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JawKnee posted:About when can I expect this to be ready for bottling? The only way to know for sure is to periodically check your gravity. When it stops changing, give it a few days to settle and clear and clean up miscellaneous fermentation byproducts, then bottle it. But as a rule of thumb (although I am not experienced with fruit beers), I would expect all that to add up to another week at minimum.
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Aug 22, 2012 01:35
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wolrah posted:I know adding it pre-fermentation won't carry through any flavors, but is there anything useful I can do with it anywhere before bottling? Well, I would not say that no flavor will make it into your glass, but I will note that: 1) Strawberry is a very delicate flavor and might require quite a bit of this syrup to have any noticeable flavor post-ferment. 2) I am assuming there was a crapload of sugar added during the making of this jam-syrup, which means adding it to beer will boost ABV more than plain fruit would. 3) Fruit has pectin in it, even if the person attempting the jam did not add any; this means the risk of pectin haze (which may not be a bad thing in a wheat beer anyway). If, in spite of the above, you decide to try it anyway, I would add it after the main part of the ferment is over. This will give the best chance of having some actual fruit flavor in the glass. I am presuming the jam-attempt was boiled and then canned sanitarily; if that's true, I would just open the jars and pour the jam-syrup into a sanitary fermenter, then rack the post-primary beer on top of it and brace yourself. The resulting beer will no doubt be quite strong, and the high sugar content of the jam-syrup may very well make this a skull-splitter.
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Aug 22, 2012 01:43
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Just found out today I lost an entire 5 gallon batch of ESB to a lacto infection after bottling  Maybe my 3rd or 4th infection over the last 4 years, so I don't feel too bad, but it still sucks
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Aug 22, 2012 04:06
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I forgot to mention Hop Madness here this year and we had a few people from here come to it. Here's the info sorry about the short notice....... Announcing:  Hop Madness 2012 is Coming! We are 4 days away from Hopmadness. The largest gathering of home brewers and home brewing clubs in the Pacific Northwest. To stay in touch with the latest information, please visit our Website or Facebook page What is Hopmadness? Hopmadness 2012 is a celebration of hops and their role in beer. We’ve had homebrewers from all over, as far away as New York to just down the road. From brewing hop harvest ales, picking fresh hops, to touring hop farms in active harvest, homebrewers can revel in all of the madness that are hops! We also have a video from a few years ago showing what Hop Madness is like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKfNLO36B1A When, Where, and How? The festival/get-together/campout is August 25-26, 2012 from noon to noon at the Rogue Farms Micro Hopyard in Independence, Oregon. Camping will be in the shady, grassy, fenced in area next to the Hop n’ Bed which is right across from the tasting room. Tickets
The family rate applies only to those who permanently live at the same address. Judged Competitions This year there are two competitions. They are:
There will be prizes for the winners of both competitions. For more information check out our competition page. What to bring Bring your food, chairs, tables, tents, sleeping bags, shade (canopies) and anything else you wish to make your stay enjoyable (homebrew, sodas, etc.). Its always nice to bring some snacks to share around the camp. It’s tradition… If you are planning to go on the hop tour please bring a homebrew or commercial beer for the hop farmers. Events
Tentative Agenda Saturday August 25th 12:00 - Hopmadness Starts, Check-in Open 1:00 - Hop Bines arrive for picking 2:00 - Hop Farm Tour 4:00 - Judging for the Best drat Hoppy Beer Competition 5:00 - Best drat Hoppy Beer and Peoples choice winners announced. Raffle follows 6:30 - Hop Olympics Sunday August 26th 12:00 - Hopmadness Ends, Check-out and Cleanup Sponsorships We are still looking for shops/websites to help sponsor and donate prizes for our competitions. If you can help outwith that please email Chris Hummert at chummert@gmail.com Questions? If you have any questions about the event, please either:
We hope to see all of you there and want to make this the best event there is!
