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Prefect Six posted:Go back a few pages and find the discussion of the HBT thread about adding human remains to beer. I guess I didn't pay attention to what forum. That is bad. I have't read enough of the forum to see the infighting. Perhaps it's because the cider forum is largely made up of random people asking about how to ferment welch's apple juice in a milk jug. I pretty much only search forums like that as well. To make sure I am getting this right, the cold crashing makes the yeast go to sleep and fall to the bottom of the fermenter to clarify. Then when it is racked, there is just enough in the solution to ferment for carbonation?
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Dec 24, 2011 12:59
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I picked up ingredients for an oatmeal stout then realized I'm not sure what to do with the oats. Can I just put them along with my specialty grains since I just need them for mouthfeel and don't actually need any sugar from them (extract batch)? the recipe if needed 500g flaked oats 700g roasted barley 100g dark crystal malt 2.6 kg dark liquid malt extract 1 kg light liquid malt extract 36 grams northern brewer hops - 30 mins
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Dec 24, 2011 14:19
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I think you'd still want to mash them, otherwise you will have tons of unconverted starch left over. Maybe that doesn't matter as much in a dark stout you don't need to see through? I'm not sure what (if anything) it would do to the flavor. You could always try a mini mash, which is basically just steeping grains anyway. Add 500g of UK 2 row malt to the recipe, subtract a small amount of extract to compensate, and steep in 154F water at a ratio of about 2.5 liters per kg (if my conversion from  units is right) for an hour. Then lift up the bag, let it drain back into the pot, and pour more hot water over it til you get to your normal boil volume for your pot. From there, go on with your process as normal.If you want, you can also toast the oats in your oven around 300F for like 20-30 minutes, til they turn golden and smell awesome. Gives more of an oatmeal cookie flavor to the beer. Also I recommend grinding them to flour in a food processor or coffee grinder if possible, it really aids in the mash conversion. Docjowles fucked around with this message at 16:00 on Dec 24, 2011 |
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Dec 24, 2011 15:56
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stizu posted:Then when it is racked, there is just enough in the solution to ferment for carbonation? Yes. And also, your racking cane will inevitably pick up a small amount from the floor of the fermenter. Docjowles posted:If you want, you can also toast the oats in your oven around 300F for like 20-30 minutes, til they turn golden and smell awesome. Gives more of an oatmeal cookie flavor to the beer. I have a batch on draft now in which I used toasted oats like this. It is indeed awesome. I talked about adding a spice tincture to one of the kegs, but I never got around to it. I had done a test mixture a few weeks ago and it did not seem to work very well; the beer has settled in a lot since then, though, so maybe it will come out differently. Some friends and I are getting together for our traditional Happy New Beer brewday on 12/31, so a couple gallons mixed up for that occasion would be perfect. Jo3sh fucked around with this message at 16:11 on Dec 24, 2011 |
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Dec 24, 2011 16:06
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Racked two of my cysers today, made with cider from apples I picked and pressed on a cider press I made. Surprisingly drinkable for only being about 5 weeks since I pitched the yeast. If I'm really lucky I can get some help bottling my first batch of beer tomorrow.
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Dec 25, 2011 01:45
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Does anyone use nitro when they carb? if it wasn't too much of an additional investment over co2, It would be awesome to do the occasional stout or esb with it. Show all those assholes that Guinness isn't all that special.
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Dec 25, 2011 05:19
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Darth Goku Jr posted:Does anyone use nitro when they carb? if it wasn't too much of an additional investment over co2, It would be awesome to do the occasional stout or esb with it. Show all those assholes that Guinness isn't all that special. Nitrogen really has nothing to do with carbonation - it's used to push beer through stout faucets because it hardly dissolves in the beer at all. The faucet makes the creamy head (and would do it for any beer), they just use nitrogen because high pressure is required to push beer through the tiny holes in the restrictor plate at any reasonable rate, and if they did that with CO2, it would get overcarbonated and gush all over the place. I've never used nitrogen at home just because I don't care for beer served that way, but I have heard of people doing it. You can fake a nitro head by getting a creamer faucet (pull for beer, push back for foam), or just by barely cracking the faucet to top off your pour. I have also heard of pouring a glass, then using a syringe to suck up and then forcefully squirt beer back into the glass.
