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I need some help troubleshooting. I can't seem to get a big malt flavor or aroma to come through in my beer. This has been a pretty consistent problem in my brewing since the beginning and I'm starting to run out of ideas on what I can do differently. My water is low in calcium so I always add some to the mash, usually boosting it to somewhere between 60 and 120ppm depending on the recipe. I always use heavier base malts like Maris Otter and Vienna and plenty of crystal malt. I mash at 1.25qt/lb and do a single decoction for most of my brews. I batch sparge and normally get around 70% efficiency. The last beer I brewed was supposed to be something like Lagunitas Lucky 13 with a big rich caramel flavor backed by fruity American hops and the malt character came out kind of lifeless. There's hardly any caramel in the flavor and none at all in the aroma despite pushing 10% caramel in a big beer. I probably could have used a more malt accentuating yeast strain in that recipe so I think that's what I'll try next. Is it possible the problem is that my LHBS doesn't store their grain properly? They keep it in unsealed bins or open sacks and the humidity here is pretty high. My other thought was that I need to learn more about water chemistry. The few times I have been able to get a nice malt character it has always been in big dark beers like RIS or Baltic porter. That makes me think mash pH might have something to do with it. My water is 10ppm Ca, 2ppm Mg, 31ppm Na, 24ppm chloride, 38ppm sulfate, and 20ppm alkalinity as CaCO3. So other than switching to maltier yeasts, what else could possibly be the problem?
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May 6, 2014 21:06
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mindphlux posted:I need some advice on co2 tanks. Filling a tank from a bulk tank (i.e. in your 10# tank) requires a Dip Tube in the bulk tank to fill the destination tank with liquid CO2 instead of just pressurizing the destination tank with gaseous CO2. You then measure weight as suggested previously to ensure you don't overfill (Also vent the destination tank fully before filling and preferably chill the destination tank to reduce the back-pressure from the gaseous CO2 boiling in it's new found low pressure environment thereby getting you a better fill). The real secret is that Liquid CO2 will continue to boil and maintain a higher pressure in the paintball tank than if you simply filled it with pressurized CO2 gas. The obvious logical thing workaround would be to turn the 10# tank upside down so that you are filling the small paintball tank with liquid CO2. This will work, but is not recommended as if you drop the tank on the value, bye bye tank and there are all sorts of possible consequences when the tank starts expelling CO2 at an uncontrolled and extremely high rate of speed. Also make sure you remove your regulator. They don't tend to like to be filled with liquid CO2. Also, don't try this at home, at work, in the yard, on a boat, on a train, on the moon, or really anywhere.
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May 6, 2014 22:43
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evelyn87 posted:New brew rig! Super excited about this upgrade. Was previously using keggles. No Tower of Power??? Pssshhhhh internet celebrity posted:I need some help troubleshooting.
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May 6, 2014 23:22
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internet celebrity posted:I need some help troubleshooting. I can't seem to get a big malt flavor or aroma to come through in my beer. This has been a pretty consistent problem in my brewing since the beginning and I'm starting to run out of ideas on what I can do differently. What form of calcium are you adding? Chloride in your water report looks low - having it up around 150ppm does really help in perceiving sweet/malty flavor - although if you're adding CaCl that's taken care of. I doubt you have pH issues, your alkalinity is nice and low. You could try measuring it, I normally just roughly predict (measuring with decent quality strips confirms close-enough) it with one of the tools around like Kai's Kaiser_water_calculator.xls at http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Braukaiser.com. That predicts you'd have mash pH around 5.5 with all pale malts, which should be okay for enzymes and really good for efficiency. The other standard things to look at are mash temp (saw you do decoctions but if you mash really low it still might be worth raising a bit), pitch bigger starters and ferment at the cool end, and maybe think about cold-conditioning for 3-4 weeks to get low-level off flavors out the way of the malt. Also, 10% caramel in bigger beers with a fair amount of hop bitterness isn't at the excessive end at all imo.
