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Josh Wow posted:For the White Labs redemption you don't have to mail in the tube, just the label. I work in the materials recovery world, and I'm surprised they don't want the vials. That stuff is pretty valuable en masse. Maybe they need a consultant... 
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Jul 7, 2014 15:01
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speaking of, just joined the WL club myself! Ordered my first vial (Brett C) for some 100% Brett Mead. Should be a nice collection to my bug bank. I'll be doing some other brett meads as time goes by with the other strains (aiming for a Brett B Trois Bochet next). I'll be keeping the individual Brett strains in oak separate from my sour cake, which is out of control at the moment (2nd generation WYeast Lambic Blend + Boulevard's Saison Brett dreggs). I plan on using the vial to save sour/ bug cake in. Is this acceptable?
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Jul 7, 2014 15:12
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Josh Wow posted:For the White Labs redemption you don't have to mail in the tube, just the label. Which also means you can use the vials themselves (Goo Gone gets the label residue off) to make tap handles.
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Jul 7, 2014 15:21
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Bag of Sun Chips posted:-Actually figuring out my efficiency (It's only 62%... eek) Marshmallow Blue posted:I plan on using the vial to save sour/ bug cake in. Is this acceptable? Yup, I keep mine around just for that. ECY has the nicest reusable containers imo.
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Jul 7, 2014 15:45
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Daedalus Esquire posted:... The long boil increases the caramelization of malt sugars ... Caramelization doesn't happen in the boil. Boils produce a Maillard reactions which is different process. Maillard reactions are a chemical reaction (Browning) involving amino acids while Caramelization is a pyrolysis of the sugars. Caramelization doesn't start until ~ 240 F which you are not achieving in your boil.
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Jul 7, 2014 19:17
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Jacobey000 posted:Slow down your sparge/drain. Like... a lot. I went from 20min sparges to 45min and mine jumped to 75-85%. I'll definitely try that next time. I asked some local homebrewers and they claim it's because of Adventure in Homebrew's mill grinder - it's not set to grind fine enough to up efficiency past the mid 60s. Corb3t fucked around with this message at 20:15 on Jul 7, 2014 |
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Jul 7, 2014 20:05
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Hey folks. I know not everyone goes on HBT or Gotmead, so I wanted to include you guys in on a group brew mead I'm starting. —BOCHET SOLERA STYLE— (shamelessly copied from the OP on gotmead and HBT) Solera aging is as follows: This is normally done in barrels but we can do oaked carboys for the sake of convenience (if you have a bunch of barrels, more power to you, but won't be required to join on in). To start, you would brew a batch of bochet, and at 6 months, brew another one. At 12 months you would brew a third and so on at 6 month intervals to however many carboys you want. When you are ready to bottle: You bottle only from your FIRST Carboy. You also don't completely empty the carboy. Instead you leave a portion behind (1/3 - 1/2) and refill the original carboy from the next generation (your second carboy). And your second carboy is refilled form the third, and so on and so on until you reach your last carboy. Your last carboy is then filled with new must and fermented. If that didn't make any sense, there is a Wikipedia article here that may clear things up. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solera Why I chose Bochet style for this: The process in making bochet can be a bit unpredictable in that the amount of caramelization you get can change from batch to batch if you are even a minute or two off, or your temps weren't the same as your last batch. This change loans itself well in emulating different characters of different years grape harvests. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ What we'll do is gather some participants over this week ending on Saturday 7/12/14 ...then we'll let everyone start on their own time and we can all watch each others progress and notes. The rules are as follows: (these are open to suggestions based on participant feedback until we begin). 1. 75% of your honey must be Caramelized for each generation. 2. You must have at least 3 generations (No maximum) 3. You may change your recipe for each generation (new yeast /ingredients); but remember that these will be blended down so crazy outliers may hurt future generations. 4. Generations rotate every 6 months (2 week Grace period on either end) 5. HAVE FUN, and learn about blending and Solera Aging along the way! 6. Late Joiners will be allowed to join within each generations grace period So, with all that, Who's IN!? Remember that if you have a suggestion for the rules to give your input before we begin. Generation Schedule G1. July 15th G2. January 15th (grace/join period all January) G3. July 15th (grace/join period all July) ...and so on and so on... Current Participants Marshmallow Blue
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Jul 7, 2014 20:47
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Josh Wow posted:For the White Labs redemption you don't have to mail in the tube, just the label. drat, I've been washing them with labels on for years, so ... I mostly only have the tubes.