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Dec 25, 2011 06:16
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There was a post a while back of having a goonbrew contest/show. I'm curious as to what the interest in this would be. The homebrew secret santa was a pretty big success, so i'm not too worried about participation numbers. How would you all feel about this? I can handle the arrangements and organize this a few months out so people can have a chance to get some beers ready. How would brewers like to see things arranged? What kind of categories would you like to see? What judging criteria would you like to have placed on beers? How about prizes? Started a new thread for this, it's here.
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Dec 25, 2011 09:50
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Cracked one of my coffee stouts I bottled 2 months ago, and it's pretty delicious. A little bitterness at the end that I think will mellow out with some more age. The coffee aroma is super strong, while the taste is smooth, with hints of chocolate and vanilla. Wish I'd made more of it, cause I'll be giving most of it to friends on New Year's.
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Dec 26, 2011 02:19
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I got a pretty great gift from my sister. Pretty much every type of beer glass I could want with my last initial etched into them. I'm sure it was a royal pain for her to do but the results are awesome:
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Dec 26, 2011 04:04
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Darth Goku Jr posted:Does anyone use nitro when they carb? if it wasn't too much of an additional investment over co2, It would be awesome to do the occasional stout or esb with it. Show all those assholes that Guinness isn't all that special. I have a nitro setup, there's a good article here http://www.byo.com/stories/techniques/article/indices/35-head-retention/747-head-games that covers why N2 is different for foam
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Dec 26, 2011 18:24
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Im looking to get started with homebrewing and need a kit, which one of these would you recommend? http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/starter-kits/deluxe-beer-starter-kit.html or http://homebrewery.com/beer/beer-gs-deluxe-kit.shtml Or is there a consensus goon-recommended one?
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Dec 26, 2011 18:47
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I posted a while back about getting this kit and no one had a bad thing to say about it.
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Dec 26, 2011 19:19
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Midorka posted:I posted a while back about getting this kit and no one had a bad thing to say about it. That more or less is the standard homebrewer basic starter kit that has a lot of the bits and pieces that make brewing easier. You still need a pot, a wort chiller and possibly a propane burner depending upon how you were planning on heating stuff up. The best thing to do before you buy a kit is get involved in the local homebrewing community and help some guys brew, you'll get a good idea of what kind of parts you need and a little practical experience for doing your first brew.
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Dec 26, 2011 20:00
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I don't think any kit is perfect. It's best to get only what you need to start with and then and things as you realize you need them, instead of getting a super deluxe kit with a bunch of stuff you don't use. Of those two kits the homebrewery one looks like a better deal since it includes the chiller and bottle washer. I don't think you need a chiller to get started though. It also doesn't have a big funnel but you don't need that either if you use the siphon or bottling spigot and tubing to transfer things, and a big funnel is cheap and easy enough to find if you do want one later.
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Dec 26, 2011 20:03
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chiz posted:Im looking to get started with homebrewing and need a kit, which one of these would you recommend? NorthernBrewer: Pro: * PBW and Star-San included. These are probably the best cleaner and sanitizer, respectively, for homebrewing use. Con: * Glass thermometer * No wort chiller included * Not crazy about the included thief * No book included (minor, as howtobrew.com is free and has all you need) Homebrewery: Pro: * Includes wort chiller * Dial thermometer * Book included - but it's the CJOHB, which some people don't care for. Con: * No-name "sanitizer" - could be anything from chlorine based powder to sulfite. Should add Star-San It's a tough call. The Homebrewery kit is more expensive and I don't know what their shipping will cost to you. NB ships for $7.99 for nearly everything and their kit is slightly less expensive. General thoughts: * Two-stage fermentation is not really necessary for most batches. You might be able to step down to a smaller, less expensive kit. * Star-San rocks. Whichever kit you get, make sure you get some. * PBW also rocks, but OxiClean (unscented) or generic equivalent also works very well. PBW is basically 50:50 OxiClean and sodium metasilicate, so you may be able to make your own quite cheaply. * A wort chiller you can easily make at home. * I don't think carboys are necessary, myself - I ferment in buckets with great results and it's my opinion that the concern about O2 permeability is way overwrought. * If you do decide to use carboys over buckets, Better Bottles are great. They are nearly as impermeable as glass, yet much more robust and much lighter (read: less likely to break and cheaper to ship). If it were me, I would probably go with the Northern Brewer kit and make my own wort chiller. This is partly because I have done business with NB and had a good experience; this is not to say The Homebrewery is not also good - I just don't know one way or the other. Also, NB has probably the widest selection of ingredient kits in the industry, and I have always heard good things about them.
