Topics

1

Equipment and Software / Good Deal? - 30 qt. Polar Ware Kettle on Amazon

« on: December 30, 2011, 08:05:37 PM »

I'm kinda wary of buying some stuff online but this looks like a decent seller. Just wondering if anyone had any experience with them and if this is indeed a decent price for a 30 qt polarware brew kettle that includes valves and thermometer. Based on what I've found online and in person, this is way cheaper and still decent quality.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003EWPCSG/ref=sc_pgp__m_A1IKY8F5Y4VJKN_7?ie=UTF8&m=A1IKY8F5Y4VJKN&n=&s=&v=glance

All fittings are SS weldless with 1/2" threads and high temp silicone gaskets.
30 Quart Capacity
20 gauge Stainless Steel
1/2" NPT Weldless Compact valve with 3/8" flow port
Weldless thermometer

2

Beer Recipes / Pliny the Toddler - starter needed?

« on: December 23, 2011, 10:44:06 PM »

I've never brewed a beer with such a low OG but I've also never used a starter before. I'll be picking up the necessary equipment to make a starter with a gift card I received from work so I was kind of anxious to try it out but wasn't sure if there was any downside to making a starter when you are brewing such a low OG beer. This will also be my 2nd all grain beer.

For those of you that don't know the recipe, here it is from the AHA Beer Recipe Blog:

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/community/blog/show?title=beer-recipe-of-the-week-pliny-the-toddler

Pliny the Toddler - Session IPA
Recipe taken from Zymurgy Magazine November/December 2011 Edition
All Grain

Ingredients for 5.5 U.S. Gallons
3.5   lb. Maris Otter
3.5   lb. Domestic 2-row
1.0   lb. Cara-Pils Malt
0.5   lb. Table Sugar
0.75   oz. Warrior 15.5% a.a. (60 mins)
0.75  oz. Columbus 11.4% a.a. (10 mins)
0.75  oz. Centennial 8.5% a.a. (10 mins)
0.75   oz. Cascade 8.5% a.a. (0 mins)
5   g Gypsum for water profile adjustment
 
Yeast
1 starter/slurry
White Labs WLP 001 California Ale Yeast
 
Specifics
Original gravity   1.048
ABV   4.7%
Boiling time   90 min
IBU   56
SRM   37
 
Directions
Single Infusion Mash at 152°F (67°C) for 60 minutes. 90 minute boil. Ferment at 65°F.

3

Ingredients / Substitutes for Briess Extra Special and Caramel 10L?

« on: January 20, 2011, 08:07:35 AM »

I'm brewing the Red Ale from the 2004 national homebrew day and none of my LHBS carry the grains below. I can't think of any subsitutes either. Could sure use some help.

Briess Extra Special
Lovibond - 130
Flavors - Burnt, Sugar, Woody, Prunes
Description - This intense 2-Row specialty malt is not for the faint of heart. It contributes distinctive flavors associated with darker, high gravity beers like Doppelbock. Even used at small quantities, you'll find it lives up to its name and delivers something "extra special" to your biggest, maltiest brews.

Caramel Malt 10L
Lovibond - 10
Flavors - Candylike Sweetness, Mild Caramel

4

Beer Travel / Baltimore, MD Beer-cation

« on: June 14, 2010, 09:40:50 AM »

Hey fellow HBers. Myself and four friends have formed a bit of a beer pact. Each year we have a man-cation that is centered around beer. The first two years we went to Belgium Comes to Cooperstown at Ommegang. Last year we went to Pittsburgh, PA. This year we're hitting up Baltimore, MD. We'll be there from Thurs-Sunday. I've been searching the net trying to find places to go, things to try, and special little nuggets of Baltimore beer goodness. It just occurred to me that I have a great resource here. So, if anyone has any tips, places, breweries, bars, restaurants, or whatever is a good beer-venture; I'd greatly appreciate any info I can get.

Happy Brewin!

