At the brewery; Brave Gijt

at_the_brewery_brave_gijt_BRAAF_brewery

Recently a few things changed for me. I did it. I took the adventures’ road and I started a brewery. Commercially.

My first commercial brew is a collaboration with De Natte Gijt. My homebrew adventure started with them as well, back in 2013. I remember the day that I contacted De Natte Gijt brothers and just asked if I could come over next time they did a new homebrew, just to watch and learn. Because of them I started homebrewing as well. I built my own setup and kept improving it. At this point, four years later, I’m happy with it as it is.
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Raspberry Lambic Chocolate Chip Cookies

raspberry lambic chocolate chip cookies

Every once in a while I treated myself with a cup of coffee and an ‘American raspberry chocolate chip cookie’ when I still was in school and had to travel by train. And I loved that combo, raspberry and chocolate. Raspberry stouts are one of my favorites, too bad that there aren’t much good raspberry stouts. But I like my raspberry lambic as well, paired with some chocolate…
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Handmade openers #2

Like I wrote in my previous post about the handmade openers;

To fund my homebrewing adventure I try to be creative and earn some money since I can’t sell my beer, yet. So, I came up with an opener that prevents bending your caps, if you like to collect them (like i do). Because of the design you can push the cap back to seal it again while opening, it can be handy when you are dealing with a gusher!

And I got some good news. I made new ones! So there are still some openers left. If you want one or two, they are 5,- euros each and can be shipped with regular mail! Send me a message through the contact page or Facebook.

Please note; only shipping to the Netherlands and Belgium!

Handmade openers BRAAF brewery

Handmade openers BRAAF brewery

A DAY AT THE BREWERY – NO. 2

Another day. Another brew. I got a new personal record for brewing ; this week I brewed 1.023 Liters (±270 gallon) in total, spread over 2 batches. Wednesday I brewed an amber ale, 23 Liters at home. That is happily fermenting at this moment. And thursday I brewed together with ‘De Natte Gijt‘ at the ‘Weerter Stadsbrouwerij‘ a 1.000 Liters (±264 gallon) batch of Imperial Stout.
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A day at the brewery – No. 1

This week the guys from De Natte Gijt needed some help with filling their Zwarte Peper Saison (black pepper saison). It was a great day of working together and helping out at the ‘Weerter Stadsbrouwerij‘. And I couldn’t resist to make a short timelapse of the whole process. It would be fun to make a little timelapse serie called ‘a day at the brewery‘.
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Handmade openers

