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MJP posted:In the end I'm looking for a more drinkable version of a porter, so any input is much appreciated. Porters aren't drinkable?
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May 1, 2012 01:44
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Did my first partial mash yesterday on a recipe I made up. Seemingly went really well as I hit my target OG directly! Initial taste had a bit more 'spice' than I expected from the hops, but I am excited to see what the final product is like. I am also bottling the cranberry Pale Ale small batch I brewed tomorrow. So much homebrew...
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May 1, 2012 02:00
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LeeMajors posted:Porters aren't drinkable? I meant something that wasn't too sweet/malty. My concern is that it'd end up too much like a stout - flavorful for sure but very big. Hard to put my finger on it.
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May 1, 2012 02:07
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MJP posted:I meant something that wasn't too sweet/malty. My concern is that it'd end up too much like a stout - flavorful for sure but very big. Hard to put my finger on it. It seems to fit style pretty well. I'm not sure what you consider to be 'big' or 'malty,' but your alcohol is pretty low (~4% yes?) and that isn't a hugely attenuable yeast. This seems like a pretty sessionable porter with some malty sweetness to it.
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May 1, 2012 02:18
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Why would I want to choose ball lock kegs over pin lock kegs? Ease of use? I noticed there is a little bit of a price difference and I have no issues with using pin locks to save a few bucks if it isn't a huge hassle.
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May 1, 2012 04:02
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MJP posted:Okay, so I'm toying around with a partial mash vanilla porter recipe and I could use some advice on fermentables. In the end I'm looking for a more drinkable version of a porter, so any input is much appreciated. Feel free to point out obvious noob mistakes, I consider myself an obvious noob thus far. I only brewed extract briefly, but if you want a more drinkable porter definitely replace the amber DME with light or pilsen DME. The opposite of sweet is dry, so you want to get a higher attenuation and lower FG to get a nice crisp, drinkable porter. I would use regular chocolate (if they have it in place of extra dark, probably even do extra light over extra dark) and reduce both that and the crystal down to 5 oz each. I really like brown malt in a porter, so throw in 5-6 oz of that to make up for reduction in quantity of the others. Burton/Thames Valley yeast is a poor flocculator and good attenuator, so if you start at 64 and work your way up to 68* by the end of the first week you will help it keep munching on the sugars.
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May 1, 2012 04:02
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bengy81 posted:Why would I want to choose ball lock kegs over pin lock kegs? Ease of use? I noticed there is a little bit of a price difference and I have no issues with using pin locks to save a few bucks if it isn't a huge hassle. I think ball lock were more common and therefore it was easier to find random replacement parts for them, and to find the kegs themselves. I'm not sure that's true anymore, though, with so many people turning to kegging. I know my LHBS only ever carries pin locks, and I'm sure they'd carry ball locks if they could get their hands on any. They are also a slightly different shape than ball lock. One is shorter and fatter and one is taller and skinnier (I think it's ball locks that are taller) so the size of your keg fridge might make the decision for you. Docjowles fucked around with this message at 04:12 on May 1, 2012 |
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May 1, 2012 04:10
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bengy81 posted:Why would I want to choose ball lock kegs over pin lock kegs? Ease of use? I noticed there is a little bit of a price difference and I have no issues with using pin locks to save a few bucks if it isn't a huge hassle. Pin locks work just fine, however most (all?) don't have a seperate pressure release valve to purge the kegs. best thing to do is stick with the same type. If I was starting now I'd get pin locks for sure. MARZEN time!! I am going to brew my first octoberfest lager on wednesday. I don't think I'm up for the effort and mess involved with a decoction because I only have 1 outdoor burner. I'm thinking a half vienna half munich grain bill with light hopping (hallertau? I have plenty). I've got munich lager yeast (2308) already, but I could get something else although this is probably the best use for that yeast (wasn't my favorite in a helles, don't think it'll be great in a pils either). Any good recommendations for an octoberfest beer? I plan to brew it Wednesday and ferment at lager temps until 80% attenuation, then perform a diacetyl rest (required with this yeast). Since I use my fermentation freezer as a kegerator, I will end up leaving this beer at room temperature while fermenting other beers, then lagering it while I have the kegs in for serving (space permitting). When I brewed my helles, I had some diacetyl and the beer was more fruity than a lager should be. After 3 months of lagering with the same fruity results I gave up and took it out. I left it at room temp for some months and bottled what was left. It ended up being a delicious helles! very clean and smooth with no hint of fruitiness. Maybe the Saaz hops faded? (heard they don't go well with really hard water) Or the beer just had time to clean up at room temp.
