Topics

1

All Grain Brewing / Distilled Water and Salt Addition for Hoppy IPA

« on: March 04, 2013, 10:28:52 PM »

I am going to be making a very hoppy IPA soon and was hoping to get some help.  I plan on using distilled water and adding my own salts.  Does anyone have a good salt-addition recipe for such a beer?

2

All Grain Brewing / Ultra Pale colored IPA problem

« on: February 24, 2013, 05:39:57 PM »

So I'm trying to replicate a very pale colored IPA I made over a year ago and keep having problems.  The initial beer was great... delicate, clear, refreshing, with lots of hop aroma/flavor.  However, the last three attempts have been awful... harsh, cloudy, bland, with little hop aroma/flavor.  The grain bill was full of low lovibond grains... 2-row(base/85%); rye(10%); carapils(5%).  The mash was appx. 152F.  The yeast was WLP-001.  The hop bill was always the same... lots of simcoe, centennial, and amarillo.  The fermentation temps might be the only area where there could have been a variable.  Anyway, any ideas as to what might be wrong would be appreciated. 

3

Ingredients / Adding sugars in the secondary

« on: October 23, 2012, 05:46:50 AM »

I recently made a Russian Imperial Stout... OG 1.101.  It's now down to 1.018.  I mashed at 148F and it isn't near as thick as I was wanting it to be... and  seems to be missing some of the richer flavors I was hoping for.  I am planning on adding the following into the secondary fermenter to increase the mouthfeel and give it a bigger flavor profile:

.5 lbs lactose
1 lb brown sugar
molasses (one jar)
.5 lbs dark bakers chocolate
2 cinnamon sticks broken
32 oz water

I figured I'd combine all those ingrediants and bring to a boil until most of the water was boiled off.  After, I wanted to add about 375 mL of Woodford Select bourbon to the mix once cooled.  I'd then pitch it into the fermenter.  Any issues... good or bad?

4

Equipment and Software / Stained Plastic Fermenters

« on: October 06, 2012, 08:45:42 PM »

I have two plastic fermenters that seem to be permanently stained at the high krausen point in each.  I've tried using PBW a couple times and the stain won't come off.  I've also put the fermenters upside down on a boiling pot for over 30 minutes to let the steam remove the stain.  That wouldn't work.  There is no grit or surface dirt on either one... just that ring of stain that won't go away.  Will the stain cause a problem? If so, any word on how I can remove it?

5

Ingredients / Frozen Blueberries in Hefe

« on: August 25, 2012, 08:18:53 AM »

Just added 3lbs of frozen blueberries to the fermenter of a hefe that's fully attenuated.  Is there any problem with adding frozen blueberries without thawing them?  Are there any issues by adding frozen fruit to beer at all... infections, wild yeast???  Just wondering what to expect or not expect from adding the frozen blueberries.

6

Beer Recipes / Founders Old Curmudgeon Recipe

« on: August 22, 2012, 10:48:34 AM »

Anyone have an idea about how one might replicate this beer?

7

Events / Seoul, South Korea - Fall Beer Festival Saturday, September 29th

« on: August 07, 2012, 04:25:51 AM »

If any of you guys/gals might be in Seoul, South Korea on Saturday, September 29th... or know a craft beer lover who will be... make sure to visit our Fall Beer Festival.  Here's the Facebook link:

http://www.facebook.com/events/312602502164747/

Cheers,
Bill

8

Yeast and Fermentation / Wheat Yeast Strain with the Most Banana Flavor?

« on: June 26, 2012, 10:17:54 PM »

I'm not much of a wheat beer guy.  However, I'm thinking about making one.  Any ideas as to what wheat yeast strain produces the most banana flavors with minimal cloviness?

9

Ingredients / Macadamia Nuts

« on: June 18, 2012, 06:38:46 PM »

Has anyone used macadamia nuts in a beer... and if so, any head retention problems?  Also, if used, how did you prep them?  I was thinking of crushing them and toasting them to dry the oils out of the nuts.

