Messages

1516

All Grain Brewing / Re: Water to grain ratio for mash tun.

« on: March 20, 2011, 08:28:53 PM »

All this talk of mashing thin got me curious to try it for myself.  Today I mashed two small 5lb batches of a Vienna lager grist, 2lb pils, 2lb Vienna, 1lb light Munich.  On the first I used a 3qt/lb mash ratio and got 75% efficiency preboil.  On the second I used 3.2qt/lb and also got 75%.  I mashed at around 150F for two hours in each case, then just drained and boiled.

I did two batches because I inadvertantly added double the hops to the first batch, so my solution was to make another with no hops to get the intended IBUs.  Poor reason, but replicating an experiment is sound science.

Is this right?  3qt/lb for the first, 3.2 for the second?  I would think that 0.2 qt/lb wouldn't really be the difference between thick or thin.

1517

All Grain Brewing / Re: Help me make a recipe please

« on: March 20, 2011, 02:01:29 PM »

The yeast I have on hand is Wyeast Czech Pils.  My original plan was to do 10 lbs of pils 2 of vienna, and the 3 oz of Saaz (1.5@60, 1 at 15, 0.5 at flameout).  5 gal batch. 

I bought this a while ago but after seeing some of my water report comments, I thought maybe I should darken it down a bit.  Hence the crystal.  Also, I've only done ales so I'm just used to adding crystal for body.  My water is not soft but it's what I have.  Thought maybe adding the crystal and going for an amber lager would be better.

I wasn't thinking of 4 lbs of crystal, 1 lb at most and maybe less.  That's just all that I have on hand. 

Based on what you're suggesting and I appreciate the thoughts, I may go back to the original plan of 10+2.  Wasn't sure if you used crystal in lagers.  Some recipes I've read have it, others don't.

1518

All Grain Brewing / Help me make a recipe please

« on: March 20, 2011, 11:47:47 AM »

I was going to take a stab at a lager tomorrow.  Here's what I have on hand.  Please give me your thoughts on proportions etc.
10 lbs pilsener malt
2 lbs Vienna malt
4 lbs Crystal 40
(also have 45 lbs of Maris Otter that I wasn't going to use in this brew)
3 oz Saaz hops.

I was originally going to go with just Pilsener malt only and then I started to think about 10+1+1 each of Vienna and Crystal.  Do I need crystal?  I've always used it in ales for body but what do you think here?  Pilsener and Vienna only?  Or just Pilsener and crystal?  Or 8+2+1?  Shooting for around 4.5 to 5% alcohol.  Assume 65% efficiency based on my last batch.

Clearly, I have no recipe or style in mind but my starter is ready and my friend gave me a freezer control so my little freezer is set to 40 degrees.  I was going to wing it but I figured I may as well ask the experts.

1519

Pimp My System / Re: Kegging Initiated

« on: March 19, 2011, 10:12:49 AM »

All I can say is that I got 4 kegs recently and kegged my first beer.  I'll never bottle again.  But, we drank the whole 5 gallons in a week which was a bit scary. Having beer on tap, at my fingertips, at any hour of the day may be too much temptation for someone like me. 

Thought maybe I should shake the kegs once in a while so I'd be forced to wait for them to settle back down but I'd probably just end up drinking the foam.

I have 4 now and I can tell you that I'll probably have 4 more real soon!

1520

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Ale fermented at 62 degrees

« on: March 19, 2011, 09:52:43 AM »

Thanks all.  I'm in no rush to rack it off the yeast so I'll leave it another week or so.  I usually leave my beer in the primary a couple weeks anyway, I've never seen a big rush to get it off the yeast.  I'll probably leave it another week and then cool it and put it straight into a keg.  Sorry for being such a worrier...

1521

The Pub / Re: Nothing better

« on: March 18, 2011, 01:58:58 PM »

Basketball's ok, hockeys better but the Leafs suck and will continue to suck forever.
Lacrosse is the best to watch.  Fast and brutal. 

1522

The Pub / Re: Do you know your State Capitals? - Friday Fun

« on: March 18, 2011, 01:56:03 PM »

25/50 which isn't too bad for a Canadian.   

1523

Yeast and Fermentation / Ale fermented at 62 degrees

« on: March 18, 2011, 12:35:28 PM »

I normally don't screw around with my beer once I have it in the primary, prefering to let things be instead of risking introducing contaminants but I broke down and checked my latest brew and I discovered that the temp is a bit lower than I was expecting.  It has had a wet towel on it and been sitting in a short water bath because I wanted to get it cooled lower before pitching the yeast and I just left it alone.  The temp in the beer, not on the outside of the carboy, seems to be about 62 degrees.  What can I expect from this cooler temp?  The yeast is Wyeast 1318 London Ale III.  According to Wyeast, it should be ok from 64 - 74 so being a bit lower shouldn't be the end of the world, should it?  I checked the temp because it was taking what I thought was an awfully long time to ferment out and this could help explain why.  It's been a week and still bubbling strong.  I didn't take a gravity as I assume since it's bubbling, it's not done so why bother risking it.

