Homebrew update

Bill and I bottled our winter brews tonight, and other than the one-a-week testers, we plan on letting them sit until the holidays.

I brewed this, and Bill's recipe is here.

Mine fermented down to 1.024, so my ABV is about 9.5%. I was hoping for 1.020, but I'll live. Bill's started light at 1.061 and landed at 1.022, about 5.3% ABV.

They both tasted great, sans-carbonation of course, and with sugar remaining that the yeast will finish off in the bottle. The coffee in Bill's beer was right up front in today's tasting, so who knows where it will wind up after a couple months worth of bottle conditioning, but we sure as hell liked it today. Mine wound up a little more stouty than I planned, but then again, I didn't go in with a specific recipe in mind. Just a lot of sugar for a big, strong, malty brew. Tasted good, and will only improve with age.

Also, yesterday I put together a hard cider, which I hadn't done in a couple years. Five gallons of local cider, a couple pounds of sugar, and champagne yeast. After the first fermentation, I may add more sugar and yeast to boost the final ABV, but I also want to make it sweeter than last time. That one was dry as hell, because it fermented down to 1.004 or something; there was very little remaining sugar. The wife didn't like it at all, and a couple other people also thought it was too dry. I liked it just fine, but then again it was 11%, so a couple of those and WooHoo!!!! Thish ish GREAT! Anyway, I don't want a sugar bomb like a Woodchuck or anything, but a little residual sugar would be fine with me.