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Saison day! I'm doing an extract batch because I've got a cast on my right wrist and I'm not sure I'd be able to lift the mash tun. Fairly basic recipe, hoping that the yeast does its usual stand-out performance: 8 oz C20 8 oz Flaked Wheat (argh I forgot these need to be mashed) 1 lb Rye Malt 6.5 lb Pils Extract Wyeast 3711 Despite the flaked wheat fuckup, 3711 is pretty forgiving so I'll just rely on that to do its "make whatever you're thrown in taste delicious" thing.
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Jun 8, 2014 18:57
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That's almost my exact house saison recipe, except all-grain and with oats instead of c20. 3711 is the best thing. Except when you get 3-4 generations in and it forgets there are supposed to be some "unfermentables" in your wort. e: I'm pretty sure it would ferment a rock if I put one in the carboy.
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Jun 8, 2014 19:18
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...you're telling me to put one of these donuts in the fermenter, aren't you?
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Jun 8, 2014 20:09
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Donuts, tortillas, whole potatoes... you know, whatever you have lying around.
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Jun 8, 2014 20:11
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Jo3sh posted:Donuts, tortillas, whole potatoes... you know, whatever you have lying around.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cppOojKBNko 
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Jun 8, 2014 20:13
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That has to be salty as gently caress.Jo3sh posted:whole potatoes... I just had an image of balancing big Russet potatoes on the neck of a carboy and driving them in with a mallet.
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Jun 8, 2014 20:17
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In all fairness, I've had a sweet potato brown ale brewed with maple and brown sugar, and it was delicious.
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Jun 8, 2014 20:29
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Discomancer posted:In all fairness, I've had a sweet potato brown ale brewed with maple and brown sugar, and it was delicious. Potato beer is doable, any vegetable in theory is. Same for fruit, potato beer just has a bad reputation for many reasons atleast in UK cause its related to cheapening a beer and vodka.  Going to use some dried chestnuts in the mash with some kind of vegetable for my christmas beer. Maybe parsnips, end of boil white sage, junipers and caraway but still got to work out the recipe still in draft form. Also sweet potato sounds alot nicer! 
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Jun 8, 2014 20:41
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Prop Wash posted:So I'm assuming that if I decant my jugs into wine bottles, and stopper those mead bottles up and drink them within a few weeks, everything should be ok. Please advise if I'm going to poison myself somehow. It won't turn into to poison but if you aren't even siphoning then you'll get a lot of oxidation. Borrowing equipment from a homebrew club member or renting from the LHBS is your best bet. A homebrew club member might even have one they'd give you since they usually end up upgrading to a floor corker model. Otherwise, a bag of corks and a manual corker isn't going to set you back that much to buy either and they take up very little space. It really is worth proper bottling if at all possible.
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Jun 8, 2014 23:21
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I live in Hawaii, so as far as online purchases go Amazon is basically the place that we can go without getting wrecked by shipping charges. Last month we bought a Brooklyn Brew Shop brown starter kit and were very pleased with the results. I added a little bit of vanilla while we were bottling and everything just tasted amazing. We're going to buy a stout or porter refill pack Now I'm ordering a bunch of vinyl tubing and an auto-siphon. Is there anything else that I could easily pick up on Amazon that would make things easier? Also, where do you buy malt?
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Jun 9, 2014 08:40
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Prop Wash posted:Hi home brewing thread! It's been a while, and I've been gone, and I've come home to see exactly what I hoped to see - two one-gallon jugs full of beautifully colored mead ready to be bottled. Here's the bad news - I didn't buy bottling gear before I left, and I've decided to move within a month or two, so I don't really want to get more equipment bought and set up. Here's the good news - assuming it's not completely awful, or at least hoping, I'm perfectly happy to drink each individual jug within a week or so of opening. You can bottle in beer bottles if you don't have a corker (if that is the issue). As far as Decanting into wine bottles and using a stopper; it should be okay. I did it with my first gallon, but got a beer capper after that (then a corker after that). I would try your best not to pour any sediment in and keep it in the fridge once it's in the bottles with stoppers. That will stop any further fermentation busting the stopper off your bottle. If you have Stabilizing stuff (Sorbate and sulfite), do that, wait a few days then bottle, and you wont have to put it in the fridge. I would say, for your next batch get some bottling equipment and those stabilizers if you don't already have some.