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Jul 8, 2014 02:02
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Bag of Sun Chips posted:I'll definitely try that next time. I asked some local homebrewers and they claim it's because of Adventure in Homebrew's mill grinder - it's not set to grind fine enough to up efficiency past the mid 60s. They don't have a god drat clue what they are talking about. I've got that same one and you can adjust it. Mine is in the middle of the halfway point and the tightest setting. Homebrew store dudes/dudettes are very hit or miss. The one near where I brew are terrible & have the worst advice, near where I used to live, they were really nice, usually informative, but still didn't know "enough" for my liking (differences in wine yeast for example) but would take the effort in looking it up if they didn't know, another shop was pretty hands off and never gave advice and tried to steer clear answering anything. I find it most frustrating when they spout poo poo they read online without doing more research (hot side aeration, proof dry yeast, etc) or are just completely wrong - it's their GD job, not a hobby [like me], it's their job to be a resource. Jacobey000 fucked around with this message at 13:00 on Jul 8, 2014 |
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Jul 8, 2014 12:32
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Bag of Sun Chips posted:I'll definitely try that next time. I asked some local homebrewers and they claim it's because of Adventure in Homebrew's mill grinder - it's not set to grind fine enough to up efficiency past the mid 60s. AiH is my local brewery supply store here in Ann Arbor; do you mean the mill they sell or the mill in the shop for grinding? I've been getting around 64% efficiency even with a really long sparge, maybe next time I'll pass the grains through the mill twice just for science. I also learned that our water here in SE Michigan is remarkably similar to the water in Antwerp, which makes Jolly Pumpkin make a bit more sense. ~~~ I kegged and drank a bunch of the APA that I mashed too high. Once it's chilled and carbonated a bit high it's great. A little bit too much body and a touch too sweet, but very drinkable. Looks great too, a nice brass color and pretty lacing. I decided to dry hop the second half of the batch and see what happens. I think if I try this recipe again though I'll stick to more citrusy hops - the citra gave it a bit too much pineapple in the front which was in conflict with the more biscuity malt backbone. Lessons learned.
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Jul 8, 2014 13:16
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Jacobey000 posted:They don't have a god drat clue what they are talking about. I've got that same one and you can adjust it. Mine is in the middle of the halfway point and the tightest setting. He means the mill in the brick and mortar store. And it's true, I got burned enough by that mill that I just bought my own drat mill.
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Jul 8, 2014 13:51
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ExtremistCow posted:He means the mill in the brick and mortar store. And it's true, I got burned enough by that mill that I just bought my own drat mill. There's no real incentive for a store to use a fine crush. They sell more grain with it loose, and they avoid having to listen to people complain about a stuck sparge. With my own mill, a close gap, and slow speeds, I can hit about 85 to 90% efficiency. Also, with my own mill it's easier to justify buying sacks of base malt, at a lower price per pound. That mill is paid for, and I'm probably still close to even on the motor driven three roll one I put together.
