Home Brewing Thread III: Return of the Son of Home Brewing Thread

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Jo3sh: Oct 19, 2002; Like all girls I love unicorns!

Marshmallow Blue posted:

Jo3sh and others interested Ill Post my recipes and to brew ideas later, I'm at work and its gonna be hell of a formatting job.

No need to rush or anything, it's not like I have a burning, life-or-death need to see your recipes RIGHT NOW or something - just as you have time and inclination.

Tying this into the brew club discussion we had the other day - one of the good things about a club is to see and talk about how and why other brewers do things the way they do. During the demo on Saturday, I got a lot of questions about "why do you do it that way and not this way?" If we think of this as a brewing club we all belong to, it seems like the more info we all share, the more we all have the opportunity to learn from.

# ? Mar 11, 2013 21:34

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# ? May 17, 2024 04:50

eviltastic: Feb 8, 2004; Fan of Britches

Mr. Wiggles posted:

Eh, somewhat regularly.

You guys keep going on about all these name brand yeast nutrients, but I really want to find out what they are chemically so that I can replicate them from ingredients on hand.

Ingredients are google-able (ex. fermaid K info here), but it's a tricky question to answer if you want proportions. Have a look at this thread and this thread on Gotmead.

I'm no expert, but the main thing seems to be maintaining an appropriate nitrogen level across the growth phase, which is gonna rely on something organic (as in chemistry, not health food) in addition to plain diammonium phosphate. Boiled yeast hulls are something you probably can have on hand by virtue of baking, but relying too heavily on that can give flavor issues. Food grade urea is another organic source that my local brew shop uses in their blend, but that's not exactly something I'd expect to find in a pantry.

# ? Mar 11, 2013 22:46

Beer4TheBeerGod: Aug 23, 2004; Exciting Lemon

I used a Wyeast Smack Pack for the first time yesterday, and I think the pack was dead. I smacked it and waited three hours, and I thought it had bulged a little bit but it's been a day with no activity. I then went online and checked, and sure enough the video shows the drat thing nearly exploding when it's bulked up. I'm assuming that dumping a batch of dead yeast into my beer won't be a big deal, and that after three days it should still be okay when I add the new pack in, but am I missing anything?

# ? Mar 11, 2013 23:23

Angry Grimace: Jul 29, 2010; ACTUALLY IT IS VERY GOOD THAT THE SHOW IS BAD AND ANYONE WHO DOESN'T REALIZE WHY THAT'S GOOD IS AN IDIOT. JUST ENJOY THE BAD SHOW INSTEAD OF THINKING.

Beer4TheBeerGod posted:

I used a Wyeast Smack Pack for the first time yesterday, and I think the pack was dead. I smacked it and waited three hours, and I thought it had bulged a little bit but it's been a day with no activity. I then went online and checked, and sure enough the video shows the drat thing nearly exploding when it's bulked up. I'm assuming that dumping a batch of dead yeast into my beer won't be a big deal, and that after three days it should still be okay when I add the new pack in, but am I missing anything?

What's the expiration date and how was it handled?

# ? Mar 11, 2013 23:25

Beer4TheBeerGod: Aug 23, 2004; Exciting Lemon

Angry Grimace posted:

What's the expiration date and how was it handled?

The manufacture date was February 2013. It was shipped to me (and I could tell the packet inside was still solid), and I immediately put it in the fridge. 3 days later I took it out, smacked it, waited 3 hours at 70F as per the instructions, and then I dumped it. In retrospect it looks like it hadn't bulked up at all.

# ? Mar 11, 2013 23:28

Sirotan: Oct 17, 2006; Sirotan is a seal.

I've pitched smack packs that did not inflate and had no issues whatsoever. You will probably be fine, especially since the yeast is less than a month old.

# ? Mar 11, 2013 23:32

Docjowles: Apr 9, 2009

Are you totally certain the nutrient packet ruptured when you smacked it? I've had trouble once or twice getting it to actually bust open and wake up the yeast.

# ? Mar 11, 2013 23:37

Beer4TheBeerGod: Aug 23, 2004; Exciting Lemon

Docjowles posted:

Are you totally certain the nutrient packet ruptured when you smacked it? I've had trouble once or twice getting it to actually bust open and wake up the yeast.

I checked after I poured and didn't notice anything. I am fairly confident that I did it right.

# ? Mar 11, 2013 23:42

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

This might be useful:

Wyeast FAQ posted:

2. Can I use an Activator package without activating it and waiting for it to swell?
Yes. An Activator pack has enough yeast in it to pitch 5 gallons whether it is activated or not. There will only be a slightly longer lag time if the package is not activated before use. In any case, the nutrient pack should be popped before using because it contains valuable nutrients. Typically, the Activator can be activated when you start your brew and will be swollen by the time your wort is cool.

3. Does the package need to be fully swollen before pitching?
No, The package can be pitched before activating, or at anytime during the activation process. The activation process "jump starts" the culture's metabolism, minimizing the lag phase.

5. How long should it take for a package to swell?
If a package is within 2 months of the manufacture date, the package should show signs of swelling within 5 hours and typically much faster than that. When the yeast is stored for long periods of time, they slowly consume their energy reserves (glycogen). When the energy reserves get low, the yeast are slow to produce CO2 and therefore are slow to cause swelling in the package. Improper storage at warm temperatures also has the same effect as long storage times.

8. I pitched my yeast and I�m not seeing any activity in my blow-off or airlock. What should I do?
Relax, some fermentations will not show signs of activity for up to 36 hours. If the fermentation is still sluggish after 36 hours take a gravity reading. It is not unusual for blow-offs or airlocks to have leaks and therefore show no activity. A gravity reading is the only way to get an accurate idea of what is happening in your fermenter. If you take a gravity reading and it still shows no activity, then try to figure out what is inhibiting fermentation. The factors that can keep the yeast from fermenting are: temperatures too low or too high at run-in, no oxygenation at run-in, pitch rates too low, or a very unhealthy yeast culture. The most common problem is the run-in temperature. If the temperature was too low, warm up the wort. If the temperature was too high, the culture is most likely irreversibly damaged and you need to pitch more yeast immediately. Oxygenation and agitation will also stimulate the yeast and speed the onset of fermentation.

9. Is the air-lock a good indicator of how a fermentation is proceeding?
No; only by taking a gravity reading can you accurately determine fermentation progress.

# ? Mar 11, 2013 23:59

Angry Grimace: Jul 29, 2010; ACTUALLY IT IS VERY GOOD THAT THE SHOW IS BAD AND ANYONE WHO DOESN'T REALIZE WHY THAT'S GOOD IS AN IDIOT. JUST ENJOY THE BAD SHOW INSTEAD OF THINKING.

Beer4TheBeerGod posted:

The manufacture date was February 2013. It was shipped to me (and I could tell the packet inside was still solid), and I immediately put it in the fridge. 3 days later I took it out, smacked it, waited 3 hours at 70F as per the instructions, and then I dumped it. In retrospect it looks like it hadn't bulked up at all.

Its not hot enough for shipping to have made a huge difference. Since its no old, I'm sure its fine. Pitch it and don't worry.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 00:38

Super Rad: Feb 15, 2003; Sir Loin of Beef

If you don't have some dry yeast on hand, it's always a nice thing to have sitting in your fridge just in case the worst happens. But as everyone else said most likely you'll be just fine without any.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 01:23

Beer4TheBeerGod: Aug 23, 2004; Exciting Lemon

Oh I already pitched it. I'm just impatient because it's a Belgian Tripel that looks super tasty. Can't wait to see what Wyeast 3787 does to an OG of 1.079.

EDIT: I just read the description and maybe I should put in that blowoff tube...

# ? Mar 12, 2013 01:28

Marshmallow Blue: Apr 25, 2010

Alright folks, I've done what I can to put my recipe list together.
Here's my untested or in progress recipes. Goons should brew and report at their own risk

quote:

Caramel apple pie -CAP-

3 lbs mesqtuite honey
5 granny smith apples
Quarter cup brown sugar
Quart of apple juice
2 cinnamon sticks
Water to 1 gal
Champaigne yeast

Caramelize 1 lb of honey. When it�s a medium amber. Add apples cut into small pieces. Continue cooking until the apples are mushy. Add water and take off heat. Reheat a bit to dissolve caramel chunks. Add apple cider and brown sugar. Add some water and dissolve rest of honey. Add water to a just a bit over 1 gallon and pitch yeast. Add large cinnamon stick.

