All Grain Beer Recipes
October 30, 2011 by
Filed under Home Brewing
Not All You See Is Sushi
Author: Chris Ryall
Not All You See is Sushi
Konnichiwa. My name is Chris Ryall. My wife and I are Australian, and have lived in Japan for 14 years.
Recently, after not having returned to Australia for 5 years, we made a trip home to celebrate Christmas and New Year with our families. After so long away, it was great to see all the various fare that I had loved, growing up on the Gold Coast.
My sister cooked up her delicious recipe of lemon-pepper lamb shanks, and on another night, her husband barbecued some delicious Australian beefsteaks, still on the bone. We also ate out at the local branch of a popular restaurant chain, *Outback Jack'sa?, which specializes in traditional Australian 'tucker', our local word for food. Mostly, it serves meat and seafood dishes.
Ironically, one of our friends suggested eating some Japanese food, considering that we had just returned from Japan. Actually, I believe she thought that it might be interesting to compare it with restaurants in Japan. So I asked her,
a??What kind of Japanese food did you have in mind?a?
She looked at me as if it were a strange question, before answering,
a??Sushi, of course.a?
I politely explained to my friend that sushi is only one of a large variety of dishes in Japan. By the look on her face, it was obvious that she had never really thought about it.
It is true that Japanese people generally eat a lot of fish, as well as other types of seafood, but the cooking styles and recipes are endless. Fish is not just eaten raw either; just as much fish is eaten grilled, broiled, steamed and fried. Most of our Japanese friends tend to eat sushi only once a month, which seems to be about the average. While it's a popular meal, it certainly isn't eaten as often as the stereotype would suggest.
Amusingly, the first thing my wife and I were served when we came to Japan, was McDonalds. Our host family was so unsure of whether or not we would like Japanese food that they kindly went out and picked up some hamburgers for us before we arrived. We didn't have the heart to tell our hosts that they are best served hot, and we did our best to eat the cold burgers with a smile on our face.
We virtually begged them to let us try some Japanese food for the next meal, and so they took us to a typical family restaurant in Japan, which usually has some western food on the menu of predominantly Japanese dishes. We were surprised to see just how much fried food Japanese people eat. The next day though, we did indeed go to a sushi restaurant, and yet the first dish was not sushi at all, but 'sashimi' - raw fish, which when dipped in various sauces was actually quite delicious.
Later, living in Osaka, we came to love Okonomiyaki, (a kind of Japanese savory pancake, but with various toppings including vegetables, meat and seafood), and Takoyaki (a fried octopus dumpling about the size of a ping pong ball).
In Nagoya, we enjoyed eating Misokatsu (a fried pork cutlet with a dark, rich sauce), and in Tokyo, we sampled many different Japanese curries, and Soba (Japanese noodles). We have even eaten fruit here that we never previously knew existed, such as Nashi (a Japanese pear shaped like an apple), and Mikan (an Asian variety of mandarin).
As we moved around Japan, we realized that there are many different styles of cooking, and a myriad of different tastes, in Japanese cuisine. In fact, Japanese love to eat foods of contrasting tastes, such as sweets with bitter green tea, or a sour red plum with bland white rice, and so on. My point is that the stereotype of 'sushi' as Japanese food is similar to saying that Americans only eat hamburgers, or that Australians only eat steak.
Ironically, speaking of eating steak, I think that the most delicious steak I have ever eaten has been in Japan. You may have heard of the term, 'Wagyu', simply meaning Japanese beef. The most famous varieties of 'Wagyu' that I know of come from Hokkaido, Kobe, Gifu, Kumamoto, Tottori and Matsusaka. While 'Wagyu' is not for everyone, due to its 'marbled' form and high fat content, I certainly recommend trying it at least once, especially with an ice-cold Japanese beer. Japanese don't just drink 'sa-ke' (rice wine).
My favorite 'wagyu' though is Matsusaka-gyu, even if it is a little expensive. This reminds me of the other associated stereotype I have come across, which is that Japanese don't eat much meat in their diet. This is quite far from the truth. Many Japanese people love to eat a variety of meats, including chicken, pork, lamb, and beef.
After moving to the mountain village in which we currently reside, we even ate Inoshishi (wild boar) in a kind of broth, and Shika-nabe (deer in a broth), for the first time in our lives. I have eaten 'venison' before, but I've never even seen wild boar meat sold in Australia. Mind you, many tourists traveling to 'outback' Australia can enjoy sampling kangaroo meat, camel meat (cooked like bacon), crocodile and of course 'Aussie' lamb.
It's fair to say that I have eaten more vegetables and salads here in Japan than I ever ate growing up in Australia, although that might have more to do with my family than the eating habit of most Australians. However, my point is that Japanese people do eat quite a lot of salad and vegetables, especially at barbecues during summer, and in various kinds of broths and soups during winter.
Finally, Japanese people love trying food from around the world, and just like in a lot of other countries, Chinese, Thai, Indian, French and Italian restaurants are very popular here. Living in Japan has also given me the chance to eat at Korean and Vietnamese restaurants as well. After our conversation that night, I think my Australian friend now has a better understanding of what average Japanese people eat. Not all you see is sushi.
