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Docjowles posted:words of reassurance withak posted:more words of reassurance 
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Mar 26, 2012 06:12
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Despite my calming words on the internets, I constantly flip my poo poo IRL about minor details. But out of dozens of batches, I've had just one that was dumped As the great John Palmer says, brewing is a really really robust process. It's pretty hard to gently caress it up beyond hope if you take the most basic sanitation and temp control steps. I get mad because I didn't 100% achieve my goals sometimes, but in the end I still have good beer and notes on what to do/avoid next time and usually that's enough.
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Mar 26, 2012 06:36
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crazyfish posted:My experience *really* makes me want a kettle with a ball valve now. Pouring 5 gallons of wort into a carboy is no joke. Just get a racking cane or an autosiphon, they work just as well and are cheap.
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Mar 26, 2012 12:15
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Is there a risk of oxygenation if I pop the screw lid on my fermenter now that the bubbling has slowed a week into the brew? I know people take hydrometer readings all the time but this buddy of mine said there is a risk. I realize contagion lies everywhere etc but how paranoid should I be? Play it safe and leave for another week when it's most definitely done?
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Mar 26, 2012 12:44
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Spergio Leone posted:Is there a risk of oxygenation if I pop the screw lid on my fermenter now that the bubbling has slowed a week into the brew? I know people take hydrometer readings all the time but this buddy of mine said there is a risk. I realize contagion lies everywhere etc but how paranoid should I be? Play it safe and leave for another week when it's most definitely done? Technically there is always a risk of contamination every-time you open the fermentor, oxygenation at your stage is painfully unlikely - unless you shake the ever living poo poo out it for no reason at all.
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Mar 26, 2012 12:48
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Docjowles posted:Despite my calming words on the internets, I constantly flip my poo poo IRL about minor details. But out of dozens of batches, I've had just one that was dumped Everything went pretty smoothly with my brew day yesterday, except I forgot to sanitize my glass fermenter  I cleaned it really thoroughly last time I used it, hopefully everything will be ok...
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Mar 26, 2012 13:02
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wattershed posted:Able to share that recipe? I was thinking about doing the exact same thing. It was the Austin homebrew quad with WPL550.
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Mar 26, 2012 15:00
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Arnold of Soissons posted:It was the Austin homebrew quad with WPL550. Excellent, thanks!
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Mar 26, 2012 15:48
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Well, I think I might've killed my yeast I wanted to use for brewing tomorrow. starter is showing no signs of activity after 30 hours and no sign of a really young beer. The vial got up to 80+* the day before I made the starter since i forgot to take it out of my car right away. Samn. it's Cry Havoc for what it's worth, maybe it's just super slow?
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Mar 26, 2012 15:57
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Woo! Found a homebrew place not far from my house that sells Starsan! 3 places I called had no idea what I was talking about. I somehow stumbled across this place's website on some forum. Place sells Starsan, AND they sell grain too which seems to be a rarity in these parts. I think I know who just won my future business. But seriously, these people really need to invest in SEO services. Finding their website was unusually hard. edit: Little pitch for them - If you're in the Hamilton, ON area check out https://www.brewtime.ca for brewing supplies.
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Mar 26, 2012 18:31
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I had a weird idea and I just can't shake it, please tell me how terrible this is going to be. I want to make an experimental beer with equal parts barley, wheat, rye and maybe some other adjuncts like corn, rice, and oats in smaller amounts. Super long boil, I'd shoot for ~1.100 OG and use a clean, well attenuating ale yeast. Hops would be all the leftovers I have in my freezer (Willamette, nugget, and cascade) and I'd call it Chimera Ale. I know it would probably be a total mess of flavors fighting with each other but the novelty of making a beer with just about every common fermentable grain is really appealing to me.