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Dec 26, 2011 20:20
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Jo3sh posted:If it were me, I would probably go with the Northern Brewer kit and make my own wort chiller. This is partly because I have done business with NB and had a good experience; this is not to say The Homebrewery is not also good - I just don't know one way or the other. Also, NB has probably the widest selection of ingredient kits in the industry, and I have always heard good things about them. I've used a few different companies for my brewing equipment/kits but NB has so far been the best. Cheap shipping, shipped extremely quickly, and good customer support if you ever freak out. I've always been completely satisfied with my NB transactions overall, and wouldn't use a different company unless NB absolutely doesn't have what I need or I can build it myself.
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Dec 26, 2011 21:04
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Thanks for the replies guys, I think I'll get the one Midorka linked.
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Dec 26, 2011 21:25
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Northern Brewer rules. They slightly messed up one order, and promptly fixed it with no fuss. Things that a beginning brewer needs, imo: 1) Bucket fermenter with lid 2) Racking cane/autosiphon 3) A good instant-read thermometer 4) Hydrometer 5) Bottling bucket (with spigot) 6) Bottling wand 7) Starsan (some people like iodaphor, but those people are wrong) 8) Capper 9) Clear vinyl tubing (3/8" ID seems to be the standard) 10) Big mesh strainer 11) Brewpot, minimum four gallons in size. I recommend buying a pot no smaller than 8 gallons, personally, because it will scale up to when you go all-grain. I have a 32 quart Imusa "tamale steamer" I picked up at target for $20 which serves as a fine brewpot. Most beers don't need a secondary. I only consider it necessary for styles that need additional flavours post fermentation (i.e. dry hopping) or beers that need exceptionally long aging like sours.
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Dec 26, 2011 22:25
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about to tackle a raspberry mead I MEAN MELOMEL next week, and it'll be my first. I've made a cyser before but that was just this process: sanitize everything that'll touch anything? sure I guess. cool, now put everything (including yeast nutrient) in the carboy and shake. did you do that? uhhh yeah wait five or six weeks and bottle like it's ale will it really be any different save maybe 5 or six months longer? i'm pretty sure i want it to be sparkling, though not champagne levels or anything. will i need new yeast then or is wine yeast still viable much longer? because if i need new yeast i have a shitton of other questions
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Dec 27, 2011 00:03
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My all-grain version of my typical Belgian batch is..well..disappointing.  Compared to the version I've been making with extract, the latest all-grain batch is far less sweet. It's almost too dry (if that's the right word) for my liking.When I attempted this, I know I got far less efficiency than normal (something like ~52%). I now also know that the thermometer I've been using is really slow to read the proper temperature. So who knows if I mashed at the proper temp or not. I can't believe it's not in my notes, but I don't see what temp I mashed at. I tried to mash at 155F for 60 minutes if I recall. Basically, I picked a temperature between converting the alpha and beta amylase. But other than those two things, what could cause my recipe to suddenly lose so much sweetness? The version I've been making with extract is not too far off the mark from tasting like Delirium Tremens for example. And I was trying to clone Leffe the whole time I've been tweaking it. The all grain version almost tastes like a hefeweizen or something. A dry and yeasty taste to it. Fermentation was the usual 2 weeks at mid 70s temps. The one difference is that this time around, I used yeast nutrient. I think I plopped two 1/4 teaspoons worth of nutrient into the wort when I pitched. I don't see any signs of infection. The beer pours kind of clear with some chill haze (cooling with ice sucks!). I used Beersmith's recipe converter to convert my recipe from extract to all grain. Here's the extract recipe I've been brewing with great success: 6.00 lb Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 75.0 % 1.00 lb Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) Grain 12.5 % 2.00 oz Tettnang [4.50%] (60 min) Hops 19.9 IBU 1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.80%] (15 min) Hops 5.3 IBU 1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc 1.00 lb Candi Sugar, Amber (75.0 SRM) Sugar 12.5 % 1 Pkgs Belgian Ale (Wyeast Labs #1214) Yeast-Ale And the all grain conversion: 8.92 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 77.4 % 1.30 lb Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 11.3 % 1.00 oz Tettnang [4.50%] (60 min) Hops 15.0 IBU 1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.80%] (15 min) Hops 7.9 IBU 1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc 1.30 lb Candi Sugar, Amber (75.0 SRM) Sugar 11.3 % 1 Pkgs Belgian Ale (Wyeast Labs #1214) Yeast-Ale **For this session, I used 1.3 lbs of white table sugar instead. I didn't have time to make Candi sugar. So what could cause such a drastic change in taste and have the recipe go from sweet to dry?
