|
Super Rad posted:fenugreek I've heard that too, but I've read in one case that it gave a celery taste.
|
#
¿
Mar 2, 2012 19:24
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 15, 2024 09:42 |
|
|
With a partial mash, you're able to extract more sugars, flavors, colors, etc. than with just steeping the grains for 20 minutes. For some grains, they need more time for you to extract the particulars and a partial mash will get you those aspects without going All-Grain.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 3, 2012 07:43
|
|
|
As mentioned earlier in the thread, several people have read Extreme Brewing. What recipes have you brewed and how have they turned out? I'm thinking of brewing the Wild Flower Wheat and the Midas Touch and wondered if anyone had any advice.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 7, 2012 05:33
|
|
|
FYI Northern Brewer is having a 15% off sale on all their beer kits right now until the 20th. Use the code: MakeGreatBeer
|
|
#
¿
Mar 13, 2012 16:30
|
|
|
Angry Grimace posted:In any case, if anyone gets one of those bottles and comments that its sour, I'll just tell them some "wild yeast" got in there as opposed to "the batch is infected," because well, if I give someone a bottle of something and tell them it was "infected," they're unlikely to want any more of anything I give them. But...It's also possible that they could become bottle bombs. Infected strains can ferment more sugars than regular yeast and up your pressure. Be careful.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 17, 2012 05:49
|
|
|
withak posted:Relatively hard, compared to how much attention gets paid to it. Your beer is probably fine, but don't skip that step next time. The first 10 batches that I made, I didn't actually use sanitizer. I only had cleaner and my beers all turned out fine.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 17, 2012 21:26
|
|
|
Has anyone done any aging in kegs? I'd like to brew some strong beers soon and age them until next winter, but I'm going to be moving soon and fear that moving from one house to another with beer in a carboy will oxidize it too much. A sealed and pressurized keg wouldn't have that though, right?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 26, 2012 00:15
|
|
|
kitten smoothie posted:When I start flipping out about stuff like this I need to remind myself that people have been brewing for millennia without modern conveniences and it has turned out fine. The Mesopotamians did this just fine and they didn't have fancy poo poo like starsan, autosiphons, and reliable/consistent yeast strains that they could buy on the internet and have FedEx'd to their ziggurats. True, but I know people who have all of that stuff and still make lovely beer. Go figure.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 27, 2012 20:19
|
|
|
icehewk posted:Is $40 for used corny's at Northern Brewer's physical location (so they can be inspected) a good deal, or is it better to just hit up a scrapyard? Yes. Looking at their local competitor, Midwest Supplies, they're asking $40 for pin-locks and $50 for ball-locks.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 6, 2012 14:36
|
|
|
internet celebrity posted:I'm considering using citra for bittering my saison I'm brewing tomorrow but now I'm reading conflicting opinions about it. Some say citra give a strange off-flavor when used for bittering, other people say it's fine. Has anyone here bittered with citra before? Or specifically, bittered a saison with citra? I did an all Citra Zombie Dust clone and thought it came out wonderfully.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 8, 2012 03:52
|
|
|
Jo3sh posted:Imperial Stout goes amazing with whiskey and oak. Agreed. I had one of mine scored by judges and they said to leave the bourbon whiskey out. I said nuts to that. The flavors just get more and more amazing as the months go by. I've been drinking my bombers at a rate of once a month, so I should be good until Christmas of next year when another one will be ready.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 13, 2012 21:46
|
|
|
I got started on that kit myself. I didn't brew very good beer at first, but I'm a champion now. You will need a thermometer. I would also get some Star San sanitizer, because if I remember right it comes with a cleaner and not a sanitizer. Other than that, you should be good. There's a limitless amount of upgrades and gadgets to buy, which will only make things more enjoyable and allow you to brew better beer.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 17, 2012 21:10
|
|
|
PokeJoe posted:I've actually got a sour already chilling out in a bucket next to the empty carboy. It seemed to stop fermenting after two days but a gravity reading says it still has about 10 points left in it. Also the sample tasted delicious. What's the advantage of using the glass for the sour? You're able to clean it and use it for things other than sours. Plus headspace. Taking a gravity or sample reading will introduce a lot less oxygen in a carboy than a bucket. Also, you can't see the beer without opening it if that bothers you. I don't think it's conclusive on whether you can age a sour beer in a bucket for several years and be all right, but someone people have done it for a year and got decent results. I recently got bit by the sour bug and have teamed up with a friend to do several. I hope to get up to 8-10 sours going by the end of summer and I've also thought about getting a 55 gallon wine barrel. Does anyone have any experience with barrels? It seems like a no brainer if I have the space to buy a $100 barrel instead of buying $300 worth of carboys. I'd have to team up with several brewers to fill the thing, but otherwise it seems ideal.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 24, 2012 03:30
|
|
|
I'd like to think that I've saved money brewing, but it's really been through strategic purchases like buying ingredients in bulk, creating a yeast bank, and cloning brews that are more expensive. For example, I made the Midas Touch clone from Extreme brewing and the Founder's Breakfast stout. Both of those retail for about $10 a four pack, but I made them for $50-60. I'm starting to get into sours recently because I've spent too much money on those. I plan to do around 8-10 a year which will save me thousands of dollars a year that I might spend on those.