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Mar 26, 2012 18:40
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internet celebrity posted:I had a weird idea and I just can't shake it, please tell me how terrible this is going to be. I want to make an experimental beer with equal parts barley, wheat, rye and maybe some other adjuncts like corn, rice, and oats in smaller amounts. Super long boil, I'd shoot for ~1.100 OG and use a clean, well attenuating ale yeast. Hops would be all the leftovers I have in my freezer (Willamette, nugget, and cascade) and I'd call it Chimera Ale. I know it would probably be a total mess of flavors fighting with each other but the novelty of making a beer with just about every common fermentable grain is really appealing to me. So this  in beer form? Seems a bit messy, you'll probably get a little bit of everything but nothing good as the sum.
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Mar 26, 2012 18:45
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wattershed posted:So this I was thinking the exact same thing, it couldn't hurt to try though it might end up interesting at least.
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Mar 26, 2012 19:28
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Docjowles posted:Despite my calming words on the internets, I constantly flip my poo poo IRL about minor details. But out of dozens of batches, I've had just one that was dumped When I start flipping out about stuff like this I need to remind myself that people have been brewing for millennia without modern conveniences and it has turned out fine. The Mesopotamians did this just fine and they didn't have fancy poo poo like starsan, autosiphons, and reliable/consistent yeast strains that they could buy on the internet and have FedEx'd to their ziggurats.
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Mar 26, 2012 19:57
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internet celebrity posted:I had a weird idea and I just can't shake it, please tell me how terrible this is going to be. I want to make an experimental beer with equal parts barley, wheat, rye and maybe some other adjuncts like corn, rice, and oats in smaller amounts. Super long boil, I'd shoot for ~1.100 OG and use a clean, well attenuating ale yeast. Hops would be all the leftovers I have in my freezer (Willamette, nugget, and cascade) and I'd call it Chimera Ale. I know it would probably be a total mess of flavors fighting with each other but the novelty of making a beer with just about every common fermentable grain is really appealing to me. Worst case scenario you have several gallons of beer you have to let age for a year or something. That the idea is appealing to you is all the justification you need. For added chimera-ness I'd say get some dank hops in there too, so all of hop-dom is represented, but that could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Godspeed, goon brewer.
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Mar 27, 2012 03:48
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kitten smoothie posted:When I start flipping out about stuff like this I need to remind myself that people have been brewing for millennia without modern conveniences and it has turned out fine. The Mesopotamians did this just fine and they didn't have fancy poo poo like starsan, autosiphons, and reliable/consistent yeast strains that they could buy on the internet and have FedEx'd to their ziggurats. True, but I know people who have all of that stuff and still make lovely beer. Go figure.
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Mar 27, 2012 20:19
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Are there any brett veterans still poking about the thread? Any recommendations on how to make something not unlike Bam Biere with commercial strains? I love brett as much as the next guy so its tempting to pitch WLP653 after a saison primary but I'm worried it'd be a bit of a wrecking ball to a simpler saison base. Wyeast 3763 is tempting as a whole package solution but I am sure I'd miss the saison primary flavors. e. Dicking around ragesaq's yeast spreadsheet it looks like there is WLP670 available to consider. Probably simplest for someone just starting to consider homebrewing with brett. zedprime fucked around with this message at 02:47 on Mar 28, 2012 |
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Mar 28, 2012 02:14
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zedprime posted:Are there any brett veterans still poking about the thread? Any recommendations on how to make something not unlike Bam Biere with commercial strains? I have the 670 going right now. It's been fermenting for about 5 weeks and haven't gotten a note of brett in there yet. I believe someone had previously stated letting it sit for a few months would eventually pull the bretty notes out, but I obviously can't confirm that at this point. My plan's to bottle or keg in the next two weeks or so - I'd like to get it off the rest of the yeast without going to a tertiary fermentation, as I dry hopped with Sorachi Ace in the secondary - but it's tasting better and better each sample and I wonder if there's harm in bottling now if it's going to reinvigorate itself at some point soon and turn into what I was expecting from the start. Read through the notes on whitelabs.com for that yeast and see what others who've used it are saying.
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Mar 28, 2012 03:49
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zedprime posted:Are there any brett veterans still poking about the thread? Any recommendations on how to make something not unlike Bam Biere with commercial strains? Jolly Pumpkin uses a blend - if you want the flavor, just pitch the dregs. I did this for a braggot I brewed and there was most defiantly a 'jolly pumpkin'-esque flavor profile coming forward after just about a month.
