Look, I've just made...

[Beatminister]

To begin I must say, that I'm not versed in beer matters (for a german ), nor other alcoholic drinks. Having been a professional driver the past 25 years, it seemed wiser to avoid drinking alcohol. But on some occassions a beer is a must, like when eating certain german dishes. A german Bratwurst is good, but with a cool Pils its gorgeous.
Else, my favourite is Alt, or Alt-Schuss (beer/coke mix) sometimes.
I said wow, because 8% is about double of a average german beer - so without adjusting to it, I would lay under the table before I can say "Thats tasty".
Sure, there are also some stronger beers around. In spring our local brewery brews a stuff called Mai-Bock, which is richer in flavour and has about 6%. And there are the bavarian strong beers, like Doppel-Bock and such, they go in that direction, too. And of course, Guiness - I quite like that, but its not served everywhere here.
Yes, there are beer sorts enough... If you try making each one only once, it will keep you busy for years. And turn you into an alcoholic, propably.

[Jussi Viljami Karjalainen]

Not a bad idea to avoid alcohol when your job is driving. =)

Yeah, it's stronger than the majority of mainstream beer, but then again IPA isn't really a mainstream style either (though it seems to be becoming one at a rapid rate, what with the craft beer boom and everything). It's not just about the alcohol content though, you also have a lot more malts used for the same amount of liquid, so you get a denser flavor through that as well. American IPA as a style is IMO not that well suited for casual drinking or combining it with foods (though many disagree), the flavors found in them can be so overwhelming that they'd disrupt anything else you're trying to do at the same time. It's kind of like listening to really good music for me, when I drink an IPA I want to fully focus on it and only it. =)

I doubt the alcohol content would really make much of a difference to you in this brew, but it's quite possible you wouldn't like it all that much due to the style, IPA tends to be an acquired taste because it is so different and often overwhelming. I liked them from the get go though for whatever reason, but then again I tend to like beer that's atypical. I love the way there are so many different flavors in the best ones, and how the flavors change as the beer warms up in your hands. I also like that they're not quick drinks for me, the longest I've spent on a single 0.35L bottle is over an hour and a half (very strong flavors, very small sips). Mine won't yet be quite that extreme, I'm working my way up the hop levels instead of blowing past them and working my way back (almost like racing ).

A lot of mass market beer tends to be lower alcohol content than they would be traditionally, to increase drinkability, modern health regulations, reduce the amount of calories, and historical reasons like rationing during the world wars which pushed beer into a milder direction which it hasn't fully bounced back from yet, and many other reasons. Many old styles that were closer to the 7-8% ABV mark fell closer to 4-5% ABV in the worst periods... Though of course there have always been the milder basic beers that were the main staple drink, for long long periods in human history water was after all almost deadly to drink, making beer out of it made it safe to drink, and provided a lot of nutrition. =)

I'm perhaps weird in a way because even though I really love and am fascinated by beer, I think beer has the capability to ruin any and all foods. Beer and food just don't mix at all for me, not in the least, and I like to enjoy both separately. =)

[Jussi Viljami Karjalainen]

Look, I just labeled my latest batch of beer! =)

[Azure Flare]

I love that label.

[balderz002]

Someone's gotta whip up a paint scheme for jussi's fave in game race car with his own beer on the side as main sponsor! You game jussi? What's your fave in game race car? And colours?

[venquessa]

Nice to see a fellow home brewer on here Jussi.

I take little spats of brewing my own. But I'm a bit more practical, function over form and the past year I have brewed the same beer the same way about 10 times. I aim towards the lower ABV as I like a session beer I can just chug away at and not end up plastered/falling down/throwing up.

4Kg Base malt (maris otter)
500g Medium Crystal
25g Target bitter hop
25g of some random finishing hop
22 litre mash in a bag and boil
19 litre to the keg
CO2 fire extinguisher (upside down!) charged Corni keg.
Cheap fridge.

3.5-4.0% Beer on tap for 2 weeks can't be beaten.

The Corni kegs are great, you only have to wash one keg, not 20 bottles. I hate washing bottles with a passion.

[Jussi Viljami Karjalainen]

Someone's gotta whip up a paint scheme for jussi's fave in game race car with his own beer on the side as main sponsor! You game jussi? What's your fave in game race car? And colours?