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May 1, 2012 04:11
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My Delirium Tremens clone blasted off yesterday! Made a starter, added yeast nutrient, and frothed that wort up as long as I could stand to. It's the first time I've seen the krausen try to escape the bucket  Got the blow off tube in a bowl of sanitizer and it's practically splashing at the rate the C02 is coming out of that tube. I can't wait to see how this will turn out ... in 6 months.
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May 1, 2012 04:34
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Transferred the IPA clone I was working on to secondary, and had a quick question: I placed all my dry hops on top of the wort through the mouth of the carboy. It has been two days, and they do not appear to be sinking into the wort. Should I be worried? I am using whole leaf, if that is important.
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May 1, 2012 15:07
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They won't sink without you dunking them into a bag with a weight like a sanitized marble.
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May 1, 2012 15:21
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In this case, should he just shake it?
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May 1, 2012 15:54
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tesilential posted:I only brewed extract briefly, but if you want a more drinkable porter definitely replace the amber DME with light or pilsen DME. The opposite of sweet is dry, so you want to get a higher attenuation and lower FG to get a nice crisp, drinkable porter. So if I go with regular chocolate instead of dark, I would just add a lighter brown malt? Some revisions to see if I got it right with some adjuncts to make up changes in color/ABV: ----- 5lb Muntons Extra Light DME 8oz Crisp Crystal 15L 8oz Franco Belges Kiln Coffee 100L 8oz Breiss Chocolate 350L 4oz flaked barley 4oz flaked oats 1oz Fuggles pellet - 60 mins remaining .5oz Fuggles pellet - 30 mins remaining .5oz Brambling Cross - 5 mins remaining White Labs Burton Ale yeast (WLP023) Primary until it calms down, secondary for two weeks with four vanilla beans, seeds scraped in and pods chopped 4lb Muntons Amber DME 8oz Breiss Dark Chocolate 8oz Crisp Crystal (15L) 1oz Fuggles pellet - 60 mins remaining .5oz Fuggles pellet - 30 mins remaining .5oz Brambling Cross - 5 mins remaining White Labs Burton Ale yeast (WLP023) ---- 1.044 OG, 23 SRM (brown to dark brown), 24.9IBU and 4.3% ABV. Hopville targets it right in the middle between malty and hoppy, so it could be on or close.
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May 1, 2012 16:10
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Hey guys, just a head's up that the author of Brew Like a Monk is the guest on the Beersmith podcast this week. http://www.beersmith.com/blog/2012/...Brewing+Blog%29 Have not listened to it personally yet, but given the quality of normal Beersmith casts, I'm sure this should be good.
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May 1, 2012 16:15
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Splizwarf posted:In this case, should he just shake it? Yup, swirling once a day will be the best way to slowly work more and more of the hops into the wort - unfortunately most will continue to rise back to the top.
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May 1, 2012 16:16
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MJP posted:5lb Muntons Extra Light DME Flaked barley and oats need to be mashed, so you'd want to sub in a pound or so of base malt for some of that DME and make it a partial mash. Otherwise you are adding a shitload of starch that won't convert to sugar and not really getting any benefit from the adjuncts.
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May 1, 2012 16:22
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PSA: Never dry hop with whole leaf if you aren't using a hop bag. I almost threw my last batch out the god drat window when the hops kept clogging the auto siphon tube and causing it to suck air through the seal. It took me almost an hour to transfer that batch.
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May 1, 2012 16:22
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Splizwarf posted:In this case, should he just shake it? I was thinking something along the lines of swirling it to minimize any oxygen uptake?