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May 7, 2014 03:09
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Zaepho posted:Filling a tank from a bulk tank (i.e. in your 10# tank) requires a Dip Tube in the bulk tank to fill the destination tank with liquid CO2 instead of just pressurizing the destination tank with gaseous CO2. You then measure weight as suggested previously to ensure you don't overfill (Also vent the destination tank fully before filling and preferably chill the destination tank to reduce the back-pressure from the gaseous CO2 boiling in it's new found low pressure environment thereby getting you a better fill). Your point about the liquid co2 did occur to me. But, I've seen videos of people using bulk tanks which almost certainly don't have dip tubes installed. or, how do I know if I do have a dip tube installed? would a co2 tank purchased from a homebrew company use one? I am guessing not based on your regulator comment. All that said, my main question I guess is about the type of hoses OK to use with bulk co2 tanks. IE, those braided ones that look like toilet lines - is that ok to hook up to a giant loving 10lb tank of co2 under pressure? If not, what is? can I buy this stuff from a hardware store, or do I need to go specialty shop?
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May 7, 2014 05:08
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https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/abs-april-ipa anyone mind checking out my IIPA recipe? I came up with it based on ingredients I got pretty cheap and from reading the recipe from northern brewer's pliny clone which seems to be getting really good user reviews right now.
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May 7, 2014 21:02
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mindphlux posted:Your point about the liquid co2 did occur to me. But, I've seen videos of people using bulk tanks which almost certainly don't have dip tubes installed. Tanks you would get for homebrew would not have a dip tube. They're intended to provide pressurized CO2 in Gas form. A tank with a dip tube and without a dip tube would look identical from the outside. Heck you can add a dip tube to your tank, but you have to remove the valve, add the dip tube and replace the valve to do it. Not sure on the hoses. You may be able to find pressure ratings on them which should help. That's where I get WAY out of my depth. I know just enough about this stuff to be dangerous!
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May 7, 2014 21:54
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Myron Baloney posted:What form of calcium are you adding? Chloride in your water report looks low - having it up around 150ppm does really help in perceiving sweet/malty flavor - although if you're adding CaCl that's taken care of. I doubt you have pH issues, your alkalinity is nice and low. You could try measuring it, I normally just roughly predict (measuring with decent quality strips confirms close-enough) it with one of the tools around like Kai's Kaiser_water_calculator.xls at http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Braukaiser.com. That predicts you'd have mash pH around 5.5 with all pale malts, which should be okay for enzymes and really good for efficiency. I'm using calcium chloride. I don't know if mash temp is really a factor, I can't seem to get dry or sweet maltiness to come through. FWIW the recipe I linked to was mashed at 153ish. My yeast care was kind of lacking until recently. I always made big starters with liquid yeast but I didn't oxygenate. I just put together a pure O2 setup that I'll be using in my next brew so hopefully that will help. Also extended conditioning is definitely something I could try. I keg and I'm impatient so I probably rack my beer way too early. I just picked up a tube of WLP002 today and I want to make an ESB next to try out some malt boosting techniques. Anyone have a  super malty ESB recipe? I've heard the recipe in BCS is kind of bad and every recipe on HBT is pretty similar.
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May 8, 2014 00:00
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internet celebrity posted:I need some help troubleshooting. I can't seem to get a big malt flavor or aroma to come through in my beer. This has been a pretty consistent problem in my brewing since the beginning and I'm starting to run out of ideas on what I can do differently. Otherwise I guess a line of thought not mentioned yet is to use spendier malts than Briess and Dingemans but they should still be a reasonable choice for what you are after so I don't know.
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May 8, 2014 00:05
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internet celebrity posted:I'm using calcium chloride. I don't know if mash temp is really a factor, I can't seem to get dry or sweet maltiness to come through. FWIW the recipe I linked to was mashed at 153ish. I made one I like pretty well: 5.5 gallons 10 lbs Maris Otter 1 lb Crystal 80L .5 lb Biscuit 1oz EKG @60 1oz EKG @20 1oz EKG @5 Mashed at 152.
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May 8, 2014 00:25
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internet celebrity posted:Anyone have a I toot this horn pretty regularly, it seems like, but my Best Bitter is freaking awesome, IMO: https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/colt-177-v3
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May 8, 2014 02:42
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That sounds like an awesome beer. Might fire it up next month!
