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Whodat Smith-Jones posted:How does a racking cane even work without an auto-siphon?  You put the racking cane through one stem and blow through the other to create pressure inside the carboy, starting the siphon. People are often worried about infection with this but this is how I always start it and I've never had an infected batch. Just don't slobber into it and maybe brush your teeth once and a while I guess? Unrelated, I've been evicted from the refrigerator so I have a project going. I'm into this kegerator project about $160, though I already had the kegging stuff. I brew tonight (a rauched CDA!!!) so final assembly will be later this week. First keg going in it is the CDA I'm brewing tonight, right after Labor Day. 
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Aug 27, 2012 18:52
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fullroundaction posted:Made some great pear syrup over the weekend and want to add some to a hefe I'm bottling this weekend. Considering that you probably don't really know the sugar content of the pears, why not just add some pear syrup first, let that ferment out, and then bottle with normal sugar?
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Aug 27, 2012 19:50
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I have a first time 5 gallon batch of Munton's wheat going for the last 2 weeks now. I took it out of the fermentation chamber to see that the top 2/3 are a darker clear color and the bottom third is a lighter cloudy tone. I'm assuming this means it need more time fermenting? Or is this normal? The airlock doesn't bubble at all anymore.
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Aug 27, 2012 21:37
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awdeetdeet posted:I have a first time 5 gallon batch of Munton's wheat going for the last 2 weeks now. I took it out of the fermentation chamber to see that the top 2/3 are a darker clear color and the bottom third is a lighter cloudy tone. I'm assuming this means it need more time fermenting? Or is this normal? The airlock doesn't bubble at all anymore. 2 weeks is plenty of time, I can almost always keg a low-gravity batch after 1 week. What you're seeing is yeast in suspension, it falls to the bottom after active fermentation is over. Since it's clearer on top, this is a pretty good clue that your beer is done in primary. If you want it to clear up, you can put it in secondary for a couple more weeks or cold crash it, but wheat beer is fine a little cloudy.
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Aug 27, 2012 22:00
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clutchpuck posted:2 weeks is plenty of time, I can almost always keg a low-gravity batch after 1 week. Gonna go ahead with the bottling then, thanks!
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Aug 27, 2012 22:10
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I've got a batch of beer coming up that I'd like to keg. My local brew shop has a kit with a (I think) new 5gal keg, a filled 5lb CO2 canister, hoses, and a picnic dispenser. They want $270, which seems expensive. I was also looking at a few much cheaper options: http://www.amazon.com/Kegco-Homebrew-Party-Kegerator-SHPCK-BALL5T/dp/B00485L32W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1346103537&sr=8-2&keywords=keg+kit http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brew-logic-single-tap-draft-system-w-pin-lock-keg.html http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brew-logic-single-tap-draft-system-with-reconditioned-co2-tank.html I'm not entirely sure of what the difference is between these- any suggestions? I rather like the less expensive options because then, I can also buy a dedicated beer fridge, which will eventually become a two-tap keggerator.
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Aug 27, 2012 22:56
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Buy refurbs while they still exist. Most places selling whole kits make their money by foisting a relatively useless dual gauge regulator on you so putting your own order together may or may not get you a better deal. For CO2, a gauge on the cylinder side is literally a thermometer. I imagine it would work better as a level gauge if you were using beer gas with N2 in it. The difference between the two packages from the same place with the same stuff is what sort of fittings they take. They have slightly different dimensions and the price difference is mostly because of rarity of the one. Its worth vetting wherever you buy from with a cursory google search to see how much work their refurbs take to hold pressure well, some places put less effort than others.
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Aug 27, 2012 23:24
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clutchpuck posted:
My kit came with the same carboy hood plus a filter which is supposed to sterilize your breath. My buddy and I promptly ruined that filter by dunking it in sanitizer which I guess causes it to seal up completely. Since then we have been using our CO2 tank to get the siphon started - our quick disconnect for the tank just happens to perfectly fit the second "nipple" on the carboy hood and has made siphoning totally painless ever since.
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Aug 27, 2012 23:38
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Super Rad posted:Since then we have been using our CO2 tank to get the siphon started - our quick disconnect for the tank just happens to perfectly fit the second "nipple" on the carboy hood and has made siphoning totally painless ever since. That's a pretty good tip, thanks.
