Messages

1

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Zymurgy Top-Ranked Beers

« on: June 18, 2013, 10:51:12 pm »

I can have a Pliny the Elder whenever I want. Rest assured it is the best beer on that list, IMO. With the sheer number of beers available, it is insane to attempt such a list.  San Diego has 71 brewing locations now, Stone is very good but hovers around as my 5th or 6th favorite locally- and there are probably 20 or so I haven't been to yet. IPA is king, a 7 barrel owner looking to expand told me 80% of his sales were IPAs. I think most popular/heard of non macro beers is a much more accurate descriptor, in fact I shot some pretty good beer out my nose reading the list.....

2

All Grain Brewing / Re: mash efficiency question

« on: June 13, 2013, 07:57:55 pm »

I'd also like to add something pretty simple.  Have you calibrated your pre-boil volume at temperature.  I thought my efficiency was pretty poor also however the volume was not correct.  The easiest way initially for me was to measure out one gallon increments and mark then on a stick that I hung into the kettle.  After getting a sight glass I did the same calibration.  Things seemed to work out much better then.  Remember your volume will be anywhere from a 1/4 gallon to 1/2 more if you are measuring at 150 or 200 F.  Google thermal expansion of water.  Hope this helps and good luck.

Yes water expands with heat, but not accounting for this will lead to over estimating the actual efficiency. 

3

Homebrew Clubs / Re: My Own Beer testing

« on: June 13, 2013, 05:38:47 pm »

That sounds like advice for someone who doesn't drink beer. If you drink beer, make the beer you like. If you like doing that, then expand your horizons. I would try to visit some breweries to sample lots of types, and in 3- 4 ounce samples usually. Remember don't judge a style till you have had a good number of examples.

4

Equipment and Software / Re: I'm ready to trash my kettle

« on: June 12, 2013, 03:24:09 pm »

Too high evaporation- add back a gallon or so of water after 60-75 minutes
Can't read volume- make a measuring rod/ stick , mash paddle 
Won't sit flat - put the barb in only when you want to use it, or shorten it if that will work.

Drilling into stainless steel is not hard, just expensive if you mess it up...

5

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Cold age?

« on: June 12, 2013, 08:59:07 am »

It is not difficult to get a beer to reach fg in 3-5 days.
The recipes are provided, you must pick one.
Cold age and cold crash are two different things. My guess is the cold aging is around 60
I would assume the company has made all the recipes before and knows how to make it work. I doubt all their recipes stick exactly to the "format" described, but generally do. They are merely trying to teach people how to make beer, not win medals. It is really easy to make decent beer.
 

6

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: SG question

« on: June 09, 2013, 09:45:51 am »

With specific gravity(sg) readings the larger the number, the more sugar in solution. With more sugar the potential for more alcohol.  The number does not indicate how fermentable the sugars are though. You can absolutely have a 1.06 og beer with less alcohol than a 1.055 beer. So by itself an og doesn't give you a whole lot.

Dubo man put forth some incorrect numbers, I can tell just by looking at them- the math doesn't add up.
 

7

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Bottle not carbonating

« on: June 09, 2013, 09:30:33 am »

A big portion of the sugar was probably consumed by the yeast before you bottled. Wait a few more days and check again, but my guess us they'll still be under-carbed. If that's the case, you have two options. Drink them slightly flat. Or reprime the bottles individually.

+1

There are a number of factors at play here, not knowing most of them it's hard to speculate.  In my experience for 99% of the beers I bottled they were carbed by 7 days.  I would add a little sugar to one or two bottles and see how they are in a couple days- could be very telling. 

There is no "should", it's your beer drink/try it when you want, experience is what will teach you.

8

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Yeast Quantity for 1 Gallon Ales

« on: June 08, 2013, 11:21:23 am »

In beersmith, click the tools icon, then select yeast starter. From there it will allow you to enter the wort size and gravity and then calculate how much yeast is recommended. The production date of the yeast also factors in. There are a few other yeast calcultors out there.
mrmalty.com
yeastccal.com
brewersfriend.com

It is possible you could have used/needed the whole pack.

I would use dry yeast by weight, or harvested yeast by ml to pitch to 1 gallon. Any of those calcs will tell you how much for a given size/gravity.

Yes you can pitch more yeast if fermentation doesn't begin, but you probably won't need to.

9

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: when to check for bottle bombs

« on: June 08, 2013, 10:25:17 am »

If you bottled a still fermenting beer, you do have a risk of bottle bombs-priming sugar aside. You don't want to get into why you are worried, so.....

If you used cane or corn sugar to prime, I would expect 3 to 4 days at room temperature(70ish) to get a sense of how the final carbed beer will be. I find that at 7 days they are more than ready to drink, and fully carbed- under normal conditions.

Putting one in the fridge for a day or two will not increase the carbonation. Naturally carbonating a beer occurs faster at warmer temps. 

10

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Guiness style stout

« on: June 06, 2013, 01:49:40 pm »

It is not necessary to sour the beer to create a dry stout.  Guinness' method probably does not include a 'souring' step.  Their naturally low alkalinity water produces a more acidic extract when they perform their separate roast grain steeping step. 

I thought they had high alkaline water, well suited for stouts. Is this not the case?

11

Beer Recipes / Re: Amarillo IPA

« on: May 20, 2013, 12:50:59 pm »

Vinnie has 2 single hop beers on tap right now.
http://russianriverbrewing.com/

12

Beer Recipes / Re: Amarillo IPA

« on: May 20, 2013, 11:18:34 am »

I'll just throw this in, in a recent issue of Zymurgy they have a recipe for testing single hops and the author makes a point to say that Amarillo was not good for the 60 minute addition.

That was a statement of opinion. granted from Vinnie at Russian river but still. Try it. Maybe YOU would like it as a 60 minute addition. I find Columbus to be really oniony but others love it.

The other opinion he stated was that while a single hop beer was great for experimenting, it didn't make a good recipe.  I realize that it's subjective, but I agree with him 100%.

These are all opinions, isn't that what the op asked for? Haven't seen the latest Zymurgy best beers but the runner up for 3 straight(IIRC) is a single hop beer. So it seems lots of folks think very highly of a single hop beer as a good recipe. I can't believe it but I have to disagree with Denny and Vinnie, I have really enjoyed some single hop beers.

13

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Over Attenuating Yeast - How is it Possible?

« on: May 17, 2013, 11:26:16 am »

Thanks for the info, very interesting.

14

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Over Attenuating Yeast - How is it Possible?

« on: May 17, 2013, 10:44:01 am »

Yeah, sorry I was concerned with overall fermentation. So I guess my question really is , would(do) you adjust your rate for the same recipe if the volume change were large(2x)? It just seems that the pressure difference would affect all aspects of fermentation and therefore require more yeast to compensate.

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Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Over Attenuating Yeast - How is it Possible?

« on: May 17, 2013, 09:43:59 am »

much different pressure on the yeast

I think people under-estimate this effect. IME a 5 gal fermentation will finish about 0.5-1.0°P lower than a 7-15 bbl batch using the same recipe.

Wouldn't this also be a factor in determining pitch rates, i.e. say 3 barrels vs 15 barrels of the same recipe. Or do you use the same rate regardless of the size of the batch?