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May 1, 2012 16:26
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Docjowles posted:Flaked barley and oats need to be mashed, so you'd want to sub in a pound or so of base malt for some of that DME and make it a partial mash. Otherwise you are adding a shitload of starch that won't convert to sugar and not really getting any benefit from the adjuncts. I thought it was already a partial mash since I'm using the specialty grains for coloring? Taking the DME down to 4lb and adding 1lb of Breiss Cherrywood Smoked Malt kept the stats neutral enough. Maybe the smoke flavor would be interesting with the vanilla, or is that too many aroma/flavor interactions?
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May 1, 2012 16:28
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internet celebrity posted:PSA: Never dry hop with whole leaf if you aren't using a hop bag. I almost threw my last batch out the god drat window when the hops kept clogging the auto siphon tube and causing it to suck air through the seal. It took me almost an hour to transfer that batch. This was part of the problem I had read about when determining whether to drop the hops in with marbles or just on top of the wort. People mentioned bypassing it by throwing a hop bag over the end of your siphon, which was my original intention. In the future I will probably utilize the bag w/marbles. Super Rad posted:Yup, swirling once a day will be the best way to slowly work more and more of the hops into the wort - unfortunately most will continue to rise back to the top. Thank you.
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May 1, 2012 16:30
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MJP posted:I thought it was already a partial mash since I'm using the specialty grains for coloring? You need some base malt to provide the enzymes to convert the sugars in the oats and barley. Adding specialty grains for coloring/flavor is not the same as mashing
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May 1, 2012 16:46
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MJP posted:I thought it was already a partial mash since I'm using the specialty grains for coloring? The definitions get a little tricky, but what you were planning is "extract plus steeping grains". To convert starches in unmalted grains like flaked oats, you need a base malt which is something like US 2 row, Munich Malt, Maris Otter or pilsner malt. These are malted at low temperatures and contain enzymes that convert the starch to sugar. Nearly all specialty grains are heated to higher temperatures to create deeper flavors and colors, but this same process destroys the enzymes. So they do nothing to help convert those starches. That's the definition of a mash, creating an environment where the enzymes in the base malt activate and covert starches to sugar. You can't have a mash with just specialty grains. That smoked malt you linked says it still contains enzymes, so it would probably work, but I think it might be too much going on as you said. I'd just use straight US 2 row, it's cheap and pretty flavor neutral.
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May 1, 2012 16:47
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Docjowles posted:The definitions get a little tricky, but what you were planning is "extract plus steeping grains". To convert starches in unmalted grains like flaked oats, you need a base malt which is something like US 2 row, Munich Malt, Maris Otter or pilsner malt. These are malted at low temperatures and contain enzymes that convert the starch to sugar. Nearly all specialty grains are heated to higher temperatures to create deeper flavors and colors, but this same process destroys the enzymes. So they do nothing to help convert those starches. That's the definition of a mash, creating an environment where the enzymes in the base malt activate and covert starches to sugar. You can't have a mash with just specialty grains. Gotcha, gotcha. I wanted to try a partial mash on this recipe; I'd previously done this, which I just bottled and I guess that's closer to a true partial mash. How does this look? 3lb Muntons extra light DME 2lb Breiss Ashburne mild malt 5L 1lb Breiss organic 2-row 2L 8oz Crisp Crystal 15L 8oz Franco Belges Kiln Coffee 100L 8oz Breiss Chocolate 350L 4oz flaked barley 4oz flaked oats
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May 1, 2012 17:19
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To roughly define the terms, dunking grain in hot water without worrying too much about hitting an exact temperature is steeping. With some grains, it gives the beer flavor, aroma, and color. Mashing is similar, but it focuses more on extracting fermentable sugars from the grain. It needs to be done more carefully, to make sure you keep the grain at just the temperature you need. It can affect the alcohol level, consistency, and other characteristics of the beer, beyond just flavor and color that you get from steeping. Some grains can be steeped, others can only be mashed, and still others can only be mashed when they're sitting next to other grains. The definitions are a little blurry, since some conversion is probably happening when steeping. But generally, when we say steep, we mean "drop it in some hot water and don't worry about it," and when we say mash, we mean "make sure that you are accurate and consistent with your temps and volumes for chemistry reasons."