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Mar 28, 2012 11:58
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So what are general thoughts on use of carapils? I've heard tons of people, including local commercial brewers, say 10-20%. Is this something that should be stymied when used with crystal malts? How much dextrin is contributed by crystal malts, if at all? I've got a recipe I put together where it's like 15% carapils and 15% crystal 40. I'm thinking that's too much for a pale (although I think it only comes to like 12srm). I also don't want to thin out my beer so much that it'll be unbalanced with the hops (its about 70ibu). Thoughts?
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Mar 28, 2012 16:02
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Brewed a hefe on Saturday and it was already at its anticipated final gravity when I tested last night. If it tests the same tonight is there any reason I should leave it in primary for the rest of the recommended fermentation period?
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Mar 28, 2012 16:09
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LeeMajors posted:So what are general thoughts on use of carapils? Is it extract or all-grain? If it's all-grain carapils is pointless IMO, just mash higher. If extract, I think it has a place but 15% seems excessive, especially with a high amount of crystal malt. internet celebrity posted:Brewed a hefe on Saturday and it was already at its anticipated final gravity when I tested last night. If it tests the same tonight is there any reason I should leave it in primary for the rest of the recommended fermentation period? Hefe's are known for being super quick to make, so it's not crazy to think it's done. I'd let it sit one week total in the primary so the yeast can do some cleanup, but if you are in a rush and the gravity sample tastes good, I guess there's no harm in packaging now.
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Mar 28, 2012 16:22
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I got my hands on some big carboys and I'll be making a larger batch of mead this summer. I got a couple of questions: can I prepare the must in one carboy and let it ferment in the same one, or should I transfer it to another carboy for brewing? Also, what do you use to stop the fermentation?
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Mar 28, 2012 19:44
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I got my hands on everything I need to make my first brew in my Mr. Beer. I tossed all the stuff that came with it and I am just using the fermenter with ingredients for a Belgian dubbel from brewmaster's warehouse. Here is the recipe. The dude at the store said it was pretty forgiving for a beginner, plus I love dubbels. http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/recipe/6dd37b08/shoultzmeyer-brewery-double-trouble Oh god what have I got myself into? Oh, I am not able to brew until Saturday. I am keeping most of thew ingredients in the freezer-except for the milk jug of LME, which I put in the fridge. Will this be OK?
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Mar 28, 2012 21:28
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The page you linked is for 5 gallons, did you get the proper quantities for your mr beer's capacity? Freshly crushed grains last a week or two so you're fine to brew on Saturday.
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Mar 28, 2012 21:40
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Yeah, he halved the recipe to 2.5 gallons. The Mr. Beer holds 2. I don't think he wanted to try multiplying it by .4
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Mar 28, 2012 22:12
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mewse posted:The page you linked is for 5 gallons, did you get the proper quantities for your mr beer's capacity? Just as a piece of info, you can store crushed grains much longer than a week or two. As long as you store them in some kind of air tight container you can store them for months. I stored a bunch of crushed grain for an imperial porter for almost 6 months and they were fine.
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Mar 28, 2012 22:30
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Huge_Midget posted:Just as a piece of info, you can store crushed grains much longer than a week or two. As long as you store them in some kind of air tight container you can store them for months. I stored a bunch of crushed grain for an imperial porter for almost 6 months and they were fine. Ah, thanks, I don't know where I got that idea
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Mar 28, 2012 22:44
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I just realized I haven't sanitized my strainer for the last few batches when pouring into my primary. Surprised I haven't gotten an infection yet.
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Mar 29, 2012 02:32
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I'm doing a 10 gallon batch of a dunkelweissen type beer that has 30% wheat and 20% rye and I just noticed I didn't grab any rice hulls. I'm just gonna do a beta glucan rest and pray.
