Topics

1

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / is there an easier way?

« on: March 03, 2013, 09:36:28 AM »

so i'm an extract/partial mash and partial boil brewer with several batches under my belt.  i just about have my process dialed in with all of my new gadgets, primary among them being my immersion chiller.  i've also been reading about how extract brewers should put half of their extract in at the beginning of the boil, and the other half in the last 15mins or so to avoid a lot of kettle carmelization.

all that being said, does it become a problem to interrupt the boil?  by the time i drop in my IC and add another 3ish pounds of extract, my wort temp has dropped 15-20 degrees.  should i return it to boiling before i continue my hop timers?  or just continue on business as usual?

2

Other Fermentables / best wine book for a beer brewer?

« on: January 04, 2013, 06:11:17 PM »

so next fall i'm going to have access to quite a few fruit trees i just discovered on some family property, namely plum, pear, and apple.  the apples and pears will most likely get made into cider, but i'm thinking about making wine out of the plums.

so my question is: what's the best book on making wine for a simple extract beer brewer?

3

Yeast and Fermentation / cider scare?

« on: November 08, 2012, 03:47:47 PM »

so my buddy and i both started batches of cider a couple months ago.  both were fresh pressed apples from the same orchard; both were originally transported from the orchard in 5gal buckets that were cleaned in the same process, at the same time.  both were hit with campden tablets as soon as we got to our respective homes.  his has formed a translucent almost milky skin on the top (is this what's called a pellicle?), but mine hasn't.  variables : he used cotes de blanc, i used nottingham; he's fermenting in plastic, i'm in glass; his basement is warmer than mine.

is the skin a property of the cotes de blanc?  is this possibly an infection?  it doesn't smell like vinegar yet, so i told him not to dump it out 'till we got some answers.

4

Ingredients / now hear me out first....

« on: October 25, 2012, 02:27:29 PM »

so i was sitting at work talking to the guys about the next beer i wanted to brew, when suddenly my manager sticks his head into the conversation and tells me i should brew a guacamole beer.  i was surprised, i was disgusted, i was intrigued.

now i know i should have dismissed the thought outright, but my manager has never willingly let a drop of alcohol pass his lips in his entire life.  so the answering phrase that came out of my mouth was "if i make it, are you gonna drink it?"  to which he grudgingly agreed.

so in the interest of breaking in a 35 year old virgin liver, how would you go about making a guacamole beer?  also i'm not at the all grain level yet, still just partial mash.

5

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Black Forest Stout truncated

« on: August 13, 2012, 02:12:08 PM »

so i started brewing the black forest stout recipe from Brewing Classic Styles.  it's been fermenting for about a week now and i figured it was about time to go get the cherries to add to secondary.  problem being that cherries are out of season now and even frozen ones are relatively expensive for my budget atm.

so my question is: has anyone tried this recipe sans cherries?  the stout recipe looked good enough to stand on its own, but will i need anything to balance out the chocolate?  after dropping $60 on this batch already, i'm not really interested in dropping another $20-$30 on cherries.  any inexpensive fixes are welcome!

6

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / amarillo pale ale

« on: August 09, 2012, 02:46:03 PM »

so if i wanted to convert this weeks RotW to extract with grains or mini mash, how would i go about it?  also can someone explain the 'first wort' hop addition?

7

General Homebrew Discussion / Blonde Annie's

« on: May 17, 2012, 03:11:58 PM »

i'm really interested in brewing the new recipe of the week, but i'm not sure how to go about roasting the oatmeal.  anybody have some pointers on how to go about it?  the first thing that pops into my mind is spreading it out on a cookie sheet to roast it.  is that totally off base?