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May 1, 2012 17:27
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Docjowles posted:Catching up on the thread after a long vacation, I had a question about this thing. Does the regulator have a gauge so you know how many liters per minute of oxygen you're adding, or is it just a knob you turn til it "seems right"? edit: Here is some crap on HBT: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/aerating-oxygen-129760/ digitalhifi fucked around with this message at 17:32 on May 1, 2012 |
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May 1, 2012 17:29
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digitalhifi posted:I haven't used one, but its in my long term plans to get an oxygenation system like this. My understanding is you pretty have much have on and off for the flow out of the regulator. There are some basic times I've seen posted somewhere else to get approximate O2 ppm concentrations. If you really want to be specific you need a medical tank with a medical flow-based regulator. They actually aren't that much more expensive on eBay, but the trouble is finding the tank. If you have a medical O2 tank, I think most welding/gas shops will fill it with no problem (i.e. prescription) or so I've heard. No, they won't; it's illegal to fill a medical grade oxygen tank with "non-medical grade" oxygen because you need a prescription for medical grade oxygen. Ironically, there is literally no difference between them since it's too expensive for gas companies to store non-med grade oxygen AND med-grade oxygen so pretty much all of it is med-grade. There is no way to determine your oxygen saturation without merely guessing because you'd have to actually measure it (at least that I'm aware of). The best thing to do is follow the instructions closely, unless of course, you have a regulator with a flow meter, then you can get mathy and figure out what you're at quite closely. Most people I'm aware of that use oxygen just open the valve for a minute or so and then dump yeast in. Note that there are 2 types of diffusion stone: a 2 micron and a .5 micron. In theory, the 2 micron one is for using an aquarium pump to just run air through it for a prolonged period of time, but it will work just fine with oxygen, you just want to keep the flow rate low so that the oxygen doesn't burst out in huge bubbles which don't get absorbed by the wort. The problem with .5 micron stones is that they can be clogged by your skin oil alone, whereas that doesn't happen as much with 2 microns. I wouldn't know, I've only had a 2 micron wand I got from Williams Brewing because I didn't feel like trying to figure out how to sink a stone vs. a Stainless steel wand. Angry Grimace fucked around with this message at 18:32 on May 1, 2012 |
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May 1, 2012 18:06
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MJP posted:So if I go with regular chocolate instead of dark, I would just add a lighter brown malt? 5 lb Muntons Extra Light DME 4 oz Crisp Crystal 20l-40l 6 oz Brown Malt 6 oz Breiss Chocolate 350L Looks better to me. The flaked oats/barley will increase mouthfeel and make the beer seem heavier, I.e. less drinkable. I prefer my porters a little thicker but you said you wanted a more drinkable beer.
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May 1, 2012 18:56
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wafflesnsegways posted:To roughly define the terms, dunking grain in hot water without worrying too much about hitting an exact temperature is steeping. With some grains, it gives the beer flavor, aroma, and color. That's what I've done thus far - periodic temperature checks and heating a little to maintain temperature during the steep. Anyway, before I ignite semantic debate, am I OK with the below having omitted the adjuncts since I don't want it to be too thick-bodied? 3lb Muntons extra light DME 2lb Breiss Ashburne mild malt 5L 1lb Breiss organic 2-row 2L 8oz Crisp Crystal 15L 8oz Franco Belges Kiln Coffee 100L 8oz Breiss Chocolate 350L 1oz Fuggles pellet - 60 mins remaining .5oz Fuggles pellet - 30 mins remaining .5oz Brambling Cross - 5 mins remaining White Labs Burton Ale yeast (WLP023)
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May 1, 2012 19:53
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How far off piste would I be throwing Danstar Nottingham yeast at my fledgling extract-based porter?
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May 1, 2012 21:22
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Kaiho posted:How far off piste would I be throwing Danstar Nottingham yeast at my fledgling extract-based porter? It will be fine.
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May 1, 2012 22:50
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Couple of quick questions before I brew with all my new equipment tonight: -Any reason I shouldn't do a full volume boil with an extract kit now that I have a big enough pot? If I boil off too much is there a problem with topping off with more water to make 5gal at the end? I'm just not sure what my rate of boil-off is going to be.. -Yeast says optimum temp is 60-72 degrees. I've got a fermentation fridge now, and I know I should set ambient temp to 4-6 degrees below what I want the ferm temp to be. If I set it to say 64, should be good?