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Mar 29, 2012 13:41
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mewse posted:I just realized I haven't sanitized my strainer for the last few batches when pouring into my primary. Surprised I haven't gotten an infection yet. Or sometimes you just luck out and the beer is just fine, I wouldn't worry about it, but I do recommend sanitizing in the future.
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Mar 29, 2012 14:27
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Josh Wow posted:I'm doing a 10 gallon batch of a dunkelweissen type beer that has 30% wheat and 20% rye and I just noticed I didn't grab any rice hulls. I'm just gonna do a beta glucan rest and pray. Much to the chagrin of the assholes at the LHBS, I have yet to have a stuck sparge with my 70% wheat hef recipe. I use a beta glucan rest but also a double-decoction mash. Let us know how it turns out 
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Mar 29, 2012 15:07
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Just got done sparging 10 minutes ago and had no problems. Just did a 40 minute rest at 110* and another 40 minutes at 154*.
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Mar 29, 2012 16:14
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Can someone point me towards a resource (internet or book) that can explain step mashes and how to design them? ie. this talk about a beta glucan rest... I've googled around, but not found something that actually explains what all the different possible rests are, how long each one should (or could) be, their effects on the final product, and how to put them together to arrange it properly. I now have the ability to easily step-mash, and I'd like to know how to do it.
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Mar 29, 2012 17:04
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Yeah my 50/50 wheat/pils hefe was the easiest sparge I ever had, that betaglucan rest really works.
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Mar 29, 2012 17:05
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the42ndtourist posted:Can someone point me towards a resource (internet or book) that can explain step mashes and how to design them? ie. this talk about a beta glucan rest... This probably doesn't give everything you're looking for, but is a good overview: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Mash_temperatures
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Mar 29, 2012 17:27
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This is another good one (actually the entire site rules if you like the  side of brewing)http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Infusion_Mashing http://www.braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=The_Theory_of_Mashing
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Mar 29, 2012 17:30
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Cowcatcher posted:I got my hands on some big carboys and I'll be making a larger batch of mead this summer. I got a couple of questions: can I prepare the must in one carboy and let it ferment in the same one, or should I transfer it to another carboy for brewing? Also, what do you use to stop the fermentation? Brewing in the carboy? Do you mean primary fermentation? You don't really want to brew mead either, like a 60 minute boil or any boil that you'd do with beer. The heat will destroy the delicate flavors and armoas in the honey. I heat up the must just enough to help melt the honey, like 75-80F. For stopping the fermentation you can use campden tablets (metabisulfite). I prefer not to add sulfites and pick a yeast with the alcohol tolerance I want and adjust the amount of honey to get the desired sweetness. MoreBeer has a decent Mead-making guide
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Mar 29, 2012 18:24
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Cpt.Wacky posted:Brewing in the carboy? Do you mean primary fermentation? You don't really want to brew mead either, like a 60 minute boil or any boil that you'd do with beer. The heat will destroy the delicate flavors and armoas in the honey. I heat up the must just enough to help melt the honey, like 75-80F. Sorry, I didn't mean brewing -- the recipes I'm looking at use a "fermentation bucket" and then they transfer the must to a carboy. I'm just wondering if I have to transfer the must at all or can I just ferment it in the same carboy and then top it off with water once the must is done. The pdf looks good, thanks e: which yeasts did you try out so far?
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Mar 29, 2012 19:03
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| # ? May 17, 2024 13:09 |
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Regarding carapils, I've used ~5% for a bit of body/head boost in a few recipes, but usually it's unnecessary if you adjust your process or if you're using other crystal malts/adjunct grains. Regarding Brett, if you ferment with 100% Brett you're probably not going to get anything you'd call "characteristically" Brett. Those flavors come from competition (fermenting with Sacch or bugs) and somewhat from stress (pitching into an already-fermented Sacch beer). Don't get me wrong, a 100% Brett beer will taste unique, but it won't be nearly the same as the flavor profile you get the more traditional way. And yeah as mentioned Jolly Pumpkin uses a blend of bugs, so nothing you do with just yeast (Sacch and Brett) will get you close.
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Mar 30, 2012 01:36
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