Messages

1

Ingredients / Re: Vanilla Extract vs. Vanilla Bean

« on: May 11, 2011, 10:17:10 AM »

Thanks Gordon, I will give that a shot.

P.S - I am really enjoying your book

2

Ingredients / Vanilla Extract vs. Vanilla Bean

« on: May 11, 2011, 09:35:44 AM »

I was wondering if anyone has used vanilla extract to flavor a beer vs. a vanilla bean? I have a porter that I would like to turn into a bourbon/vanilla porter by adding some bourbon and vanilla.

It seems like it would be easier to control the amount of vanilla flavor with extract, but I dont know the taste benefits of a bean vs extract.

Any info/experiences would be helpful!

3

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Why I'm an AHA member (and why you should be too)

« on: May 11, 2011, 08:53:36 AM »

I have paid off my membership about 10 times over with the 10% discount at Northern Brewer in St. Paul.

4

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Software

« on: February 03, 2011, 09:42:40 AM »

I ♥ Beersmith!

I actually have the entire program folder on a shared network drive and can run it from any PC/Laptop in the house.  Which is handy when I can't have access to a certain PC. ( Ever try to tell the wife to get off Facebook so  I can check a beer recipe?  )

Hey, I never thought of that!  I could just run the Beersmith shared from the main PC.  Remote Desktop isn't a bad idea either.  I've been putting off setting up a better home network.  Going to have to get on that!

Another option is to use a file share program like Dropbox. Just save your beersmith recipe file there and you can access it from anywhere provided the computer you are accessing it from has beersmith installed. I brew with my dad and brother, so this is very helpful when one of us wants to go in a edit a recipe, or add a new one.

5

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Sniffing the airlock!

« on: January 21, 2011, 02:25:58 PM »

Any bung sniffers out there? 

6

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Who messed with the grain mill?!?

« on: October 04, 2010, 10:41:10 AM »

Thanks for the input guys!

7

General Homebrew Discussion / Who messed with the grain mill?!?

« on: October 04, 2010, 08:16:43 AM »

So...interesting weekend and a lesson learned for me, my dad and brother.  We decided to push our limits and brew 3 beers in one day.  We ended up buying about 50 lbs of grain between the 3 recipes from one of our local brew supply shops, ran it through the on site grain mill and were on our merry way.

The first beer was going about as good as it could be going, temp in the mash was just right, no issues with our pump recirculating the mash - transfered to the boil kettle just fine, then it was time to take the pre boil gravity

Wait for it...

We missed our pre boil gravity by about 30 GUs.  We poured over our process trying to figure out what could have happened and had no answer.  It took until the gravity reading on our second recipe - once again missing by 30 points - to see that our grain had hardly been crushed, it was almost completely in tact.

So, someone had messed with the grain mill at the homebrew shop.  Why anyone would want to set it so wide it hardly touches the grain is beyond me, but there it is.  Moral of the story - make sure the grain mill is set properly before use

I think our next big purchase will be a grain mill - any suggestions?

8

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Gelatin

« on: September 23, 2010, 11:07:03 AM »

Thanks! I'll give it a shot.

9

Ingredients / Re: Cacao Nibs

« on: September 23, 2010, 11:04:51 AM »

Thanks, I appreciate the help!  I will try to remember to follow back around and let you know how it turns out.

10

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Gelatin

« on: September 23, 2010, 08:25:00 AM »

How long does it usually take for everything to settle?

11

Ingredients / Re: Cacao Nibs

« on: September 23, 2010, 08:09:55 AM »

Cool, sounds like a plan.  One more question for ya, is this something that I can do in the primary, or would you recommend transfering to a secondary before I start steeping?

12

Ingredients / Re: Cacao Nibs

« on: September 23, 2010, 07:53:31 AM »

Thanks Gordon, do you recommend a cetain amount of nibs for the steep?

13

Ingredients / Cacao Nibs

« on: September 23, 2010, 07:47:16 AM »

I am looking to add cacao nibs to an oatmeal stout and I am looking for recommendation on how I should add this, as well as how much for a 5 gallon batch.  I am looking for a very subtile chocolate flavor, nothing overpowering.

Adivce?

14

Yeast and Fermentation / Gelatin

« on: September 23, 2010, 07:45:13 AM »

Hello everyone, I was wondering if I could get some explanations on how I should use gelatin.  When should I add it to the carboy as well as how it should be prepared before adding it.  Any advice would be great!

I also welcome opinions on gelatin in general, has it worked well for anyone?  Would you recommend any different products?

15

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Diacetyl After Bottle Conditioning

« on: August 23, 2010, 12:13:27 PM »

Just wanted to shoot out an update after warming them up for a few days - Diacetyl is almost gone! Whew, I hate wasting a batch 

Thanks for everyone's input, I think we have this one solved.