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I made another beer and opened a bottle. it's a cream ale but is hazy and has an off taste. Sadly I Think my cooler's hose leaked some hose water into the batch and think that might have hosed it. Need to get some better clamps and clean everything real real real good (with some barkeepers friend to get rid of the brew stone as well)
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Jul 6, 2023 13:32
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Got a whole load of rhubarb from the garden in the freeze so decided I'd try making some cider.quote:Ingredients Planning on using this recipe, I've never made cider before so are there any glaring issues?
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Jul 6, 2023 13:46
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freelop posted:Got a whole load of rhubarb from the garden in the freeze so decided I'd try making some cider. Is this going to bottle carbonate? If so you probably need to be more precise about gravity readings and remaining sugars. Based on where it is in the fermentation process when bottling after 9 days it could be completely dry which would mean no carbonation, or there could still be a lot of sugars left meaning you could create bottle bombs. Typically what I do for bottle carbonation is let fermentation finish (as measured by a hydrometer). Then I’ll dissolve 1 oz of table sugar per gallon into the brew, then immediately bottle. This amount of sugar typically provides a good level of carbonation. Mind_Taker fucked around with this message at 14:02 on Jul 6, 2023 |
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Jul 6, 2023 13:58
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A kilo of sugar in 3.4L water (assuming an imperial pint) seems pretty strong for a cider. Even if you ended up with 5L total volume with liquid from the rhubarb that'd likely finish at over 10% ABV. I've also never added vinegar to a cider. I might assume it's for pH reasons but rhubarb is already pretty acidic so it seems odd. And it should be obvious, but let the boiling water cool to ~35C before adding your yeast, or you will kill it. You'll definitely end up with something alcoholic from that recipe, but consider checking out some others to get a feel for what's usual. If rhubarb cider ones are hard to find a normal apple cider recipe will probably work fine, maybe add a bit of extra sugar.
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Jul 6, 2023 14:08
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Mind_Taker posted:Is this going to bottle carbonate? I was assuming and hoping this would be a flat cider akin to what I'd normally find at a cider festival. I will keep track of the sugar via hydrometer so I can find out what the final abv is. big scary monsters posted:A kilo of sugar in 3.4L water (assuming an imperial pint) seems pretty strong for a cider. Even if you ended up with 5L total volume with liquid from the rhubarb that'd likely finish at over 10% ABV. I've also never added vinegar to a cider. I might assume it's for pH reasons but rhubarb is already pretty acidic so it seems odd. And it should be obvious, but let the boiling water cool to ~35C before adding your yeast, or you will kill it. You'll definitely end up with something alcoholic from that recipe, but consider checking out some others to get a feel for what's usual. If rhubarb cider ones are hard to find a normal apple cider recipe will probably work fine, maybe add a bit of extra sugar. I have looked up a couple of others, often they add apple juice but I've not seen any that add vinegar. At least if it all goes tits up I'm not wasting expensive ingredients. The more I attack that rhubarb plant the more it grows back
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Jul 6, 2023 14:26
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That vinegar looks... Odd. Rhubarb is sour as hell already?
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Jul 6, 2023 20:08
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I was thinking about co-pitching kveik and lacto (l.plantarum probiotic pills) and fermenting warm in my attic. It’s probably around 90 this time of year. My only worry is that the kveik might go too fast for the lacto to properly sour. Anyone have any experience co-pitching with kveik? Or have any thoughts one way or another? I was thinking I may pitch the lacto 12 hours before the kveik. Also, since I’m not doing any hops during the boil, can I just do a 10 minute boil to sterilize? Or do I even need that? Any recommended hops for dry hopping once it’s done fermenting? I can’t decide if that’s a good idea or not.
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Jul 9, 2023 13:09
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I would do the lacto first to give it a head start. I would also make sure to purge any headspace with CO2 as too much air can have lacto make butyric acid, i.e. baby vomit. I had that happen to me and I am apparently very sensitive to it.
