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Has anyone done a 100% Vienna Ale (not including specialty grains)? Right now I'm thinking of brewing one but wondering if I should throw in some pilsner malt for an extra boost in converting.
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Feb 20, 2014 20:04
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I've done 100% vienna, pilsner, munich I, munich II, golden promise and maris otter and never had a problem with any of them converting.
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Feb 20, 2014 20:39
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Marshmallow Blue posted:Has anyone done a 100% Vienna Ale (not including specialty grains)? Right now I'm thinking of brewing one but wondering if I should throw in some pilsner malt for an extra boost in converting. Vienna should have no problems converting without help.
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Feb 20, 2014 20:40
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Josh Wow posted:I just started using gelatin recently because I forgot my whirlfloc on 2 batches and just moved and have no vegan friends at the moment. The difference in clarity is amazing with gelatin. My beers look drat near filtered now, something I could never get with just a cold crash. I'm looking to try out Biofine Clear to keep things vegan, hopefully it works just as well. There's also Agar Agar, which I hear works pretty much identically to gelatin.
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Feb 20, 2014 20:42
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Josh Wow posted:I've done 100% vienna, pilsner, munich I, munich II, golden promise and maris otter and never had a problem with any of them converting. Docjowles posted:Vienna should have no problems converting without help. /\ Thanks and Thanks So I guess what's confusing me is how Diastatic power actually works. I see pilsner labeled as 0 on Northern brewer and Vienna and stuff around 50-70, while "plain 2 row" is over 100. What do any of those numbers mean if they can pretty much handle themselves?
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Feb 20, 2014 21:02
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Marshmallow Blue posted:/\ Thanks and Thanks http://beersmith.com/blog/2010/01/04/diastatic-power-and-mashing-your-beer/ quote:To get a quick idea of whether you have sufficient diastatic power in your all grain or partial mash brew, I recommend you simply average the weighted diastatic power of your ingredients and see whether the final number is greater than the 30 Lintner minimum needed to convert. The overall diastatic power for your mash would be the sum of the diastatic power for each ingredient times its weight divided by the total grain weight. To get this number, just multiply the diastatic power for each grain times the weight of that grain, add the numbers up for all of your grains, and divide by the total grain weight. (note: also see Pilsner etc. at the listed values on that page) e: and don't confuse Lintner with Lovibond  for example, the Castle Pilsner grain on NB is 1.6 Lovibond, but has diastatic power of 87 degreees Lintner. ChickenArise fucked around with this message at 21:12 on Feb 20, 2014 |
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Feb 20, 2014 21:09
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ChickenArise posted:e: and don't confuse Lintner with Lovibond Thanks for that info, it was very helpful. Also My Chocolate Malt is 500L so it can convert anything 
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Feb 20, 2014 21:16
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Marshmallow Blue posted:Has anyone done a 100% Vienna Ale (not including specialty grains)? Right now I'm thinking of brewing one but wondering if I should throw in some pilsner malt for an extra boost in converting. My first whole-grain is fermenting in the bottles right now and should be ready on tuesday. It's a 9.5% Vienna/Cascade smash haha.
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Feb 20, 2014 21:17
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So I'm working on my first beer (An IPA). I plan on leaving it in the ferrmentor for 3 weeks and then testing the gravity. Any reason that I should check it sooner?
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Feb 20, 2014 22:27
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Harminoff posted:So I'm working on my first beer (An IPA). I plan on leaving it in the ferrmentor for 3 weeks and then testing the gravity. Any reason that I should check it sooner? It's good ot check it at 2 weeks and then at 3 weeks to see if the gravity continued to drop, If it did, check it after another couple days. It's a good way to tell if you're ready to bottle. —OR— If you're ballsy like me ( ) you can just check the gravity right before you bottle to get your alcohol and efficiency and all that jazz.3 weeks is usually plenty of time for the yeast to do their business.
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Feb 20, 2014 22:34
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Just wanted to thank whatever goon posted their Unicorn's Mustache dark mild recipe. Had a couple bottles of my variant (basically just swapping the yeast to Wyeast 1469), and it is super good and one of the best British style ales that I have made 
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Feb 20, 2014 23:09
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Syrinxx posted:Just wanted to thank whatever goon posted their Unicorn's Mustache dark mild recipe. Had a couple bottles of my variant (basically just swapping the yeast to Wyeast 1469), and it is super good and one of the best British style ales that I have made  That is mine...although it is a modification of another goon's mild recipe! Goon hive mind for the win! I really should rebrew that one soon since my last pale ale was such a disaster, I need a solid pick me up brew.