|
|
#
¿
May 10, 2012 01:17
|
|
|
Angry Grimace posted:I went through my fridge and found an extra 10 oz. of Amarillo I forgot that I bought; ironically if memory serves, I bought it because I forgot that I had bought even more of it before that for a Pale Ale that a lot of friends seemed to really enjoy (probably because it was relatively boring by my tastes). I guess I'm going to be making a shitload of beer with Amarillo and Citra, because I have a shitload of both. Only good things can happen. I love those hops and they've long sold out from a reasonable price.
|
|
#
¿
May 18, 2012 03:52
|
|
|
I have a question about converting an all grain recipe. I'm looking at the Brewing Network clone for Dark Dawn and it has a ton of different grains/adjuncts. Here's the original recipe: 0.35 lbs. Clover Honey Generic 0.53 lbs. Corn Sugar Generic 0.66 lbs. Turbinado Sugar Generic 8.04 lbs. Pilsener Belgium 1.93 lbs. Roasted Barley Great Britain 1.61 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 0.11 lbs. Melanoidin Malt 1.18 lbs. Munich Malt Germany 0.96 lbs. White Wheat Belgium 0.48 lbs. Crystal 80L America 0.24 lbs. Black Malt Belgium Will be okay keeping everything except converting the Pilsener Belgium into equivalent Pilsner Extract and the the Pale Malt into Gold malt extract? For the rest of it, my plan was to do a mini-mash to still get the sugars and flavors of the specialty grains. Here's the recipe for reference. http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=&t=17614
|
|
#
¿
May 31, 2012 03:31
|
|
|
[Edit]Double Post.
|
|
#
¿
May 31, 2012 03:35
|
|
|
I worked with five different batches today. I transferred my La Folie clone to a secondary and it's already starting to smell tart and taste a little funky after only two weeks. I kegged two IPAs that I had mixed up the dry hoppings. One was a Sierra Nevada Celebration clone and the other was a Bells Two Hearted clone. I was worried about how they would turn out but they ended up being bright and brilliant. I brewed Northern Brewer's Single Hop Un-Kolsch and started a Framboise. It also happened to be one of the hottest days of the year, so I had that going for me too. Overall, success.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 11, 2012 01:42
|
|
|
wattershed posted:I know some of you would want to answer "just taste it and go from there" but I'm looking more for what your past experiences have been with what you've made - obviously if it still tastes like a bitter mess next Sunday I'll leave it in there but I'm looking to hear some stories of actual results. In my experience, yes the hops are fresher the sooner you have it. That's not debatable. What I've run into, is that other aspects of the beer need more time. The malt may still be developing or there happens to be an off flavor that needs to settle. Unless you're planning to drink the keg within the week, realize that hop flavors will degrade over time and just enjoy it when it's fresh and still appreciate it when it mellows. If that still bothers you, you can always continually keg hop with a bag that you can replace every week to brighten the flavors. See here: http://vimeo.com/29379832#t=452
|
|
#
¿
Jun 11, 2012 04:01
|
|
|
Transferred a berliner weiss to a secondary for a long aging process. I can detect trace amounts of sour tartness, but I'll have to see how it's doing in a few months. Also, brewing a Jolly Pumpkin La Roja clone. I'll ferment it clean using WL550 and then pitch several bottles of dregs to funk it up. I'm also planning on doing a Dark Dawn clone for which I'll just pitch bottle dregs instead of using a clean yeast first.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 17, 2012 23:04
|
|
|
After having using a freezer, that I found on craigs list, for a year, it may be time to put it on the curb. The motor still runs, but it no longer gets below 60 degrees. I thought that it might be the temperature probe, but after unplugging that and connecting the freezer directly into the wall, it still won't get colder than 60. Has anyone else had a problem like this before? Should I start looking for another one or is there something I can do about it?