1524

All Grain Brewing / Re: Water Report

« on: March 18, 2011, 10:34:19 AM »

Does anyone know what citric acid tastes like?  If it's citrusy, unless it's hugely overpowering, would it even be noticeable given the grapefruit characteristic of a lot of the hops that are used these days?  I guess I could just taste some but I don't know if that would be a good reflection of what it would taste like in beer.  I expect it to be sour but after that, no idea.

1525

All Grain Brewing / Re: Water Report

« on: March 18, 2011, 07:15:50 AM »

Thanks Kai.
Just curious.  You mention that my water would be OK for darker beers and possibly lagers.  What aspect of darker beers makes this OK?  Or am I mis-interpreting your comments and do I need to adjust pH regardless of the style.  My next brew was intended to be an amber lager (my first lager attempt) using predominantly pilsener malt, a bit of vienna and some crystal 40.  I'm not concerned about the colour as much as the flavour.  My favourite lager is an amber lager from Creemore Springs here in Ontario. 

I won't be brewing now until next week so I will order some phosphoric acid and gypsum (this is the preferred calcium source isn't it?  I can get ground chalk from my local wine store  but I believe that should increase pH).  If I'm waiting for my starter, I may as well order the preferred products for water conditioning at the same time.

I will also be adding 1/4 campden tablet to remove chlorine.  I assume that has little impact on the rest of the water chemistry.
Thank you

1526

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Slow Lager Starter

« on: March 18, 2011, 06:24:29 AM »

[(3)Or, just stick with the original plan to give it another day, chill and brew?

3) I wouldn't, because it sounds like you don't have enough healthy yeast.

Thanks.  I will hold off on brewing today.  It's actually disappointing, I was looking forward to trying another batch.  How long would you guess (and I know it's only a guess since you can't see this) before there would be enough yeast?  If I chill and step up today, do you think Monday?

1527

All Grain Brewing / Re: Water Report

« on: March 17, 2011, 10:29:48 PM »

what concentration does the citric acid have?

For a rough estimate we can assume that each mmol of citric acid will add 2 mEq (2 H+ ions) to lowering the pH. You need about 1.5 mEq per lb of grist to lower the pH by 0.1 units.

Kai

I'm afraid there is no concentration on it. It's pretty generic.

1528

All Grain Brewing / Re: Water Report

« on: March 17, 2011, 12:57:57 PM »

You're bringing back horrible memories from chemistry class.  pKa?  Haven't heard that term in many, many years.  I was hoping to get through life without ever using chemistry, proving my point that I will never need it so why care.  But now, it appears I should have paid attention 20 years ago.

Thanks a lot for your help.  I'm gonna give the citric a try because I have it already and order some lactic.  There aren't many options around here for homebrew stores (read: none). Most are wine shops which is why they have citric or acid blend (tartaric, citric and malic). 

Guess it will be an experiment.  Not sure how much to add to bring my mash pH in line but last time I did a batch it was about 6.4 10 minutes into the mash which I know is far too alkaline.  I guess I'll just add a bit at a time until I get it down below 6.  And I'll have the baking soda on hand to bring it back up if I really screw it up.
Thanks again for all of your help.

1529

All Grain Brewing / Re: Water Report

« on: March 17, 2011, 12:05:02 PM »

I should have copied this in before.  This is the comment from the gentlemen who manages our municipal water concerning sodium and magnesium.

Please see attached for additional test results.  The sodium is 23.6 mg/L and is in the online report. The average pH of the water is 7.8. To get the magnesium level you can subtract the calcium from the hardness to give you an approximation.

Not sure if this makes sense.  I will read the section you attached on Alkalinity reduction.  I inquired on another string about Citric Acid and it's use to reduce the pH (I realize I am probably getting pH and Alkalinity confused).  I have been unable to find phosphoric or lactic acid in my limited search to date.

1530

All Grain Brewing / Water Report

« on: March 17, 2011, 08:40:09 AM »

I was able to track down a water report for our municipal water system.  Could someone please help me interpret the results and what that would mean for brewing?  I think the water is pretty alkaline and pretty hard and thus more suited to dark ales than light lagers but please help me understand what all this means and if any water adulteration is necessary.
Thanks

Edit:  Can't figure out how to attach a PDF, or if that is possible.  Here are some of the parameters, let me know what else I need.

Alkalinity (as CaCO3) - 216
Hardness (mg/L as CaCO3) - 214
pH - 7.8
Sodium - 23.6 (not on the report but communicated so I don't know the units, I am sure mg/L makes the most sense.)
Sulphates (mg/L) - 37
Chloride (mg/L) - 11
Calcium (mg/L) - 38.5
Iron (ug/L) - 169
Copper (ug/L) - 12
Manganese - (ug/L) - 8
Potassium (mg/L) - 1.42
Zinc (ug/L) 10<MDL