10

All Grain Brewing / mash rake

« on: April 24, 2012, 11:25:00 PM »

just got a replica of a tiki-type paddle.  i was hoping to use it as a mash rake.  it's been stained with some kind of stuff.  is it ok to use as a rake or do i need to sand the stain off?

11

All Grain Brewing / Mash OG = 1.059... after vigorous boil, OG = 1.067

« on: March 12, 2012, 10:09:18 PM »

Just wondering how there could only be an eight point change in gravity from mash to post boil.  Any thoughts?

12

Going Pro / Where do breweries buy their ingredients?

« on: February 15, 2012, 03:06:42 AM »

The small brewery owner that I know here in South Korea is looking for another and/or different malt supplier.  He's looking to start making newer styles of beer that require more than just the base 2-row, cara-munich, wheat, and black malt.  Where do breweries get their malts?  He has a limited ability to get diverse malts from his local supplier... who by the way is leary about some of the more esoteric grains... haha... like flaked oatmeal, rye, and acidulated malt.  Anyway, if anyone has any pointers on where I might find him a good malt wholesaler, I'd appreciate it.  Cheers, Bill

13

Going Pro / Good Assistant Brewer for Possible Overseas Opening

« on: February 05, 2012, 10:03:23 PM »

I wonder how many experienced assistant brewers in the American Craft Beer world would be interested in taking a job in South Korea?  I am only trying to gauge what kind of interest is out there.  I know a brewpub locally that is trying to make real American Craft Beer styles here in South Korea, but I don't think the knowledge base here is adequate.  The Korean brewers here are afraid of hops and creative, innovative ways of making beer.  There are no American brewers here that I know of... and if there were, they'd most likely be coerced into making the same three Euro styles - pilsner, weizen, dunkel.  The brewpub here wants to break the mold and introduce this place to real beer... hopped-IPA's, big stouts, red ales, etc.

People I know out here don't think a good assistant brewer would dare come.  I think someone would be interested in helping develop a new beer culture in a foreign country.  Either way, I speak in no formal way for the brewpub.  I'm just trying to figure out if there's any interest.  If so, I can at least pass the info along to the guys at the brewpub to see if they might have some capital to fund such an endeavor.

Cheers,
Bill

14

Kegging and Bottling / Keg carbonation and temperature

« on: February 02, 2012, 02:46:50 PM »

I've been naturally priming my kegs with a boiled water (about a pint) and 1/3 cup of corn sugar mixture.  I generally hit about 12 psi via this method.  I leave the kegs inside at ambient temperatures (72F'ish) for about a week which seems to work well.  However, after reaching it's 12 psi, I've been taking the kegs to my outdoor porch (around 32F) to crash cool.  However, when I hook up my psi device, it shows the psi level to be around 5.  I'm not expert on carbonation, but do you lose psi at colder temps?

15

Yeast and Fermentation / Fermentation Temp Too High?

« on: January 24, 2012, 03:18:42 PM »

I brewed an IPA with an OG of 1.071 with an estimated FG of 1.014'ish.  After a week, the gravity was 1.036.  I'm sure it should've been lower because I pitched plenty of yeast and aerated the wort prior to pitching the yeast.  However, I had the beer on my enclosed porch and it was fermenting around 57F.  I figured I'd bring the beer into the house and warm it up to see if I could finish out the fermentation.  It started bubbling much more quickly of course because the ambient temperature is about 72F or so.  I've had the beer in the house for about 36 hours.  Yesterday the temperature strip read 75... I wasn't too worried.  But, I just looked at the temperature strip on the side of the fermenter this morning though... 79F.  As most of the fermentation was completed, should I be concerned about fusel alcohol or ester problems?  I've since placed the fermenter back on my enclosed porch in case it was fermenting too hot.  Thanks for any insights/advice.