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Feb 20, 2014 23:22
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Marshmallow Blue posted:It's good ot check it at 2 weeks and then at 3 weeks to see if the gravity continued to drop, If it did, check it after another couple days. It's a good way to tell if you're ready to bottle. Yeah 3 weeks is what I recommend to new brewers. It's enough time for the ferment to definitely be done and for the yeast to have cleaned up any lingering off flavors. As you get more into the hobby and start sperging about yeast starters, aeration and fermentation temp you can turn around your average ale in like a week. But for those first batches, don't rush it, wait the 3 weeks and you'll have a great result. There's no harm in checking it sooner if you want, as long as you are careful not to spit into the bucket or something. But do give it the full time before bottling. Just because it has hit terminal gravity doesn't mean the yeast are done eating all the leftover off flavors like diacetyl.
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Feb 20, 2014 23:34
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Anybody use this stock pot? http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic...sic+brew+kettle I might have set myself up to do a 10 gallon batch and it's time to upgrade past the turkey fryer.
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Feb 21, 2014 00:00
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Thinking of buying a refractometer..... pros and cons?
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Feb 21, 2014 00:08
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LeeMajors posted:Thinking of buying a refractometer..... Pros: They are kickin' rad. Cons: Beer4TheBeerGod posted:Anybody use this stock pot? The only thing I see about it that's raises a flag is that the handles are just welded on. I'd be a little leery of trying to move it while its anything close to full, but I don't think weld failures are really all that common. Angry Grimace fucked around with this message at 00:36 on Feb 21, 2014 |
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Feb 21, 2014 00:20
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LeeMajors posted:Thinking of buying a refractometer..... Pros: They are cheap if you look in the right place (regularly cheap on amazon and ebay) . They're instantaneous. They are awesome. Cons: They don't work after fermentation. They can sometimes be hard to read. Conclusion: Buy one if you're relying on grains for any significant chunk of your fermentables. Otherwise, you'd be better served by other gear, but they're cheap enough that there's no real reason to not own one.
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Feb 21, 2014 00:37
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crazyfish posted:Pros: They are cheap if you look in the right place (regularly cheap on amazon and ebay) . They're instantaneous. They are awesome. So post fermentation you have to use a hydrometer anyways? Seems like a bummer. I've never used one with any consistency, but a buddy of mine opened a brewery and really digs his. I thought there were post-ferment conversion charts? I don't know--I've just got x amount of dollars left with my morebeer gift card from xmas and was looking for some gadgetry.
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Feb 21, 2014 01:10
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LeeMajors posted:So post fermentation you have to use a hydrometer anyways? Seems like a bummer.
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Feb 21, 2014 01:47
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Kind of got lost in the shuffle, but for those who are interested in going to the NHC this year in Grand Rapids, MI, the seminar list was just posted: Mashing in Michigan Seminar Preview There are a ton that I really want to go to, really hoping I can make most of them. Seriously though: * "Experimental Brewing" Denny Conn, badass * "How to Manage Yeast for the Home Brewery" Douglas Gladue, University of Connecticut * "Keeping It Simple: What Monks Can Teach Us About Brewing" Stan Hieronymus, badass * "Water Chemistry and Beer pH" John Palmer, hobbit * "The Influence of Mashing on Sour Beer Production" Michael Tonsmeire, madfermentationist.com etc. etc.
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Feb 21, 2014 02:22
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crazyfish posted:
They work fine after fermentation. You just have to know the OG to be able to calculate FG from the measurement after fermentation.
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Feb 21, 2014 02:34
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Refractometer users: what's a typical set of readings look like as far as sugar content? What I'm looking for is something like: 1.060 first runnings from mash 1.050 pre-boil total volume 1.055 post-boil gravity Birthday coming up so I'm definitely going to finally grab one.