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Jul 8, 2014 14:41
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I managed to clear out a bunch of bottles at my 5th of July party, so it's time for me to brew again! My fiance says she wants another stout, but I want to do something other than just trying to copy Guinness again. Anybody have any go-to or interesting stout recipes to recommend? I was going to try to get the ingredients today to brew next tuesday, so this may be kinda short notice... Or maybe I'll do a porter, or scottish ale, or something? Just give me dark beer recipes, and I'll run them by the other people who will be drinking it to get a consensus. BLARGHLE fucked around with this message at 15:24 on Jul 8, 2014 |
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Jul 8, 2014 15:07
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BLARGHLE posted:Anybody have any go-to or interesting stout recipes to recommend? This is my export stout: https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/maidez-stout It's just a straight-ahead recipe and it doesn't have anything unusual in it, but it's drat good. Make sure you use English malts for best results.
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Jul 8, 2014 15:51
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Jacobey000 posted:They don't have a god drat clue what they are talking about. I've got that same one and you can adjust it. Mine is in the middle of the halfway point and the tightest setting.
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Jul 8, 2014 16:13
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Another first timer question here. So I'm about two weeks into my second fermentation (Northern Brewer Caribou Slobber). Yesterday I noticed small pools of light foam forming on the surface. I haven't seen any krausen since the first three days of my initial fermentation. I'm still seeing a little airlock activity, but is it normal for some krausen to form this late in the fermentation or might I have other problems?
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Jul 8, 2014 16:16
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Jo3sh posted:This is my export stout: I only have a 5 gallon mash tun, so I'd have to reduce that down quite a bit for it all to fit. Probably something like 8lbs maris otter .75lb roasted barley .75lb flaked oats .5lb chocolate That way I could still get about 1.5qt/lb without overflowing my sadly small cooler, although I guess I'd have to do a 4 gallon batch to keep it from ending up watery. If I just cut it straight in half I could probably only fit 3.5 gallons of water, which is a little thicker than I usually like to do. Unless I'm completely mis-remembering how much volume the crushed grain takes up? My last stout had a 12.25lb grain bill, and my notes say I fit 3.75gal in the cooler with it, but I'm pretty sure it was filled right to the brim. This has also caused me to strike porters from the list, because I forgot how big their grain-bills tend to be. I really need a bigger mash tun, but I haven't been brewing enough to want to spend any more money upgrading equipment...
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Jul 8, 2014 16:18
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DecentHairJelly posted:Another first timer question here. It might just be some yeast rafts floating up to the top, which is normal.
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Jul 8, 2014 16:30
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BLARGHLE posted:I only have a 5 gallon mash tun, so I'd have to reduce that down quite a bit for it all to fit. For what it's worth, my default mash ratio is 1.25 quarts per pound, and with recipes that challenge the capacity of my tun, I drop that to 1.1 or even 1.0. If you use Brewtoad's scaling function and set the volume to 4.5 gallons, you get: MO 8.6# roast barley 0.9# flaked oats 0.9# chocolate 0.6# ... for a total of 11 pounds. That ought to fit in a 5-gallon tun at 1.1 qt./lb., based on some grists I've squeezed into my 15-gallon tun.
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Jul 8, 2014 17:11
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Jo3sh posted:For what it's worth, my default mash ratio is 1.25 quarts per pound, and with recipes that challenge the capacity of my tun, I drop that to 1.1 or even 1.0. If you use Brewtoad's scaling function and set the volume to 4.5 gallons, you get: Well, since no-one else has come forward, and I'm about to head out to get some lunch and run some errands, I guess yours is the winner!
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Jul 8, 2014 17:22
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Ok, question. I finally got my hands on a piece of furniture that will work as a liquor cabinet for my living room, and it has a cabinet that looks perfect for putting in a smaller draft tower. There is already a hole drilled in the floor that previous tenants had run coaxial cable through - can I run beer line through that narrow of an opening? I'd love to have the keg in the basement and a tap in the living room.