To fund my homebrewing adventure I try to be creative and earn some money since I can’t sell my beer, yet. So, I came up with an opener that prevents bending your caps, if you like to collect them (like i do). Because of the design you can push the cap back to seal it again while opening, it can be handy when you are dealing with a gusher!
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  • There is so much to learn about brewing! And this new book by @scottjanishdotcom is the most scientific about the new world IPA's!⠀ \⁣⠀ In this book is so much knew information about brewing IPA's, hazy beer and the understanding of hop. Can't wait to start putting the knew knowledge to work and create some new insane IPA's. I never was that much of an IPA guy, but this book opens a new door for me and some proper-scientific-knowledge of hops!⠀ \⠀ ⁣What is your most favorite style of hoppy beer?⠀ \⠀ Cheers!⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ #fermentation #beer #brew #brewery #brewing #headbrewer #yeast #fermenting #craftbrewery #craftnotcrapbeer #drinklocal #craftbeerporn #brewerylife #craftbeernerd #wholeconehops #hoppellets #citrahops #craftbeergeek #craftbeeronly #craftbeerlover #craftbeernerd #beerblogger #dryhop #hoppybeer #hops #ipa #hazyipa #hoparoma #hopflavor #craftbeerlife
  • Happy days! \ Always fun when new equipment arrives. Received some new lab glass last week. I will be using it to store some yeast cultures, to keep them alive. And they will be used for wild yeast foraging. Made some lids that hold a grommet to use it with an airlock! \ Cheers!⠀⁣ •⁣ •⁣ •⁣ •⁣ •⁣ #fermentation #beer #brew #brewery #brewing #headbrewer #yeast #fermenting #meadporn #fermentationporn #craftbrewery #craftnotcrapbeer #drinklocal #craftbeerporn #brewerylife #craftbeernerd #funkybeer #labglass #foraging #wildyeast #milkthefunk #yeastcapture #yeastforaging #yeastculture
  • ⁣Maintaining cultures. Part of the hobby.⠀⠀ \⁣⠀⠀ Look at this beautiful landrace strain from Lithuania. This culture will create an intriguing mix of orange, tropical fruit and stonefruit esters that is reminiscent of POG Juice (passionfruit, orange, guava), and produces distinct spicy/earthy/herbal undertones.⠀⠀ \⁣⠀⠀ Cheers!⠀⁣⠀⠀ •⁣⠀⠀ •⁣⠀⠀ •⁣⠀⠀ •⁣⠀⠀ •⁣⠀⠀ #fermentation #beer #brew #brewery #brewing #headbrewer #yeast #fermenting #fermentationporn #craftbrewery #craftnotcrapbeer #drinklocal #craftbeerporn #brewerylife #craftbeernerd #funkybeer #landrace #simonaitis #farmhouseyeast #farmhouseyeast #yeaststrain #yeastmaintenance #yeastculture #lithuaniayeast #mixedfermentation #milkthefunk
  • Back to the apricot vanilla mead! \⁣⠀ The mead was racked twice by now, to get rid of the sediment that ended up at the bottom by natural cause. And we did stabilize the mead. And it's for one week in the cellar by now. \⁣⠀ Time to start prepping the vanilla that will go in! We do use real beans with the highest possible quality we can get, Madagaskar Premium Bourbon. Not cheap, but worth it! Today I cut up one bean that ended up in some alcohol. To make a tincture. The alcohol (37,5%) helps with the extraction of the vanillin, the primary component of the vanilla bean. \⁣⠀ ⁣Cheers!⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ #mead #meadery #craftmead #honeywine #mjöd #oldways #fermentation #honey #meadmaker #wine #winery #beer #brew #brewery #brewing #headbrewer #fermenting #honeybee #craftbrewery #craftbeerporn #brewerylife #craftbeernerd #vanillabean #vanulla #oenologie
  • Correct measurements are important!⁣⠀ \⁣⠀⁣⠀ Before we start the bulk aging. I wanted to know the right data about the mead. Like gravity and pH. As you can see we dropped down to 3.58 pH and 1.002 SG.⁣⠀ \⁣⠀⁣⠀ The flavor already carried a lot of berries. But during secondary there will be even more blackberries. ⁣⠀ \⁣⠀⁣⠀ ⁣Cheers!⁣⠀⁣⠀ •⁣⠀⁣⠀ •⁣⠀⁣⠀ •⁣⠀⁣⠀ •⁣⠀⁣⠀ •⁣⠀⁣⠀ #mead #meadery #craftmead #honeywine #mjöd #oldways #fermentation #honey #meadmaker #wine #winery #beer #brew #brewery #brewing #headbrewer #fermenting #honeybee #meadporn #fermentationporn #fruitporn #craftbrewery #craftbeerporn #brewerylife #craftbeernerd #fruitcap #fermentationcap #blackberrymead #berrymead #melomel
  • Last degassing!⠀ \⁣⠀ Just did my last degassing for this mead. My fermentation is almost over. It took 3 days to ferment from 1.086 to 1.012. That may sound insane for my brewing followers. But my Anton Paar is not lying. \⁣⠀ I will leave the mead alone for a while now, just a week or so, so it can settle out a bit, naturally. Next week I'll rack it of the fruit and start with stabilizing. And I'm even thinking about doing some extra fruit after that. Looking forward to it! \⁣⠀ ⁣Cheers!⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ #mead #meadery #craftmead #honeywine #mjöd #oldways #fermentation #honey #meadmaker #wine #winery #beer #brew #brewery #brewing #headbrewer #fermenting #honeybee #meadporn #fermentationporn #fruitporn #craftbrewery #craftbeerporn #brewerylife #craftbeernerd #fruitcap #fermentationcap #degassing
  • Look at that cap!⁣⠀ \⁣⠀ In this mead I did use whole fruit instead of puree ⁣like I did with the previous batch. It has pros and cons. One of those downsides is that I will have a bigger loss because of all the pulp. During fermentation we create carbon dioxide. And the carbon dioxide causes the berry solids (skins, seeds, stems) to rise, forming a cap that floats on top of the mead.⁣⠀ \⁣⠀ During fermentation we have to manage that cap for a few reasons. Otherwise it could create problems in the mead. That's something we want to avoid at all costs. For example, with a floating cap there is little to no contact between the must and the berry solids, like the skins, which inhibits the extraction of flavor and color! The cap works like a insulation layer as well, and can trap risky levels of heat that can kill the yeast and halt fermentation. And last but not least, the cap is in contact with air, providing an environment for aerobic bacteria, like acetobacter, that can turn the must into vinegar. And that would be a complete waste of fruit, honey, time and money!⁣⠀ \⁣⠀ ⁣Cheers!⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ #mead #meadery #craftmead #honeywine #mjöd #oldways #fermentation #honey #meadmaker #wine #winery #beer #brew #brewery #brewing #headbrewer #fermenting #honeybee #meadporn #fermentationporn #fruitporn #craftbrewery #craftbeerporn #brewerylife #craftbeernerd #fruitcap #fermentationcap
  • I learned a ton after my previous mead. Thanks to a few people that are eager and passionate enough to get me started. \ Today I started a mead with blackberries. The goal is to make a mead with a intense color as you can see. And a very berry forward flavor and aroma. Also focussing on mouthfeel and body with this batch. Fermenting with a Red-wine strain. \ Yeast will go in tomorrow, so pectinase has some time to do it's job. It's all about efficiency and maximum yield. \ Cheers!⠀ • • • • • #fermentation #knowledge #mixedfermentation #brewing #meadfermentation #liquidfermentation #flavordevelopment #dutchbrewery #brewerylife #blackberry #blackberrymead #blackberries #fermenting #craftbeerporn #independentbeer #drinklocal #beerstagram #saccharomyces #headbrewer #meadstagram #meadery #mead #honey #honeybee #pectinase #enzymes #germentationknowledge