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Feb 21, 2014 03:12
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I have a Digital Refractometer and it blows for taking measurements along the brewday process. It is supposedly temperature compensating but the actual compensation range seems to be about within 1-2C from ambient. If I bring it in the house (78F) from the garage where it is (85F) and add a sample to it, the number I get is waaaaay the hell off. If I wait 30 minutes for the refractometer to adjust to the house temperature before adding the sample, the reading is a lot more stable and does't change by 0.3-0.5 brix every time I hit the measure button. For things that are all at room temperature it works great, giving a very stable reading that is accurate to a hydrometer measurement. That is, until some invisible layer of yeast start to collect on the prism and the reading gets all whacked out again (usually reading "Elec" after a few minutes of settling). On brew day I use an ice bath to bring my 1cc sample down to room temperature from the mash / boil before I can measure it within any sort of ballpark. The reason I bring this all up is to ask if is a real refractometer is any better about temperature variation?. Can you just take a 170F drop right from the sparge and get an accurate reading? I've decided I'm going to commit to the level of effort required to make a Dogfish-120-esque beer next weekend for my 40th birthday brew celebration. More than half a sack or 2-row. 15lbs of dextrose. 1.75lbs of hops. 10,000ml of cumulative yeast starter. 600 calories per 12fl oz serving. You basically keep raising the alcohol content until you kill the yeast. I hope it isn't a metaphor. 
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Feb 21, 2014 03:17
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Welp. The honey tripel recipe definitely needs more time, and is super over carbonated. It's 11.25lb Dingemans Pilsner, 2lbs Gambrinus Honey, 0.5 lb Dingemans Cara8, 2 lbs of honey, 0.5 ounce Hallertau @20, 0.75 ounce Perle @60, and I (once again) underpitched some 3787. I bottled it back in November and it's still super hot and estery, and overly sweet. I'm sure with time it'll get better, but the overcarbonation really irks me. I need to be a lot more careful about my sugar addition. You guys have any Tripel recipes you love?
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Feb 21, 2014 03:36
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true, you just need some maths to get an FG.Beer4TheBeerGod posted:Anybody use this stock pot? I know it may be more work, but look at a winware pot + fittings from bargain fittings or some such thing. I've got two 50 quart winware AL pots that I love. Cheap, massive, and are AL so you can use just about any drill to make your hole.
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Feb 21, 2014 03:45
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Jacobey000 posted:I know it may be more work, but look at a winware pot + fittings from bargain fittings or some such thing. I've got two 50 quart winware AL pots that I love. Cheap, massive, and are AL so you can use just about any drill to make your hole. Actually I think I'd be happier with a solid pot. Is that 50 quart pot enough for 10 gallon batches?
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Feb 21, 2014 03:51
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Beer4TheBeerGod posted:Welp. The honey tripel recipe definitely needs more time, and is super over carbonated. It's 11.25lb Dingemans Pilsner, 2lbs Gambrinus Honey, 0.5 lb Dingemans Cara8, 2 lbs of honey, 0.5 ounce Hallertau @20, 0.75 ounce Perle @60, and I (once again) underpitched some 3787. I bottled it back in November and it's still super hot and estery, and overly sweet. I'm sure with time it'll get better, but the overcarbonation really irks me. I need to be a lot more careful about my sugar addition. How long did you let it sit before bottling? A lot of the estery sweetness may come from the overcarb too btw, I've overcarbed a few beers and they always had that heavy sugar and powerful ester flavor your talking about and sadly, mine never got better. Beer4TheBeerGod posted:Actually I think I'd be happier with a solid pot. Is that 50 quart pot enough for 10 gallon batches? The pot is quite solid, it's made for professional kitchens and what not. I'm sorry I made the mistake - I've got the 40 quart version, and I use it for 8 gallon batches mostly now, but I've squeezed in 9gal batch here and there. So the 50 quart should for sure get you there.
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Feb 21, 2014 04:05
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Jacobey000 posted:How long did you let it sit before bottling? A lot of the estery sweetness may come from the overcarb too btw, I've overcarbed a few beers and they always had that heavy sugar and powerful ester flavor your talking about and sadly, mine never got better. Brewed 11/17, Bottled 12/23. So it definitely needs a LOT more time to think about what its done.
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Feb 21, 2014 04:10
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Beer4TheBeerGod posted:You guys have any Tripel recipes you love? I made this and it came out pretty darn well. Wyeast 3787 being a beast means it got to ~11%, but even at ~6 weeks from brew date it's delicious. I just wanted to submit something to the brewtoad group
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Feb 21, 2014 04:22
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Jacobey000 posted:How long did you let it sit before bottling? A lot of the estery sweetness may come from the overcarb too btw, I've overcarbed a few beers and they always had that heavy sugar and powerful ester flavor your talking about and sadly, mine never got better. From the two I overcarbbed, one had this really weird powedery soapyness to it. The other was like powdery bitter. Was really weird.