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Jul 9, 2023 14:07
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Boonoo posted:I was thinking about co-pitching kveik and lacto (l.plantarum probiotic pills) and fermenting warm in my attic. It’s probably around 90 this time of year. Copitching, even late pitching, is perfectly fine as long as your hop amount is negligible. A 10 minute boil is a good approach if you're not doing a full boil. No-boil is certainly possible, but riskier, and personally I would not feel comfortable trying it unless I was doing an aged mixed fermentation beer. Even then, it took a pro brewer here who only does no-boil mixed ferm beers a ton of time before they turned out anything remotely drinkable IMO. Dry-hopped sours are nice. Citrusy, fruity and floral hops like Centennial, Simcoe, Amarillo and Citra are well-proven options. thotsky fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Jul 9, 2023 |
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Jul 9, 2023 19:54
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Thanks for the advice! We’ll see how it turns out. I’m hoping for a pretty quick turn around on this batch with the warm ferment.
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Jul 10, 2023 19:52
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Just bottled it up! Ended up doing a 40 30 30 split with malted red wheat, pilsner malt, and maris otter. 60 minute mash, 10 minute boil, cooled to 90ish degrees. No hops. OG was right around 1.033. I co-pitched 5 or 6 capsules of l. plantarum and half a pack of voss kveik Monday afternoon. It had dropped to 3.2 pH by Friday, and I dry hopped with an ounce of Nelson Sauvin. I tried a cold crash in a trash can with ice and cold water, and it kinda worked—but I don’t think I’ll bother with it in the future. Really looking forward to it after it conditions. It was tasting pretty good flat.
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Jul 17, 2023 21:54
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freelop posted:Got a whole load of rhubarb from the garden in the freeze so decided I'd try making some cider. I decided to follow the instructions as the site directed just in case there was some unknown wisdom in the strange addition of the vinegar. The thread was right, the overwhelming flavour is that of cheap white wine. I'm pretty sure enough rhubarb has grown back that I can try another batch without the vinegar.  If I didn't know what was in it I'd say it was full of artificial colouring
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Jul 24, 2023 09:36
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Don't give up on it yet! Looks like it's still in primary fermentation so it's pretty usual for things to taste a little "green", it might well improve with time.
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Jul 24, 2023 10:41
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So you're saying I perhaps shouldn't have bottled them? Ah well the bottles are in cupboards so if they explode it will be contained E: I forgot to do a hydrometer test when starting so I've no idea when it would have finished, I just followed the instructions for timings Also I popped extra sugar in the bottles when bottling. freelop fucked around with this message at 10:52 on Jul 24, 2023 |
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Jul 24, 2023 10:48
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I usually like a cooler to contai my bottles.in case of an issue due to bad bottling or bad bottles. I once had a beer slightly crack and leak all over my hardwood floor and into my basement ceiling. Now I make sure anything biting sits in a cooler or at very least on towels
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Jul 24, 2023 19:33
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Probably it'll be fine, but you can also pasteurise it by putting the bottles in hot (not boiling, like 80C) water for ten minutes or so. That'll stop fermentation and prevent bottle bombs. I did it last time I made a semi-dry carbonated cider.
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Jul 26, 2023 17:12
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big scary monsters posted:Don't give up on it yet! Looks like it's still in primary fermentation so it's pretty usual for things to taste a little "green", it might well improve with time. Colour has gone completely clear, it has a nice level of carbonation. It tastes even stronger of expired cheap wine 
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Aug 7, 2023 09:54
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Had a bit of Mr Magoo moment during my latest brew where I triped over the dogs water bowl and I'm pretty sure some of it splashed into my freshly cooled wort so it'll be interesting to see how this batch turns out
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Aug 7, 2023 10:43
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I've neglected this thread but I'm gonna make an effort to come back. I've really settled into a brewing rhythm (for better and worse). I'm doing 4-6 events a year with my brewclub where we get to go to Brewfests and serve beers with the big boys - it's a lot of fun. Recently I've picked up making hard seltzers to fill in some things stylistically. Now I have a 1) Normal Brew Day Beer (~4hr) 2) Sour Beer (no boil, but full mash schedule ~2hr) 3) Hard Seltzer (20-30min) This is DBJ (Dumb Bitch Juice) - Blueberry + Blackberry Seltzer with Hibiscus. This went crazy.  I've been taking some of my stuff to the local city music events at the park a block from my house and just serving whoever already has a beer in their hand. I picked up this cooler than can hold a corny keg with a water/ice bath around it. Fits in my little wagon.  This is a Cocktail Seltzer. It's a take on a Gin Rickey cocktail. ~75% of a bottle of Tanqueray on top of a seltzer base with lime juice and backsweetened with table sugar.  I'm using https://bisonbrew.com/how-to-make-hard-seltzer/ this link for the seltzer base and was able to order a 50lb bag of dextrose via a local restaurant that I have contacts with. I highly recommend it.