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Jul 8, 2014 18:50
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pugnax posted:Ok, question. I finally got my hands on a piece of furniture that will work as a liquor cabinet for my living room, and it has a cabinet that looks perfect for putting in a smaller draft tower. There is already a hole drilled in the floor that previous tenants had run coaxial cable through - can I run beer line through that narrow of an opening? I'd love to have the keg in the basement and a tap in the living room. Sure, if you like room temperature beer. I've seen people build taps into furniture, but the refrigerator is usually on the other side of a wall inside of a closet or something and there is only a foot or two of line that they have a flexible insulated tube around to share the cold airspace. Even if you ran a similar setup at the shortest possible distance, you'd probably be looking at 8-10 feet that you'd have to cool which would not be easy.
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Jul 8, 2014 19:28
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pugnax posted:Ok, question. I finally got my hands on a piece of furniture that will work as a liquor cabinet for my living room, and it has a cabinet that looks perfect for putting in a smaller draft tower. There is already a hole drilled in the floor that previous tenants had run coaxial cable through - can I run beer line through that narrow of an opening? I'd love to have the keg in the basement and a tap in the living room. Beer line is typically 3/16" ID, 7/16" OD. Seems a little thicker than coax, but you could always expand the hole in the floor. Keep in mind that you'll want to cool the lines somehow, or else everything in the lines will be warm and foamy, which will probably mean you'll have to pour out a pint or two every time you use it.
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Jul 8, 2014 19:30
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On a similar note, I've recently upgraded to a kegerator (and gotten the keg out of the normal fridge, much to the wife's delight) and have an issue with super foamy beer. I've added insulation to the inside of the tower, which feels pretty cold inside anyway, but no luck, even dispensing at 8psi. Any advice?
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Jul 8, 2014 19:30
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Luceo posted:On a similar note, I've recently upgraded to a kegerator (and gotten the keg out of the normal fridge, much to the wife's delight) and have an issue with super foamy beer. I've added insulation to the inside of the tower, which feels pretty cold inside anyway, but no luck, even dispensing at 8psi. Any advice? How long is your beer line? You should have about 10' of 3/16" ID beer line.
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Jul 8, 2014 20:55
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Josh Wow posted:How long is your beer line? You should have about 10' of 3/16" ID beer line. Looks like 5-6' of 3/16" ID line. If I need 10' I'm amazed that anyone selling a kegerator wouldn't include that length, since it's not like it's expensive. Also my faucet line pre-kegerator was never more than a few feet long and I didn't have this problem.
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Jul 8, 2014 21:20
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If you are using the same line and it wasn't foaming before there's a few things it could be: -Your kegerator is several degrees warmer than your fridge. -If your kegerator has a tower the air could not be circulating inside the tower causing that section of line to be warm. -You're now using an actual faucet instead of a picnic tap and not opening it all the way. -You have a leak somewhere in the disconnect/line/shank/faucet that's sucking in air. -You literally just started using your kegerator and the keg isn't all the way chilled yet.
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Jul 8, 2014 22:00
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BLARGHLE posted:Anybody have any go-to or interesting stout recipes to recommend? I was going to try to get the ingredients today to brew next tuesday, so this may be kinda short notice... My variation of an Old Rasputin clone, Old Balakirev. This was an outstanding beer, and I'm planning on making 10 gallons at the end of the summer for the Holidays. I did a 1 gallon variant of fullroundaction's BEST STOUT EVAR that was really good. I'm probably going to do 5 gallons of this, too, for the winter.
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Jul 8, 2014 22:36
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Any pro brewers here? I have a few questions and I'd really appreciate a few minutes of your time. Shoot me a pm or give me your email if you have some time.
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Jul 8, 2014 22:50
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BLARGHLE posted:I managed to clear out a bunch of bottles at my 5th of July party, so it's time for me to brew again! You could give a smoked stout a go, replace part of your pale malt with smoked malt. I have a recipe somewhere, but phone posting etc. It might come out a bit bacony when young / sweet though
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Jul 9, 2014 01:55
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ExtremistCow posted:He means the mill in the brick and mortar store. And it's true, I got burned enough by that mill that I just bought my own drat mill. It's easy and cheap enough to buy more 2-row/pilsner/wheat malt, but yeah, 62% efficiency wouldn't cut it if I was brewing a high abv stout with a 25+ lbs malt bill.
