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The amber ale I made a few weeks back is carbonated and drinkable, but it turned out pretty boring; it just tastes like a generic strongish amber ale. Nothing in the recipe list really seems to stand out and just results in a generic beer to my tastes, although it doesn't have any detectable off-flavors. I still will need to get a few taste tests to confirm what I think about it.
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Jun 5, 2012 02:15
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Angry Grimace posted:The amber ale I made a few weeks back is carbonated and drinkable, but it turned out pretty boring; it just tastes like a generic strongish amber ale. Nothing in the recipe list really seems to stand out and just results in a generic beer to my tastes, although it doesn't have any detectable off-flavors. I still will need to get a few taste tests to confirm what I think about it. I have been having the same issues, I have made a handful of kit beers, and while they aren't bad, they aren't great. I really think it is time to look into all-grain, I was gonna build a 10 gallon cooler rig, but I already have a 5 gal cooler, so I think I will just convert that and do 3 gallon batches with that, or maybe brew in a bag. I don't have AC in my house, and I don't have any spots that stay cool, am I pretty much screwed out of brewing for the rest of the summer? As soon as I have some cash I want to get a fridge and a controller, but I don't think that is gonna happen for a while...
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Jun 5, 2012 05:30
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bengy81 posted:I have been having the same issues, I have made a handful of kit beers, and while they aren't bad, they aren't great. I really think it is time to look into all-grain, I was gonna build a 10 gallon cooler rig, but I already have a 5 gal cooler, so I think I will just convert that and do 3 gallon batches with that, or maybe brew in a bag. I use either my converted freezer if its empty of kegs (doesn't seem likely) or my backup method: put it in the spare bathtub filled with water. Granted, that only works if you have a spare bathtub, but for the most part the ambient temperature isn't going to really move too much in a full tub of water. If it's really hot out or you want more cooling though, it's better/more convenient to just use a smaller plastic tub since you can actually alter the water temp in a small tub by circulating frozen bottles of water in and out to your tastes, whereas if you were just dumping it in the bathtub, you'd have to actually drain the water out and put more cold water in. A "wet T shirt" plus a plastic tub or tray filled with water and a fan blowing at it works quite well; although using the wet T-shirt method (evaporative cooling) is kind of a crapshoot if you live in a really humid environment because it relies on evaporation, but works well otherwise. As for your beers, I don't think that it's necessarily the all-grain factor that's making them less interesting; the biggest difference for me when moving from one to the other was that I got way better attenuation. I never seemed to get it below 1.018 with extracts, but it's like 1.010-12 on my lighter beers with all-grain. Angry Grimace fucked around with this message at 07:24 on Jun 5, 2012 |
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Jun 5, 2012 06:06
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bengy81 posted:I have been having the same issues, I have made a handful of kit beers, and while they aren't bad, they aren't great. I really think it is time to look into all-grain, I was gonna build a 10 gallon cooler rig, but I already have a 5 gal cooler, so I think I will just convert that and do 3 gallon batches with that, or maybe brew in a bag. Google "Swamp Cooler"
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Jun 5, 2012 06:10
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No AC? Time to brew some big Sassions!
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Jun 5, 2012 13:15
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One of the unexpected perks of moving from Oregon to Pennsylvania, besides the ubiquity of gas ranges, was that I have an actual cellar to ferment in. I swear, it's like the thing has its own temperature control that's always set for "optimal for fermenting beer". e: downside: centipedes. 
Mr. Glass fucked around with this message at 14:33 on Jun 5, 2012 |
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Jun 5, 2012 14:22
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Quick water question - during the brew process, when you've added the wort to the primary, does the water you add to bring it back up to your target volume (like 5 gallons) need to be sterile too? Nothing in the procedure I had said so, but I boiled a bunch of water and cooled it down anyways. It seems odd you'd go crazy sanitizing everything and then add impure water at that step.
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Jun 5, 2012 14:28
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As far as I know, the boil will sterilize it, but you should still start with distilled if your tap water is suspect. For example, no amount of sanitization helps with too much chlorine.
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Jun 5, 2012 14:56
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YASD posted:Quick water question - during the brew process, when you've added the wort to the primary, does the water you add to bring it back up to your target volume (like 5 gallons) need to be sterile too? No, unless your water is coming straight from the creek. Modern tap water shouldn't have anything living in it capable of infecting your beer. If it tastes ok to you then it will make perfectly fine beer without boiling.
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Jun 5, 2012 15:07
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withak posted:Modern tap water shouldn't have anything living in it capable of infecting your beer. City slicker trap sprung.
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Jun 5, 2012 15:10
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Splizwarf posted:City slicker trap sprung. I'd trust well water before tap water. Most water companies don't actually know the residence time in their mains because they don't actually know what their mains network looks like because it was installed 50-70 years ago. They've mostly dialed in their free chlorine for the worst case scenarios but who really knows. That said you are fine using tap water.
