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Review of Uncooked Cold Brew, Yeast Discovery for Schwarzbier

1/28/2017

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Pictures Above - Top Left:Cold brewed uncooked beer, Top Right: Testing various yeast levels for the same beer using Mr. Beer and Root Beer bottles, Bottom Left: Schwarzbier Bottom Right: Food pairing with Betty Crocker recipe for bread pudding

Comments: It's been awhile since I last posted as I was having issues uploading pictures to my blog.  If you go back to my last entry in making Schwarzbier in December you will see how this started.   This entry shows results of my non-cooked, true cold brewed beer.   I've also made a nice discovery in creating barley beers with a nice creamy texture.

A. Uncooked Cold-Brewed Schwarzbier Results
See the 12/15 entry: "Cats Destroyed Our Christmas Tree But I Can Recreate This Holiday Schwarzbier"
Review my past blog article to see that I was infusing the grains with a soak for 16 hours in my custom Munich water. I recall the AHA did a test for a cold-soaked beer but I can't locate it at this time.
I could tell the cold brewed beer had dark grains it, but it was a green beer as the taste of tomato vegetable juice came through like a V-8 I used to drink years ago. I may try to ferment it longer next time. I'm looking at herbs that will hold back the spoiling of the beer. More testing is needed and I think this is worth the try.

​B. Yeast Discovery of the Schwarzbier
The remainder of the grains were cooked with the "Satz" method of brewing.  Review the same Schwarzbier entry.   I found that the bottles containing 1 dinner spoon of yeast acted completely contrary to my previous batches.   A lot of homebrewers have been looking for lots of foam and a beer lace that coats the glass after you drink it.  I used 1 quart bottles from Mr. Beer to test various levels of yeast for a 1 gallon batch.  The quart bottle that had 2 dinner spoons of yeast (approximately 1 tablespoon) acted normal with thick foam and the beer lace coating the glass.   The bottle that 1 dinner spoon of yeast (1/2 tablespoon) was an unexpected discovery: an incredible creamy texture that even my wife claimed was good.   She gives it to me straight so I know I impressed her.


C. Cooked Schwarzbier Impressions
Overall, the Satz method was unimpressive except that it did create the creamy texture I've never gotten from a barley beer.   The other bottles didn't come close to the creamy texture that the one bottle exhibited.   I always thought you needed to use wheat malts to get this creamy texture.   This beer comes close to Fred Scheer's grandfather's recipe, but Scheer called it Frankenmuth Dark as he served it at the Frankemuth Brewery.  All my research has really paid off in cloning this tasty brew.

D. Food Pairings
Randy Mosher is true in his recommendations that this beer should be paired with bread pudding.   I make a homemade bread pudding using our Betty Crocker cookbook.   This was excellent and I just needed to find the perfect movie to go with this great food and drink.
 
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Homebrewers Can Truly Hack Russia's Kvass Drink

1/2/2017

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Picture
This is the Red Square painting of Moscow, Russia in 1801.  The painting was by Fedor Alekseev.  This picture is found at http://www.goodfreephotos.com - a large public domain photo repository.  Photo via <a href="https://www.goodfreephotos.com/">Good Free Photos</a>

This photo is under the creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/ license.


News of Russian hacking has really been popular lately.  You hear the word all the time now through the headlines.  The hacking, I’m referring to, has nothing to do with computer hacking.  I’m using the slang sense of the word - to carry out successfully the brewing of Russia’s historic beverage: Kvass.  Originally, it was a recipe passed through family generations; it is now also made by large companies in Russia.

A. Recipe for Russian beer, Kvass (pronounced “quass”), which is a slightly sour, low alcohol drink
1. Cut old rye or black bread the size of croutons and bake 150 degrees for 20 minutes
2. Pour boiling hot water over bread crumb croutons
3. Bread crumb soaks for 4 to 24 hours
4. Prepare yeast in cup of warm water using either:
a. Brewer’s yeast

b. Baker’s yeast
c. Wild yeast
d. Ale yeast and Lactobacillus culture
e. Sugar, baker’s yeast starter and flour
f. Ale yeast and lemon juice for souring
5. (Optional) Strain bread/water mixture with collander and cheese cloth
6. Stir yeast (from step 4) into bread/water mixture
7. Cover bowl and leave alone for 10 hours
8. (Optional) Strain again (like step 5), pour into bottles with 2 to 3 raisins (each sliced in two) and cap bottles
9. Set in cool place for 2-3 days
10. Consume beverage soon after

B. Possible fresh or local ingredients that may be used in the recipe
1. Fruits such as apples, strawberries, raisins, mint, prunes or lemon
2. Seasonal herbs or spices
3. Brown sugar
4. Honey
5. Birch sap

C. Other possible breads instead of rye
1. Wheat,
2. Barley
3. Buckwheat can be used for the bread

D. Helpful hints and variations

1. Best to use soft water or water with low minerals or carbonates similar to what is used to make Pilsner beer
2. Try to get bread without so much oil or fat
3. Traditional methods
a. Lemons, raisins and open fermenting could be used as found in Russian literature
b. Honey added to sourdough bread in a jar
4. Boost the alcohol with extra grains
5. BYO’s idea of Toast Ale hits close to Kvass with more alcohol
a. Dry sliced bread at 195 F for hour
b. Toast can be 25% to 33% of total mash
c. Break bread into crouton size pieces
d. Use oat husks or rice hulls to keep down risk of stuck mash
e. Mash for hour in 150‘s
f. Ferment with an ale yeast - following ale yeast directions
g. Bottle as normally

E. References and Further Reading
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/how-to-brew-russian-kvass/
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/08/14/204859046/america-are-you-tough-enough-to-drink-real-russian-kvas
http://thenourishingcook.com/how-to-make-fermented-beet-kvass/
http://russiapedia.rt.com/of-russian-origin/kvas/
http://masterrussian.com/russianrecipes/kvass.htm
https://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/keSEp6Jtpn/kvass/

https://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/Cy7SB7zy61/russia/
http://allaboutbeer.com/liquid-bread-brewers-experiment-kvass/
http://blog.culturesforhealth.com/ancestral-fermentation-bread-kvass-made-without-commercial-yeast/
http://www.kvas.lv/en/all-about-kvass/brewing-kvass/
http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2014/05/kvass-liquid-sourdough-beer.html
https://byo.com/stories/issue/item/3432-toast-ale



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    Mitchell Rumpf

    I know everyone is brewing beer and writing about it.  This is my view on homebrewing.

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