Category: Food and Drink

  • Fruit Salad Ale Homebrew Oct 2014

    Today I put down a “Fruit Salad Ale” derived from a recipie on the Coopers home brew site. I did things a little differently. The ingredients were: 1x 1.7kg Coopers Australian Pale Ale Can 1x 1.5kg Morgans Extra Pale Malt Extract Can 150gm Simpsons Medium Crystal Malt 20gm Amarillo Hops 20gm Citra Hops 20gm Cascade…

  • Trial Stout #1 – July 2014

    This trial stout is to make a rich stout, with less than usual bitterness to see if it suits the wifes palate – still desiring heaps of chocolate/coffee/toffee up front but without the bitter finish (that I love). Ingredients: 1.7kg tin – Coopers (Thomas Coopers Irish Stout) 1.5kg – Dark Liquid Malt Extract 200gm –…

  • M&D “The Uncle Fred” Stout – Special Reserve (22 June 2014)

    Laid this one down on 22/June to keep the laundry company while a heater was used to dry out due to a slow drip from the washing machine. 18.6L of Wort (over shot the filling by 3%) 3KG of ESB “Extra Special Stout” kit + 200gm of simpson chocolate malt (2L water/200g/20min), the starting gravity…

  • Eden Road (April 2014 Cellar Door Visit)

    A relatively new winery in the Canberra region. A fantastically presented cellar door. As the new kid on the block these guys have a simply massive range of wines available for testing. They’re massive range must give them scope to play around and determine what works best from a wine making perspective. As a punter…

  • Shaw Vineyard Estate (Apr 2014) Cellar Door Visit

    The Shaw Vineyard Estate cellar door is locate up the back of Murrumbateman near the top of a hill, it’s in a nice location, and the restaurant attached looks appealing. There are a decent range of wines available to taste and buy.   [ Key ]: B = Purchased S = Smelled T = Tasted…

  • Clonakilla (CD Tasting/Smelling Notes April 2014)

    Clonakilla: The cellar door was manned by the winemaker Tim Kirk on our visit. He’s a man who’s got a good product and he knows it. One of the best things at the cellar door was that all wines available for purchase were available for tasting, including their wonderful Shiraz Viognier. As per the history…

  • Capital Wines (CD Tasting Notes April 2014)

    Capital Wines: The cellar door while pretty is quite a dark affair. The food is good and eating out under the marquee is pleasant. Any comments regarding tastes reflect the thoughts of the person I was driving around, if not indicated that I tasted. [ Key ]: B = Purchased S = Smelled T =…

  • Home Brew May 2014 – Dutch Lager

    Mangrove Jacks Dutch Lager kit CBW Pilsen Light pure malt extract W34/70 Lager Yeast SG 1.042   Currently the wort is at 24C, will rehydrate and pitch the yeast tomorrow morning, hopefully it will have cooled to the ~12C range.

  • Homebrew April/May 2014 – Stout w/ grain.

    This morning I bottled my stout, made from an ESB 3kg “extra special stout” kit and 200gm of chocolate malt grain. It’s been in the fermenter for 16 days and spent the last 5 days at a specific gravity of 1.018 I am a little concerned by the last as I was expecting ~1.012-1.014 range,…

  • Home Brew May 2014 – Pilsner

    Just put down a Pilsner to begin ferment in the lovely mid autumn Canberra weather. Using the following: Yeast S-189 Pilsner/German Lager Morgans Golden Saaz Pilsner kit CBW Pilsen Light pure malt extract   The specific gravity was 1.043 and is now sitting in the shed to ferment for the next 2 – 3 weeks.…