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Jun 9, 2014 14:14
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Rocko Bonaparte posted:So let's bring back water chemistry because I'm a bastard and I have to recycle these discussions. I forgot that when I was dabbling in micropropagation, I got a PCSTestr 35. It's a multipurpose reader that autoadjusts by temperature. Unfortunately, I think I gunked up the pH head from working with agar. So the numbers drift on it. I think with some cleaning it will stabilize.
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Jun 9, 2014 15:11
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Marshmallow Blue posted:You can bottle in beer bottles if you don't have a corker (if that is the issue). Yeah, I'll have bottling equipment. It's just not practical when I'm about to move, y'know? The good news is I can siphon, at least, so sediment won't be an issue. Anyway, thanks for the input, all! I look forward to being able to talk about babby's very first mead.
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Jun 9, 2014 15:25
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Prop Wash posted:Yeah, I'll have bottling equipment. It's just not practical when I'm about to move, y'know? The good news is I can siphon, at least, so sediment won't be an issue. Anyway, thanks for the input, all! I look forward to being able to talk about babby's very first mead. Awesome, Pics too please! Also, Hey guys. I'm wanting to make a porter with Rye and some whiskey soaked oak chips. So I'm trying to come up with what specialty grains to use to get some porter qualities (and SRM) without dominating the rye and whiskey notes. :Bonus: Not found on the mead blog (Since the article is done)! Pellicle from the 1st generation Strawberry Lambic Mead (14 Months old now) 
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Jun 9, 2014 15:36
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So I'm thinking of moving from extract to all grain BIAB but I'm not sure if trying to boil everything in a 10 gallon kettle on my flat top electric range. I guess getting propane burner would be the best option but that's another 50 dollars I'd have to sink into this hobby on top of a bigger kettle.
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Jun 9, 2014 16:57
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adebisi lives posted:So I'm thinking of moving from extract to all grain BIAB but I'm not sure if trying to boil everything in a 10 gallon kettle on my flat top electric range. I guess getting propane burner would be the best option but that's another 50 dollars I'd have to sink into this hobby on top of a bigger kettle. I moved to AG BIAB and am doing 3 Gallon batches on a Gas stove top. But with a 10 gallon boil, I'd definitely have to get a burner.
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Jun 9, 2014 17:22
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adebisi lives posted:but that's another 50 dollars I'd have to sink into this hobby on top of a bigger kettle. So what's the problem.
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Jun 9, 2014 17:57
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adebisi lives posted:So I'm thinking of moving from extract to all grain BIAB but I'm not sure if trying to boil everything in a 10 gallon kettle on my flat top electric range. I guess getting propane burner would be the best option but that's another 50 dollars I'd have to sink into this hobby on top of a bigger kettle. Moving to BIAB is a great step, I really enjoy the simplicity of it. If you don't have a burner then you may not already have propane tanks so that's an additional cost to consider. The exchange places around here usually charge 50-60 for a new non-exchange tank, then around 20 to exchange. I get 3-4 batches out of a tank and always keep a spare on hand in case I run out during a brew. You'll also need a big bag for the grain. MoreBeer sells a decent one but if that's all you're getting then the shipping costs as much as the bag. Any decent LHBS should have big bags too.
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Jun 9, 2014 19:18
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withak posted:So what's the problem. Well I'm trying to save money for a trip right now. Plus brewing outside would probably be a pain in the dick since it's really hot and humid plus I'd worry about bugs and crap flying into the kettle. Hmm maybe doing 6 gallon batches in halves would work best.
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Jun 9, 2014 19:20
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adebisi lives posted:Well I'm trying to save money for a trip right now. Plus brewing outside would probably be a pain in the dick since it's really hot and humid plus I'd worry about bugs and crap flying into the kettle. Hmm maybe doing 6 gallon batches in halves would work best. I pretty much shut down in the summer here (NC). I have a fermentation fridge, but it's just no fun hanging around a couple 130K BTU burners when it's 98 degrees and a point or three less in humidity. I brewed a double batch Saturday in 84 degree weather but the humidity was down in the 40s. That's probably it for me until August. But you should embrace bugs. Bugs make beer better I will not hear of any contradictory talk of this! I love brewing in the fall when the Yellow Jackets are out and about. They are attracted to that sweet wert and flying through the steam plume are overcome and crash land in the boil. I did a Honey Wheat one year and I bet I have more than two dozen of those sucker in the pot after draining. Best Honey Wheat I ever made.
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Jun 9, 2014 20:07
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Marshmallow Blue posted:I moved to AG BIAB and am doing 3 Gallon batches on a Gas stove top. But with a 10 gallon boil, I'd definitely have to get a burner. Same here. It rocks.