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Aug 22, 2012 05:40
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Speaking of Alewerks Brewing Co. (Williamsburg, VA) Blue Lab Brewing Co. (Lexington, VA) Blue Mountain Brewery (Afton, VA) Bold Rock Hard Cider (Nellysford, VA) Bull & Bones Brewery (Blacksburg, VA) Capitol City Brewing Co. (Arlington, VA & Washington, D.C.) Corcoran Brewing Co. (Waterford, VA) Devils Backbone Brewing Co. (Roseland, VA) Gordon Biersch Brewery (Virginia Beach, VA) Hardywood Park Brewing Company (Richmond, VA) James River Brewing (Scottsville, VA) Jefferson Street Brewery (Lynchburg, VA) Legend Brewing Co. (Richmond, VA) Lost Rhino Brewing Co. (Ashburn, VA) Mad Fox Brewing Co. (Falls Church, VA) O’Conner Brewing Co. (Norfolk, VA) Port City Brewing Co. (Alexandria, VA) The River Company Brewery (Radford, VA) St. George Brewing Co. (Hampton, VA) Starr Hill Brewery (Crozet, VA) Vintage 50 (Leesburg, VA) Wild Wolf Brewing Co. (Nellysford, VA) Anyone else going?
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Aug 22, 2012 14:42
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Just saw this in my newsfeed from Magic Hat: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/white-house-beer-recipe-obama_n_1818531.html Freedom of Information Act request for Obama's beer recipes.
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Aug 22, 2012 16:27
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RiggenBlaque posted:Just found out today I lost an entire 5 gallon batch of ESB to a lacto infection after bottling I found my first visible infection last night in one of the meads I'm making to test different strains. It's only 1 gallon but it sucks because it was the one tasting the best out of all of them so far.
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Aug 22, 2012 17:40
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Mitch Steele (head brewer at Stone) is coming out with a book that covers nothing but American-style IPAs: https://members.brewersassociation.org/store/detail.aspx?id=422 I'm not sure I need 48 IPA recipes, but then again, snobs always judge my homebrew based on my IPA, which also never come out the way I like.
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Aug 22, 2012 20:54
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Angry Grimace posted:Mitch Steele (head brewer at Stone) is coming out with a book that covers nothing but American-style IPAs: Never gets old: http://vimeo.com/38649844
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Aug 22, 2012 21:12
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I laughed out loud when the AHA wanted me to preorder a book entirely about IPAs. I mean it isn't that strange to have a book entirely about IPAs but how much more peak craft brew hip can you get since homebrew can't ride the white whale craze striking craft brew culture and if there is something people are drinking when they don't yet have their whales its an IPA.
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Aug 22, 2012 21:39
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Angry Grimace posted:Mitch Steele (head brewer at Stone) is coming out with a book that covers nothing but American-style IPAs: Well now... I may have to pick that up. My Belgian Wit IPA came out fantastically well, seems like the yeast handled the high 70's fermentation beautifully; not too boozey at 7.5 ABV, and dry-hopping with 3 oz of Summit gave it a nice crisp aroma too. Also IPA's rock. Drank this ridiculous thing last night, fantastic beer if anyone outside of Lower Mainland British Columbia can get a hold of a bottle.
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Aug 23, 2012 00:19
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JawKnee posted:Well now... I may have to pick that up. My Belgian Wit IPA came out fantastically well, seems like the yeast handled the high 70's fermentation beautifully; not too boozey at 7.5 ABV, and dry-hopping with 3 oz of Summit gave it a nice crisp aroma too. Is it worth the drive from Oregon?
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Aug 23, 2012 01:07
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Splizwarf posted:Speaking of I would totally consider it if I was on the east coast, but I won't be back for a few more weeks. Definitely check out whatever Mad Fox has to offer. That place is awesome. Their Orange Whip IPA is amazing, and they won a gold medal at the GABF last year for their kolsch. I miss that place.
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Aug 23, 2012 06:01
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Paladine_PSoT posted:Is it worth the drive from Oregon? How long of a drive is that, like 9 hours? You know what, sure. However the brewery and it's tap-room is in Victoria, on Vancouver Island, so you can add a 2 hour ferry trip/drive to Victoria on to however long it takes to get past the Peace Arch.
