Bitter Reality Brewing

All grain beer brewing is easier than you may think

January 2024
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  

Red Velvet Stout – Brewed on Anvil Foundry & Chilled with Jaded Brewing Scylla – Part 1 of 2


Red Velvet Stout – Brewed on Anvil Foundry & Chilled with Jaded Brewing Scylla – Part 1 of 2

Essentially we’re brewing a Milk Stout or Oatmeal Stout based on how your looking at it but the goal is to build an amazingly velvet chocolate stout to help carry the Red Velvet flavoring which will be added as a back sweetening using Amoretti Red Velvet natural flavoring.

Recipe for a 5.25 gallon batch for the Red Velvet Stout:
6 lbs Maris Otter
2 lbs Munich I
1 lb Flaked Oats
1 lb Vienna Malt
12 oz Chocolate Wheat
12 oz Pale Chocolate
4 oz Caramel 80L
1 oz Columbus hops 16.2 A added at 65 minutes before flame out

Last 10 minutes:
1/2 Whirlfloc tablet
12 oz Lactose Sugar (last 10 minutes)
1 heaping tsp of Wyeast Yeast Nutrient

Omega 048 British XI Yeast

Equipment I used to brew this batch of beer:
Anvil Foundry 10.5 Gallon All-in-One brewing system with recirculation pump kit
Jaded Brewing Scylla
Awesome propane burner – Great quality.
Anvil 10 gallon Brew Kettle
Five Star Super Moss HB
Wyeast Yeast Nutrient
Hop filter for brewing
Glass Carboy
Plastic Carboy for measuring
Tilt Hydrometer during fermentation
Best Hydrometer I’ve ever used and a great company

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

10 Home Brewing Tips, Recommendations, and Hacks – Week 3


10 Home Brewing Tips, Recommendations, and Hacks – Week 3

I was working to share knowledge I’ve learned over the years and to inform on things every home brewer should be aware of from Beginners to Advanced and I quickly went from a top 10 to over 100 tips, recommendations, tricks, hacks, suggestions and realized that many home brewers know some of these but not all of these.

I will work to share 10 different home brewing tips every week for the next 10+ weeks.

1. Size Matters
2. Spare Kettle or Pot
3. Buy equipment for the long term
4. A great worth chiller is worth every dime and your time
5. Chill fast – Reduce haze and reduce infection
6. Silica Packets in DME
7. Marbles in hop sock for dry hopping
8. Avoid FAT (from food additions in beer)
9. Avoid Toxins (from food additions in beer)
10. Freeze – Thaw – Freeze

These tips will range from cleaning as this one was focused on to equipment recommendations to procedures/tricks/hacks/tips using during home brewing.

Items or Equipment used/suggested in this video:
Jaded Brewing Scylla
Anvil Foundry 10.5 Gallon All-in-One brewing system with recirculation pump kit
Anvil – 10 Gallon Brew Kettle

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Wicked Weed – Guilty Pleasures Variety Four Pack – Flavored Stouts – Review


Wicked Weed – Guilty Pleasures Variety Four Pack – Flavored Stouts – Review

I don’t normally do videos to review beer but this was a special case and these were amazing.

This is a special release from Wicked Weed out of Ashville, NC
This included: (All were between 8.5 to 9% abv)
Brownie Stout with Chocolate & hemp-like terpenes.
S’mores Stout with Chocolate, Vanilla, & Cinnamon.
Milk & Cookies Stout with Golden Raisins, Cinnamon, & Vanilla.
German Chocolate Stout with Chocolate & Coconut.

They were a bit on the high side for a 4 pack but I do feel they were worth it as they were big beers and amazing stouts. I liked all of them even the Brownie which was a bit strange but the Milk & Cookies was may favorite without question.

If you see this and love stouts you need to grab this as it was worth every drop. #wickedweedbrewing Great job.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

10 Home Brewing Tips, Recommendations, and Hacks – Week 2


10 Home Brewing Tips, Recommendations, and Hacks – Week 2

I was working to share knowledge I’ve learned over the years and to inform on things every home brewer should be aware of from Beginners to Advanced and I quickly went from a top 10 to over 100 tips, recommendations, tricks, hacks, suggestions and realized that many home brewers know some of these but not all of these.

I will work to share 10 different home brewing tips every week for the next 10+ weeks.

1. Replace Hoses from time to time.
2. Cleaning Faucets
3. All-in-One Brewing isn’t cheating.
4. Propane Burners
5. Sharpies
6. Building a relationship with your LHBS (LHBS = Local Home Brew Shop) 7. Take recommendations with salt
8. Be Creative
9. Protect your hands
10. Brewing with Mustard

These tips will range from cleaning as this one was focused on to equipment recommendations to procedures/tricks/hacks/tips using during home brewing.

Items or Equipment used/suggested in this video:
The Multi-brush set I use for too many things to list 
24 oz professional grade spray bottles
Dip tube brushes
Oxyclean (The link below for Amazon is usually cheaper than local stores.) Starsan / Star San (Its actually two works so it helps sometimes in searches)  PBW
Tubing/hoses
Propane Burners HellFire – Top of the line.
Entry level but REALLY Nice for the price.
My Spiderman fire retardant gloves
Silicone Dog glove aka pot holders

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

10 Home Brewing Tips, Recommendations, and Hacks – Week 1


10 Home Brewing Tips, Recommendations, and Hacks – Week 1

I was working to share knowledge I’ve learned over the years and to inform on things every home brewer should be aware of from Beginners to Advanced and I quickly went from a top 10 to over 100 tips, recommendations, tricks, hacks, suggestions and realized that many home brewers know some of these but not all of these.

I will work to share 10 different home brewing tips every week for the next 10+ weeks.

1. Keep It Clean – PBW and Star san
2. PBW Safety
3. Star San Safety
4. Star San Dangerous for Pets
5. Cleaning Bottles
6. Never use Bleach
7. Star San spray bottles
8. Keg Cleaning
9. Keg Cleaning – Check your keg
10. Clean Disconnects (special brushes)

These tips will range from cleaning as this one was focused on to equipment recommendations to procedures/tricks/hacks/tips using during home brewing.

Items or Equipment used/suggested in this video:
The Multi-brush set I use for too many things to list 
24 oz professional grade spray bottles
Dip tube brushes
Oxyclean (The link below for Amazon is usually cheaper than local stores.) Starsan / Star San (Its actually two works so it helps sometimes in searches)  PBW
Bottle Brush
SOS Pads
Bottling Tree

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail