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

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

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PokeJoe: Aug 24, 2004; hail cgatan

plester1 posted:

Carbonic acid is a diprotic acid that can act as a buffer. Yes it's an acid, but that just means its pH is less than 7; it likes to sit at pH 5.7 or around that neighborhood. The instructions for Star San say its good as long as it's pH is below 3. I would not keep Star San under CO2.

I don't think the buffering capability of carbonic acid is enough to stop starsan from getting to a low enough pH to sanitize things.

# ? Oct 7, 2011 05:36

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# ? Apr 19, 2024 08:27

tesilential: Nov 22, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Josh Wow posted:

Edit: Just dropped $40 on candi syrup I got 2 lbs of D180 and 1 lb of D90 for this quad, and then a pound each of D90 and D45 for some future batches.

Just in case anyone is on a budget out there, you can make 5 pounds of candy syrup for $3 if you already have a thermometer, which you all surely do.

# ? Oct 7, 2011 05:43

indigi: Jul 20, 2004; ^{how can we not talk about family

when family's all that we got?}

My lager's been fermenting for 11 days now and it's only dropped about 14 gravity points. I did two 2L stirplate starter steps for this yeast and it looked pretty healthy throughout, I don't know what happened. Something's definitely wrong

I warmed up to 58* to give it some help. Maybe I just got a bad... I don't know what. It looked good in the flask. gently caress.

# ? Oct 7, 2011 05:57

rage-saq: Mar 21, 2001; Thats so ninja...

tesilential posted:

Just in case anyone is on a budget out there, you can make 5 pounds of candy syrup for $3 if you already have a thermometer, which you all surely do.

Thats not how the candi syrup makers mentioned in this thread make candi syrup, in fact pretty much not possible to make candi syrup like those guys do at home.
Email the https://www.candisyrup.com guys if you want some details, here is an excerpt from HBT where I first started chatting with the guy.

quote:

Just as an insight from our tests, Randy Mosher's recipe is not an authentic, (nor a close approximation), Candi Syrup. Early on, we tried his and other permutations on the web and in print. All fail to match "authentic" Candi Syrup based on our use of gas chromatography throughout our due diligence to baseline the recipe(s). If you read the entire thread on this subject you'll note my partner is a Food Chemist. We've been trialing methods and materials for just over a year and have duplicated, (and in the opinion of some more than exceeded), the quality of the import syrups. Refined or unrefined sugars from Jaggary to Turbinado to Demerara, Beet, Cane, make no difference whatsoever. The complexity does not originate in the level of refined sucrose or lack of it or the origin of the sucrose, (Beet or Cane). If you are after a "rummy" affect then just use Sorghum. It's cheaper. If you're after something a little more complex then you'll need to use a more complex syrup. I think brewers, (including me), want the very best result from a Belgian Ale recipe. If you're interested in quality syrups and the science behind them you may look at the following volumes to give you a more empirical perspective on food flavor, especially the sections on sugars:

- Fenaroli's Handbook of Flavor Ingredients, Sixth Edition by George A. Burdock
- Flavor Chemistry and Technology, Second Edition by Gary Reineccius

The recipes, concepts, and materials you mention above sum up what we have affectionately come to know as the "Candi Syrup Myths". It has accumulated over many years and is propagated in many publications and is mostly wrong. I have always suspected the syrup makers and dealers of seeding the myths but there is no way of knowing the single point of origin. It does make for interesting and humorous reading. My favorite is that Candi Syrup is the "byproduct of the candy making process" and there is still one manufacturer in Holland still plunking this on their web site in Dutch. The funniest thing about this is that the manufacturer doesn't make candy or precursors! LOL! I think the discussion based on "there is no definition" is yet another in a long list of deflections and myth and is a diversion from a more studied approach. Out of curiosity what methods are you using to measure "authentic" v. "inauthentic" in modern Candi Syrups?

Candi syrup is serious business

# ? Oct 7, 2011 07:59

Josh Wow: Feb 28, 2005; We need more beer up here!

rage-saq posted:

Candi syrup is serious business

This is the conclusion I came to as well. I wanted to make my own but everything I read said it wouldn't be close to what actual belgian breweries use. Ditto for other professional manufacturers, like the northern brewer syrup with the bad reviews.

# ? Oct 7, 2011 12:35

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

From what I read, Candi syrup is pretty much just invert sugar. We make it at work for Gelato, invert sugar is made pretty much the same way as candy but without stirring. Stirring the pot will create crystals, which creates 'candy' but when there is no jarring movement the sucrose bonds so there is nothing for them to grasp onto; making this clear to dark slurry. Reading over the wiki page on inverted sugar, it seems adding acid to accelerate this change is common, but I know at work we pretty much just put a pot of evaporated cane juice (our sugar of choice) on the stove, don't touch it until it hits boiling and then let it sit.

I assume then belgian candi syrup is just 'more boiled' depending on the 'L'?

Same thing or not the same?

*beating a dead horse itt*

Jacobey000 fucked around with this message at 13:51 on Oct 7, 2011

# ? Oct 7, 2011 13:48

Docjowles: Apr 9, 2009

indigi posted:

My lager's been fermenting for 11 days now and it's only dropped about 14 gravity points. I did two 2L stirplate starter steps for this yeast and it looked pretty healthy throughout, I don't know what happened. Something's definitely wrong I warmed up to 58* to give it some help. Maybe I just got a bad... I don't know what. It looked good in the flask. gently caress.

It varies by yeast strain, but lagers are just slow. It took my pilsner about 3 weeks just to drop from 1.051 to 1.020 at 50 degrees. Then I raised the temp to about 60-62 for 3 days and it quickly chugged down the rest of the way to 1.012. Heck it took like 3 days just to develop a visible kreusen and start bubbling, and I pitched 2 vials into a 2L stirplate starter.

Forget about it for another week or two before you worry.

# ? Oct 7, 2011 15:05

mewse: May 2, 2006

The guy who runs candisyrup.com has a vested interest in telling you the only "authentic" product is going to come from you paying him money

# ? Oct 7, 2011 15:32

tesilential: Nov 22, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

mewse posted:

The guy who runs candisyrup.com has a vested interest in telling you the only "authentic" product is going to come from you paying him money

Definitely. Ironically, last winter the main candi sugar supplier to homebrewers (maybe the guy Rage quoted?) had recipes for how to make their product at home if you were cheap and industrious.

From BLAM there are many type of dark sugar syrup. The Belgians use beet sugar and water and boil it until they reach the desired color and taste profile. Sucrose (cane and beet sugar) breaks down into glucose and fructose. If you exceed 290*f both the glucose and fructose caramelize and are no longer sugars. This means the yeast can't digest them. Westvletren is suspected to use caramelized syrup in addition to dark candy sugar to get that burnt taste.

In America, suppliers use some acid as a catalyst to breakdown sucrose into it's two parts faster.

Candy sugar is definitely a serious business, but it's one of the first things a dessert chef learns to make.

E: VVV drat you!VVV

tesilential fucked around with this message at 16:10 on Oct 7, 2011

# ? Oct 7, 2011 15:59

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

tesilential posted:

Candy sugar is definitely a serious business, but it's one of the first things a desert chef learns to make.

What about chefs from the rainforest? I know sugar is hygroscopic - are you saying it's not worth trying in a humid climate?

vvv Spelling pedantry ITT!

Jo3sh fucked around with this message at 16:23 on Oct 7, 2011

# ? Oct 7, 2011 16:08

Docjowles: Apr 9, 2009

Jo3sh posted:

What about chefs from the rainforest? I know sugar is hygroscopic - are you saying it's not worth trying in a humid climate?

Booooooooooooooooooooooo :golfclap:

# ? Oct 7, 2011 16:10

Morbid Florist: Oct 22, 2002; and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not.

I have a question and I realize it's a really broad question but I'm just looking for a base point to start from. Unfortunately I forgot the recipe I want to modify at home so I can't give details.

Is there an average quantity adjustment you'd use for exchanging hop pellets/plugs for fresh (even if frozen)? I came into some cascade and chinook hops I want to use. I know chinook is extremely bitter and probably only fit for IPAs, but the cascade I'd like to use as a dryhopper.

Unfortunately for my particular use I'm not even swapping cascade pellets for fresh cascade, I think it used Saaz but I can put up quantities/types when I get home hopefully. I'm FAIRLY certain there were two 1oz plugs put in for dry hopping in the kit...

edit: this is pretty much the recipe, but the honey addition this guy did himself, it wasn't part of the kit
http://brewkettle.blogspot.com/2007/07/fenway-golden-ale.html

Morbid Florist fucked around with this message at 17:25 on Oct 7, 2011

# ? Oct 7, 2011 16:56

j3rkstore: Jan 28, 2009; L'esprit d'escalier

Here's some :words:

on sugar I found in HBT2 from our friend, Aajarg.

Aajarg posted:

A brief history of sugar

In the beginning there was glucose. glucose is what every carbon based life form uses for energy. It gives a lot of ATP and is simple to process. There is also fructose, which is chemically almost the same as fructose, but not as cool. Fructose is also very sweet, and glucose is not so sweet. Sometimes glucose is called dextrose because the food industry is dumb.

Then there are "double sugars" or "disaccharides." Some examples of dischaccharides are sucrose (what you laymans would call "table sugar," a glucose and a fructose mooshed together) and maltose (two glucoses, the single most important sugar in the production of beer, because it is an intermediate stage of the breakdown of starch). Sucrose is fairly sweet (obviously), maltose is not as sweet but has a unique flavor which is why they use it in poo poo like malted milkshakes which people were all a twitter about in 1949.

Disacchardides may be easily broken by a simple enzyme. The one that breaks down sucrose is called invertase. Yeast have this enzyme, they can chillax on sucrose all day long. Yeast can also split up maltose, obviously.

In summation, here is the relative fermentability of various sugars without additional chemistry:

glucose: 100%
fructose: 100%
sucrose: 100%
maltose: 100%

Now, what does it mean for your beer when a sugar is advertised as "inverted"? Well, on the one hand it means poo poo. On the other hand, it means dick. For as I have explained, yeast will digest fructose and glucose as well as they will digest sucrose.

When you buy an "invert sugar" like that british syrup that has a lion on it being eaten by bees, or those thick black belgian syrups, they taste real good 1) because much of the "other poo poo" has been left in it during the purification process and 2) because the sugar has undergone a browning reaction called caramelization, which only occurs at stupid high heats in high sugar concentrations with very little water.

That requires explanation.

When you take a simple sugar rich plant, like a sugar beet or a sugar cane, you're looking at some percentage of fructose, glucose, and sucrose, a bunch of water, and some cellulose and some other bullshit. To get sugar out of it, they first mill it up, to separate the liquid and sugar from the lovely plant poo poo. From there, they have several choices. If it's sugar cane, at its simplest they will separate the rest of the lovely plant poo poo with a turbine and let the water evaporate and the sugar crystallize and blah blah blah SUGAR IN THE RAW (aka turbinado).

If you want more pure sucrose, you don't let the water evaporate, and you have a gloop of fructose, glucose, sucrose, water, and a bunch of other poo poo. Boil gloop. Boiling causes water to evaporate. Heat causes maillard browning reactions. More water evaporates. Eventually enough watever evaporates such that sugars begin to caramelize and crap out all sorts of weird chemicals that actually taste pretty good. At this point, you can dip strings or whatever into this boiling gloop, and the sucrose will crystallize on the strings. Yank out the strings and you will have nearly pure sucrose. The darkness of the crystallized sugar depends on the level to which that sugary gloop was allowed to caramelize.

In this case the heat is only a catalyst for the reaction. It makes the whole thing go faster. If you take strings and suspend them in sugar water and just let it sit, the sugar will crystallize on the strings and voila, you have that dumb 4th grade science experiment where you make rock candy.

Belgians will scrape the rocks off the strings and sell them as "candi rocks" or whatever. It's purified crystal sugar, that's all. The left over gloop will be some parts sucrose, some parts fructose, some parts glucose. You can keep dippin strings into this poo poo to get progressively less and less sugar.

After two or three dippings, everyone pretty much gives up and sells the left over gloop as "molasses." Because sugar beet molasses is pretty much inedible, Belgians used this "candi syrup" as extra fermentables in beer (because, as you will remember, sucrose, fructose, and glucose are all 100% fermentable). In recent times they've begun selling "candi sugar" in both rock and syrup forms to homebrewers in America at seriously inflated prices. Probably because it makes them money, and also I imagine it's hilarious for them.

Modern white sugar is usually refined using enzymes and some super complicated industrial machinery, but the principle is largely the same: get the sucrose to crytalize and take it out of the gloop, sell the gloop as molasses.

Here's the important part you've been reading this entire bullshit post so far: clear candi syrup/inverted syrup is nothing more than the sucrose/glucose/fructose gloop purified from the plant matter and other hoo-ha. What's the taste difference between a simple syrup of glucose, fructose, sucrose and water and an inverted syrup? Absolutely none. They are also equally fermentable. Most Belgian brewers who historically used clear candi syrups or sugars just use sucrose or even dextrose at this point (see also: brew like a monk). It's just extra fermentables with no added protein, so it will make no taste difference if you use sugar from beets or cane (or even corn).

But dark candi syrup gets its flavor from the chemicals produced in the browning, and also the left over garbage from the purification process, so it's not the same. It's easy to duplicate home, but you cannot start with purified sugar and hope to get same flavor. Also you can't make beet sugar syrup unless you can find minimally processed beet sugar. Since we are in the americas, cane is what you'll find.

You need to start with a minimally processed "raw" sugar ("sugar in the raw"). What's commonly sold as brown sugar in the US (light or dark) is actually white sugar with molasses added back, so you might as well just cut out the middleman and just start with turbinado (I don't actually buy anything but raw sugar because refined sugar is dumb). Make a simple syrup, boil the poo poo out of it until the water starts to evaporate, at which point it will expand to several times its size (and get to well over 212 degrees). It'll darken QUICKLY, so be watchful. Also, it will tend to harden and crystallize, especially if you stick anything in it (strings or spoons or whatever). Once you reach the desired color, you can add warm water and dissolve the sugar back out to help prevent this. The resulting syrup will actually be more fermentable than "candi syrup," since no sucrose was removed, and will be no less fermentable than the sugar you started with (in any practical terms). Also you don't need to add acid.

Pro tip: I also use this caramelized syrup in place of things that call for simple syrup, like daiquiris. It'll blow peoples minds, and give them real bad hangovers.

science is dumb but sometimes it tastes pretty good, if you ignore the blogosphere. hope that helps

# ? Oct 7, 2011 16:57

j3rkstore: Jan 28, 2009; L'esprit d'escalier

I just found 9lbs of milled Vienna malt sitting in my unused picnic cooler; Its probably a few months old but it the cooler was sealed and the grain is bagged. I gave it a smell and it didn't seem rotten or anything, should I make a brew with it or toss it?

# ? Oct 7, 2011 17:19

Docjowles: Apr 9, 2009

Morbid Florist posted:

Is there an average quantity adjustment you'd use for exchanging hop pellets/plugs for fresh (even if frozen)? I came into some cascade and chinook hops I want to use. I know chinook is extremely bitter and probably only fit for IPAs, but the cascade I'd like to use as a dryhopper.

Based on a few seconds of random googling, you get about 10% more bitterness out of pellets than you do out of whole. So a 50 IBU recipe with whole would yield 55 IBU's with pellet etc.

j3rkstore posted:

I just found 9lbs of milled Vienna malt sitting in my unused picnic cooler; Its probably a few months old but it the cooler was sealed and the grain is bagged. I gave it a smell and it didn't seem rotten or anything, should I make a brew with it or toss it?

If it looks, smells and tastes good use that poo poo.

# ? Oct 7, 2011 17:56

Morbid Florist: Oct 22, 2002; and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not.

Docjowles posted:

Based on a few seconds of random googling, you get about 10% more bitterness out of pellets than you do out of whole. So a 50 IBU recipe with whole would yield 55 IBU's with pellet etc.

No poo poo. I thought I'd read that I'd need more fresh but the amount could vary depending on form. Now to start figuring out what I'd want to use to substitute kent goldings for cascades...

# ? Oct 7, 2011 18:21

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

Morbid Florist posted:

No poo poo. I thought I'd read that I'd need more fresh but the amount could vary depending on form. Now to start figuring out what I'd want to use to substitute kent goldings for cascades...

If by "fresh" you mean just harvested, not dried, "wet," then yes, you'll need more than for dry hops. Lots more. 5x the weight is the rule of thumb, I think.

# ? Oct 7, 2011 18:52

rage-saq: Mar 21, 2001; Thats so ninja...

Josh Wow posted:

This is the conclusion I came to as well. I wanted to make my own but everything I read said it wouldn't be close to what actual belgian breweries use. Ditto for other professional manufacturers, like the northern brewer syrup with the bad reviews.

I've tried making my own several times but I don't even bother now. The difference in flavor quality between what DSI/CSI makes and what I've come up with like orders of magnitude, they aren't even like the same idea.
I think some of the secrets that makes these guys stuff so good is probably related to pressure cooking and other things to control the water levels and other stuff. The CSI guy told me that they underwent over 200 trial batch productions before they thought they were getting very good and each trial batch used like 100lbs of sugar. He's a pretty cool guy, I bet he would respond to some non-proprietary related questions if you were to email him.

# ? Oct 7, 2011 19:14

wafflesnsegways: Jan 12, 2008; And that's why I was forced to surgically attach your hands to your face.

What about roasting your own brown malt? The shop didn't have the stuff, so I put some 2-row in the oven, following instructions I found online. But of course, I have no idea if what I got is close to the stuff I would buy, and I have no taste comparison I can make.

# ? Oct 7, 2011 20:15

Morbid Florist: Oct 22, 2002; and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not.

Jo3sh posted:

If by "fresh" you mean just harvested, not dried, "wet," then yes, you'll need more than for dry hops. Lots more. 5x the weight is the rule of thumb, I think.

Ah now we're getting into what I suspected might be a problem. I got these from someone via someone else. I know he grew them and froze them. I don't know if they were dried or not.

Is it common for people to freeze them without drying them first? I know everyone's different but I don't know if there's a general rule of thumb people would try and follow if they're THIS into brewing beer that they'd grow their own hops.

# ? Oct 7, 2011 20:52

indigi: Jul 20, 2004; ^{how can we not talk about family

when family's all that we got?}

Docjowles posted:

If it looks, smells and tastes good use that poo poo.

Second. Make sure you taste it - if it tastes or reminds you of the consistency of stale chips, I'd say trash it. Crush up some fresh malt (if you can) to compare. It might smell ok but chew and taste old.

# ? Oct 7, 2011 21:31

beetlo: Mar 20, 2005; Proud forums lurker!

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202090128/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&superSkuId=202939027

Would something like this work for removing/replacing the door shelving from a minifridge?

I can make my 3 gallon better bottle fit without taking them out, but the door is pressing on it and tilting it. Using a 12 pack of soda to keep the door from springing open. Ghetto fabulous!

# ? Oct 7, 2011 22:09

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

Regarding making your own candi syrup or brown malt, together with growing your own hops, malting your own barley, or anything else where you make an ingredient you might otherwise buy:

If your goal is consistency, matching a commercial beer, or brewing on style, the commercial product is almost always the superior choice.

On the other hand, there's no reason to avoid trying new things if your goal is to make tasty beer that might not match any particular example. It's the spirit of homebrewing taken to another remove.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with either approach. Rage-saq buys his syrup because he likes the results and finds that he can't get the particular flavor he wants by making it himself. Testilential makes his own because he likes the results, and probably also enjoys the process of making the syrup and the cost savings.

So either way, brew what you like, how you like.

# ? Oct 7, 2011 22:47

beetlo: Mar 20, 2005; Proud forums lurker!

beetlo posted:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202090128/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&superSkuId=202939027

Would something like this work for removing/replacing the door shelving from a minifridge?

I can make my 3 gallon better bottle fit without taking them out, but the door is pressing on it and tilting it. Using a 12 pack of soda to keep the door from springing open. Ghetto fabulous!

Well gently caress it doesn't matter what material I buy. Good ole Haier GLUED the shelves to the door. And not just around the edges. It's glued to the insulation too, it seems. I mean, I'm sure I could keep prying until it comes off, but I'll most likely destroy the shelves and probably damage the door in the process. LAME.

Edit: I just realized it doesn't have to look good in there. Redneck engineering away! Hacked the 2 offending shelves off with a utility knife and a hacksaw. Taped over the bare insulation areas with duct tape. Good to go.

beetlo fucked around with this message at 02:56 on Oct 8, 2011

# ? Oct 8, 2011 01:00

Huge_Midget: Jun 6, 2002; I don't like the look of it...

Got my homemade stir plate built!

Huge_Midget fucked around with this message at 03:29 on Oct 8, 2011

# ? Oct 8, 2011 03:27

deebo: Jan 21, 2004

Does anyone here know much about using fruit (specifically frozen blueberries) in beer? I have a few questions:

Do I need to worry about yeast/bacteria on the blueberries? (does freezing kill them?)
Should I mush them up before I add them?
How do people normally add them, I havent bothered with a secondary for years so was thinking I would mush them up and dump them in once fermentation is finished or almost finished, might end up blocking the tap when I try and get it out though.
Am I going to get any noticable flavour/colour from only 450g of frozen blueberries?
Last but not least how does this sound:

Recipe: BluebAler
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 32.80 l
Post Boil Volume: 29.12 l
Batch Size (fermenter): 23.00 l
Bottling Volume: 21.00 l
Estimated OG: 1.046 SG
Estimated Color: 5.6 EBC
Estimated IBU: 22.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 79.1 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
5.00 kg Pilsner, Malt Craft Export (Joe White) ( Grain 1 95.2 %
0.25 kg Carafoam (Weyermann) (3.9 EBC) Grain 2 4.8 %
25.00 g Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 5 10.8 IBUs
0.50 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 4 -
1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) Yeast 6 -
25.00 g Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 3 11.9 IBUs
450.00 g Frozen Blueberries (Primary 7.0 days) Other 7 -

Mash Schedule: BIAB, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 5.25 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Saccharification Add 36.00 l of water at 69.9 C 66.7 C 75 min
Mash Out Heat to 75.6 C over 7 min 75.6 C 10 min

450 mushed up thawed blueberries into primary once fermentation slows/ends, leave for 3 days or so then into the keg?
Havent decided wether to use a lager or us-05 yeast..

# ? Oct 8, 2011 12:54

Josh Wow: Feb 28, 2005; We need more beer up here!

I'll let somebody else answer the other questions because I rarely use fruit in my beers, but from other people in my homebrew club bringing in blueberry beers you're going to need way more than a pound to get any noticeable flavor. Think closer to 3-5 lbs with blueberries.

# ? Oct 8, 2011 14:47

trentdogyo: Jan 26, 2009; The question was well meant. Like if you was a farmer, I'd ask ya how the farming was going.

deebo posted:

Does anyone here know much about using fruit (specifically frozen blueberries) in beer? I have a few questions:

Do I need to worry about yeast/bacteria on the blueberries? (does freezing kill them?)
Should I mush them up before I add them?
How do people normally add them, I havent bothered with a secondary for years so was thinking I would mush them up and dump them in once fermentation is finished or almost finished, might end up blocking the tap when I try and get it out though.
Am I going to get any noticable flavour/colour from only 450g of frozen blueberries?
Last but not least how does this sound:

Recipe: BluebAler
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 32.80 l
Post Boil Volume: 29.12 l
Batch Size (fermenter): 23.00 l
Bottling Volume: 21.00 l
Estimated OG: 1.046 SG
Estimated Color: 5.6 EBC
Estimated IBU: 22.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 79.1 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
5.00 kg Pilsner, Malt Craft Export (Joe White) ( Grain 1 95.2 %
0.25 kg Carafoam (Weyermann) (3.9 EBC) Grain 2 4.8 %
25.00 g Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 5 10.8 IBUs
0.50 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 4 -
1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) Yeast 6 -
25.00 g Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 3 11.9 IBUs
450.00 g Frozen Blueberries (Primary 7.0 days) Other 7 -

Mash Schedule: BIAB, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 5.25 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Saccharification Add 36.00 l of water at 69.9 C 66.7 C 75 min
Mash Out Heat to 75.6 C over 7 min 75.6 C 10 min

450 mushed up thawed blueberries into primary once fermentation slows/ends, leave for 3 days or so then into the keg?
Havent decided wether to use a lager or us-05 yeast..

I have no experience brewing with fruit, but I'm certain freezing does NOT kill the bacteria. In fact, that's how they're stored long-term in the lab. The bacteria may or may not be beneficial though (like in a hard cider), but again, I don't have any experience with it.

# ? Oct 8, 2011 15:57

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

One fairly safe and effective way to add fruit to beer is to use canned puree. I think the Oregon company makes the best-known product. It's just fruit, but it's broken up so you get the most out of it, and it's pasteurized so you don't have to worry about infections.

# ? Oct 8, 2011 16:10

indigi: Jul 20, 2004; ^{how can we not talk about family

when family's all that we got?}

If you're using fresh fruit, it's best to think in terms of pounds per gallon. I'd start with at least 1:1 and see how it goes. Also why use a lager yeast when you're going to be fruiting and tannining it up anyway?

# ? Oct 8, 2011 18:32

PokeJoe: Aug 24, 2004; hail cgatan

I want to put some oak chips in m next brew, during what stage should I add them?

# ? Oct 9, 2011 00:23

Accipiter: Jan 24, 2004; SINATRA.

Unless they are completely sanitized, I'd put them in during the boil. But what are you trying to accomplish?

# ? Oct 9, 2011 00:43

PokeJoe: Aug 24, 2004; hail cgatan

I'm trying to add some oak character to a porter. I actually just noticed the bag they're in says to add them after primary fermentation is finished.

# ? Oct 9, 2011 00:52

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

Oak chips generally go in secondary or bulk aging. Sanitize them before use by soaking them for a couple of weeks in vodka or bourbon. Taste the beer pretty frequently to be sure you don't over-oak it.

# ? Oct 9, 2011 01:07

PokeJoe: Aug 24, 2004; hail cgatan

Awesome, thanks. I'll be sure to taste it.

# ? Oct 9, 2011 02:09

Paladine_PSoT: Jan 2, 2010; If you have a problem Yo, I'll solve it

deebo posted:

Does anyone here know much about using fruit (specifically frozen blueberries) in beer? I have a few questions:

Do I need to worry about yeast/bacteria on the blueberries? (does freezing kill them?)
Should I mush them up before I add them?
How do people normally add them, I havent bothered with a secondary for years so was thinking I would mush them up and dump them in once fermentation is finished or almost finished, might end up blocking the tap when I try and get it out though.
Am I going to get any noticable flavour/colour from only 450g of frozen blueberries?
Last but not least how does this sound:

Recipe: BluebAler
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 32.80 l
Post Boil Volume: 29.12 l
Batch Size (fermenter): 23.00 l
Bottling Volume: 21.00 l
Estimated OG: 1.046 SG
Estimated Color: 5.6 EBC
Estimated IBU: 22.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 79.1 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
5.00 kg Pilsner, Malt Craft Export (Joe White) ( Grain 1 95.2 %
0.25 kg Carafoam (Weyermann) (3.9 EBC) Grain 2 4.8 %
25.00 g Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 5 10.8 IBUs
0.50 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 4 -
1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) Yeast 6 -
25.00 g Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 3 11.9 IBUs
450.00 g Frozen Blueberries (Primary 7.0 days) Other 7 -

Mash Schedule: BIAB, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 5.25 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Saccharification Add 36.00 l of water at 69.9 C 66.7 C 75 min
Mash Out Heat to 75.6 C over 7 min 75.6 C 10 min

450 mushed up thawed blueberries into primary once fermentation slows/ends, leave for 3 days or so then into the keg?
Havent decided wether to use a lager or us-05 yeast..

Freezing does not kill bacteria, it merely puts them in stasis.

I did a blackberry wheat a few weeks ago. First, I thawed the blackberries. After the boil was finished, I let the wort get down to about 180, then added the blackberries and let them sit for about 20 minutes in the pot (covered). The heat should be enough to kill any bacteria or wild yeasts, but not enough to make the berries go all pectin crazy.

# ? Oct 9, 2011 07:19

deebo: Jan 21, 2004

indigi posted:

If you're using fresh fruit, it's best to think in terms of pounds per gallon. I'd start with at least 1:1 and see how it goes. Also why use a lager yeast when you're going to be fruiting and tannining it up anyway?

Because of the small ammount of blueberries I figured the flavour may be pretty subtle and better suited to a lager (may get a slight color from the blueberries also). But having said that I think I will go with us-05 as thats fairly neutral anyway.

Have already done the boil so too late to add them to that, I could just boil them on the stove in some water but wanted to avoid this as im not sure what this will do to the flavour of the berries or how the pectin will effect the beer.

I basically just wanted to get a slightly blueberry flavour and maybe slight ammount of colour from them.

But if the small ammount isnt going to do anything except risk infection maybe I will just skip it this time.

# ? Oct 9, 2011 07:47

Paladine_PSoT: Jan 2, 2010; If you have a problem Yo, I'll solve it

deebo posted:

Because of the small ammount of blueberries I figured the flavour may be pretty subtle and better suited to a lager (may get a slight color from the blueberries also). But having said that I think I will go with us-05 as thats fairly neutral anyway.

Have already done the boil so too late to add them to that, I could just boil them on the stove in some water but wanted to avoid this as im not sure what this will do to the flavour of the berries or how the pectin will effect the beer.

I basically just wanted to get a slightly blueberry flavour and maybe slight ammount of colour from them.

But if the small ammount isnt going to do anything except risk infection maybe I will just skip it this time.

Two gallons, one pound of blackberries (potent dye), my wheat beer was peach/pink. Slight color from blueberries would be non existent at 1lb/5g

# ? Oct 9, 2011 08:21

clutchpuck: Apr 30, 2004; ro-tard

15 days from brew day to enjoyment, got my oatmeal stout kegged and ready to drink. 30psi overnight, and scaled back to 12psi this morning. Went to watch the Seahawks win [wooooooooooo!] at a friend's and now post-game it's just about perfectly set up. No ginger came through, but it is smooth and tasty with a good dose of Cascade hops. I'm glad I went with fresh whole leaf instead of pellet, it makes a good compliment to the smooth roasty character.

I'd rate it 3/5 only because it tastes pretty drat ordinary.

# ? Oct 9, 2011 23:37

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# ? Apr 19, 2024 08:27

Darth Goku Jr: Oct 19, 2004; yes yes i see, i understand

deebo posted:

Because of the small ammount of blueberries I figured the flavour may be pretty subtle and better suited to a lager (may get a slight color from the blueberries also). But having said that I think I will go with us-05 as thats fairly neutral anyway.

Have already done the boil so too late to add them to that, I could just boil them on the stove in some water but wanted to avoid this as im not sure what this will do to the flavour of the berries or how the pectin will effect the beer.

I basically just wanted to get a slightly blueberry flavour and maybe slight ammount of colour from them.

But if the small ammount isnt going to do anything except risk infection maybe I will just skip it this time.

I'd say a Kolsch yeast is what you would want to look for for this in the future, most of the lager characteristics without being nearly as finicky with all the extra poo poo going on, and also from experience with a local brewery doing a drat good blueberry honey kolsch, where just like you say, they went with more of an impression of blueberry than anything else. And yes they do lagers (really well) so it isn't a matter of convenience for them.

# ? Oct 10, 2011 02:30

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