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Jun 9, 2014 20:28
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Propane burners are one of the Big Four things that eliminated the most barriers to brewing for me. The other three are a ferment fridge, Fermcap, and autosiphons. I highly recommend them all to anyone who brews.
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Jun 9, 2014 21:44
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So here's another dumb question. I've got a marzen lagering in my fridge at ~35 degrees. I'm planning on doing an ale this weekend. Obviously I can't ferment the ale at lagering temps; will it do anything awful to the marzen to be at ~60 degrees for 4-5 days while the ale does its thing? I'll be using S-04 yeast in the ale so it should chew through pretty quickly.
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Jun 9, 2014 22:44
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bewbies posted:So here's another dumb question. No, it's totally fine. Mostly what's happening during lagering is stuff is globbing together and dropping out of suspension, so it's really just a function of total amount of lager time. The time in the middle where it warms up just doesn't count towards your lagering time. The timing didn't work out the last time I did this, otherwise I would have done the ale during the diacetyl rest for the lager.
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Jun 9, 2014 23:08
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Trip report: DIY equipment is awesome! Fermentation Chest Freezer: $31 + Freezer from Craigslist (varies, $60 for 10 cu ft for me)  STC-1000: $18 http://amzn.com/B008KVCPH2 Extension Cord: $7 http://www.lowes.com/pd_242043-66906-UT880608_0__?productId=3190805 Electrical Box: $4 http://www.lowes.com/pd_239513-223-A238-CAR_0__?productId=3136491 Electrical Outlet: $0.58 http://www.lowes.com/pd_246868-1571-3232WU_0__?productId=3235958 Wall Plate: $1.48 http://www.lowes.com/pd_158788-1571-TP826WCC12_0__?productId=3235242 1500W Heat Stick: $55. You could do without the WaterWeld and just use the Silicone for everything to make it $49.  Heater Element: $20 http://amzn.com/B000KKVZUO JB Weld WaterWeld: $6 http://www.lowes.com/pd_355112-81288-8277_0__?productId=3389026 End Cap: $0.66 http://www.lowes.com/pd_23897-1815-447010RMC_0__?productId=1067815 Slip Joint Reducer Nut: $3 http://www.lowes.com/pd_24745-143-916DK_0__?productId=1070379 Slip Joint Extension Tube: $6.50 http://www.lowes.com/pd_24604-88038-9126K_0__?productId=3388556 Brass outlet tee: $5 http://www.lowes.com/pd_274032-143-2517AK_0__?productId=3426034 Silicone Sealant: $7 http://amzn.com/B000KE4PBQ Aluminum cage: $2 http://www.lowes.com/pd_11565-205-21059_0__?productId=3009326 I was a bit underwhelmed by the power on this one, actually. About the same speed as my old gas stovetop, when Basic Brewing Video made it seem like it'd be faster. I'll probably build a 2000W stick to supplement this one. Use two to get up to temp, then switch to just one for maintaining temps. Going to convert it into an Arduino-powered PID for mashing & sous vide for an extra $90: Thermocouple: $6.25 http://amzn.com/B009IPFW9C SSR: $24.19 http://amzn.com/B00899ABYE Pump: $20 http://amzn.com/B007XHZ25G Arduino kit: $40 http://www.sainsmart.com/sainsmart-uno-r3-starter-kit-with-16-basic-arduino-projects.html This is just as fun as brewing to me! BrianBoitano fucked around with this message at 03:02 on Jun 10, 2014 |
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Jun 10, 2014 02:59
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adebisi lives posted:So I'm thinking of moving from extract to all grain BIAB but I'm not sure if trying to boil everything in a 10 gallon kettle on my flat top electric range. I guess getting propane burner would be the best option but that's another 50 dollars I'd have to sink into this hobby on top of a bigger kettle. For quite a while I did 6-gallon BIAB batches on an electric stove-top, although I did install canning burner elements for more heat and better support. I'd mash in my 10-gallon kettle straddling two burners, then I'd divide the wort between 3 smaller kettles for the boil. I'd then chill the kettles in the kitchen sink one at a time. It worked but boil-off was pretty high and I kept having to replace burner receptacles. It was a lot of extra work but I liked brewing in the kitchen. You could try doing mini-mash in a bag, almost as much control over all your variables as all-grain just a bit more expensive buying extract each time you brew. edit: oh so now my schedule has freed me to brew in the morning, nice. Just a patersbier but I've cultured yeast from Van Eecke's Poperings Hommelbier so I'm excited to see what it'll do. If successful I'll try to make something more like the parent beer with washed yeast. The oxidized flat starter beer tastes dreamy. Myron Baloney fucked around with this message at 04:07 on Jun 10, 2014 |
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Jun 10, 2014 03:49
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BrianBoitano posted:Thermocouple: $6.25 http://amzn.com/B009IPFW9C If you're planning on using an op amp or something to build it (which is what the chinacheap PIDs use), I'd love to see your circuit just for my own education.
