Ready for a new brew? Here's the Update
Here's the Update for April, 2012

Hava Homebrew

Homebrewing? YES!! I have always enjoyed a good beer. I became interested in homebrewing my beer early in the century while recovering from automobile accident. I live in a rural environment, so my dream became to grow my own beer. I started with kits, like so many others, When the college let me go I had enough time to learn about malting and mashing. The Malting story deserves a page of it's own. I also had to fabricate most of my own Equipment. I developed a few of my own recipes. Everyone who has tried them say I brew the best. Here's a few:

Red Maple Ale Maple beer?Yes!

I start with maple sap, right from the tree, making this a seasonal brew. Fifteen gallons of sap, boiled down to about three. I let it cool a bit, then use it to start my mash: eight pounds of pale 2-row malt. After I parge I use 1 pound of special malt, Hennesseys Special B malt or my own toasted crystal malt, in a grain bag at 180F for half an hour. Then I boil, with 3 oz. of my backyard hops blossoms for an hour. Then, I add 1 tsp. Irish moss and 2 more oz. hops, continue the boil for ten minutes.
Bail into my five gallon fermenter, top off to five gallons, cool and pitch the yeast. S.G. 1.050, approx 5% when done, of a complex flavoured beer.

What does he mean by 'backyard hops'? Well:


Ginger Beer

Could call it Ginger Ale, but I am afraid that would be misleading. For this one I start with a four pound can of Mountmellick pale malt extract. I immerse the can in a pot of hot water to soften the syrup. While that is happening I grate 12 oz. supermarket ginger root and put in a grain bag. Then I open the can and add the syrup to about 2 1/2 gallons of water and bring to a boil, add the ginger and boil fifteen minutes longer. Bail into my three gallon fermenter, top off, let cool and pitch yeast.
S.G. 1.068 F.G. 1.020 ~7%. A refreshing brew.

Iambic AleDefinitely, One of the best


I created this brew, and the name, by combining two favorites, an amber ale that was very good and an India Pale ale, hence Iambic. Mash eight pounds of 2-row pale malt in about 2 1/2 gallons of water. After I parge I use 1 pound of special malt, Hennesseys Special B malt or my own toasted crystal malt, in a grain bag at 180F for half an hour. Then I boil, with 2 oz. of my backyard hops for an hour. Then, I add 1 tsp. Irish moss and 1 more oz. hops, continue the boil for ten minutes.
Bail into my three gallon fermenter, top off to three gallons, cool and pitch the yeast.
S.G. 1.111 F.G. 1.020 ~10% An especially fine brew, that Iambic.

Seems, like other homebrewers are always doing new brews, somehings different. I have the three brews, four if you count the AmberAle ( That's next). My goal is to keep making them, making them better.

Then too, the goal to grow my OWN beer. Been learning the art of growing barley, geting better. This is '10 patch on June 25, corn in front is still tiny:


But threshing with my hands was counterproductive. Hours spent raising blisters. I looked in the market, new machine to big and expensive for homebrew. Searched the web for plans to build my own. Not entirely successful. Found a few ideas anyway to start construction of my own prototype:


Hope it works as good as it looks.


Homebrew Ocean - courtesy of the Beer Brothers: "The" Homebrew Album 1998

Congratulations! You got his far, must be interested.
Ready for a new brew? Here's the Update
Here's the Update for April, 2012