Southern Comfort -SC-

3 lbs orange blossom honey
5 peaches
1 cup of orange juice
3 cinnamon sticks
1/2 oz medium toast oak chips
Pasteur red yeast.

Dissolve honey in water. Add 2 cinnamon sticks. Pitch yeast and add nutrients. After 2 weeks, add sliced peaches to a sanitized blender with pectic enzyme. Add peach gunk to ferment. When fermentation is done, rack onto oak and cinnamon stick.

Leaving Hell -LH-

3.5 lbs meadowfoam honey
2 cinnamon sticks
2oz Sassafrass
D47 yeast

Dissolve honey in warm water. In another pot bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add crushed cinnamon and sassafrass and boil down to about half or one third. Strain into must. Pitch yeast

Dypsta myrkur -DpM- (Icelandic or Swedish (can't remember) for "Deepest Darkness"

4 lbs honey
1.5 cups raspberries
3 cups blackberries
2 cups black currant juice
2 cinnamon sticks
2 cloves
Water to 1.5 gallons
Half teaspoon pectic enzyme
Pasteur red yeast

Dissolve honey in room temp water. In a clean and sanitized blender add juice and berries. Blend to a very fine smoothie. Add smoothie to must and move must to fermenting bucket. Bring level to 1.5 gallons and pitch yeast. Ferment to completion in bucket. Rack as much as possible to gal carboy excluding fruit paste and lees. Age to clear. Rack onto sulphite and sorbate and bottle after 2 days.

Spring fever -SF-

3 lbs clover honey
2lbs of watermelon no seeds
Half a lemon, meat only
Yeast nutrient
Pectic enzyme
Lalvin D47 yeast

Add melon, lemon and pectic enzyme to sanitized blender. Blend into a fine mush. Slowly add water and continue blending. Add mush to warm water and add honey. Pitch yeast. Add nutrient. Add again half way through.

Wild blueberry maple mead -WBM-

Units per gallon
3# honey
8oz grade A maple syrup (4 primary 4 secondary)
2 vanilla beans
8 oz wild blueberries
2 cloves whole
Premiere cuv�e (prefer cotes de blanc)

Make a traditional mead, but add 4 oz maple syrup to the must. Halfway through the fermentation add vanilla beans (Split lengthwise), blueberries, and cloves. Finish fermenting, rack and age. Bottle

Mayflower -MaF-

2 lbs lavendar honey
1 lb wildflower honey
Rose hips
1 Clove
Cotes des blancs yeast

Room temp water, mix in honey and pitch yeast. Add rose hips +clove to secondary

Truely Traditional -TT-

2 lb tuppello or carrot honey
1.5 lb clover honey
Water to 1 gallon
Lalvin D47 yeast or Red Star cotes de blancs

Room temp spring water. Dissolved honey and pitch yeast.

Boston tea party -BTP-

3 lbs mesquite honey
1/2 lb clover honey
1/3 oz med toast oak
50 grams rooibos vanilla tea
Cotes des blancs yeast
Yeast nutrient

Heat half gal water to steeping temperature of rooibos, and use all 50 grams. Cool to pitching temp and pitch yeast with half nutrient. At midway through fermentation add other half of nutrient. Once ferm is complete add oak and black tea pearls for 7 days. Then rack to secondary for aging to 4 months. Then bottle.

"Murders in the rue morgue" -MRM-
Cranberry blood orange melomel

4 lb orange blossom
4 blood oranges sliced
1 lb cranberries
Champaign yeast

Boil oranges and cranberries in a tiny bit of water and honey. Strain and press into a new pot Add rest of water and heat to dissolve honey. Cool to 70 and pitch yeast.