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Aug 10, 2023 03:10
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I really need the motivation to clean all of my brewing poo poo real good.. I've had 2 batches with bandaid taste.. so I need to clean my kettle, my stainless brew bucket.. and probably toss my bottling bucket and hoses.
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Aug 10, 2023 12:31
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That's typically when chlorine or chloramines are high in your water. I had that happen to me after using our tap water after a rain event. I started putting in Campden tablet every time. I've switched to DI now since I'm building profiles the way I want.
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Aug 10, 2023 13:52
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calandryll posted:That's typically when chlorine or chloramines are high in your water. I had that happen to me after using our tap water after a rain event. I started putting in Campden tablet every time. I've switched to DI now since I'm building profiles the way I want. Maybe my spring water company changed formulation.. Or.. alternatively hose water dripped into my batch because the hose on my copper chiller seems to be leaking (was too late to stop) tater_salad fucked around with this message at 14:45 on Aug 10, 2023 |
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Aug 10, 2023 14:00
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tater_salad posted:Maybe my spring water compaony changed formulation.. Or.. alternatively hose water dripped into my batch because the hose on my copper chiller seems to be leaking (was too late to stop)
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Aug 10, 2023 14:33
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Sashimi posted:Not sure how small or large the leak was, but a little bit of untreated water getting into your wort is unlikely to ruin a batch. maybe 2 cups at most. i mean it WAS outdoor hose water so maybe that's the case.. I'll get some new clamps from the hardware store wen I go and give everythign a good old PBW paste cleaning
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Aug 10, 2023 14:47
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tater_salad posted:maybe 2 cups at most. And as mentioned before campden tablets are also a good idea if you're not already using them. They're dirt cheap and guarantee no chlorine or chloramine in your brewing water.
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Aug 10, 2023 15:25
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Sashimi posted:I'll bet it was the hose, I used to fill the same way until I had friends notice off flavours that went away with subsequent batches switching back to taking water from a tap. I don't have a tap to use inside water for my chiller.. I can switch over to no chill.. I'll see if I can get it to not leak if I can't.. I'll just say fuckit for now until I sort out my basement faucet which needs replacement.
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Aug 10, 2023 20:13
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My brewclub bought one of those "Sensory Sample / Off Flavor" kits a while back that had a bunch of common things that you get from brewing. It was super interesting but the one everyone had both experienced AND had the most trouble describing was the bandaid flavor. A lot of us inadvertently fixed the issue by going to RO water with additions, and I think everyone forgot what caused it. Is Campden Tablets the cure for the accidentals in this one? Can I throw one of these into my normal beers?
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Aug 11, 2023 02:51
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robotsinmyhead posted:My brewclub bought one of those "Sensory Sample / Off Flavor" kits a while back that had a bunch of common things that you get from brewing. It was super interesting but the one everyone had both experienced AND had the most trouble describing was the bandaid flavor. A lot of us inadvertently fixed the issue by going to RO water with additions, and I think everyone forgot what caused it. You put it in your mash and strike water before heating it, but you can put it in it all. I think you really only need around 1/4 of a tablet for a 5gal brew day, but 1/2 of one or even a full one isn’t going to really harm anything. I’d boil the water or leave it overnight if you’re using it for a raw ale, but boiling it should volatilize it enough where it shouldn’t stunt any fermentation. It’s really not enough for the amount of yeast we add either way.
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Aug 11, 2023 07:13
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Jhet posted:You put it in your mash and strike water before heating it, but you can put it in it all. I think you really only need around 1/4 of a tablet for a 5gal brew day, but 1/2 of one or even a full one isn’t going to really harm anything. I’d boil the water or leave it overnight if you’re using it for a raw ale, but boiling it should volatilize it enough where it shouldn’t stunt any fermentation. It’s really not enough for the amount of yeast we add either way. Not a chemist, but my understanding is that it reacts pretty instantly. Anecdotally, I put a whole tablet per ~10 gal water as I'm heating up my mash water. I add minerals/acid at the same time. I do full volume BIAB, so no sparge water, but when I did sparge I'd do the same thing with the sparge water. It's a much, much lower concentration than you'd use to make sanitizer solution or to stabilize wine, plus any free SO2 will boil off in the brew day process.
