Pickles and Kombucha

On the 5th of December I started a batch of both 4 pounds of pickles and a gallon batch of kombucha. My last batch of kombucha didn't turn out so great I didn't let it ferment long enough and it ended up tasting sweet and the ginger didn't boil long enough so it tasted just like a root. So this time I paid a little more attention to detail.
Recipe:

• 6 Tbs Green Tea (two tea bags)
• 3 Tbs Black Tea (one tea bag)
• Grated ginger and zest from one orange
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/3 cup ginger simple syrup 

One of the "tricks" I guess I use is that I fill up the container that I am going to be fermenting in with filtered water and ice cubes. Then I pour off the water and save some of the ice water for a quick cool down. I wanted to make sure this batch had a good spicy ginger flavor so I let the ginger sit in the boiling water before I shut off the heat to steep the tea. The tea tasted great before I added the mothers in so I have high hopes for this batch.





I have made pickles before this but I just made canned pickles. This time I am making lacto-fermented pickles using some of the brine that the sauerkraut was sitting in. First I sanitized the glass jar I was using by washing it out with plain hot water and then swishing around some distilled vinegar. Then I just cut 4 lbs of cucumbers into spears and packed them into my glass jar. Then I added in the spices and a teaspoon of salt for every pound of vegetable (I've heard this is the correct way to do it). Then I boiled water and let it cool down and added the water to the spices and cucumbers. It's going to sit for almost two weeks and then I will devour them.
Recipe:

• ~ 4 lbs of cucumbers (speared)
• 2 Tbs Cayenne powder
• 1 tsp Fennel seeds (crushed slightly)
• 1 tsp Caraway seeds (crushed slightly)
• 2 Tbs Peppercorns (crushed slightly)
• 4 tsp Salt
• 2 ounces of fresh Dill
• 1 sprig of Rosemary
• ~ cup of live culture sauerkraut brine

Dark Ale in Iowa

This post is a little late since we brewed on the 23 of November, but I figured I would post the recipe and the procedure. We started out with the idea of making a stout but as we went along with the brewing process it turned into something else. The brew store in Davenport really isn't a beer brewing store, it's more of a country wine and wine making store that has malts. They had what we needed to make beer but the grain was prepackaged in 1 lb or 10 lbs amounts. We also planned on this being a double batch but we realized while we were boiling that the gravity was really low so we had to add a large amount of sugar. Also this is the first time I have used instant oatmeal in the mash. Next time I will probably double up on the amount of oatmeal because draining it went so smoothly. We also brewed in the garage with all the doors down so it was a very relaxing hop spa.

Grain Bill:
#10 Briess 2-row Browers Malt 1.8 L
#2 Muntons Marris Otter Malt 3.0 L
#2 Briess Special Roast (sourdough/tang) 6-row 50 L
#1 Muntons Crystal 60
#1 Briess Chocolate Malt 350 L
#1 Briess Roasted Barley Unmalted 6-row 300 L
11.8 oz Instant Oatmeal (Kroger)



1oz Columbus 14.2 % @ 90min
1 oz Willamette 4.9% @ 60min
1 oz Kent Goldings 4.5% @ 10min

Mashed at 151-2° F for 1 hour

• 5:10 Full Boil
• 5:15 1 oz Columbus 14.2%
• 5:20 2 cups Dark Brown Sugar
• 5:45 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 5:45 1 oz Willamette 4.9%
• 6:05 ~1.5 cups Brown Sugar
• 6:30 1 kg White Sugar
• 6:35 1 oz Kent Goldings 4.5%
• 6:45 Flame Out

OG 1.044