Cinnamon bun mead -CBM-
2 gallon batch. 1 gal dry 1 gal sweet
Cotes de blanc yeast
Champaign yeast

3 lb orange blossom honey
3 lb blackberry honey
1.5 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla bean
3 oranges zested
3 oranges juiced strain pulp
1/3 - 1/2 lb cara aroma malt

heat water to 150-170 and steep malt zest and juice (25 min). Dissolve in honey and bring to pitching temp. Add must to seperate 1 gal carboys and pitch respective yeasts. Ferment and rack onto half vanilla bean and age as desired.

Meadowfoam vanilla bean mead -MFV-

3# Meadowfoam honey
1/3 oz medium toasted oak chips
2 vanilla beans (round up to whole)
Cotes de blanc yeast

Rack onto oak chips and oak as desired
Rack onto vanilla beans and let it age for 9 months
Bottle and enjoy

The prisoner ( you are #6) -TP6-
Coffee vanilla metheglin oak aged

2 gallon batch
6 lb orange blossom
1 cup light roast coffee (brewed)
6 vanilla beans
.6 oz medium toast oak chips
Red star cotes des blancs

Combine honey and coffee in must, and pitch yeast. After fermentation is complete, rack onto oak for desired amount of oakiness. Rack onto vanilla beans. Age, clear, and bottle.

Grapes of paradise -GoP-

2# Orange blossom honey
2 lbs grapes
Strong pot of chamomile tea with valerian

Traditional fermentation. Rack onto juice of grapes and tea.

New England Spirit -NES-

3 lbs apple blossom honey
1 lb cranberries
8 oz maple syrup
3 apples
Cote des blanc yeast

Soak apples thinly sliced in maple syrup 1 day before starting. Add apple fortified syrup two a 2 lb must. At completetion rack onto cranberries. And last pound of honey

Into the Wild -ItW-

3 lbs orange blossom
Lambic dreggs
Cotes des blanc yeast

In a cup make an acclimated starter for lambic dreggs. Pitch it. When activity shows signs of begining, pitch red star. If no activity after 2 days pitch red star and carry on.

The Clairvoyent. -TCy-

Orange blossom to 7%
1 brewers best cinnamon stick
Tablespoon vanilla rooibos
Muntons ale yeast

Brew pot of rooibos and add it to water. Dissolve honey and pitch yeast. Add cinnamon stick. When fermentations done rack off cinnamon. Add campden and sorbate. Back sweeten, and bottle when clear

"Fear of the dark" -FtD-
Mesquite bochet

3# desert mesquite honey
Cotes de blancs yeast

Cook 2.5lb honey to near blackness add water to flash cool. dissolve last half pound of honey. Cool more to pitching temp. Pitch yeast

The Great Pumpking C Brown -GPK-

2.5 lbs orange blossom honey
1 cup brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
Tsp nutmeg
1 clove
Large pumpkin
Apple juice
Cotes de blancs

Make must and ferment with cinnamon stick nutmeg and clove. Ferment completely and rack into hollowed pimpkin. Add apple juice to top off lossage. When pumpkin shows signs of rot, rack back into glass and top off again with aj. Age it out.

Wild pickings. -WP-

3.5 lbs orange blossom
17fl oz lingen berry concentrate (or if its late summer and your near a mountain, hike up and pick 2 lbs fresh)
2 small cinnamon sticks or 1 large
Red star montrachet

Primary ferment with cinnamon. Rack onto juice concentrate. Rack as nescesary. Age ,clear, and bottle.

Legend of the malted mead -LMM-

3.5 lbs orange blossom honey
1lb cara caramel malt
1 lb honey malt
.5lb chocolate malt
1 cup molasses
Cotes des blanc yeast.

Heat water and steep malts. Cool must and add honey amd molasses. Pitch yeast. Make batch to 1.5 gallons but final volume should be about a gallon.

Alright those are those. Here are my Tested and Finished Recipes

quote:

Chaucers clone

2 lbs champlain valley honey
1 lb trader joes raw orhanic honey
1/4 cup boston honey co
Red star cotes des blanc yeast

Add honey and heat to 170 for 15 min, cool and pitch yeast. Do not use nutrients or aerate. Let it do its thing. After 4 months in primary, rack. After 1 month in secondary, stabilize and bottle.