10 lbs 2-row Pale Malt
.5 lb 60L Crystal Malt
1 ounce of Centennial Hops
3 ounces of Cascade Hops
10 gallons of the best water you can find
American Ale Yeast
Go here to follow the brewing process:
http://www.beerdude.com/howto_brew_allgrain.shtml
Have you ever brewed an all grain beer? What was the recipe?
I’ve been all-grain mashing for 11 years now. I started with pale and brown ales (easy and yummy) and have lately been brewing Irish Stout, ala Guinness and German style lagers.
Both of these types suit my taste more but are more difficult to master.
All of my beers are served on draught – no more bottles. I found a old Murphy’s faucet so that my stout is dispensed as it is in pubs, Nitro/CO2 gas mix and all. It’s beautiful!
The lagers are more time consuming to brew; multi step mash schedules and lagering time of AT LEAST 6 weeks, but well worth the effort.
My best was a Munich Helles lager. It took a blue ribbon at the Maltose Falcons annual contest. I even beat out Dr. Jim Fix’s entry.
Anyone out there who knows how to make beer from wheat grain?May I have the recipe?Will you look @ my plan?
I know it takes malted grain ,grain that has sprouted,yeast,& hops. If I can’t get a recipe I plan to just let my wheat sprout by soaking it in water until it swells up,drain off the water & let it sit for a few days to see if it will sprout,after it all sprouts( I think at this time it will be malt ) am I correct? Then put the sprouts in stainless pot & bring to a boil with my hops & let it simmer 1 hour.After this cools down enough to handle without burning myself (70 degrees) , add beer yeast, pour into gallon wine jugs that have been cleaned,place airlocks on the jugs.Wait for 10 days or until it stops working(fermenting).Pour all this into a clean 5 gallon bucket (making 5 gallons) add 1 1/2 cups of dextrose or dissolved sugar.Pour all this back in the re-cleaned gallon jugs & screw on the cap tight let sit for 1 month before drinking & be sure to get it real cold in the frig before drinking.
Will this make a pretty good beer or does anyone have any recommendations?
Thanks in advance for any help. I hope somebody out there with some experience can give me some tips.Maybe someone who works in a brewery where they combine the ingredients.Summer is drawing nigh & i’m getting thirsty.
Does any one know some low cost / cheap home brew (beer / ale) recipes?
If you know a good home brew recipe please share it. I have been brewing for about a year and like to brew using both grains and malts. No I am not a maltster, and cannot make my own malts…yet. In particular I am looking for some low cost recipes (prices for hops and malts have been sky rocketing in my area) to experiment with, that still taste good. I like most darker beers, and my wife prefers sweeter ones with less hops. I would also be interested in any cider or similar recipes you might have.
I know the general procedures, if you want you can only post the ingridient list and boil time for the hops, unless there are special instructions.
Thanks to all who brew.
To clarify, I was hoping for a specific cheap recipe. I have dozens of recipies, but am having difficulty finding low cost ones, particularly ones that are low cost and still taste good. A cheap Bud Lite knock off just isn’t worth brewing. I am a Ramen eating Graduate Student trying to enjoy the hobby on a budget.
You will be able to make a beer of sorts this way. You should take the malted wheat and simmer it for an hour or so and then strain out the wheat pieces and try to get all the water out of them. Then boil the remaining liquid and add you hops at various intervals. You wont need to add the sugar if you use enough grain too. As for malting your wheat, you dont want it to sprout. You want it to begin to sprout on the inside so if you see the hulls begin to split open its time to stop the process. Be careful not to leave them too wet or they will mold too. how good the product turns out will depend on the hops and yeast used and if you are able to successfully malt the wheat. Sounds like fun though. go for it
Any other all grain home beer makers out there?
I make full mash beers from scratch, usually English style ales, stouts and porters, but also american style IPA’s and APA’s with the old lager thrown in.
What are you favourite beers for making at home, and what is the best beer you ever made?
The best beer I ever made was a recipe by Dave Brockington called Sister Star of the Sun IPA – Absolutely amazing beer!
http://www.realbeer.com/hops/sister.html
I assume that you already have Papazian’s “Joy”. That’s the best source. There is also a “Seven Barrel Brewery” book that has a bunch of good ones.
Budweiser is sold in Germany so what countries are you speaking of? Have you not heard from the experts? Budweiser is brewed with the best and most expensive ingredients on the market. It appears you speak from a position of ignorance and not knowledge. It is fine to not like something but keep your wrong opinions to yourself. With your definition of beer then too many of the very nice American craft beers are not beer either. So you are just anti-American and your opinions here are moot and worthless.
“The only reason they are so successful is because they are so good at advertising.”
Are you ten years old?
Why do people drink budweiser or those kinds of beer?
American sliced “cheese” is sold as a ‘cheese product’ because it doesn’t fit the technical definition of cheese.
budweiser, like this “cheese,” is made similar to real beer but uses many low quality ingredients like corn and rice that, in most countries, call it a beer product and cannot legally sell it as beer.
In fact, the recipe they use today is the same they used during WWII where grain rationing caused them to cut out all of the good grains and thus the flavor.
The only reason they are so successful is because they are so good at advertising.