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Feb 21, 2014 04:22
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CapnBry posted:I have a Digital Refractometer and it blows for taking measurements along the brewday process. It is supposedly temperature compensating but the actual compensation range seems to be about within 1-2C from ambient. If I bring it in the house (78F) from the garage where it is (85F) and add a sample to it, the number I get is waaaaay the hell off. If I wait 30 minutes for the refractometer to adjust to the house temperature before adding the sample, the reading is a lot more stable and does't change by 0.3-0.5 brix every time I hit the measure button. The bench refractometer I used in a lab in college was actually water cooled on the lense and prism to remove any question about the temp of itself or the sample.
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Feb 21, 2014 05:13
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In case anyone hasn't seen this yet, Different Yeast Strains Yield Different IBUs.Beer4TheBeerGod posted:Actually I think I'd be happier with a solid pot. Is that 50 quart pot enough for 10 gallon batches?  move up to 10 gallon batches I won't bother with anything smaller than 60 quarts (15 gallons). I BIAB, though, and I need the extra room.
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Feb 21, 2014 05:21
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Since I do all grain it's just boil-off, so 50 quarts will just barely be enough.
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Feb 21, 2014 06:39
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Thanks for all the help in this thread. My beer is fermenting away happily now. It felt kinda weird diluting it with water before fermenting though. Anyone use that method and has it turn out ok?
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Feb 21, 2014 12:17
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zedprime posted:If I understand your explanation I think your biggest problem is the temperature of the actual meter. The sample is only a drop (or maybe more for yours, which means a handheld would be better for this sort of problem) and will tend toward the meter lense and any backing. I guess I'll give a manual refractometer a try. Why not? I mean and all.
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Feb 21, 2014 13:37
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Sistergodiva posted:Thanks for all the help in this thread. My beer is fermenting away happily now. 80% of all of my beers get topped off with water before fermentation. Its a pretty common thing especially for new brewers.
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Feb 21, 2014 14:11
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So this was a pleasant surprise the other night! I left the air pump running while I was getting everything cleaned up, and it went foam crazy. Before taking the picture I squished the lid down, but it had been supported by several inches of foam. I tried to get some action shots of the foam going everywhere, but my phone wouldn't take the picture fast enough. Let this be a reminder to never assume everything will go smoothly, even in the most innocuous of steps! I also knocked my hydrometer off the counter in my scramble to clean up this mess...surprisingly, it just bounced off the hardwood floors and doesn't seem to be damaged in any way.  Beer4TheBeerGod posted:Anybody use this stock pot? Also, this looks like a drat good deal, if you need the spigot. Although those Winware pots look good too...I've really been wanting a larger pot, and I don't need this temptation! Also also, I tried one of your beers tuesday night(whichever one "HA" was), and it was also very thoroughly carbonated. What yeast did you use? I found the taste to be very reminiscent of Franziskaner. BLARGHLE fucked around with this message at 14:53 on Feb 21, 2014 |
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Feb 21, 2014 14:42
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I checked on my sours last night.  ~6 month Rye sour and ~9 month sour on raspberries. Both are pretty harshly acidic right now. Off-flavors seem less present than the last time that I sampled them. Pellicle pics -   
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Feb 21, 2014 15:26
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BLARGHLE posted:Also also, I tried one of your beers tuesday night(whichever one "HA" was), and it was also very thoroughly carbonated. What yeast did you use? I found the taste to be very reminiscent of Franziskaner. Honey Ale. It's the straight up Annapolis Homebrew Honey Ale Kit. HP is the Honey Porter Kit with a lb of D-90 candi syrup added. I think both used Danstar's ale yeast. My new year's resolution is to not suck at carbing my beers. I ended up getting the 60 quart winware pot. $72 is a great price.
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Feb 21, 2014 15:28
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crazyfish posted:Pros: They are cheap if you look in the right place (regularly cheap on amazon and ebay) . They're instantaneous. They are awesome. I think they actually work pretty well to check on fermentation as it happens, its just that they aren't terribly useful for pinning down a super accurate final gravity. But if you're, say, doing a lager and want to check and see how much longer primary needs, its pretty useful to just take a drop and see the general range rather than try and take full hydro samples.
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Feb 21, 2014 15:42
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