5

General Homebrew Discussion / Tasting with Randy Mosher - Philly Beer Week

« on: June 11, 2010, 10:10:52 AM »

I was psyched for Philly Beer Week this year, but ended up being extremely busy and not being able to attend any other events. I was able to get some time away from home and work and made it to Keystone Homebrew Supply in Montgomeryville to meet Randy Mosher for a book signing. Got my copy of Radical Brewing signed and talked some homebrew with him. Great guy and extremely friendly. Then we were off to Iron Hill in North Wales, PA for a tutored tasting led by Randy himself. We went through 4 beers with tips on how to taste and different words to use to properly describe difficult tastes. It was a great time. Randy even went pretty deep into how you taste, what goes on in your head along with a background of almost every ingredient in the beers. Got a free pint at the end of the night too. For $10, it was an amazing deal and my wife and I had a great time and met a bunch of other homebrewers as well as just plain old beer lovers.

Here are the beers we tasted:
Vienna Red Lager
Hefeweizen
Russian Imperial Stout
Barrel-Aged Quadfather

6

Beer Recipes / Saison - First Recipe Creation

« on: June 08, 2010, 06:37:02 PM »

So here's my first recipe creation. Very simple. Been reading my @$$ off lately. Palmer, Mosher, Papazian, Noonan. Sat outside on a gorgeous day with notebook in hand, scribbled some notes, and then put it in Beer Alchemy for Mac when I got home and here is what I came up with. I could use some pointers.

Style: 16C - Belgian & French Ale - Saison
Boil Volume 2.5 gallons
Expected ABV: 5.9%
Expected FG: 1.012 SG
Expected IBU: 30.2
Expected Color: 7.6 SRM
Boil Duration: 60 min


Fermentables
1.25 lbs - US Caramel 20L - Steeped
2.5 lbs - Golden Light DME - Start of Boil
2.5 lbs - Golden Light DME - End of Boil (10 min before)

Hops
1.3 oz - 5.5% Golding Pellet - 60 min
.5 oz - 3.0% Saaz - 20 min
.5 oz - 3.0% Saaz - 2 min

Other Ingredients
Peel of 1 Orange - end of boil
.75 oz - coriander - end of boil

Yeast
Wyeast 3724 - Belgian Saison
Fermented @ 75F

7

Events / Lansdale Beer Festival

« on: June 02, 2010, 09:29:56 AM »

Looks like a new beer festival is starting up. This is going to be a small local deal to benefit local charities and community programs like the farmer's markets, etc. Shooting for 15 breweries, mostly local, with a couple food vendors making their food based on the beer selections.

http://www.lansdalebeerfest.com

8

Beer Recipes / Apricot Wheat - My First Recipe on my own

« on: May 21, 2010, 08:22:52 PM »

Hey everyone. Just joined up on the forum and also joined the AHA. So far I've done 3 batches, the first being an Anchor Steam and the 2nd being a Czech Pils. Both were kits from my local shop. The third was the Scottish Ale from the Big Brew Day and it's just about ready to bottle. My wife wanted to get in on the fun and wanted an Apricot Wheat. I came across two recipes, one from here and one from some other website that I can't remember. The one from AHA used just the flavoring and the other used just puree. I was going with the puree AND the flavoring. Using mostly the puree and then dialing up the apricot-ness to her liking right before bottling with the flavoring. So basically, here's my combined recipe.

Apricot Wheat
90 min boil
5 gal

3.3 lbs Briess Bavarian Wheat LME
2.4 lbs Briess Golden DME
1 lb CaraPils Dextrine Malt

.7 oz Cascade 60 min
.3 oz Cascade 20 min

Wyeast American Wheat 1010

3lbs Apricot Puree
Apricot Flavoring Syrup as needed before bottling

Going to start off with 2.5 gal cold water and steep the CaraPils while slowly bringing up the water to boil, taking the mesh grain bag out at about 170 F (about 30-45 min). Add malt extracts and stir, then bring to boil. Boil total 90 minutes adding .7 oz Cascade @ 60 min and then .3 oz Cascade @ 20 min. Aerate, pitch smackpack, ferment with apricot puree.

If my final volume is going to be 5 gal, could I do a full boil with as close to 5 gal will fit in my kettle? I have a big kettle and usually have tons of room with no chance for a boil over when I do partial boils of around 2 or so gallons. Thanks for any replies. I'm excited to be a part of the community.