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Dec 27, 2011 04:21
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Due to life and poo poo the 15 lbs of unpasteurized honey that I bought last year has been sitting around at room temperature for the last year. Is it still good to use?
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Dec 27, 2011 15:46
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Honey never goes bad. The worst it will do is crystallize which can be undone with heat, something you will be applying to get it all out of the jug anyway.
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Dec 27, 2011 16:38
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Canuckistan posted:Due to life and poo poo the 15 lbs of unpasteurized honey that I bought last year has been sitting around at room temperature for the last year. Is it still good to use? i asked my honey expert friend about this: quote:Depends where he got it. If it has a moisture level of above 17.5% then it's possible it may have started to ferment but that's a bit of a stretch. If it's under 17.5% then it will be good for the next 5000 years or so. It may have hardened or crystallized but will return to its liquid state when reheated. If he wants, he can pasteurize it himself by heating it to 160F, that should kill any yeast cells. quote:Any beekeeper will keep their honey below 17.5% though. It's really unlikely that his honey will have fermented. mewse fucked around with this message at 20:13 on Dec 27, 2011 |
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Dec 27, 2011 20:08
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Thanks. I\ve noticed that there is separation occurring with some syrup at the upper layer. I'll sample that and taste for signs of fermentation. I'm still up in the air if I want to pasteurize it when making the must or just throw in some campden tablets to kill off the wild yeasts.
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Dec 28, 2011 14:00
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Really you are being extra paranoid about the honey. If it had fermented it would be very obvious. The separation you may be seeing is if some of the honey is starting to crystallize. The bees do not cap the honey in their hive until it is below 18% water content and no bee keeper would harvest uncapped honey. If its bad, its either because it isn't really honey ( see this: http://www.naturalnews.com/034102_honey_consumer_alert.html ) or someone added water to it.
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Dec 28, 2011 15:55
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nesbit37 posted:( see this: http://www.naturalnews.com/034102_honey_consumer_alert.html ) Do you have a reputable link (preferably to the fda.gov) for this? I've seen the same thing repeated all over but they all just say that the FDA says this without linking back to a page where the FDA says anything. It appears to be all granola news sites linking to each other.
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Dec 28, 2011 16:19
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Its a real thing. I am home for the holidays so I don't have my magazines, but both Bee Culture and American Beekeeper, which I would hope are reputable enough for you, had lengthy articles detailing the subject. Here is also a short report on the arrest of a couple fake honey smugglers. http://home.ezezine.com/1636/1636-2011.11.30.20.39.archive.html I keep bees and this isn't something new, it just has gotten a lot more attention lately like most bee related issues (pesticides, colony collapse, etc.). edit: You can also look at Texax A&M's website where the page of the faculty researcher has links to a few more articles and videos on the issue and work done. http://anthropology.tamu.edu/faculty/directory.php?ID=212 nesbit37 fucked around with this message at 16:44 on Dec 28, 2011 |
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Dec 28, 2011 16:29
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It's a real thing, but it's also hugely overblown. It's all probably honey, not some kind of artificially flavored honey substitute or something. It doesn't contain pollen that is part of the legal definition of honey, so it is arguable that it's not technically honey. The very worst that article says is that the product could possibly have been watered down or adulterated, but they don't have any evidence that this is true. The smuggling article says the honey was seized not because it was not honey, but because it was shipped under a false manifest, as rice fructose. I assume this was done to avoid tariffs or some such. Jo3sh fucked around with this message at 17:22 on Dec 28, 2011 |
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Dec 28, 2011 16:54
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Also I don't buy the "filtering to hide the origin" plot. If your plan is to smuggle it from China past the FDA anyway then why go to the expense of filtering it? Filtering wouldn't aid in the smuggling process.
