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I would strongly recommend not skipping the yeast nutrient. If you are adding other stuff in primary that contributes some nutrients like raisins then you can get away with not using it. Mead must is very deficient in nutrients that yeast need and not adding anything will increase the chance of a stuck or prolonged fermentation.Who Dat posted:I will pick up bottling poo poo later on. I was more focused on getting stuff for my first batch. Still need the honey, so if anyone has a "best" place for bulk honey I'd certainly be interested. MoreBeer's wine site has a guide that I use a reference when I have questions: http://morewinemaking.com/public/pdf/wmead.pdf Honey is going to be the most expensive part of every batch. Around here the best I can do for price is about $2.50/lb for Costco's Kirkland brand clover honey. The local health food store sells bulk honey for $5/lb or $4/lb in 60 lb buckets. They have a handful of varietals all priced the same. Local hobbyist honey is going for at least $10-20/lb and that varies a lot on how well the bees did each year. Your best bet is to take a look at local suppliers and figure out which has the best deals including shipping. You can get a list here: http://www.honeylocator.com/locator/find/ There was at least one goon selling honey in SA-mart too. My advice is to use the cheap stuff when you are getting started. After a few batches and you feel more confident you can try the higher-quality varietals with less risk of wasting a lot of expensive honey.
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Nov 26, 2012 06:53
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We're all following Homebrew Finds by now, right? I saw through them that Adventures in Homebrewing is having a ridiculous Cyber Monday sale. Just bought all the faucets and misc crap I need to finish my keezer conversion, plus another corny keg, saving over $100 compared to the price at MoreBeer or Northern Brewer.
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Nov 26, 2012 17:46
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Paladine_PSoT posted:
FUN. Just filled out the form. I have a few bottles left of some things I've done previously, have at least a few bottles worth left in a keg, and have two beers that will be bottle-ready in a week or so, which should work out great.
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Nov 26, 2012 18:22
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Note to self: next year have some samples on hand for secret Santa.Docjowles posted:We're all following Homebrew Finds by now, right? I saw through them that Adventures in Homebrewing is having a ridiculous Cyber Monday sale. Just bought all the faucets and misc crap I need to finish my keezer conversion, plus another corny keg, saving over $100 compared to the price at MoreBeer or Northern Brewer.
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Nov 26, 2012 18:29
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That converted 10 gallon Igloo cooler looks pretty tempting, is ~$100 a decent price for that quality of mash tun?
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Nov 26, 2012 18:51
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JawKnee posted:That converted 10 gallon Igloo cooler looks pretty tempting, is ~$100 a decent price for that quality of mash tun? You'd not be saving much by building it yourself, maybe $20 unless you had everything already laying around. I would consider jumping on this myself if our mash-tun sucked since I want a cylinder shape over a rectangle, but alas our mashtun holds heat without losing a degree even in 40 degree weather outside. I can't justify buying that now. Edit: For clarification, I want to convert to a cylinder because I have a feeling that it's easier making sure you're mixing properly. I never feel as if I'm getting everything in our mash tun.
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Nov 26, 2012 18:54
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JawKnee posted:That converted 10 gallon Igloo cooler looks pretty tempting, is ~$100 a decent price for that quality of mash tun? I converted http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000G64I1A/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00 into a mash tun with the cheap mesh screen and weldless kit from NB and it has served me well for well under the $100 price tag.
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Nov 26, 2012 18:58
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Galler posted:Ugh, I promised myself that I wouldn't buy any non essential things until after New Years but a ball lock keg for $48 shipped is very tempting. I've been waiting the better part of a year to buy all this poo poo because it's a pretty sizable expense. Was waiting for the perfect sale to come along, and well, this was it. Every single part I needed was 25-50% off, including the last corny, all faucets, and the shanks/tailpieces.
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Nov 26, 2012 19:11
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I spent a ton of money at NB and didn't save anything  Has anyone made the Russian River clone kits that More Beer is pushing? My girlfriend desperately wants the Consecration and the Pliny one and I want to make sure it's worth shelling out the dough for them.
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Nov 26, 2012 19:16
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Galler posted:Ugh, I promised myself that I wouldn't buy any non essential things until after New Years but a ball lock keg for $48 shipped is very tempting. Yeah! Homebrew Finds is killing the same promise I made to myself. I've bought $120 worth of rare hops in the last 4 days, finally scored some Amarillo! This also justified a FoodSaver purchase as well. My fiance is going to be so pissed. 