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Aug 23, 2012 06:06
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BerkerkLurk posted:Granules are just the little dried yeast bits. Yeast will multiply on their own with time. Should be fine adding more, you'll just get a quicker reaction. Ok, that makes sense, thanks! Anyways, my attempt to carbonate ginger beer with champagne yeast failed miserably. As far as I can tell, no fermentation occurred since there was no release of gas when I opened the bottle and the beer was not at all fizzy. I did see a sort of yellow foamy scum form on top, but there wasn't much and it didn't seem very active. I've been trying to figure out what I might have done wrong, and have come up with the following: 1) Beer was too hot - I'll use my sugar thermometer next time and make sure the temperature is less than 90F before I add the yeast. 2) Yeast was dead in packet - I think I can test the yeast by adding it to luke warm water with some sugar in it and leaving it to see if it foams after an hour or so. Is this right? 3) Bottle wasn't sterile - I should wash the bottle with boiling water just before I start using it. Do I need to try and sterilize anything else, like the cheesecloth or grater I use on the ginger? 4) I interfered with fermentation somehow - Can I have messed this up by taking the bottle out into the light to look at it, or by lightly shaking it or anything? Any comments would be appreciated. My research online has been confusing due to people talking about things like hydrometers and multi-phase fermention processes which as far as I can tell I shouldn't need for doing this. Gerblyn fucked around with this message at 13:09 on Aug 23, 2012 |
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Aug 23, 2012 12:57
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Gerblyn posted:
1. This is likely, a lot of packages even tell you to pitch at temps that I think are too high. I'll usually just pitch around fermentation temp, but if I'm trying to activate yeast I'll go around 80-85. 2. Possible, but unlikely unless it's very old yeast. Check your package, but if it's within 6 months you're probably fine. 3. This probably wouldn't keep it from carbing. Might make it taste funky, but the yeast would still do its thing. 4. Also unlikely, I often swirl my starters and carboys during fermentation to try and kick up the yeast settling on the bottom. Overall, basically its probably #1. Though if the yellow scum is more of a foam, it could be the yeast trying to do its thing and it's just not ready yet. Daedalus Esquire fucked around with this message at 14:51 on Aug 23, 2012 |
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Aug 23, 2012 14:47
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Ok, thanks Daedalus!
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Aug 23, 2012 15:43
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Brew Goons! A month or so back I mentioned that I was working on a homebrewing art project called Hoppy Press. Our goal was to make badass homebrewing art that doesn't skimp on quality like most glossy department store posters. Well, our debut print is up for sale if anybody is interested. Sample images are below By the way, since I've gathered so much information lurking in this thread, here's an SA exclusive coupon: GOONGOON. Apply the code to your shopping cart at Hoppy Press  
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Aug 23, 2012 16:38
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I understand the barley, hops and beer, but why the pot leaf?
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Aug 23, 2012 23:42
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Looks more like a maple leaf to me, maybe they're Canadian? Edit: Duh, it's a hop leaf too  http://realbeer.com/hops/ Gerblyn fucked around with this message at 00:05 on Aug 24, 2012 |
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Aug 23, 2012 23:50
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They are rather similar botanically.
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Aug 24, 2012 00:58
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Galler posted:They are rather similar botanically. Sure, but any non-beer nut (even then, I don't think most beer nuts know the two are close cousins) who looks at that is going to think weed and not a hop leaf. When one sees a cone they think of hops; the hop leaf is not the identifying feature of the hop plant. Thus it seems weird and somewhat a mistake not to use a cone for this artwork, although I'm sure we all appreciate offering us a discount. I'd buy it if it weren't for the fact that everyone who saw it would see it and ask if I smoked.
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Aug 24, 2012 01:38
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IIRC you can graft a pot plant on to a hop vine and it'll grow. Or it might be the other way around, I don't recall. I can't say I'd think pot leaf from that, pot leaves are a lot narrower usually. More like this: 
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Aug 24, 2012 01:44
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wolrah posted:IIRC you can graft a pot plant on to a hop vine and it'll grow. Or it might be the other way around, I don't recall. That's definitely different, I just know I had the same sort of reaction as Josh Wow when I saw it for some reason. Maybe it's the grumpy right winger inside me. I still think not using a hop cone was a missed opportunity.