Notes: This tastes pretty much exactly like Chaucer's mead. I'm still working on the mulling spices ingredients.

Strawberry raspberry mead -SR-

Units per gallon
3# mesquite honey
3 bags strawberries (frozen)
1 bag raspberries (frozen)
Cotes de blanc yeast

Boil 2 bags strawberry and raspberry fruit and add pectin enzyme. Add honey and cool to pitch. Don't include fruit in primary strain it out. Add last bag of strawberries to secondary. Rack off strawberries after a week and age to clear. Then bottle with 2 fresh raspberries in every bottle (optional adds a nice raspberry front note)

Note: This is really really smooth after a couple drinks before hand. Also a big hit with mostly anyone I've sampled it to.

Winter is coming -AC-
Apple cider Mead

3 lb honey
Half Gallon un pasteurized cider
Quart of Organic Apple Juice
2 cinnamon sticks
4 granny smith apples
Champagne yeast

Boil cider for 15 min
Take off heat and add cinnamon apples minus the cores, and honey. Pitch yeast when cooled.

Rack off apples and cinnamon when it's finished fermenting
Rack again In 2 months or when there's a lot of sediment build up
Rack final.time before bottling in another 2 months
Add campden tabs and sorbate. Wait 3 days and bottle
Age in bottles

Notes: I bottled this after 5 months and it was pretty "hot". I opened another bottle this evening with dinner, and it was a lot smoother. I like where this is heading.

So there you have it goons. I have a few more recipes I'm not willing to share at the moment but this is the bulk of them for sure. If you have any questions just let me know or send me a PM on GotMead (same user ID)(I don't have PM privileges on SA)

# ? Mar 12, 2013 02:03

ScaerCroe: Oct 6, 2006; IRRITANT

Marshmallow Blue posted:

Alright folks, I've done what I can to put my recipe list together.
Here's my untested or in progress recipes. Goons should brew and report at their own risk

Alright those are those. Here are my Tested and Finished Recipes

So there you have it goons. I have a few more recipes I'm not willing to share at the moment but this is the bulk of them for sure. If you have any questions just let me know or send me a PM on GotMead (same user ID)(I don't have PM privileges on SA)

Sweet baby american Jesus those look good.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 02:10

fullroundaction: Apr 20, 2007; Drink beer every day

Beer4TheBeerGod posted:

Oh I already pitched it. I'm just impatient because it's a Belgian Tripel that looks super tasty. Can't wait to see what Wyeast 3787 does to an OG of 1.079.

EDIT: I just read the description and maybe I should put in that blowoff tube...

Everyone has a good 3787 story. And yes, rig the blowoff now! Keep the lights off and try to sneak in and do it quietly before it catches you :ohdear:

# ? Mar 12, 2013 02:21

mewse: May 2, 2006

Marshmallow Blue posted:

Alright folks, I've done what I can to put my recipe list together.
Here's my untested or in progress recipes. Goons should brew and report at their own risk

Alright those are those. Here are my Tested and Finished Recipes

So there you have it goons. I have a few more recipes I'm not willing to share at the moment but this is the bulk of them for sure. If you have any questions just let me know or send me a PM on GotMead (same user ID)(I don't have PM privileges on SA)

What is the batch size for these recipes?

# ? Mar 12, 2013 02:31

Marshmallow Blue: Apr 25, 2010

mewse posted:

What is the batch size for these recipes?

They are all one gallon unless it specifies. A couple are 2 gal or 1.5 gal starting with a 1gal final volume (calculating for major racking lossages)

# ? Mar 12, 2013 02:43

Midorka: Jun 10, 2011; I have a pretty fucking good palate, passed BJCP and level 2 cicerone which is more than half of you dudes can say, so I don't give a hoot anymore about this toxic community.

Beer4TheBeerGod posted:

Oh I already pitched it. I'm just impatient because it's a Belgian Tripel that looks super tasty. Can't wait to see what Wyeast 3787 does to an OG of 1.079.

EDIT: I just read the description and maybe I should put in that blowoff tube...