Wouldn't say no to that at all, or to anyone else using such a livery either... =)

My favorite race car, eh? That's a tough one, it's probably something vintage like Aston DBR1/300, Lotus 25 or 51, ZakSpeed Capri, something like that. Problem is that they'd all benefit from a more traditional beer advert on them. Out of the more modern ones... I'm quite partial to the Ginetta G55 GT3 and GT4. Low on power and high on handling, that's what I like. =)

Though I wonder if my next project would fit a vintage car better... Still kicking around ideas for an altbier label. =)

Nice to see a fellow home brewer on here Jussi.

I take little spats of brewing my own. But I'm a bit more practical, function over form and the past year I have brewed the same beer the same way about 10 times. I aim towards the lower ABV as I like a session beer I can just chug away at and not end up plastered/falling down/throwing up.

4Kg Base malt (maris otter)
500g Medium Crystal
25g Target bitter hop
25g of some random finishing hop
22 litre mash in a bag and boil
19 litre to the keg
CO2 fire extinguisher (upside down!) charged Corni keg.
Cheap fridge.

3.5-4.0% Beer on tap for 2 weeks can't be beaten.

The Corni kegs are great, you only have to wash one keg, not 20 bottles. I hate washing bottles with a passion.

Yeah, for me it's more of a pure hobby, since I don't really drink beer all that often, and when I do I want it to be somewhat interesting. Though I might end up making that original CitraSMASH recipe into an "It's A Beer!" recipe in the future, and try keeping it around.

Your recipe looks nice and tasty for a basic light gravity British ale, easy to drink and you can still keep working afterwards. Might try sometime. From the sound of things the Maris Otter should have a bit more depth than the pale ale malt I used (I try to use local malts as much as possible). =)

Corny kegs are a bit difficult to pull off for me, getting one with the necessary implements (tap, tubing, regulators, CO2 bottle...) would cost me more than I've spent on the hobby thus far (they seem to be a lot more expensive over here than elsewhere), the fridge would increase the difficulty further (frankly a jockey box is more reasonable for me), and getting food grade CO2 isn't that cheap either... I don't mind washing bottles (it's usually closer to 40 than 20 though for 19 liters, more if using 0.33l bottles), especially since if you rinse them right after emptying, you don't really have to do much to get them clean for the next time.

[venquessa]

Corny kegs are a bit difficult to pull off for me, getting one with the necessary implements (tap, tubing, regulators, CO2 bottle...) would cost me more than I've spent on the hobby thus far (they seem to be a lot more expensive over here than elsewhere), the fridge would increase the difficulty further (frankly a jockey box is more reasonable for me), and getting food grade CO2 isn't that cheap either... I don't mind washing bottles (it's usually closer to 40 than 20 though for 19 liters, more if using 0.33l bottles), especially since if you rinse them right after emptying, you don't really have to do much to get them clean for the next time.

Initial outlay is a bit steep. I think mine were circa £100. Beer line w/ basic tap and CO2 lines cost about £8 each. Welding CO2 regulator was £15. Fridge, either FreeCycle, Gumtree or I bought Dixon's cheapest at £82.

CO2 can be a bit of a stickler yes. Main distributors will only sell/rent to licensed or at least commercial premises due to the hazards of CO2 being an asphyxiant and an unnoticed leak could lead to death. Even though the chances of that are extremely remote and require a high level of dumbness. There are quite a few independent outlets though, that will swap (a tested) empty for a full one.

"Food grade" CO2 is somewhat of a myth. Over here the CO2 they use all comes from the same place and is 99.9% pure. The amount you are putting into a beer is so small that even if the 0.1% was toxic, which is very unlikely (CO for example) it wouldn't do you any harm as to drink enough would poison you with the alcohol first, long before. Honestly the independent place I phoned to get a food grade 5Kg CO2 refill is the same place the Fire solution shop gets their FE's filled as well as welder's gas. A full 2Kg reconditioned FE is about £30. A refill is about £15. 2Kg will last about 20 kegs is used carefully. Has to be used upside down unless you want it to be converted as an FE uses a siphon pipe from the bottom of the cylinder to pump liquid CO2 out the horn and will thus empty in 15-20 seconds. Liquid CO2 will freeze the regulator diaphragm and jam it or break it. Putting it upside down makes it work normally. Also, as it's an FE, you can pull the handle to get one regulator full of 1000psi gas which will run a key from start to finish. The only time you need to pull a few shots is for cleaning or the initial pressurizing. If you get a leak, only that small amount of CO2 will leak as the main FE valve is closed.

