Well not just any beer, but my patented-once-a-year-only maple barleywine! Why only once a year? Because one of the heretofore secret ingredients is maple sap, which only runs for a couple of weeks in the spring! Here's a pictorial record of the process:
The "donor":
The raw materials:
(9 lbs of extra light dry malt extract, 16 oz of maple syrup -donated by the very same tree- 8 oz Munich malt, 8 oz caramel wheat, 16 oz crystal malt, 1 oz each of Challenger, Northdown, Kent Goldings and Bramling Cross hops)
Steeping the grains:
The maple syrup and DME has been added:
Let the boilin' begin!:
(Too bad my camera doesn't have "Smell-O-Vision" - this is aromatherapy, baby!)
The first of many hop additions:
Yeast activated and ready for action!:
Whole lotta' fermentin' goin' on!:
In two weeks or so, this should be beer..... As Tom Petty said "The waiting is the hardest part..."
Stay tuned for part two!