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Jun 5, 2012 15:33
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YASD posted:when you've added the wort to the primary, does the water you add to bring it back up to your target volume need to be sterile too? <pedantry> Nothing in homebrewing is ever sterile. It is probably sanitary, though. </pedantry> I would use boiled and cooled water for top-up, myself. You could get by using bottled water. It's probably true that water from a municipal supply is sanitary, but it also very likely contains chlorine or chloramine, either of which can cause off-flavors in your beer. This is one big benefit of full-volume boils - there's never any need to worry about top-up water if you have managed your volumes and boiloff rate well. The downside, of course, is that significantly more (and more expensive) equipment is needed.
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Jun 5, 2012 15:37
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zedprime posted:I'd trust well water before tap water. Most water companies don't actually know the residence time in their mains because they don't actually know what their mains network looks like because it was installed 50-70 years ago. They've mostly dialed in their free chlorine for the worst case scenarios but who really knows. Well, at the house I live in currently, there's a shock filtration system that's bigger than me in the basement because the local aquifer contains bacteria that produce a sulphur flavor and apparently a couple of less-healthy things. According to local lore, it's not usually a dangerous problem but it flares after heavy rains. City water, by comparison, at least has someone employed to constantly test it and adjust the mix or issue the various "No Drinking" or "Do Not Use At All" warnings. The "Oops We Added Sewage Again, Boil It If You Want To Drink It" warning was always my favorite. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to suggest that I like city water (gently caress that chlorine taste). This is about how well water can have way weirder un/underdocumented problems. Splizwarf fucked around with this message at 16:30 on Jun 5, 2012 |
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Jun 5, 2012 16:28
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I got some nasty off-flavors in some 1-gallon batches of mead that I topped up with straight tap water and I'm pretty sure it was chlorophenols from the chlorine. I'd at least boil it before topping up. Bottled water is fairly cheap but you're trusting the bottler to be somewhat sanitary.
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Jun 5, 2012 16:33
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I buy the local supermarket's (non-distilled) bottled water before every brew day. The city water in my town isn't terrible to drink, but I feel that its not worth the risk.
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Jun 5, 2012 16:38
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Splizwarf posted:As far as I know, the boil will sterilize it, but you should still start with distilled if your tap water is suspect. For example, no amount of sanitization helps with too much chlorine. I can't imagine the flat horrible taste of distilled water is ideal for beer, or anything else that goes in your mouth.
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Jun 5, 2012 17:12
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j3rkstore posted:I buy the local supermarket's (non-distilled) bottled water before every brew day. The city water in my town isn't terrible to drink, but I feel that its not worth the risk. That stuff is probably also tap water, just from somewhere else.
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Jun 5, 2012 17:18
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j3rkstore posted:I buy the local supermarket's (non-distilled) bottled water before every brew day. The city water in my town isn't terrible to drink, but I feel that its not worth the risk. That's going to get more expensive than just buying an undercounter filter very quickly. Campden tablets will remove chloramines in like 5 minutes at a rate of 1 tablet for 20 gallons and cost something like 5 cents per tablet.
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Jun 5, 2012 17:36
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withak posted:That stuff is probably also tap water, just from somewhere else. Probably, but on the plus side it doesn't intermittently smell like a frog died in it. Angry Grimace posted:That's going to get more expensive than just buying an undercounter filter very quickly. Campden tablets will remove chloramines in like 5 minutes at a rate of 1 tablet for 20 gallons and cost something like 5 cents per tablet. It definitely tacks on an additional $10 to the brewing cost, but i can live with it. I'm not about to install an inline filter as I currently rent and have a Brita filter for my drinking water filtration needs.
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Jun 5, 2012 18:00
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Splizwarf posted:Well, at the house I live in currently, there's a shock filtration system that's bigger than me in the basement because the local aquifer contains bacteria that produce a sulphur flavor and apparently a couple of less-healthy things. According to local lore, it's not usually a dangerous problem but it flares after heavy rains. I think the take away is that everyone probably knows if their water is good or not by smells and past experiences.
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Jun 5, 2012 18:18
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zedprime posted:I think the take away is that everyone probably knows if their water is good or not by smells and past experiences. If it smells and tastes good, brew with it. If you are not confident of its sanitation, best to boil it.
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Jun 5, 2012 18:23
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AlternateAccount posted:I can't imagine the flat horrible taste of distilled water is ideal for beer, or anything else that goes in your mouth. Beats the poo poo out of beer that tastes like used diff oil. 
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Jun 5, 2012 18:27
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Splizwarf posted:Beats the poo poo out of beer that tastes like used diff oil.
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Jun 5, 2012 18:41
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No no no, engine oil is fine. It reminds me of two-strokes and summer. Differential/gear oil is heavily sulphured and used (burnt) diff oil smells like Satan's rear end in a top hat. Where can I get me some of this Harviestoun? Tell me it's available in the US.
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Jun 5, 2012 18:45
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Splizwarf posted:No no no, engine oil is fine. It reminds me of two-strokes and summer. Diff oil smells like Satan's rear end in a top hat. Yes, it's available here. I'm in CA and that bottle came right out of my beer fridge. If I had to guess, I would say BevMo would have it, but that particular bottle was given to me by a friend.