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May 8, 2014 03:41
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Jo3sh posted:I toot this horn pretty regularly, it seems like, but my Best Bitter is freaking awesome, IMO: Apropos nothing, apparently my bosses were filming with the Maltose Falcons the other day? Small world, etc.
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May 8, 2014 08:52
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Jo3sh posted:I toot this horn pretty regularly, it seems like, but my Best Bitter is freaking awesome, IMO: How does the 1275 yeast differ from S-04 or 1968? edit - also what is the WL equivalent?
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May 8, 2014 14:10
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I've been trying out some different yeasts lately, and you guys really weren't joking about the flocculation of US-04. Wow. I wish I'd have planned to pitch something onto the cake from my cream ale. Also, it's my first time making a cream ale and I was surprised to see that it finished fairly high (although attenuation was about 70-75%) - about 1.015 - but it doesn't taste sweet at all. Instead it's nice and refreshing. My last few batches are making me want to give up on thinking that I know anything about finishing gravity.
ChickenArise fucked around with this message at 15:37 on May 8, 2014 |
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May 8, 2014 15:19
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bewbies posted:How does the 1275 yeast differ from S-04 or 1968? To me, it seems like 1275 leaves a clean, dry malt flavor that I don't get from anything else. In that recipe, I won't use anything else. Except, that is, the White Labs version of the strain, WLP023 Burton Ale.
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May 8, 2014 15:29
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Kaiho posted:Apropos nothing, apparently my bosses were filming with the Maltose Falcons the other day? Small world, etc. The Falcons are a good club, but I haven't been to any meetings or paid dues in quite some time - there's a shop with a club closer to me these days so I don't have to drive down to the Valley.
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May 8, 2014 15:32
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Last night I dipped into a LHBS that is very close by but keeps weird hours so I normally can't patronize it. Anyway, wanted some servomyces, couldn't find the pills, and the proprietor says "well, there's this pack - more expensive ($20) but you can do the math and see it's a smarter purchase anyway." I got home, looking at the 10 gram powder pack, and realized that it's enough for 310 gallons. Given that the pill packs are 6 pills for ~$10, and that gets you enough for 30 gallons, I'm STUNNED anyone would ever buy those 6-pill packs. Ever. It'd cost $100 worth of pills for what came in the powder pack for $20. Just thought I'd throw this out there - it's one thing not to load up on hundreds of pounds of grain or hops because of space concerns, but this is smaller than a pack of Big League Chew and will last you a few years on an aggressive homebrew schedule.
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May 8, 2014 17:49
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Just gotta say that WLP060 is the most vicious, badass yeast I've ever used. That bastard was going hard 12 hours after I put it in (with no starter), bubbled way harder out of the airlock than I've gotten before, then was down to OG in another 48 hours. 
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May 8, 2014 18:39
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bewbies posted:How does the 1275 yeast differ from S-04 or 1968? Flavor-wise 1275 is really clean when I ferment at 67F. I hear it adds some malt character and lets hops shine through but I don't really pick up on that. My taste buds are kinda weak though.
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May 9, 2014 01:49
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CapnBry posted:1968 makes the coolest looking "egg drop soup" starters. Oh hey I just made this gif of a 1968 (actually WLP002 but same strain) starter. 
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May 9, 2014 01:59
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That is god drat glorious.
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May 9, 2014 13:18
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Yeah that's really cool. I've been wanting to do a time lapse gif of a Carboy from pitch to terminal gravity but every time I try something goes wrong.
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May 9, 2014 13:25
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internet celebrity posted:Oh hey I just made this gif of a 1968 (actually WLP002 but same strain) starter.
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May 9, 2014 13:49
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internet celebrity posted:Oh hey I just made this gif of a 1968 (actually WLP002 but same strain) starter. But...the foil...so tight...let it breathe!
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May 9, 2014 13:57
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I've been meaning to get a foam stopper but the foil seems to work fine for now.
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May 9, 2014 14:00
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e: Oh, and thanks Internet Celeb and the couple other people who suggested this: I've been plowing through 5 gallons of patersbier/single that I made as a starter for my most recent tripel and ... holy crap it's good. Easily top 5 beers I've ever made, and it was so low effort. Didn't know Trappist (3787) yeast worked so well at low gravities. For anyone interested (I was cleaning out the pantry) it was something like: OG 1.045, 35ish IBU noble hops 75% 2-row, 15% rye, 10% white wheat Was ready to drink inside of 10 days, even with first generation yeast.