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Aug 24, 2012 01:48
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wolrah posted:IIRC you can graft a pot plant on to a hop vine and it'll grow. Or it might be the other way around, I don't recall. Okay, you've got my attention, tell me more about these mysterious hopijuana marihops.
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Aug 24, 2012 02:16
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wolrah posted:IIRC you can graft a pot plant on to a hop vine and it'll grow. Or it might be the other way around, I don't recall. Prefect Six posted:That's definitely different, I just know I had the same sort of reaction as Josh Wow when I saw it for some reason. Maybe it's the grumpy right winger inside me.
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Aug 24, 2012 02:16
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Bad Munki posted:Okay, you've got my attention, tell me more about these mysterious hopijuana marihops. I asked a friend who grows and he confirmed you can graft hop vines on to marijuana plants. There's a common rumor that the hops pick up THC and that this way you could grow something with the effects of weed without it looking like weed, but this is not true. It'd just be normal hops growing off a pot plant. You can apparently basically dry hop with weed if your beer is potent enough, but it supposedly doesn't taste too good. The better technique (which I've done once to great effect) is to just make some "green dragon" (soak weed in high-proof alcohol like everclear or 151 vodka) and mix it in your beer. Next time I have a fair bit of spare weed around I intend on doing a larger batch of green dragon to mix in while bottling, hopefully resulting in a full case of very fun beer.
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Aug 24, 2012 03:58
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All I'm saying is that I would definitely drink a hoppy IPA with THC in it.
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Aug 24, 2012 04:19
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Hey, I've been thinking about homebrewing for a while and finally bit the bullet and bought a starter kit to give it a go (I got this one in store on a whim basically). I'm expecting to gently caress it up a couple of times, but I want to at least give it a decent attempt. Basically I'm thinking about just setting it up in a corner of the garage, but this time of year the outside temperature is basically going from ~8C-20C. Is this warm enough? Also, would moving the vessel around for bottling be that much of an issue, outside of just having to wait a bit for sediments to settle?
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Aug 24, 2012 04:20
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I'm planning on adding some fresh Cayenne peppers to my chocolate pale soon, as fermentation is quite done. I was planning on doing this in my glass carboy, but that's still occupied by my apricot wheat ale which is taking longer than I expected to finish secondary fermentation. Is there anything wrong with sterilizing the peppers in vodka, cutting them open a tiny bit, and throwing them right in the primary, or should I wait until my secondary is clear? Also, for anyone with experience using hot peppers as an adjunct, how much would be appropriate for a 5 gallon batch of pale ale with a decent amount of chocolate in it?
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Aug 24, 2012 04:39
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Nanpa posted:Hey, I've been thinking about homebrewing for a while and finally bit the bullet and bought a starter kit to give it a go (I got this one in store on a whim basically). I'm expecting to gently caress it up a couple of times, but I want to at least give it a decent attempt. Does your kit specify it's for a lager or an ale? The one you linked says lager, is why I ask. Lagers like to ferment cold, like 52F tops. Whereas most ales like the low 60F's in general with certain Belgian yeasts being happy at 80 or higher. If it's a lager, try to keep it cold and expect it to take much longer to be ready than an ale kit. Moving it around isn't a problem other than, as you said, kicking up sediment that will ideally need to settle again. JawKnee posted:Is there anything wrong with sterilizing the peppers in vodka, cutting them open a tiny bit, and throwing them right in the primary, or should I wait until my secondary is clear? Shouldn't be a problem as long as you don't plan to reuse the yeast from the primary  I have a feeling the heat would carry over.
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Aug 24, 2012 04:39
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Docjowles posted:Does your kit specify it's for a lager or an ale? The one you linked says lager, is why I ask. Lagers like to ferment cold, like 52F tops. Whereas most ales like the low 60F's in general with certain Belgian yeasts being happy at 80 or higher. If it's a lager, try to keep it cold and expect it to take much longer to be ready than an ale kit. Thanks. Yeah it's a lager. The directions say aim for 21C-27C though, which is why I was asking whether I'd be able to get away with it now or just have to wait until it warms up a bit. Is it worth attempting?