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Jun 10, 2014 13:06
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CapnBry posted:As a fellow tech-brewer, don't forget your thermocouple amp! I don't know why thermocouple amps are so expensive yet you can buy a whole PID controller with buttons and power supply and LEDs for $20. I mean the cheapest you can get is an AD8495 for $3 at quantity. Well poo poo. I didn't know about those. I just got the Arduino in the mail yesterday, so I haven't gotten around to learning anything on it yet. I'll let you know what I do for that, but I might just buy another $15 component to just make it work...
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Jun 10, 2014 14:18
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tech-brew chat: So, in the opinion of those with some actual electronics experience here, what is actually needed to build a RIMS circuit based on an electric water-heater element? I think I would need a PID, a theromocouple, and an SSR, wired up appropriately. Are there good units that are not cheap junk but are also not terribly expensive?
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Jun 10, 2014 16:16
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Jo3sh posted:So, in the opinion of those with some actual electronics experience here, what is actually needed to build a RIMS circuit based on an electric water-heater element? I think I would need a PID, a theromocouple, and an SSR, wired up appropriately. Are there good units that are not cheap junk but are also not terribly expensive?  I built this brewery using the same concepts but the gist is just Electronics: -- A 1/16 DIN PID controller, $20-25 -- An RTD (PT-100) or thermocouple. PT100s are "more stable and accurate" but cost a more. Thermocouples are cheap but technically less accurate. I've never seen comparison numbers though. $5-$25. -- An SSD. Get one rated for 50% more current than you want to put through it and be prepared to heat sink it. $10-30 -- A heater element. If you don't care about heating time taking an hour, you could probably do with 120V 1500W. I use 240V 4500W in my HERMS and it will bring 15 gallons of water from 80F to 160F in under 20 minutes. A lot of people say to get Ultra Low Watt Density elements but that's a bunch of fuff. I have just a regular Low Watt Density element and never scorched wort, even at full-on 240V 5500W. They're half the cost too $10-15. -- An enclosure or something. Probably the most expensive part unless you get creative. $50-100 on ebay -- Switches, contactor. You probably want a switch to be able to turn the whole thing on and off manually. The switches generally can't carry 10A-30A so you need something for the switch to switch, a relay or a contactor. $10-35 depending on current. -- Outlets, cord, wire. Depending on the current you could get away with $10 worth of parts, or $200 worth of parts here. For a simple 120V system, regular extension cords and wall outlets are fine. Hardware -- A pump. 1 GPM is all you need, but the amount of restriction in the pipes and height of your pot will reduce the rated flow rate so oversize somewhat -- A switch for your pump! This can almost certainly be controlled by a simple 120V rated switch. -- You'll also need piping or something to hold the element but this is where my expertise ends. Finally, expect to pay more than you expect to pay. Because, after all 
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Jun 10, 2014 21:39
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Sooooo there's a local "clone brew" competition coming up (tldr pick any commercial beer and try to clone it, person who gets closest wins) and I'm having trouble coming up with candidates for my entry. Recipes for things like Blue Moon and Saison DuPont are known, and I've made them, but I've never felt like they were exact replicas. Any suggestions or proven spot on clones you guys have made?
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Jun 11, 2014 00:31
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fullroundaction posted:Sooooo there's a local "clone brew" competition coming up (tldr pick any commercial beer and try to clone it, person who gets closest wins) and I'm having trouble coming up with candidates for my entry. Grab yourself some Conan from love2brew and have fun throwing 1 lbs hops at a beer. That's what I'm doing, at least...
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Jun 11, 2014 00:52
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hellfaucet posted:Grab yourself some Conan from love2brew and have fun throwing 1 lbs hops at a beer. That's what I'm doing, at least... Unfortunately the beer has to be available locally (South Carolina), so I can't do that. BUT I have been playing around with that yeast and I love it. Very unique ... though my wheaty/saisony batches have been better than my pale ales with it.