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Nov 26, 2012 19:28
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Okay so stove isn't strong enough to boil ~2 gallons of water, lid off. Anyone have any ideas on what to do to get a 3.5 gallon boil going on at home? Am I going to be forced to go propane? If so does anyone have a recommendation for a cheap/strong burner. Edit: I may just spend $50 to get the turkey fryer we use for 5 gallon batches, but that seems overkill for 3.5 gallon batches. Guess I'll save a lot of propane. Midorka fucked around with this message at 20:00 on Nov 26, 2012 |
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Nov 26, 2012 19:57
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Missed Amarillo, was hoping to get a little more of that while it was popping up. Oh well, will just have to ration what I did manage to get. So after the success of my friendsgiving that emptied 3 of my homebrew kegs and nearly did the same to another, a few friends came over to watch/help me make a 120 minute Imperial IPA. Recipe called for a quadruple decoction, 26 pounds of grain, and hop additions every 3 minutes. I usually skip decoctions in instructions due to many arguing that they're unnecessary with the quality of grain we have these days, but for this I decided to stick to it. Well holy poo poo does my shoulder hurt still 2 days later. Going to babysit it with dry hopping and dextrose additions for a few weeks, bottle this some time in January, and pop the first bottle in June or July. Going to pretty much use this as Christmas gifts for a few years to the beer lovers in my life. I cleared a ton of shelf space that I'm planning on stocking with bottles for aging. So far I've got a few of the bottles of mead that are 2+ years old sitting there, but I don't have any new ones in the works to replace them when they're gone for some reason. Have ~20 bottles of a Belgian Triple waiting for a spare afternoon to fill, this batch of IIPA should yield ~35 bottles. Thinking about making a variant of the Mad Fermentationist's Triplebock next for my new the bottle-aging section of the basement - anyone has made it before? http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2009/05/wheat-triplebock_17.html
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Nov 26, 2012 20:10
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What's the best starter gear special going on right now? I just saw this http://slickdeals.net/f/5578106-Northern-Brewers-CYBER-MONDAY-LIVE deal, but I'm not sure what people are recommending these days.
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Nov 26, 2012 20:41
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Midorka posted:Okay so stove isn't strong enough to boil ~2 gallons of water, lid off. Anyone have any ideas on what to do to get a 3.5 gallon boil going on at home? Am I going to be forced to go propane? If so does anyone have a recommendation for a cheap/strong burner. I once did 4 pots on 4 stove burners to put a batch together but I wouldn't recommend it if you can just buy a turkey fryer. I had to periodically shift boiling wort to keep the volume somewhat even, and hop additions were a pain. Between that and several other disasters including a melted paint bag in my mash, I had to dump that batch. It was manageable for a first batch or if you live in a small apartment in the arctic but otherwise just go gas until you can build an electric setup.
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Nov 26, 2012 20:58
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MixMasterMalaria posted:What's the best starter gear special going on right now? I just saw this http://slickdeals.net/f/5578106-Northern-Brewers-CYBER-MONDAY-LIVE deal, but I'm not sure what people are recommending these days. This is an awesome deal for sure, as you'll need a kettle with most basic starter kits anyhow. Not to mention that the Dead Ringer kit is really, really good and a pretty solid Bell's Two-Hearted Ale clone. e: Personally, I like bigger kettles to do the full batch size, but if you want to make the 2.5 gallon kits and top up after boil (what NB usually recommends in all their extract kits) a 5 gallon kettle is just fine.
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Nov 26, 2012 21:00
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hellfaucet posted:This is an awesome deal for sure, as you'll need a kettle with most basic starter kits anyhow. Not to mention that the Dead Ringer kit is really, really good and a pretty solid Bell's Two-Hearted Ale clone. Thank you. I'm a little confused about the value though though since their starter kit doesn't come with a hydrometer and they suggest adding a 'mad brewers pack' with one for $35 or so. Here's what's included in the NB starting kit: quote:
to which they suggest adding the following for $37: quote:Hydrometer or I could just get this for 14? quote:Brewery Essentials Gravity Testing Kit vs what comes with the Adventures in Homebrewing kit: quote:6.5 Gallon "Ale Pail" Primary Fermenter with Drilled & Grommeted Lid I'd like to keep the price reasonable, but I also don't want to end up lacking necessary components. 
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Nov 26, 2012 21:30
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NB's starter kit also comes with ingredients for your first batch, which is why it appears to be super expensive for the amount of equipment you get. I've been debating getting a kit for someone for Christmas and that threw me off at first, too. So like in that Black Friday deal, you're getting the Dead Ringer kit PLUS one other batch.
