March 2006 - Diana Vann

By Kathy Thompson

Every day I am more and more impressed by the amount of talent we have in our homebrew club. This month I tried a very yummy concoction and it was so-o-o-o easy to make. Diana Vann, one of the newest members to HBA, and to brewing, came over to my house to show me how to make a cordial. Her first brew was a group brew about a year ago with a friend from Arizona. But her excitement for brewing wasn’t fully ignited until her brother called some time later to boast about making his first mead. A little sibling rivalry was all it took to motivate Diana to begin her passion for homebrewing. Since then she has brewed 5 meads and 2 beers. All in the course of 2 months!! Diana’s first two beers were much like those most of you probably remember, when you were a homebrew virgin. They were from an extract. Diana even revealed that one of her beers, a Milk Stout, had to be dumped, since it didn’t taste quite right. I tried her IPA and encouraged her to enter it into one of the local contest for some constructive feedback.

Chocolate Cordial

1-16oz can Hershey Syrup 

3 c vodka

2 c water

1 c sugar

1 c brown sugar

vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract

Stir until dissolved. Pour into an air tight canning jar. Let sit for 2 months. Shake the jar at least once a week. Bottle and then enjoy.