|
|
#
¿
Jun 18, 2012 22:07
|
|
|
Super Rad posted:How long has it been since you plugged it directly into the wall? I've scared myself a couple times thinking a fridge was on the fritz when it just needed more time. I waited a few hours and it remained at 60. The motor continues to run though. Also, does anyone have any experience with Lambics? I have one that's currently going through primary and in a week I'd like to transfer it into a secondary with some raspberries. Would I be ok to pitch a new lambic in the primary bucket? I know others have had great sour results when pitching onto months-year old cakes because the sacc yeast have died and all that's left are the bugs. Cointelprofessional fucked around with this message at 23:34 on Jun 18, 2012 |
|
#
¿
Jun 18, 2012 23:31
|
|
|
DrFrankenStrudel posted:Rhubarb I've got some rhubarb in my backyard that I've been thinking about using. My strategy was to make a strawberry rhubarb lambic. I have a friend that made a rhubarb wine that turned out great.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 22, 2012 01:36
|
|
|
I'm spoiled with easy access to Midwest and two Northern Brewer shops a few miles away. Speaking of grain buying, interestingly enough, while hanging out in the grain room I saw some East African women buy several 50# sacks. Apparently they come in all the time and use it for food instead of beer.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 22, 2012 23:22
|
|
|
I racked a 1 month old lambic onto 9 lbs of blueberries two days ago and I thought that I might have filled the carboy too much. Turns out I was right. Foam and blueberry guts were pushing there way out of the airlock, so I siphoned a little bit out for tasting. It's already tasting slightly tart and funky as well as the sweet blueberry. I can't wait for it to finish. I also tried force carbonating a keg for the first time yesterday and I think it turned out. The Kolsch was definitely carbed, but because it was extra hoppy and the fact that I only did a primary, it ended up a little chunky. I'm sure it will settle out though.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 25, 2012 02:02
|
|
|
All carboys are 25% OFF from 7/25/12 – 8/31/12 at Northern Brewer. Coupon code: CARBOYSALE. Cannot be combined with other offers and does not include Beer or Wine Starter Kits. Good at all locations.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 3, 2012 15:17
|
|
|
Buy a bucket, get one free at Northern Brewer. http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...tm_medium=email
|
|
#
¿
Aug 8, 2012 15:47
|
|
|
ChiTownEddie posted:Have you guys ever put some dregs of a commercial beer with brett into a homebrew while bottling? Does it provide a tinge of funk if aged a bit? I'd put it into your carboy, but I wouldn't use it for bottling. Unless you brewed a sour/wild beer, there will be too much sugars left over in the beer for the brett to eat and you'll get bottle bombs. A beer in a bottle only needs to drop a few points in gravity for it to explode. I know Orval bottles with brett and some people have had luck with it, but you should be cautious. I'd bottle with heavier glass that's meant to withstand higher carbonation rates. Also, make sure it's a beer that will almost ferment all the sugars so the Brett won't have too many sugars. Also, you'll have to wait a few months before it carbonates enough.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 20, 2012 05:30
|
|
|
Docjowles posted:(New Belgium It'd be nice to have those dregs, but pasteurizing locks in the taste that they intend. It won't change/develop, so you know what you're going to get. It's not like the latest Brux beer from Sierra Nevada and Russian River that recommends you drink the beer a few years from now.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 20, 2012 05:33
|
|
).
|
I recently brewed a sour and pitched a starter of little dregs. Its been a week and I opened the lid to add some more dregs and noticed that there was some mold growing on top. There were little white rafts with forest green in the middle. I skimmed them off using a spoon and sealed it back up. I'm hoping that it will eventually turn into alcohol and repel any future mold, buy does the fact that it was already there mean its ruined?