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Jun 11, 2014 04:09
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I've got two extra gallons of witbier in a bucket I'm planning on adding some habanero jelly (melted down in a bit of water) to. Would it be worth transferring to secondary (I don't have any small fermenters, so it'd have to go in a 6 gallon better bottle) or should I just keep it in primary?
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Jun 11, 2014 05:10
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Toebone posted:I've got two extra gallons of witbier in a bucket I'm planning on adding some habanero jelly (melted down in a bit of water) to. Would it be worth transferring to secondary (I don't have any small fermenters, so it'd have to go in a 6 gallon better bottle) or should I just keep it in primary? The habanero jello sounds kind of goofy, but I am not your mom. Maybe try a scaled down amount first with a fraction of your batch. Then you can tell if it will work for you. Then you probably want a secondary fermentation anyways for everything to settle and mellow. Consider pectic enzyme. The haze won't matter in a wit, but any thickening effect could be gross.
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Jun 11, 2014 08:35
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Rocko Bonaparte posted:If you are worried about oxidation, add a little more sugar to rerouse the yeast, and then you can reuse your container as a secondary. The jelly may already have enough sugar for you. I would always recommend a secondary fermentation when dabbling like that. You can inspect the impact of your alterations over time. I would seriously consider only adding the jelly in the bottle. It sounds like both of your vessels are plastic, and I would be concerned with having that taste and heat linger on the plastic and make its way into future batches. Adding it in the bottle lets you do a couple things, too. First, you can experiment with the amount of heat you want. Bottle 6 bottles today with various amounts of jelly, and leave the rest in the bucket for another couple of weeks until you can try the 6 bottles. Second, you might get away with no carbonation sugar needed. Just look up nutritional info on habanero jelly to get an idea of how many grams of sugar are in a tsp and scale from there. Edit: Here's the calculation I would use: Use your recipe and your measurements to determine the amount sugar as a %age of total mass. Do not use original weights, as these do not account for boil-off. If you have commercial jelly, simply use the nutrition facts and divide (grams sugar)/(grams serving size). Most commercial jellies seem to be averaging around 15-20% sugar. Let's use 20% to err on the side of undercarbing to prevent bottle bombs. 0.20*(amt of jelly)=(amt of sugar) If you're carbing each 12-oz bottle to 2.5 volumes starting at 70°F, NB's priming sugar calculator says you need 2.39g of dextrose per bottle. 0.20*(amt of jelly)=2.39g Solving, we get that we need approximately 12g of jelly to carb each bottle. Assuming jelly is approximately equal density to honey, this site tells us that's about 1.5 tsp, which sounds about right for the heat I'd want in a full bottle of beer. To run my trials, I would bottle 5 bottles as such: 4g (1/2 tsp) jelly + 1.6g (scant 1/2 tsp) sugar (right on target) 8g (1 tsp) jelly + 0.5g (1/8 tsp) sugar (potentially undercarbed) 8g (1 tsp) jelly + 0.8g (scant 1/4 tsp) sugar (right on target) 8g (1 tsp) jelly + 1.0g (1/4 tsp) sugar (potentially overcarbed) 12g (1.5 tsp) jelly alone (right on target) Of course this all depends on you having the ability to measure so accurately. For that, you could go very carefully with your measuring spoons, or use any of these scales, which are incredibly useful all around. Y'all let me know if I said anything stupid that might give this guy bottle bombs. BrianBoitano fucked around with this message at 18:10 on Jun 11, 2014 |
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Jun 11, 2014 13:56
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BrianBoitano posted:Second, you might get away with no carbonation sugar needed. Just look up nutritional info on habanero jelly to get an idea of how many grams of sugar are in a tsp and scale from there. Wouldn't the issue with this be different levels of carbonation based on the jelly?
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Jun 11, 2014 14:42
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adebisi lives posted:So I'm thinking of moving from extract to all grain BIAB but I'm not sure if trying to boil everything in a 10 gallon kettle on my flat top electric range. I guess getting propane burner would be the best option but that's another 50 dollars I'd have to sink into this hobby on top of a bigger kettle. And if your only worry is the cost, just think about all the savings you have by going all grain instead of buying expensive extract!!! ( logic; you're screwed.)
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Jun 11, 2014 18:03
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going all-grain cut my ingredients cost per batch literally in half and then I sunk $900 into building a kegerator out of chest freezer
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Jun 11, 2014 20:23
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Elder flowers are in season, and just like pretty much any other herb it has a history in brewing. Anyone have any experience with them?
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Jun 11, 2014 20:26
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