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May 9, 2014 14:13
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I really need to make another one of those with 3787. I tried making one with 100% brett and it was good but it was just a bit too much to down pint after pint. Using a percentage of rye sounds like a good idea. Oh, also I don't know if I told you but your habenero tripel was awesome. The sweet yeast flavors and the heat were really nice together. I still have the mead and one more bottle I can't remember so I'll probably drink those this weekend.
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May 9, 2014 14:37
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wattershed posted:Last night I dipped into a LHBS that is very close by but keeps weird hours so I normally can't patronize it. Anyway, wanted some servomyces, couldn't find the pills, and the proprietor says "well, there's this pack - more expensive ($20) but you can do the math and see it's a smarter purchase anyway." I've never use servo before but it seems very interesting. Does it considerably speed up fermentation and dry the beer out?
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May 9, 2014 15:04
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Kelley Geuscaulk posted:I've never use servo before but it seems very interesting. Does it considerably speed up fermentation and dry the beer out? It's one of those "everything goes really well when I use it so...." sorta products. Spread across the number of years the $20 sachet will last me, the cost is negligible for something without a downside. I started using it because a number of recipes that were created by well-respected homebrewers (and pros publishing their recipes) included the stuff. I don't go through beer fast enough to start tinkering with processes at this point, so if it isn't beneficial I'm probably never going to know it.
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May 9, 2014 15:26
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Going to try to brew up my Amber Ale on Sunday and Bottle my 60 minute IPA while I'm mashing (or tonight and not worry about bottling later)! Tasting the uncarbed IPA from the carboy, Its kind of lacking any backbone but the bitterness and especially the aroma are dead on. Will this improve at all when carbed? \/\/ 60 minute IPA was 1LB Pilsner 5 or 6 Lbs 2 Row 1 Lb Cara Red Blend of Cascade, Citra, and Admiral Hops Muntons Ale EDIT: I was also an idot with this batch and did only a 60 minute boil even though there's pilsner in there! Here's my Amber Ale Hoping to brew this weekend. 7 Lbs Maris Otter .8 Lbs Crystal 120 1 Lb Amber Malt Centential .5@60 .5@10 Saphir 1@1 WYeast Northwest Ale Yeast
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May 9, 2014 18:31
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Prepare yourself for a newbie post. I've been thinking about starting up brewing for a while, but living in the San Francisco area's given me no end of beers to try, so I was thinking about doing something different like Mead. The process is basically the same, but with different fermentables, right? There's no specialty equipment I've got to be aware of? Second, the only recipes I've found (written in a form I can understand) are from instructables or other sources of dubious quality. I'm looking for a recipe that isn't too sweet, has some fruity flavors like apple or something, maybe some spices, and if I wanted to give it a bit of a fizz, I just add in some more sugar before the aging process, right? If there are any relevant posts anyone's aware of in any of the 500 plus change pages in this thread, I'd love to be pointed at them, too.