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Aug 28, 2012 00:14
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clutchpuck posted:That's a pretty good tip, thanks. Specifically it's this disconnect we're using: http://morebeer.com/view_product/17399//Beer_Gas_Tubing_Quick_Disconnect_-_1_4%22_Barb_x_Male I'm sure there are ways to do it with straight tubing that might work even better, just have to pick the right ID. Make sure to ramp up the pressure slowly (we usually need ~8psi) and to bleed off the pressure every once in a while (occasionally bleeding the pressure will actually kick-start the siphon). We've had our plastic carboys balloon out from using too much pressure a few times. Nothing too bad came of it except a bunch of yeast got kicked up, but each time it's happened to me I felt like I could have a heart attack.
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Aug 28, 2012 01:01
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Once the siphon is going, you can take the carboy off pressure entirely - when I blow, it's really just a momentary push and once it starts flowing, gravity takes care of the rest. But maybe that's how you are doing it and I am misunderstanding.
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Aug 28, 2012 01:08
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RiggenBlaque posted:Considering that you probably don't really know the sugar content of the pears, why not just add some pear syrup first, let that ferment out, and then bottle with normal sugar? The unfortunate answer is because I'm about to be out of town for 2 weeks and while I'm gone the AC is going to be off. So I need to bottle this thing and take it to another house before I go : /
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Aug 28, 2012 01:13
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I have some leftover grains from my biere de garde and was thinking of brewing something to use 'em up. I love porters, especially with fall coming up, so I think that's what I'm going to go for. Here's what I threw together in beersmith: 78% Pale 4% Briess Blackprinz 5% Caravienne 2& Caramunich 2% Aromatic 4% Chocolate 6% Biscuit (totals 101% due to rounding) Most of the recipes I've seen call for some sort of crystal and brown but I'm wondering if the caramunich and vienne can carry some sweetness instead. Also kind of wondering about the aromatic and biscuit... the aromatic is basically just "hey, I have a few leftover ounces of this, why not?" but the biscuit I was toying with the idea of toasting it a little and using it instead of brown malt. I am also wondering if I should up the chocolate or debittered black malt, because I like my porters pretty roasty. In short, how dumb is this grain bill? I'm not really married to any of these grains exactly, it's just that if I CAN use 'em and end up with a solid fall beer with just a bunch of leftovers, then hey, I might as well.
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Aug 28, 2012 01:17
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nominal posted:I have some leftover grains from my biere de garde and was thinking of brewing something to use 'em up. I love porters, especially with fall coming up, so I think that's what I'm going to go for. Here's what I threw together in beersmith:
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Aug 28, 2012 02:38
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clutchpuck posted:Once the siphon is going, you can take the carboy off pressure entirely - when I blow, it's really just a momentary push and once it starts flowing, gravity takes care of the rest. Yeah that's how I'm doing it, but it usually takes a minute for the siphon to flow fast enough to sustain itself.
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Aug 28, 2012 06:15
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I'm starting to scout out and pick up equipment for both full batch boils, and eventually all-grain batches. What do you guys think of these pieces (and their prices): Outdoor propane burner which I think is 185,000 BTUs 32 Quart Stainless Steel kettle which has both a built in thermometer and valve.
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Aug 29, 2012 01:36
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zedprime posted:Home Brewing really should be called hurricane preparedness. Potable and nutritious beer on hand in large quantities? Check. A variety of food safe buckets, carboys, mash tuns to keep extra water? Check. Nothing could possibly go wrong. It makes sense it is still his batch because every time he "helps out" with someone making beer he does a lot of the grunt work while not worrying about the creative details until recently.
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Aug 29, 2012 04:05
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WTF is up with the HBT? They use abbreviations like a MF. They're all "gonna sell my CBC at the LHBS. Dude RDWHAHB." Though YMMV. They come off as dunces. Also, what's up with the tendency to clone beer? Alot of americans seem to use it to make direct imitations to save money. "Haha, I'm saving $8.99 because I have the same grain bill hahaha." BlueGrot fucked around with this message at 20:48 on Aug 29, 2012 |
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Aug 29, 2012 20:46
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You forgot "SWMBO" 
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Aug 29, 2012 20:54
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I decided when I started to only try clone recipes for things I couldn't get otherwise. In Fredericksburg, VA, this is a lot of beers.  e: and what wattershed said, I imagine I'll try that too eventually. Along the same lines, there's probably also a lot of "This would be perfect if only... hmm, I want to clone this so then I can change it to fix what I think is wrong/missing etc." This is usually how people behave with cooking recipes, so I assume that spirit of customization would carry over. Splizwarf fucked around with this message at 20:59 on Aug 29, 2012 |
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Aug 29, 2012 20:54
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BlueGrot posted:Also, what's up with the tendency to clone beer? Alot of americans seem to use it to make direct imitations to save money. "Haha, I'm saving $8.99 because I have the same grain bill hahaha." I take cloning as a way that, if given the actual ingredients in a commercial beer, one can test their mettle as brewers by attempting to match the qualities of said beer. Generally these targets are refined and perfected to the professional brewer's specifications, and hit their marks on color, clarity, mouthfeel, taste, etc. Most homebrewers want to achieve quality in their product too, and having a benchmark given the same ingredients and recipe is a great way to discover where they stand.