Did you not make a starter? One packet isn't really going to be sufficient for a 5 gallon batch of that gravity.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 02:58

Discomancer: Aug 31, 2001; I'm on a cupcake caper!

Beer4TheBeerGod posted:

Oh I already pitched it. I'm just impatient because it's a Belgian Tripel that looks super tasty. Can't wait to see what Wyeast 3787 does to an OG of 1.079.

EDIT: I just read the description and maybe I should put in that blowoff tube...

Oh god put a blowoff on that, I made a 1.084 tripel less than a week ago, and it dumped like 1/3 of a gallon in the first day. That was with a 3.5 liter starter though. You might want to think about pitching it with another pack (or two) to make sure you have enough yeast to do the job right.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 03:40

Docjowles: Apr 9, 2009

Yeah as someone else in this thread said (hilariously and accurately), WY3787 without a blowoff tube is literally an IED. Deal with that poo poo ASAP unless you want to scrub wort and yeast off of every surface.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 04:42

Shbobdb: Dec 16, 2010; by Reene

Why not just do an open fermentation for primary? Saves the whole issue of creating a nasty mess and is healthier for the yeast. As long as you have a curved airlock you won't get contamination. Think Pasteur man. It does wonders to prevent foaming during log phase.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 06:03

crazyfish: Sep 19, 2002

Shbobdb posted:

Why not just do an open fermentation for primary? Saves the whole issue of creating a nasty mess and is healthier for the yeast. As long as you have a curved airlock you won't get contamination. Think Pasteur man. It does wonders to prevent foaming during log phase.

Don't do this with 3787 else you'll wake up with a floor covered in yeast crud. The blowoff tube merely provides a direction for 3787's insane krausen.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 06:30

Shbobdb: Dec 16, 2010; by Reene

I've done it a ton of times with 3787. I use that strain for my BIPA which was a house beer for some time (OG 1.070), I have also used it on a single (~1.050) and used some of the yeast from that for a monster Tripel/pale Quad (1.102 -- though there were only 5 gal not the normal 5.5). No explosions. Room temp was ~72. It really isn't that crazy unless you let the temperature get completely, Saison-temperatures crazy. Then it will totally explode but that's anything.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 08:18

Jacobey000: Jul 17, 2005; We will be cruising at a speed of 55mph swiftly away from the twisted wreckage of my shattered life!

Friendly reminder: there is an IRC channel tied to this and the other beer thread. On synirc in #beer. It's been dead for a while, but come and chill. And get quick answers to questions.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 13:24

zedprime: Jun 9, 2007; yospos

I had an idle thought eating one of the oat bars that make up so much of my diet.

Make oatmeal, put in baking pan, roast until dry and golden brown brick. Use in mash with 2row to convert. Grossest oil slick of a beer, or delicious alcoholic porridge that will be the next rye IPA?

# ? Mar 12, 2013 14:36

Beer4TheBeerGod: Aug 23, 2004; Exciting Lemon

Hooked up a monster blowoff tube so it should be fine. Woke up this morning and saw the beginnings of a krausen on top so I guess things are looking up.

So what's the reason behind using larger starters for high OG brews? Is it so that you have enough good yeast in there that it can eat everything up before anything else has a chance? This is my first experience with really high OG beers.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 14:36

internet celebrity: Jun 23, 2006; College Slice

Beer4TheBeerGod posted:

So what's the reason behind using larger starters for high OG brews? Is it so that you have enough good yeast in there that it can eat everything up before anything else has a chance? This is my first experience with really high OG beers.

There's more sugar dissolved in the wort so you need more cells to chomp through it all. Yeast reproduction can make off flavors so it's best to start out with a big enough population. Then again, I've underpitched big beers that came out fine so nothing is 100% certain.

The Mr Malty pitch rate calculator will tell you how much yeast you need for a healthy fermentation based on volume and gravity but his calculations tend to err on overpitching.

edit: on a somewhat related note, I pitched an enormous starter in the 1.070 rye lager I brewed this weekend and it blew off inside my kegerator and now I have to clean yeast goop out of everything

I've never had a lager blow off on me before. I even used Fermcap-S on it.

internet celebrity fucked around with this message at 14:50 on Mar 12, 2013

# ? Mar 12, 2013 14:46

Raveen: Jul 18, 2004

Well I'm out of Star San and have no homebrew stores close by, so I was wondering what the best way to sanitize equipment would be?