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May 1, 2012 22:52
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Make sure you can get all 5 gallons up to a boil; my stovetop can't and I'm a poor sap so I boil with the first 2.5 gallons and add the rest in at then end.
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May 1, 2012 23:44
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Bass Concert Hall posted:Make sure you can get all 5 gallons up to a boil; my stovetop can't and I'm a poor sap so I boil with the first 2.5 gallons and add the rest in at then end. poo poo, it better. Otherwise there was probably no point in me buying all this stuff. Edit: After 40min of boiling its at 190! Go baby go! Sirotan fucked around with this message at 00:41 on May 2, 2012 |
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May 1, 2012 23:51
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Can someone school me on how to use coffee in a home brew imperial stout? Wife wants a coffee-based stout along the lines of Speedway Stout, etc. All the recipes I've seen state to just add something like 2.0 oz. of coffee at the end of the boil, or in the secondary. Does it matter what kind of grind? Is it better to just dump the grinds in like it's hops, or put it in some kind of steeping bag? And if I'm using a bag, is it best to remove the bag after a certain amount of time?
Angry Grimace fucked around with this message at 00:38 on May 2, 2012 |
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May 2, 2012 00:03
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Sirotan posted:poo poo, it better. Otherwise there was probably no point in me buying all this stuff. If the pot is wide enough, put it across two burners on your stove. That's how I managed to boil 7 gallons of wort down to 5.5 on a regular basis with regular stove burners back when I was still homebrewing regularly. Angry Grimace posted:Can someone school me on how to use coffee in a home brew imperial stout? Wife wants a coffee-based stout along the lines of Speedway Stout, etc. All the recipes I've seen state to just add something like 2.0 oz. of coffee at the end of the boil, or in the secondary. Does it matter what kind of grind? Is it better to just dump the grinds in like it's hops, or put it in some kind of steeping bag? And if I'm using a bag, is it best to remove the bag after a certain amount of time? Do a cold extract: Boil a few pints of water and sanitize a mason jar. Cool the water and pour it in the jar. Put a few ounces of coffee grinds in the jar, seal it up, mix it up a bit with some shaking, then let it sit in your fridge overnight. Pour that through a coffee filter into another sanitized jar. Add to your beer in the bottling bucket to taste. It's the best way to get a good, rich coffee flavor without any astringency or unpleasant flavors.
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May 2, 2012 00:48
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Ubik posted:If the pot is wide enough, put it across two burners on your stove. That's how I managed to boil 7 gallons of wort down to 5.5 on a regular basis with regular stove burners back when I was still homebrewing regularly.
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May 2, 2012 00:59
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Soooo it took an hour to get to a boil. Then I dumped in the LME. That was 35min ago.....still not back to boiling. 
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May 2, 2012 01:39
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Sirotan posted:Soooo it took an hour to get to a boil. Then I dumped in the LME. That was 35min ago.....still not back to boiling. I had a similar experience when I first moved into my new apartment. Let me see if I can find a related post I made about your choices. edit (responding to someone asking about electric turkey fryers): quote:I have a really weak stovetop so I spent a bit of time researching this a year or so ago. Basically, as far as I was concerned, these weren't an option. From what I understand, even though the fryer has the ability to bring oil to ~400*, it's harder to bring water up to boiling because the heat capacity for water (the amount of energy required to change the temperature of a substance) is higher than oil. Depending on the electric fryer you buy your success will probably range from complete disaster to barely manageable. This guy ran some tests with the fryer you linked and starting at 76* water temp it took him almost an hour and a half to reach boiling.
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May 2, 2012 02:07
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I'm not sure how much I like either of those options. I've got it straddling two burners now and its jusssttttt boiling. I really can't imagine the cost of my electric bill if I was doing this with every available burner. I might just compromise and start doing 3gal batches of beer instead of 5 when I start on all-grain, and just suck it up until I move and have an outdoor space where I can use propane. In my old pot I was able to get 3gal to a vigorous boil without an issue, so 4/4.5 should be ok, maybe. Immensely bummed right now though.
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May 2, 2012 02:28
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My stove sucks too. I solved that problem by doing 2 x 2.5 gal batches at a time. This way I can make 2 different styles at once if I choose to do so.
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May 2, 2012 02:37
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