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Aug 29, 2012 20:55
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Yeah, those are completely valid reasons for cloning. What I really dont get is sticking it to the microbreweries by not buying their products.
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Aug 29, 2012 20:58
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Yeah, no, those guys are just dipshits leading unhappy lives. 
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Aug 29, 2012 20:59
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BlueGrot posted:WTF is up with the HBT? They use abbreviations like a MF. That's one of the reasons I don't read that board. The abbreviations are bad enough, but God forbid you ask what any of those abbreviations means - they like to give people a hard time about being noobs rather than actually helping people. I think the shared jargon makes them clique up and reject outsiders. BlueGrot posted:Yeah, those are completely valid reasons for cloning. What I really dont get is sticking it to the microbreweries by not buying their products. Even with very good commercial beer, I frequently find that I'd like it better if I changed it up in some way. After all, I am not the guy who designed the recipe, and that guy's tastes are different than mine. So I steal ideas, but I don't tend to try to clone anything. Jo3sh fucked around with this message at 21:06 on Aug 29, 2012 |
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Aug 29, 2012 21:00
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So Bell's has an annual homebrew competition, with the third starting on September 8. It looks really cool and I sorta want to compete but I'm a novice at best with not a lot of confidence. Hell I can barely bring to a boil the amount of wort they are giving out on my lovely electric stove. Still, awfully tempting... http://bellshomebrew.tumblr.com/post/29897010781/q-a-bells-3rd-annual-homebrew-competition
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Aug 29, 2012 21:11
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One more reason for clone recipes is getting more hits i.e. brewers may be more likely to search for a recipe by "Guinness clone" rather than "dry irish stout all grain recipe" - posting a clone recipe can also go a long way in helping the brewer using it to expect what it should taste like. I never go for clone brews myself, but I've definitely used clone recipes as the springboard for personal recipes. The guy I brew with did make an excellent Arrogant Bastard clone that taught us volumes about Special B and Chinook 
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Aug 29, 2012 21:28
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BlueGrot posted:Yeah, those are completely valid reasons for cloning. What I really dont get is sticking it to the microbreweries by not buying their products. Some stuff is hard or impossible to get in your area. Some stuff might be $200 a case in your area (Cigar City Maduro, I'm looking at you). Do I want to drink Maduro? I sure do. Do I have $200? I sure don't. Of course there's a difference between "I sure wish I could have that beer, I'll do the next best thing and make my own" and "screw you microbrewery, I'll make my own  "
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Aug 29, 2012 21:46
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I have only made one clone brew (NB's sierra nevada pale clone recipe) but my theory in attempting clone brews is to have a benchmark you can A and B your version to the commercial thing and learn a lot about your process. That and making stuff you normally can't get, I'm looking at you Surly pro kits!
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Aug 29, 2012 22:06
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Sirotan posted:So Bell's has an annual homebrew competition, with the third starting on September 8. It looks really cool and I sorta want to compete but I'm a novice at best with not a lot of confidence. Hell I can barely bring to a boil the amount of wort they are giving out on my lovely electric stove. Still, awfully tempting... gently caress it, go for it. Make something and take the experience!
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Aug 29, 2012 22:16
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In his reddit AMA, Obama has made a campaign promise to release the White House beer recipe.
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Aug 29, 2012 22:26
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Sure, but it'll be 80% blacked out redactions 
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Aug 29, 2012 22:28
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Angry Grimace posted:In his reddit AMA, Obama has made a campaign promise to release the White House beer recipe. Someone already filed a FOIA request for it a few weeks back, if I recall correctly.
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Aug 29, 2012 23:46
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I just brewed for the first time, in a while, last night. I was using a homemade dunkelweizen recipe and pitched Wyeast 3068, the weihenstephan one. It was like a 1.054 OG and 3 gallons in a 6 gallon carboy. First time using the mini-fridge with a controller, set between 63-65range. When I woke up it was bubbling along happily at 64. I came home from work just now and it was still at 64 but when I opened the fridge to check, well, it had exploded everywhere. I guess my question is...is that normal? That seems like A LOT of space for absorbing a vigorous fermentation... Grrrr new air lock, clean up, pray its okay...