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Dec 28, 2011 18:50
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Did my first partial mash last night, the oatmeal stout kit from Northern Brewer. Even though my mash temp was all over the place for the first 10 minutes or so (figured out that I should keep stirring and it was alright after that), I hit an OG of 1.052 (anticipated OG of 1.049) I'm happy I did better than the kit hoped 
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Dec 28, 2011 19:39
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withak posted:Also I don't buy the "filtering to hide the origin" plot. If your plan is to smuggle it from China past the FDA anyway then why go to the expense of filtering it? Filtering wouldn't aid in the smuggling process. It would help with when the contraband honey is inevitably seized and sampled - the spores etc found in the honey would give away the source and allow for whatever crazy interpol Jackie Chan escapades happen when illegal honey vendors get brought down. I'm assuming grenade launchers are involved.
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Dec 28, 2011 23:22
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Got my new brewpot and realized that I don't have enough empty bottles to actually do a larger batch with. Now I have to go buy some beer to drink so I can brew more beer to drink. And that's why this is the greatest hobby.
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Dec 28, 2011 23:36
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I brewed up a porter about a week and a half ago, and I've got a cinnamon stick tincture and a vanilla bean tincture going, but I have no idea as to a starting point for how much of each to add. Any suggestions?
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Dec 29, 2011 00:02
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So I got some sweet new tap handles made by Bad Munki and he did a great job! It's been a little over a year since I started putting it together and it's been mostly finished but sans tap handles. They're the standard shape but made out of spalted tamarind which I thought appropriate as the lines are caused by fungi fighting.    I think the only thing left is to get some stainless shank collars. Big thanks to Bad Munki, he worked with me, gave helpful advice, really pleased with the results.
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Dec 29, 2011 00:31
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Looks excellent, Silver. Makes my (beat up, rusty) old fridge look like an ape's rear end by comparison. The spalted wood looks very sharp as well.
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Dec 29, 2011 00:44
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I'm just saying, someone in Houston, Texas is receiving something awesome tomorrow.
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Dec 29, 2011 00:47
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Got my Secret Santa Package! Ominous!  Got two big bottles of mead and some mulling spices! Along with some sweet biohazard labels! I can't wait to try some - I'm gonna hold off until a couple of my homebrewing friends from work are available to share. Thanks again!
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Dec 29, 2011 00:58
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Zakath posted:I brewed up a porter about a week and a half ago, and I've got a cinnamon stick tincture and a vanilla bean tincture going, but I have no idea as to a starting point for how much of each to add. Any suggestions? It's going to vary a ton based on the quality/freshness of the spices you used, how much spice you used, how much vodka you used, etc. The spice tincture I made was something like 2 grams each of cassia cinnamon, fresh grated nutmeg, and chopped vanilla bean, soaked for a couple months in 4-5 ounces of vodka. With that then run through a coffee filter to get most of the particulates out, I found that 3mL of tincture per pint tasted very nice, but that any more was too much. That's 24mL per gallon. The only way to really know for sure is to try it out and see what you think.
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Dec 29, 2011 01:11
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 11:43 |
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I've never brewed anything before, but my lovely wife got me a brewing kit for Christmas, so I'm excited to get started! I've got a couple question for you fine folks though. First off, the kit came with a stick on thermometer for affixing to the six gallon glass carboy, but no other thermometer. From what I've read the temperature at which you heat the wort on the stove factors into the final flavor equation, so I am wondering what kind of thermometer I should get for that purpose. Also, the kit came with C-brite cleaner, but would it be worth waiting and ordering some Starsan to replace it? Will I be okay just going ahead and using the C-brite? I'm super excited to get this (kinda intimidating) ball rolling, so thanks for your help!
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Dec 29, 2011 01:46
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