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Jul 9, 2014 02:43
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nmfree posted:I'm too late, but here are my suggestions: Those are both too big for my setup, and also I already bought the ingredients for Jo3sh's recipe. Maybe I can do them whenever I get around to upgrading! Nanpa posted:You could give a smoked stout a go, replace part of your pale malt with smoked malt. I have a recipe somewhere, but phone posting etc. It might come out a bit bacony when young / sweet though I have never had a smoked beer that I have liked. Yeah, they taste like meat, and I love meat............but I don't love meat in my beers
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Jul 9, 2014 09:12
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BLARGHLE posted:I have never had a smoked beer that I have liked. Yeah, they taste like meat, and I love meat............but I don't love meat in my beers Protip: use Briess cherrywood smoked, it's much less bacony but entirely delicious
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Jul 9, 2014 10:00
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wildfire1 posted:Protip: use Briess cherrywood smoked, it's much less bacony but entirely delicious That's funny, I always thought that malt was super smokey and harsh. I'll use it for at most 10-15% of my grain bill where I'll go up to 100% with Weyermann smoked malt. Of course compared to peat smoked malt it's nothing, I use literally 2-3 oz of that for a 5 gallon batch.
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Jul 9, 2014 13:19
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Josh Wow posted:That's funny, I always thought that malt was super smokey and harsh. I think smoked malts in general are kind of variable. Maybe it has something to do with slow turnover in homebrew shops or something, but when I've done beers with smoked malts sometimes they are intense and sometimes subtle.
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Jul 9, 2014 15:59
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Jo3sh posted:I think smoked malts in general are kind of variable. Maybe it has something to do with slow turnover in homebrew shops or something, but when I've done beers with smoked malts sometimes they are intense and sometimes subtle. You could try smoking them yourself to control it. It really wouldn't be all that hard as long as you have a grill and a pan to hold the grains.
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Jul 9, 2014 16:08
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rockcity posted:You could try smoking them yourself to control it. It really wouldn't be all that hard as long as you have a grill and a pan to hold the grains. Interestingly, I just picked up a pellet smoker on Craigslist. Once I break it in with some ribs, I am planning to do exactly this.
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Jul 9, 2014 16:25
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I got an electric smoker this year and have been smoking my own grains and it has turned out great so far. The most I've done is 60% of the grist but I've got two rauchbiers fermenting now that are 100% home smoked malt that'll be ready in about 3 weeks.
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Jul 9, 2014 18:24
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 Been too busy to get around to posting it, but I finally bottled last week. eight 750mls, and sixteen 500mls, full to the necks. That's about 3.7 gallons from my slightly less than 5 gallon batch. My recipe recommended I use a 1 cup priming sugar, 2 cup of water syrup recipe for carbonating, but I left some in the pot because I really don't like the idea of my brand new bottles blowing up. A 5 gallon batch usually does get reduced, right? I lost some from the boil, lost some from evaporation, and lost some from it bubbling out of the airlock and all over the tub I put the bucket in. Anyways, it's been a week, which is standard "ready, but not aged all the way" time, from what I've learned. Should I try a small bottle? Does a week really change it that much? It's my first batch so I'd just like to know if it's going to be remotely drinkable. I don't have a "wine thief" or whatever that is. I did consider just using a turkey baster and grabbing some during the bottling phase, but by that time we'd thrown out all of the sanitized water.
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Jul 9, 2014 18:35
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If you have a bucket, they usually have markings in the side so you can see what your actual bottling volume is and calculate the appropriate amount of sugar. I'd recommend cracking one at 2 weeks and seeing how it is. One week is just not enough time for it to get to where you want.
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Jul 9, 2014 18:54
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