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Aug 29, 2012 23:55
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That does seem a little extreme. The Wyeast page for that strain says it's a "true top cropping yeast" and recommends 33% headspace but you had 50%. Mr. Malty calculator says 1.2 packs without a starter so it doesn't sound like an overpitch, and keeping the temperature down usually reduces the activity in my experience. I keep hearing these stories and I really need to get the tubing for a blow-off tube so I never have to experience it myself.
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Aug 30, 2012 00:10
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The wihenstephan went absolutely nuts on me in a cool basement.
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Aug 30, 2012 00:25
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I'm going to be brewing a strong IPA tonight, shooting for 9.5% or so; I'm planning on using both pale malt extract syrup and table sugar to keep the beer from having too much of a malty body, I was thinking of going with 9 lbs of malt extract and 3 lbs of sucrose - is this ratio too heavy on the sucrose? I've read that one shouldn't go over 30% of your total fermentables for it. My hops schedule for this one is: 1oz Warrior (60 mins) 1oz Warrior (45 mins) 1oz Cascade (15 mins) 1oz Progress (1 min) 5oz Summit to dry hop for 10+ days Also: JawKnee posted:I'm starting to scout out and pick up equipment for both full batch boils, and eventually all-grain batches. What do you guys think of these pieces (and their prices): No thoughts on these pieces anyone?
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Aug 30, 2012 00:40
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That's a 10PSI regulator, so there's no way it's 185KBTU - more like 55K. Which is not terrible for 5 gallons, it will just take a little longer to get things boiling. On the other hand, it could be hard to get a hot burner to throttle down cleanly. vvv Product description says 10PSI. Bayou Classic has always been good to me when I dealt directly with them, so it could not hurt to give them a ring and see what the deal is. Jo3sh fucked around with this message at 01:30 on Aug 30, 2012 |
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Aug 30, 2012 00:53
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Jo3sh posted:That's a 10PSI regulator, so there's no way it's 185KBTU - more like 55K. Which is not terrible for 5 gallons, it will just take a little longer to get things boiling. On the other hand, it could be hard to get a hot burner to throttle down cleanly. 1st review mentions getting a 10, it's supposed to come with a 20. Bayou sent them replacement reg/hose/needle. Maybe research with manufacturer is in order?
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Aug 30, 2012 01:11
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I've obviously seen hop substitution charts, but does anyone have any "if you like this hop you should try this one"-style recommendations? I love Centennial and Nugget and like Sorachi Ace, Saaz, Strisselspalt, and Willamette. I'm bored of Cascade and Golding, and really disliked Summit. What other hops should I try?
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Aug 30, 2012 02:05
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Sirotan posted:So Bell's has an annual homebrew competition, with the third starting on September 8. It looks really cool and I sorta want to compete but I'm a novice at best with not a lot of confidence. Hell I can barely bring to a boil the amount of wort they are giving out on my lovely electric stove. Still, awfully tempting... Just enter something. I think this is a huge pitfall in early homebrewers - not getting involved with local clubs/competitions. What is a couple beers to Bell's for even a remote chance at getting picked? JawKnee posted:I'm going to be brewing a strong IPA tonight, shooting for 9.5% or so; I'm planning on using both pale malt extract syrup and table sugar to keep the beer from having too much of a malty body, I was thinking of going with 9 lbs of malt extract and 3 lbs of sucrose - First, malt extract will provide just as much "malty body" as 2-row or a mix of 'base malt' Second, the Kettle seems okay for a boil pot, albeit overkill (why do you need to measure boiling water?). The problem I could see for a mash tun is it doesn't have an open end on the valve so attaching a dip-tube or screen or bazooka tube is going to require you replace the 'pot end' of the attachments with something longer. Adventures in homebrewing have decent alternatives worth checking out. e: Scythe posted:I've obviously seen hop substitution charts, but does anyone have any "if you like this hop you should try this one"-style recommendations? I'd also check out more of the unknown non-US hops. I've got Opal, Bobeck, Aurora, and Smaragd in my freezer and they are all pretty dang interesting. Look at Norther Brewer or other online places and find crazy poo poo you never heard of and do some google'n to find more info - it's pretty much what I do. Jacobey000 fucked around with this message at 02:28 on Aug 30, 2012 |
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Aug 30, 2012 02:22
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