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Aug 11, 2023 15:32
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more falafel please posted:Not a chemist, but my understanding is that it reacts pretty instantly. Anecdotally, I put a whole tablet per ~10 gal water as I'm heating up my mash water. I add minerals/acid at the same time. I do full volume BIAB, so no sparge water, but when I did sparge I'd do the same thing with the sparge water. Yep, that's pretty accurate. It's doesn't dissolve instantly though is normally the problem with the tabs. Adding heat will speed up the process which is why it's only maybe a concern for raw ales. You'd use K-meta or campden tabs in cider brewing if you want to be extra thorough about no infections, but you just leave it sit for overnight to make sure it won't affect the yeast starting and throwing off flavors. You're also using about 4-5x what you'd use for removing chlorine from the water for that sanitation, so if you put in a whole tablet, that's the dosage you're using in 5gal. If you're using it in already powdered form, it will react very quickly, but you don't want to breath that as it's the off gassing of hydrochloric acid. Removing the chlorine/chlormine is how you avoid the band-aid/plastic flavor up thread too. So switching to RO/distilled+salts is going to avoid the off flavor too, but the tabs/powder is a whole lot cheaper.
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Aug 11, 2023 18:01
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Oh, I crush up the tablets. I also have k-meta powder for other stuff (like stabilizing wine) where it's easier to measure powder, but for water treatment just crushing it up between two measuring spoons works great.
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Aug 11, 2023 18:04
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tater_salad posted:I really need the motivation to clean all of my brewing poo poo real good.. I've had 2 batches with bandaid taste.. so I need to clean my kettle, my stainless brew bucket.. and probably toss my bottling bucket and hoses. I had a friend with a persistent band aid flavor he couldn't figure out for a long time and it turned out he was using an in line water filter and hadn't changed it in a long time. Apparently when they are end of life they can start releasing what they've absorbed out into water running through them. robotsinmyhead posted:This is DBJ (Dumb Bitch Juice) Oh look my least favorite homebrew thing. " I call this one my stupid loving whore blond ale get it lol"
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Aug 11, 2023 18:32
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Josh Wow posted:I had a friend with a persistent band aid flavor he couldn't figure out for a long time and it turned out he was using an in line water filter and hadn't changed it in a long time. Apparently when they are end of life they can start releasing what they've absorbed out into water running through them. You're definitely right and if it makes any difference, I don't actually call it this with anyone but the other guy I brew with. It came from Double Berry Juice (blackberry / blueberry) and I don't refer to it like that in public. more falafel please posted:... Anecdotally, I put a whole tablet per ~10 gal water as I'm heating up my mash water. I add minerals/acid at the same time. I do full volume BIAB, so no sparge water, but when I did sparge I'd do the same thing with the sparge water. Kinda curious about your process / calculations. I'm also doing BIAB and have done full-volume before, but I was getting really lovely efficiency, so I went back to sparge (but not really gaining a whole lot/taking more time)
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Aug 11, 2023 18:45
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robotsinmyhead posted:You're definitely right and if it makes any difference, I don't actually call it this with anyone but the other guy I brew with. It came from Double Berry Juice (blackberry / blueberry) and I don't refer to it like that in public. I use a mesh basket in a 20 gallon kettle. My efficiency isn't great, 65-70% brewhouse efficiency, but a lot of that is due to losses in the kettle and my recirc system. Grain is cheap, if it costs me an extra 5 cents a pint but saves me time, it's worth it. I mill pretty coarse, .042" on a Cereal Killer. After dough in and a few minutes for the grain bed to settle, I recirculate to maintain temp, and theoretically improve efficiency. It makes the wort nice and clear too while I'm recirculating, but as soon as I lift the basket to drain that's all gone. After the mash (60 minutes normally, but if I'm in a bit of a rush I'll check gravity and iodine test after 30 minutes, it's pretty much always done unless I'm using unmalted adjuncts), I lift the basket with a block & tackle, tie it off, and let it drain for a few minutes while I bring the sweet wort up to temp. Often times I take a break here to eat lunch or something, so I'll set the boil controller to 200F and get it almost there. Boil as normal, still recirculating. For the last 20 minutes or so I recirc through my counterflow chiller (after flushing it out earlier in the day) to sanitize it, then pump through the CFC straight into the fermenter after flameout. I lose ~1/10 of a gallon per pound of grain to grain absorption, and nearly a gallon to the bottom of the kettle/pump/CFC/tubing. As I've figured out those numbers, I've tweaked my equipment profile in Brewer's Friend, so it typically gets me within a point or two of gravity. I also keep distilled water and DME on hand if I need to adjust up or down.