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Aug 24, 2012 04:54
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That seems odd to me; 27C is way too hot for an ale let alone a lager. There are certain lager strains that are more tolerant of heat (usually called "California Lager/Common" or "Steam") so it could be they are using that. I guess my advice without knowing what the yeast is would be to follow their guidelines but shoot for the low end or even below that.
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Aug 24, 2012 05:26
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I think I might go ahead and buy a brewing kit. Been thinking of it for a long time and now I've kind of centered around the idea of buying the Northern Brewer Essential kit with either the American Wheat or Caribou Slobber that comes with it. I'm pretty sure I'm also getting a turkey fryer from Amazon to help make a boil for this kit (since I have the credit on Amazon). I also have plenty of pry-off bottles and some Grolsch style bottles that I stole from a brewer in Salzburg this summer (go me!). I think it would be a reasonable investment to go ahead and get a glass or plastic carboy since NB has a sale this month. I noticed that the kit doesn't come with the hydrometer and test jar. I should just go ahead and get this right? I understand you can use an auto siphon to get samples similar to the way you use a thief, right? What about a good stirring spoon? Is a wooden paddle from a sporting goods store okay or should I buy that too? What about a blow off hose? I don't see it in that kit? Is that something I should buy? What about a container to hold sanitized water? Should I store the sanitized water in the bottling bucket and "juggle" when I start transferring to from vessel to vessel? My understanding is that the sanitized water lasts a while, so I should probably buy a lid from NB too, right? Is there any glaring omissions that I don't have here? Should I just go ahead and buy little things like extra bottle caps, bungs, cleaner, bags, carboy drainers, thermometers, etc.? I live in the middle of no where Texas (College Station, uggh) where you don't exactly make a quick run to the "local" homebrew store. What am I missing here? LaserWash fucked around with this message at 15:09 on Aug 24, 2012 |
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Aug 24, 2012 14:40
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I am fully committed to buying a Kegging system, either used or new. I would like to have two kegs carbed at a time, but they do not have to necessarily be at different serving pressures. If the kegs are both carbonated, but there is only one faucet, is it possible to simply switch the serving lines and dispense from the other keg? I used to see Used kegs for sale on Northern Brewer, but do not see them anymore. Is there a good source for quality used kegs still around?
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Aug 24, 2012 17:41
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I've never seen a beer line switch like it sounds like you're looking for. The problem with such a thing is that you would have to drain any beer line after the switch every time you toggle it. Why not just get two faucets? On the other hand, if your actual goal is perhaps closer to just being able to carb one keg while serving another, you can just plug the carbing keg into gas, pressurize it, and then disconnect it and let it stew under the pressure until you're ready to swap kegs out. No reason you can't carb at room temp, either, you'll just need the pressure a little higher. But with that mechanism, you can carb as many kegs as you have: just pressurize, and let sit. You may have to re-dose the carbing kegs once in a while, but that's not such a big deal, just re-apply pressure every couple days until it stops taking more.
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Aug 24, 2012 18:30
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ScaerCroe posted:If the kegs are both carbonated, but there is only one faucet, is it possible to simply switch the serving lines and dispense from the other keg? Yes, but I would rather have two plastic picnic taps than have to switch back and forth between one faucet. Main reason is however many feet of bev line you will have (recommending 5ft minimum) will be full of the other beer meaning you will either need to continually waste beer of have "impure" beers.
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Aug 24, 2012 18:36
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Aaand now I want a Black and Tan tap like the "Twist" option in the center of a soft-serve machine. 
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Aug 24, 2012 18:37
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Hmm...
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Aug 24, 2012 18:47
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Except soda is waaaaay more hugely carbed than beer and thus can handle having a lot more gas knocked out of it. Serving your beer through something like that would probably just make a mess of your beer. Probably.
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Aug 24, 2012 18:51
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