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Nov 26, 2012 21:40
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Midorka posted:Okay so stove isn't strong enough to boil ~2 gallons of water, lid off. Anyone have any ideas on what to do to get a 3.5 gallon boil going on at home? Am I going to be forced to go propane? If so does anyone have a recommendation for a cheap/strong burner. I love my turkey fryer for homebrewing. In fact I just upgraded the burner from the tiny one that my turkey fryer kit came with to a 210,000 BTU miniature ANGRY GOD that is awesome.
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Nov 26, 2012 21:48
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Midorka posted:Okay so stove isn't strong enough to boil ~2 gallons of water, lid off. Anyone have any ideas on what to do to get a 3.5 gallon boil going on at home? This isn't ideal, but since I'm stuck with a ghetto electric stove I've learned 2 important lessons: First, progressively adding water while keeping the lid on (when I'm not adding water ) lets me get up to about 3 gallons boiling instead of 2-ish. For example I'll boil 1 gallon, add 1/3 gallon, put the lid on and wait until it boils, repeat. This will really only work for extract batches I guess because of the no-lid rule for all-grain. Second, once sugar gets hot it STAYS HOT. After I add my malt syrup and that gets back up to boiling it'll stay that way (or hotter) and allows me to add more water for the boil. So I may only start my extract batch with 2 gallons+malt, but once the sugar is boiling hot I can probably get up to about 3.5 gallons with the same lovely stove. All that said I'm buying a turkey fryer this weekend because I want to cook like a big boy.
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Nov 26, 2012 21:50
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Docjowles posted:NB's starter kit also comes with ingredients for your first batch, which is why it appears to be super expensive for the amount of equipment you get. I've been debating getting a kit for someone for Christmas and that threw me off at first, too. That's such a killer deal that I'm very tempted to order it all for myself. 100 bottles of beer and a bunch of extra equipment for 80 bucks is insane. Edit: I just realized that this deal would be perfect for starting to make sours. You get a whole new set of plastic equipment and an extract kit to pitch bugs into. Add a glass carboy for aging and you're set. internet celebrity fucked around with this message at 22:37 on Nov 26, 2012 |
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Nov 26, 2012 21:57
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Docjowles posted:NB's starter kit also comes with ingredients for your first batch, which is why it appears to be super expensive for the amount of equipment you get. I've been debating getting a kit for someone for Christmas and that threw me off at first, too. Ok that's awesome! So do I need the stuff in the mad brewers pack or should I just get the hydrometer kit? edit: or none of the above? Also, which of the ingredient packs do people like?
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Nov 26, 2012 22:01
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internet celebrity posted:That's such a killer deal that I'm very tempted to order it all for myself. 100 bottles of beer and a bunch of extra equipment for 80 bucks is insane. Seriously, I didn't realize it included a second extract kit.
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Nov 26, 2012 22:06
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What is a 'not overwhelming' amount of an assorted spice to add to a 5gallon batch typically? For example if I have pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc) would 2 teaspoons be right? E: Also bottling my Honeycrisp cider + brown sugar cider soon  Fermented it with the Wyeast cider and excited to see how it turned out.
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Nov 26, 2012 22:31
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ChiTownEddie posted:What is a 'not overwhelming' amount of an assorted spice to add to a 5gallon batch typically? For example if I have pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc) would 2 teaspoons be right? The pumpkin ale I made that seemed to go over well only used 1 tsp.
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Nov 26, 2012 22:32
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zerox147o posted:The pumpkin ale I made that seemed to go over well only used 1 tsp. Cool, thanks. I'd rather start low and need more for a future batch
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Nov 26, 2012 22:34
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MixMasterMalaria posted:Ok that's awesome! So do I need the stuff in the mad brewers pack or should I just get the hydrometer kit?
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Nov 26, 2012 22:36
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Couple questions. Is there a GoogleDoc or spreadsheet available to show what kinds of hops are used in popular beers? Or even, which hops compliment other hops? Now that I have a fuckton of 1 lbs. bags of hops, I'd like to use them up and not waste them at the same time. I have a pound each of Simcoe, Apollo, CTZ, Galaxy, Centennial, Cascade, and Amarillo. Of this list I have only worked with Cascade and Centennial, but I'm sure I've drank beers that had most of them. Second question, my brewing guild president just sent me a link to a BJCP class encouraging me to attend. Have any of you taken these classes and found them to be worth the financial and time investment? It looks like they are 3 hour long classes at a pretty decent brewery, so I'm not complaining. Just wondering if going through BJCP certification has perks other than getting to drink lots of free beer.