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Aug 11, 2023 19:46
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The time savings is the best part for me. I used to brew on a turkey fryer in the backyard with an igloo cooler mash tun. I did a batch sparge, so it was pretty fast, but between lugging all the equipment out there, having to babysit the burner so it wouldn't go out in a gust of wind, lugging everything back in for cleaning, etc it took 5+ hours, usually. Now I can be done in ~3-3.5 hours, not including the cleaning cycle I like to do on the kettle. If I was doing it again, I'd probably do a prebuilt system like a Grainfather. Making 10 gallon batches isn't that important to me, and I spent a bunch of money on this.
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Aug 11, 2023 19:50
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more falafel please posted:I use a mesh basket in a 20 gallon kettle. My efficiency isn't great, 65-70% brewhouse efficiency, but a lot of that is due to losses in the kettle and my recirc system. Grain is cheap, if it costs me an extra 5 cents a pint but saves me time, it's worth it. I mill pretty coarse, .042" on a Cereal Killer. After dough in and a few minutes for the grain bed to settle, I recirculate to maintain temp, and theoretically improve efficiency. It makes the wort nice and clear too while I'm recirculating, but as soon as I lift the basket to drain that's all gone. After the mash (60 minutes normally, but if I'm in a bit of a rush I'll check gravity and iodine test after 30 minutes, it's pretty much always done unless I'm using unmalted adjuncts), I lift the basket with a block & tackle, tie it off, and let it drain for a few minutes while I bring the sweet wort up to temp. Often times I take a break here to eat lunch or something, so I'll set the boil controller to 200F and get it almost there. Boil as normal, still recirculating. For the last 20 minutes or so I recirc through my counterflow chiller (after flushing it out earlier in the day) to sanitize it, then pump through the CFC straight into the fermenter after flameout. I've gone backwards in tech. I have a 10gal 3-vessel RIMS automated system but I'm in an apt and I don't have water access outside, and there's no way I can lug 10g of wort up 2 flights of stairs. The drat thing is just sitting outside chained to my deck with a tarp over it. I'm just brewing stovetop BIAB which suits me fine (and is amazing in the winter anyway).
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Aug 11, 2023 21:42
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robotsinmyhead posted:I've gone backwards in tech. I have a 10gal 3-vessel RIMS automated system but I'm in an apt and I don't have water access outside, and there's no way I can lug 10g of wort up 2 flights of stairs. The drat thing is just sitting outside chained to my deck with a tarp over it. I'm just brewing stovetop BIAB which suits me fine (and is amazing in the winter anyway). Near the end of my cooler mashtun system I started doing stovetop sometimes, with a terrifying bucket heater to supplement the stove burner. It was definitely more relaxing, but I like my system now pretty well, and everything is on a cart I can wheel in front of the utility sink to brew, then wheel back to a corner out of the way after cleanup. The only heavy thing I have to lift is the fermenter, and that's fine.
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Aug 11, 2023 21:53
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I've decided to take a crack at brewing kombucha at home. I got a little from amazon but lost the instructions / they were in Japanese. Just following some online guides and taking it easy. About ready to do the first fermentation and get some ginger in there or something. gently caress if I know what I'm doing.
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Aug 16, 2023 01:54
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It's really hard to gently caress up. It's already got acetobacter cultures in it and the range in sugar/tea concentrations that work well is far larger than you might get the impression of from Reddit etc.
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Aug 16, 2023 02:11
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Kombucha’s fun! My scoby just hit its 10 year anniversary. I only actively make it every now and then, but when I do I like to keep any additional fruits/flavors to bottles or a secondary container. That way I can always just refill the main container after I peel off the older scoby layers. This may or may not happen with your first baby, but I’ve found that after a long layoff I need two batches to get things working right. It may be a good idea to start with a smaller quarter or half gallon before you make a bigger gallon+ batch.
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Aug 16, 2023 04:34
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