Woah, dudes. True Brews is about to be a Real Thing in the Real World. After spending so much time with it alone here in my little apartment, I am so giddy with giddiness that it will soon be going out to bookstore shelves and mailboxes and libraries all over. Also a little terrified...but mostly excited, I swear! Maybe 85% excited and 15% terrified. Let's go with that.
Mostly, I just really hope that you all like it. Here's a little peak at the goods:
If you do so choose to get yourself a copy, there are some links to some places where you can buy it on over there on the upper-right. No pressure. Libraries are also my friend. However you get your hands on a copy, please do report back on your brewing adventures. I'd love to clink virtual glasses and hear all about it.
it's just too exciting, i can hardly stand it!!
ReplyDeleteHello! I bought your book at my local bookstore...It was the last one on the shelf, so let's hope they have more in the back!
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend and I promptly began our homebrewing journey by making a list of equipment and heading out to the store. It was so fun to enter a new world full of interesting supplies (HOW ARE THERE SO MANY DIFFERENT YEASTS!) and friendly people, passionate about making their own brews.
We started simple, with the watermelon mint soda. I'm a little terrified of opening it up and making a huge mess, but I am prepared! We also started the pineapple brown sugar cider! We have no idea what we're doing, but we hope it turns out well!
Anyway, thank you for creating such a lovely book. It's beautiful and I honestly think I'll be trying ALLLLLL of the recipes. :)
Maxine - I'm so excited for you! Please report back and let me know how your first brewing adventures go!
ReplyDeleteReporting back~!
DeleteWatermelon mint soda was definitely a success, and super easy to whip up! PERFECT summer drink.
A few hours ago, we bottled our cider. It had a lovely, clean flavor. The boyfriend decided he'd like it sweeter, so we threw in some Splenda. I cannot wait to try the chilled final product...a month from now! Our endeavor has definitely been a test in patience.
We went back to the homebrewing store to pick up a few extra things for our next adventure, the blueberry lavender mead!
So, yep. We're doing really well so far! It's super fun!
Hooray! Congrats on your first homebrews! Sounds like you guys are really rocking along! By the way, after trying tons of different non-fermentable sweeteners (like Splenda), I've now started just adding a spoonful of simple syrup (1 part water + 1 part sugar, boiled until dissolved) to my glass when I want it sweeter. It's easier to sweeten to taste that way and I tend to like the flavor better than any of the artificial sweeteners I've tried.
DeleteI would definitely prefer that. I HATE artificial junk, but my boyfriend loves Splenda. I'll keep that in mind for the next brew! Thanks!
DeleteI'm a trained Chef that's just getting into Homebrewing - I stumbled across this site and can't waiiiiit to get my hands on your book!
ReplyDeleteSo many things I've wanted to make you seem to cover through your recipes... I am so excited!
Super congrats on it's release :)
This book is a lot of fun. I really like the master cider recipe but it should probably come with an octane warning.
ReplyDeleteI've as of yet been unable to get a successful soda carbonation using plastic bottles. They seem to still be flat even though the bottles harden up. Any troubleshooting guides for your sodas?
Thanks, Josh! That's weird about the carbonation in your sodas, though. They're definitely getting rock-solid? No give at all when you press the sides? When I was experimenting with carbonation levels and trying to find a way to avoid gushers, I tried refrigerating sodas when they were *just barely* solid and still had a little give, but no dice -- the sodas hadn't fully carbonated and were pretty flat. The bottles really need to be super hard -- I could get all scientific-y on you, but that really does seem to be the best indicator that the sodas have carbonated!
ReplyDeleteThe brewer's shop where I live in Gloucestershire is really well stocked, but for a lady brewer like me, i find it quite intimidating asking for advice for new brews (brewing seems to be a real old man's game in Britain). Thrilled to find your book, and can't wait to get some new recipes going!
ReplyDeleteThanks for making such a lovely book. I'm having great success with your Kombucha recipes.
ReplyDeleteMy soda is not so successful: I made the orange cream soda and had no luck with carbonation- its completely flat. I made it in a plastic two litre bottle but it never got rock solid like my kombucha does. I left it for probably about 72 hours in the end, waiting for it to go solid but no luck. Any suggestions? Should I ramp up the amount of yeast?
Hi, Meredith! I've heard a few people who have this problem (non-fizzed-up sodas) and I think I've finally traced the problem back to the water. If your water has high levels of chlorine or chloramine (or both), then this can make the yeast sluggish and unwilling to ferment. This is particularly noticeable in the non-fruit sodas like the orange cream soda you made.
DeleteIf you've noticed any fermentation at all with your soda (ie, the bottle has solidified a little, but hasn't quite reached rock-solid stage), then try adding more yeast and see if that helps.
Next time, try one of these things:
1. Boil your water and let it cool before using (removes chlorine, but not chloramine)
2. Filter your water with something like a Brita before using (removes chlorine and most of the chloramine)
3. Make your sodas with store-bought spring water
I hope that helps!
Thanks Emma, I'll experiment and let you know how I go!
ReplyDelete