Would using diluted bleach or isopropyl alcohol to wash equipment and then rinse with water be the best way?

# ? Mar 12, 2013 16:05

Marshmallow Blue: Apr 25, 2010

Raveen posted:

Well I'm out of Star San and have no homebrew stores close by, so I was wondering what the best way to sanitize equipment would be?

Would using diluted bleach or isopropyl alcohol to wash equipment and then rinse with water be the best way?

I used bleach for my first mead, Just be sure to dillute it properly for the "food surfaces option", and stuffs gotta be rinsed til the bleach smell is gone. And I'm not even dead!

edit: quote from some googleing "When sanitizing food preparation areas: counters, tables, sinks, knives, and cutting boards. All surfaces should be washed to remove organic materials (food bits) and rinsed. It is only at this point that the items should be sanitized with a bleach solution of approximately 200ppm. This is about 1 TBSP of chlorine bleach per gallon of water."

# ? Mar 12, 2013 16:15

Jo3sh: Oct 19, 2002; Like all girls I love unicorns!

I hesitate to say how long I used bleach, ala Charlie Papazian. It works best if you rinse everything with very hot water after you bleach it - boiled water is best, but if your hot tap water is good and hot, it is probably OK too.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 17:24

Adult Sword Owner: Jun 19, 2011; u deserve diploma for sublime comedy expertise

I made my first batch of an ale at a friend's house on Saturday. I've had a full kit (I mean literally every single piece I could ever need) for years but I was terrified of improper sterilization. Apparently it involves a spray bottle with Iodophor and that's it, so yeh, this looks easy. We did it at his house since he is way more experienced and he put them in his cool basement.

The basement in my house, however, is a loving blast furnace. Something is probably wrong with the ducts because it's easily 80 degrees down there right now. That really means that if I do a batch at home (and honestly now that I've seen how easy it is, I'm itching to go buy some more ingredients and do it myself) I have no place to cool it. The OP recommends a fridge but I can't get one down there. A smaller one seems way too small for a 5 gallon batch.

So what do I do? Use the smaller fridge and do a smaller batch?

# ? Mar 12, 2013 18:28

ChiTownEddie: Mar 26, 2010; Awesome beer, no pants.
Join the Legion.

I use a normal sized mini-fridge to cool my 5 gallon batches (in a bucket or 6gal carboy). It requires cutting out the door beverage holder part but that wasn't hard (didn't mess with the freezer part). For the bucket it is a bit of a tight squeeze but a paper wedge under the bucket gives it just a slight tilt back into the fridge that the door is able to close.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 18:34

Adult Sword Owner: Jun 19, 2011; u deserve diploma for sublime comedy expertise

ChiTownEddie posted:

I use a normal sized mini-fridge to cool my 5 gallon batches (in a bucket or 6gal carboy). It requires cutting out the door beverage holder part but that wasn't hard (didn't mess with the freezer part). For the bucket it is a bit of a tight squeeze but a paper wedge under the bucket gives it just a slight tilt back into the fridge that the door is able to close.

The problem is it's not my fridge so I can't start cutting it. Now that I think about it, it might actually be old enough that it doesn't have that nonsense on the front.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 18:43

ChiTownEddie: Mar 26, 2010; Awesome beer, no pants.
Join the Legion.

Saint Darwin posted:

The problem is it's not my fridge so I can't start cutting it. Now that I think about it, it might actually be old enough that it doesn't have that nonsense on the front.

Ahhh okay. Yeah, basically you need it to be flat down the inside of the door. Otherwise you were correct that it wouldnt fit 5gal batches. If your friend has a 3gallon better bottle you could try putting that inside to see if it would fit (I dont remember from mine). I do 2.5gal test batches pretty often and its really not too bad.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 18:47

Raveen: Jul 18, 2004

Do you have to put it in the basement, is there a cooler place you can ferment it in?