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Jun 5, 2012 18:46
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Shiny bits arrived via UPS just now:
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Jun 5, 2012 19:28
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Jo3sh posted:Shiny bits arrived via UPS just now: That is sexy. A word of caution from experience: those little key chain rings on the camlock fittings are a pain in the rear end and get in the way more than you would think. I think I managed to make it two brew days before I ripped them all off in a fit of blind rage and threw all the little clips in a tupperware container.
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Jun 5, 2012 19:56
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Yeah, I can already see that they are going to foul against things, probably just when I am in a hurry. I may just go ahead and avoid the paroxysms of rage by removing them before the next brewday. I do note that the force required to close the cam arms is higher than I assumed it would be. Would you say a little keg lube on the neck of the male fitting would smooth this out? Or just leave it as it?
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Jun 5, 2012 20:48
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I don't recall having too many problems with them but I don't see how a little lube would hurt anything. Most of mine were actually the polypropylene variety and I never had many problems other than they eventually started to leak then I just replaced them because they were so drat cheap. I have since upgraded to all tri clamp so ymmv.
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Jun 5, 2012 21:30
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Jo3sh posted:This is one big benefit of full-volume boils - there's never any need to worry about top-up water if you have managed your volumes and boiloff rate well. If I've got a burner and kettle that should handle full volume boils, how do I tweak extract recipes to accommodate full volume? Also, I bought a bunch of gear of a guy I know and it came with a wort chiller. The arms on the chiller are bent in such a way that I don't believe it will get as far in to my wort as I want (I haven't tested it yet). Is it ok to just bend them, or do I need to take more care when bending copper tubing?
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Jun 5, 2012 21:34
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You can bend it a little bit, but if you try to do it too much it will crimp the tube. Your best bet would be a pipe bender like this thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6usvOZ9yIw
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Jun 5, 2012 21:57
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MalleusDei posted:If I've got a burner and kettle that should handle full volume boils, how do I tweak extract recipes to accommodate full volume? The easiest way is using recipe formulation software. I use hopville (dot com), but BeerSmith is probably the best-known package for install on your own computer. What I would do would be to input a recipe as you are brewing now, then adjust it for a full-volume boil. This will almost certainly require you to adjust your early hops downward, as you'll see better utilization with a non-concentrated boil. On the other hand, if you're already doing late extract additions (putting in only a portion of the extract at the start, and the remainder at the end), there may be minimal need for changes - just put in all the extract at the beginning and leave the rest of the recipe alone.
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Jun 5, 2012 22:11
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Fyodorovich posted:That is sexy. A word of caution from experience: those little key chain rings on the camlock fittings are a pain in the rear end and get in the way more than you would think. I think I managed to make it two brew days before I ripped them all off in a fit of blind rage and threw all the little clips in a tupperware container. That's essentially what I did. I actually liked having the rings on there, but the particular rings on the camlocks are really, really awful. I've got a bunch of stainless rings that I plan on snipping, looping in and then welding closed so I have thick, solid rings on them. Someday, anyway.
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Jun 5, 2012 22:54
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I know this gets asked all the time, but I've finally moved to an apartment where I no longer have to remain restricted to using a stovetop for boiling, so I'm looking for burner recommendations. I know one of the bayou models is the de facto recommendation, but I don't know which.
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Jun 5, 2012 23:23
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RiggenBlaque posted:I know this gets asked all the time, but I've finally moved to an apartment where I no longer have to remain restricted to using a stovetop for boiling, so I'm looking for burner recommendations. I know one of the bayou models is the de facto recommendation, but I don't know which. KAB4 or KAB6. I have & like the KAB6, but I have no clue if I needed to go 'bigger'. Regardless, I'd recommend building some sort of collar around the top of it below the supports to shield the wind. Increases fuel efficiency and focuses the heat upward.
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Jun 5, 2012 23:43
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wattershed posted:KAB4 or KAB6. I have & like the KAB6, but I have no clue if I needed to go 'bigger'. Regardless, I'd recommend building some sort of collar around the top of it below the supports to shield the wind. Increases fuel efficiency and focuses the heat upward. I have the KAB6 too, although I immediately broke the hose guard (not on purpose)
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Jun 6, 2012 00:20
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Angry Grimace posted:I have the KAB6 too, although I immediately broke the hose guard (not on purpose) Oh you mean the flimsiest part of the whole assembly? I want to break that thing on purpose.
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Jun 6, 2012 00:53
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I was experiencing issues with a Stout of mine intermittently not pouring. Nothing specifically would fix it, I just had to futz around with the liquid disconnect for a while and it would start up again. Just figured it out - the liquid disconnect was right next to the main cold air vent and was actually freezing up. There's a first time for everything.
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Jun 6, 2012 01:09
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Jo3sh posted:Shiny bits arrived via UPS just now: Where do you order the quick connects from?
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Jun 6, 2012 04:43
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Huge_Midget posted:Where do you order the quick connects from? http://store.proflowdynamics.com/modules/store/-Couplings-for-Homebrewers-_C12074.cfm
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Jun 6, 2012 05:37
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