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Nov 26, 2012 23:48
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ChiTownEddie posted:Cool, thanks. I'd rather start low and need more for a future batch You can always make a tincture with some extra spice (fancy way of saying soak the spices in vodka) and then add the spice-laden alcohol to taste once fermentation is complete.
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Nov 26, 2012 23:55
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hellfaucet posted:Couple questions. Is there a GoogleDoc or spreadsheet available to show what kinds of hops are used in popular beers? Or even, which hops compliment other hops? Now that I have a fuckton of 1 lbs. bags of hops, I'd like to use them up and not waste them at the same time. I have a pound each of Simcoe, Apollo, CTZ, Galaxy, Centennial, Cascade, and Amarillo. Of this list I have only worked with Cascade and Centennial, but I'm sure I've drank beers that had most of them. Most of the time, if the hop varieties are known, they're listed on the company website. I've never seen anyone try and list what they're all used in.
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Nov 27, 2012 00:05
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fullroundaction posted:I spent a ton of money at NB and didn't save anything I bought the Consecration kit about two weeks ago but haven't made it yet. It will be only my second all-grain batch which seems a bit daunting. The oak chips from used Consecration barrels might be a bit of a gimmick but it seems cool as hell to me.
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Nov 27, 2012 01:53
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I was all happy because Home Depot had 7 cf chest freezers on sale online, but then I figured out you can't even get them delivered until like January. That doesn't seem to make much sense. (Don't ask about Craigslist, we don't talk about Craigslist in this household)
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Nov 27, 2012 05:24
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Double post, but 2012 Simcoe pellet bags by the pound are back in stock here: http://www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=534 (Limit 2 pounds) 2012 Amarillo looks to be gone for the year already (yikes).
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Nov 27, 2012 05:59
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Well, just took the dive on the Northern Brewer Cyber Monday deal. I would buy a burner and wort chiller now, but considering that I'll be on work vacation for most of December, it's more worth it to just ask my parents for them for Christmas. Looking forward to brewing (and asking shitloads of questions) in 2013! 
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Nov 27, 2012 06:45
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Galler posted:Note to self: next year have some samples on hand for secret Santa. You can enter the Secret Santa and gift ingredients or gear, too. There's spots on the signup sheet for that. so... signup.
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Nov 27, 2012 08:46
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Can you use a wort chiller and a plate chiller at the same time?
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Nov 27, 2012 21:31
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hellfaucet posted:Can you use a wort chiller and a plate chiller at the same time? When you say "wort chiller" do you mean immersion or counterflow? I imagine you could use either with a plate chiller, but it seems redundant.
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Nov 27, 2012 21:36
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Sorry for the vagueness, immersion chiller. I'm simply thinking about it in terms of cooling faster than I am now.
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Nov 27, 2012 21:59
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hellfaucet posted:Can you use a wort chiller and a plate chiller at the same time? Note: plate chillers are a TYPE of wort chiller. I assume you mean an immersion (copper-coil) chiller. You could do it quite easily, but I don't see any reason at all to actually do so - plate chillers are already extremely efficient and don't really need any help. Fun note: dudadiesel's largest available plate chiller can chill 10 gallons of 212 degree wort to pitching temp (75 degrees) in 15 seconds. http://www.dudadiesel.com/files/beerwortchart.pdf Angry Grimace fucked around with this message at 22:03 on Nov 27, 2012 |
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Nov 27, 2012 22:00
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If you were to ferment with some strain of brett would that give a young funk/sour flavor at all? Basically I understand about getting funky or sours beers through a long aging process, but I've found I like young wild ales with a hint of those flavors quite a bit. I am just not sure how to go about making something like that. Another question about aging those type of beers. A guy at my local homebrew store said that once you use brett (or such) in a fermenter you should exclusively use that fermenter for such a thing, and not for normal beers anymore. Is that really the case? Seems odd that it should differ from anything else, a good cleaning and normal sanitation won't help?
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Nov 27, 2012 22:09
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I've been brewing a little while now and a few of my friends just bought starter brew kits to have a crack at it. I did a partial mash imperial stout about four months ago which is tasting amazing right now and my maths puts it at around 8% abv. One of my friends decided they'd like to replicate it so I gave him the recipe and talked him through how to do the mash and when to add the extracts and all that. Later in the evening he posted this on facebook:  That's an initial gravity reading of 1.152 where mine was 1.082. He said the only addition he made to the recipe was an extra kg of dextrose to "get it boozey". My question is, will this be able ferment down to a reasonable final gravity with only one sachet of dry ale yeast or is he going to have to add in some champagne yeast or something?
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Nov 27, 2012 22:22
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