|
|
#
¿
Sep 24, 2012 02:24
|
|
|
Toebone posted:The Chinese grocery store near me has decent sized bags for the same price as those little plastic cups at the supermarket. You don't need much to get a lot of flavor, but I figure the tea/tincture will give me the most bang for my buck. I used it for a Midas Touch Clone as well. I used 25 threads in place of hops. It added a nice perfume aroma and tainted the color slightly. I added them at flame out.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 26, 2012 01:55
|
|
|
global tetrahedron posted:Yeah, it took about 10 minutes for my most recent wort to get back up to a boil after adding the extract. I did wait it out and 'pause' my imaginary timer. I've done both methods, boiling longer and using my original time. The beer has turned out fine, though I imagine you'll have slight variances in alpha acid conversion (hop bitterness) and color of the beer with the longer boil darkening it. Sanitation isn't an issue because the malt extract you're adding has already been boiled. I have a back issue of brew your own that took a somewhat scientific approach to this that I can let you borrow.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 5, 2012 18:05
|
|
|
global tetrahedron posted:I think you are supposed to add the bourbon along with the cube; that's what they say anyway. And some of the reviews say that 16 oz is not enough; I dunno. I'm just going to go with my gut feeling, as suggested above, since there is clearly no correct answer. At this point I'm feeling like soaking the cubes in bourbon and only adding them and discarding the bourbon. And I'll only add enough to cover the cubes up. Did you ever try the Russian Imperial stout with oak and bourbon that I made? I used 1 oz of french oak and 3 oz of bourbon and added everything in. It has a very distinct taste and any more would be overwhelming I think.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 6, 2012 20:59
|
|
|
Posting to say that strainer is wonderful. I use a sanatized spoon to scrape it clean when it eventually clogs up, but as long as that stuff isn't going into my beer, I'm happy to do it.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 15, 2012 18:50
|
|
|
About a month ago, I posted about potential mold that I had on my beer. After talking to several other sour brewers, they confirmed that yes it was most likely mold. However, there was no reason to pitch the batch. I waited and opened my bucket again today to see how it was going. I took a gravity sample and it had dropped from 1.062 to 1.020. It also tasted amazing, as tart and sour as most commercial examples. The top of the bucket still looked like it was growing mold, but the beer was covered in the good kind of bacteria. Ropey lacto, white and spotty brett with some pedio bubbles all looked disgusting, but in a good way.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 20, 2012 01:04
|
|
|
Beer4TheBeerGod posted:I have a question about my own brew. It's a cream ale extract kit that I somehow got 0.01 below the recommended OG (1.039 instead of 1.05-ish). I might have just read the hydrometer wrong, but I think I got it right. Well the bucket was bubbling like crazy the first few days (WP080 cream ale yeast), but after 3-4 days it seems to have stopped. Should I be worried? It's been a week and there hasn't been much activity. The room does have pleasant beer smell though, although every time I walk in it seems less potent. Don't worry, your beer is fine. Beer is finicky and gravity points will often be one or a few away from your intended OG and your finishing target. You really can't judge a beer's fermentation based on the airlock. Normally, a beer like the one you brewed will eat through most of the sugars in the first few days and slowly finish the rest. Most beers will finish between a few days and a week. An air lock is not an accurate indicator of fermentation activity. Just because it's not bubbling doesn't mean it's not fermenting and just because it is bubbling doesn't mean it is. Often times, an airlock will bubble for weeks/months afterward as CO2 comes out of suspension from the beer.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 21, 2012 04:30
|
|
|
I'm glad more people on this forum are getting into sours. There's not enough people able/willing to devote time/space/adventure in order to make them. I haven't brought any to completion yet, all of mine are still aging, but I've tried to experiment with variables as much as I can. Find someone who owns there home or has an extended lease if you're unable to devote the space towards sours. It's also a fun brewing process to explore with a friend. I've done quite a few batches, but as I said, I'm still waiting on all of them. With a friend: Northern Brewer Kriek NB Oud Bruin de Table NB Chateua Northern Lambic Grand Cru Myself: La Folie clone from Brew Your Own Jolly Pumpkin's La Roja Clone Raspberry Lambic Blueberry Lambic Berliner Weiss Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calablaza clone Jolly Pumpkin Dark Dawn clone With almost all of these, I've used Roselare, Lamblic blend, or Berliner Weiss blends from Wyeast and White Labs. For most of my clones, I've used bottle dregs that I've either built up using starters or just dumped into the carboy. I'm coming up on the sixth month mark for a few of these, so I plan to start tasting them and measuring their gravity to see how they're progressing.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 30, 2012 04:05
|
|
|
hellfaucet posted:I want to try to make basically everything I like. I need more vessels... seriously. I was initially bothered by the high cost for each batch. Buying a new carboy is expensive as well as devoting some equipment for sour batches, but on a per bottle basis, I'm looking at beer that's much cheaper than buying it commercially. More so than regular homebrewing, sours are far more expensive than the ability to make them yourself. It's much more of a crap shoot and you don't have as much control over your end product, but you can still make great beer if you follow the right guidelines. I don't know how my clones will turn out, but generally using bottle dregs will produce similar beers with dominant bugs repeating their flavors.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 30, 2012 06:24
|
|
|
Nanpa posted:Could you experiment with sours in a 5L demijohn? I'm interested in the idea but can be bothered getting another set of big heavy expensive vessels to leave around for months on end Yes.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 30, 2012 15:17
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 15, 2024 09:42 |
|
|
For other sours, I'd also recommend Monk's Cafe, Cuvee Des Jacobins Rouge, Oud Bruin by Petrus, and everything else that was already mentioned. Those I listed tend to be on the cheaper side and are available in 375 ml bottles.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 1, 2012 00:03
|
|