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May 9, 2014 20:45
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Fun fact, when you make lager it happens to smell like a fermenting garbage scow full of sweaty horse testicles. Imagine how my keezer smells right now with a double batch of two concurrent lagers 
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May 9, 2014 21:01
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Syrinxx posted:Fun fact, when you make lager it happens to smell like a fermenting garbage scow full of sweaty horse testicles. Imagine how my keezer smells right now with a double batch of two concurrent lagers https://www.flickr.com/photos/8338840@N06/5364393104/in/set-72157625845526344/ I haven't tried that yet, but plan to shortly because I brew in my apartment and hate my clean clothes in my closet smelling like Butt farts. Napoleon Bonaparty posted:Prepare yourself for a newbie post. No specialty equipment, but to make it good there is a bit of fermentation babying. You will want to read up on staggered nutrient additions and aeration. As far as makign a mead with apples. heres somethign simple: 1 Gallon; 1 Gallon Apple Cider (no sulfites or else you're done) 2-3 pounds Honey 1 small cinnamon stick Red Star Pasteur Red yeast Mix it all up in a sanitized pot with a sanitized whisk and pour it into a 1 gallon carboy. Pitch yeast and follow your preferred Staggered Nutrient schedule. Giving it some carbonation; Sweet AND carbed meads are pretty tough, as sugars ferment dry or the yeast is done and you stay sweet. So to get it to carbonate you would add a bit of sugar when you bottle it and the yeast will eat it and convert it to CO2, which would need all the previous sugars to have been eaten. But for that to happen you need live yeast, and live yeast will continue to eat the sugar and overcarb/ blow up your bottles. I'd start with a still (uncarbonated mead) to start and go from there. EDIT: Napoleon, if you want a super simple write up as far as newbie mead making. I can whip one up. I need to do it for my blog anyways. Marshmallow Blue fucked around with this message at 21:35 on May 9, 2014 |
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May 9, 2014 21:16
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Marshmallow Blue posted:EDIT: Napoleon, if you want a super simple write up as far as newbie mead making. I can whip one up. I need to do it for my blog anyways. For a first-time brewer? That'd be a godsend. I've been in the research phase for a week or so, and I get a fair amount of what the more complex recipes are saying, but having a really simple step-by-step guide in plain english that explains what to do, what that is doing, and a bit of a why would be really helpful until I've got a couple of brews under my belt. EDIT: As far as sweetness, I was trying to say I don't want it to be sweet. I don't mind some sweetness, but it'd be nice on the dryer side.
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May 9, 2014 21:40
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Syrinxx posted:Fun fact, when you make lager it happens to smell like a fermenting garbage scow full of sweaty horse testicles. Imagine how my keezer smells right now with a double batch of two concurrent lagers Mine usually just smell like beer, sometimes a little sulphur in there. You probably have some stressed yeast. Lagers need a ton of yeast, a ton of oxygen, and really precise fermentation temps.
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May 9, 2014 22:25
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Marshmallow Blue posted:Going to try to brew up my Amber Ale on Sunday and Bottle my 60 minute IPA while I'm mashing (or tonight and not worry about bottling later)! Tasting the uncarbed IPA from the carboy, Its kind of lacking any backbone but the bitterness and especially the aroma are dead on. Will this improve at all when carbed? \/\/ You're supposed to boil beers with pilsner in them longer? Why's that?
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May 9, 2014 23:02
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♪If you're havin' beer problems, I feel bad for you, son / I got 99 problems but a brew ain't o- Wait what gently caress You're looking at my house IPA, must have gotten something funky in it in the last couple weeks since I'd checked it. BUT! Gave it a taste and it's spectacular, zero wildness detected and I'm considering foregoing the dry hop dosing I usually do at this point; one, because it's pretty stellar now, but two, if it starts to get lovely, I'd rather not waste the 7.25oz of Citra & Amarillo it'd be getting the next two weeks. For those of you who've been in this situation before, am I playing with a hand grenade right now? Should I pull it out now and get it into a keg? Or is a pellicle not always a harbinger of sour (or bad) beer ahead? Ironic, I was just about to brew my first sour tomorrow, maybe this'll end up being my second...
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May 9, 2014 23:07
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ieatsoap6 posted:You're supposed to boil beers with pilsner in them longer? Why's that? Pilsner malt is more lightly kilned than most other base malts and as such has more DMS precursors. These will boil off but it's recommended to do a 90 minute boil for pilsner malt beers. I don't know if it's a huge deal for 1lb in a batch though.
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May 9, 2014 23:28
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 Whaddup house-pale-ale-just-got-an-unintended-brett-infection buddy  wattershed posted:For those of you who've been in this situation before, am I playing with a hand grenade right now? Should I pull it out now and get it into a keg? Or is a pellicle not always a harbinger of sour (or bad) beer ahead? This same exact thing just happened to me and yeah I just threw it in the keg and everything was fine. Since it probably happened post-primary fermentation it probably won't get sour (and very minimally funky) since brett doesn't produce a ton of lactic acid on its own. The only downside mine has is that the brett completely destroyed the body of the beer so it's a little thinner than intended. The upside is that it's crystal clear now.
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May 9, 2014 23:44
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