a Pomegranate Red Mead of my own devising, as well as sampling ample amounts, of course. A bottle of mead or some decent home/microbrew gets you in, and if you read this, you’ve probably already been invited.

Finally, since Kyle asked so nicely, I’m posting the recipe for Sima, a quick brewing Finnish lemon alcopop. It’s delicious, and costs about $2 / gallon to make.

I’m back, and it’s high time for an update. First off, here’s a highly un-instructional video that a couple of us put together for a now mostly-defunct group called HackLouisvile entitled “How Not to Brew Beer“. You’ll need QuickTime to play it, and it’s NSFW due to language.

I managed to find an old favorite recipe, it’s up at http://flagonslayer.wordpress.com/recipes/skull-splitter-dark-ale/. I really need to take a picture of the final product to add to the writeup, as it looks rather unappetizing while it’s in process.

Lastly, I hear Aaron is currently in Mad Scientist mode, with plans for a “Linux-based, fermentation temperature controller for homebrewing.” That sounds quite interesting, and I hope you’ll post what you have here soon. I’d also like to say hi back to the friendly chaps over at Monday Night. I have to say, I’m quite curious about the Mint Chocolate Stout Float.

Now’s the time to be laying in for the winter months, so I thought I’d make something Christmassy. The idea at the moment is as follows:

• 2.5 pounds honey
• 1/2 gallon organic apple juice
• 1/2 pound raisins
• several sticks cinnamon
• 20-30 paradise seeds, crushed

…as well as the usual additives. I’m concerned about the raisins, though, as I don’t want them to be overpowering. Might need to go to 1/4 pound to be safe.  I’ll be using campden tablets, to be sure.