I use 3 reusable big plastic blue-ice packs placed around the bottom of my carboy, then cover the carboy and ice packs with a jacket to insulate it, and replace the icepacks with new cold ones ever 12 hrs. I've also seen big keg buckets at Walmart that look like they could filled with water and ice to get a carboy colder.

You could also look at brewing Belgians and saisons, both of which like warmer fermentation temps.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 19:40

ChickenArise: May 12, 2010; POWER
= MEAT +
OPPORTUNITY
= BATTLEWORMS

I've done basically this (bleach +vinegar) in a pinch. Note the warnings.

http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?p=653874#p653874

# ? Mar 12, 2013 19:46

Adult Sword Owner: Jun 19, 2011; u deserve diploma for sublime comedy expertise

Anywhere else is going to be aboveground and subject to the house temperatures. Our AC is terrible so in the summer it gets astronomically hot (the basement actually isn't too bad then). Right now the basement is very warm but our storage room, which is basically part of an old garage that was just not fully finished, is a little warmer than outside. Even though I can't be certain it won't spike to < 50 or > 70 these days, the weather she be nuts.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 19:47

Mammon Loves You: Feb 13, 2011

I made a porter about a year ago that had a typical coffee/chocolate flavor to it. This week I found a couple bottles that had been in the back of the pantry and cracked one open. It had a weird tangy/acidic flavor that I don't remember the original batch having. Gave me the impression of a little of champagne or maybe lemon-lime soda mixed in with the beer. Is this due to autolysis of the yeast?

What's the conceivable lifetime of storing a bottle conditioned beer? I made an imperial stout this winter that I'd like to be able to age, but I don't want it to go to waste if it's going to develop weird flavors by next winter.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 20:04

Docjowles: Apr 9, 2009

Mammon Loves You posted:

I made a porter about a year ago that had a typical coffee/chocolate flavor to it. This week I found a couple bottles that had been in the back of the pantry and cracked one open. It had a weird tangy/acidic flavor that I don't remember the original batch having. Gave me the impression of a little of champagne or maybe lemon-lime soda mixed in with the beer. Is this due to autolysis of the yeast?

What's the conceivable lifetime of storing a bottle conditioned beer? I made an imperial stout this winter that I'd like to be able to age, but I don't want it to go to waste if it's going to develop weird flavors by next winter.

The beer could have had a very mild infection that was totally unnoticeable when you drank the bulk of it, but given a year, has developed to the point where you can taste it. Acidity is a common flavor associated with infections.

Beer doesn't really "go bad" without an external force like wild yeast/bacteria. It can oxidize over time but that gives you more of a wet paper flavor, not tangy. Big, dark beers like imperial stouts and barleywines can actually stand up to that aging and develop pleasant flavors.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 20:13

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# ? May 17, 2024 04:50

Sirotan: Oct 17, 2006; Sirotan is a seal.

Saint Darwin posted:

Anywhere else is going to be aboveground and subject to the house temperatures. Our AC is terrible so in the summer it gets astronomically hot (the basement actually isn't too bad then). Right now the basement is very warm but our storage room, which is basically part of an old garage that was just not fully finished, is a little warmer than outside. Even though I can't be certain it won't spike to < 50 or > 70 these days, the weather she be nuts.

The only way you are ever going to have complete control over the temperature during fermentation is to buy/build a fermentation chamber. Period. You can try sticking it in buckets of water with ice or using dehydration to cool it etc etc but that's kind of annoying and you have to keep messing with it. With my fermentation fridge, I set my thermostat for the temp I want, stick my bucket into it, and then leave it there for a week+. I open the door once a day to check the temp on the thermometer sticker on the side of the bucket and that's it.

I learned my lesson while trying to brew a hefeweizen in the dead of winter and not being able to keep it cold enough in my 2nd story apartment. The entire batch was ruined. That was my third batch of beer and I built myself a ferm fridge right after. When I'm not brewing, I put the shelves back in and it becomes a beer fridge. Win-win.

# ? Mar 12, 2013 20:18

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > Home Brewing Thread III: Return of the Son of Home Brewing Thread

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