It does mean an ugly fridge sitting there, but I have seen many people tart them up, make a pretty varnished wooden box for them and mount a proper pub tap on top to make a mini-bar for their man cave.

[Jussi Viljami Karjalainen]

For me getting a 19 liter Corny and a 2 kg CO2 bottle would already end up costing over £130, plus the rest of the plumbing and the fridge (which I can't physically fit anywhere in my 34 m^2 apartment) etc. I'd basically need a house to pull it off, and a lot more money.

I'll stick with the bottles because they're cheap/free, available, easy to share with friends and take with me, and I can label them. =)

[Jussi Viljami Karjalainen]

I've now tasted the CC-IPA I made in December a couple of times. Still haven't tried it in optimal condition, it's always either been undercarbed (my first two samples, first one after a week to see if it had started to carbonate, second one week before deadline) and hence a bit too sweet (leftover sugar), or not in the fridge long enough to compact the yeast (the last one I tried, just picked it up, cooled it down and drunk it, so it was properly carbed but there was still some yeast in suspension that would have compacted with a day or two in the fridge). Though I did have a sip of one I offered to a friend who was visiting, that particular bottle had carbonated quicker and had been in the fridge for two days, and was as close to "finished" as it'll get, I think.

But, despite that, and after me being so far the person most "disappointed" with my first brew (not disappointed as such really, but everyone who has tried it has really liked it and wanted more, I thought it was a bit too plain, particularly for what I was originally going for), I have to say this about the CC-IPA:

This stuff is da BOMB.

Holy hell I never expected it to turn out so well. It has a definite bitter bite to it like it should, but it's a very smooth drink, much smoother than the vast majority of DIPAs/IIPAs I've had the pleasure of trying, and the aroma is fantastic, full of citrus, a hint of pine resin, and a very light fruity tartness. The body is light to bring out the hops, but it's far far far from being watery, it's a very nice malty backbone with a very slight caramel note to it. Despite being 8% ABV or so it shows no hints of being "hot" or "rocket fuely", as far as the alcohol goes it drinks like any normal beer (but after a while you do definitely notice it wasn't a 4.5% ABV beer you were drinking, it is definitely an effective way to get drunk). It has the IPA characteristic I've come to love of changing in the glass as you drink it, the lowering carbonation and the beer slowly warming up releasing the aromas in different proportions as you drink it, each sip being an adventure.

It is not by any means the best IPA or beer I've ever had. That spot is still firmly held by Brewdog/Mikkeller I Hardcore You (a special collaboration between Brewdog and Mikkeller combining BD's Hardcore IIPA with Mik's I Beat yoU [sic] IIPA), which was probably as close as I'll ever get to a religious experience. But I would say this is firmly in the top-5 IPAs I've ever had, especially after I eventually get to fully enjoy a "finished" one. I can't really think of a bad thing to say about it, it's just been absolutely fantastic so far, comfortably beating the vast majority of IPAs I've ever had in taste, texture and aroma, it's probably the most drinkable IIPA/DIPA I've ever had and that's without losing the flavor.

After the taste and drinkability of it the thing that really strikes me the most right now is the economics. Admittedly I paid more than strictly necessary for the I Hardcore You because I bought it in a bar (would have been cheaper in a store, but then again it was never in stock in any Finnish store, ever, ever), IIRC it was 27€ for a single 0.35l bottle. The cheapest IPA I've bought that is even somewhat comparable in quality was about 12€/l, I think. The material costs for this brew was along the lines of 1.40€. And I had SO MUCH FUN making it. This is insane, how can something that's so cheap, fun and, honestly, easy to do turn out to taste so good that it frankly puts most commercial offerings to shame...

If you've ever thought about home brewing, especially all-grain home brewing (which is now easier than ever since the invention of Brew In A Bag/BIAB), just do it. It's not only fun, it's really really tasty.