Messages

1

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: That German lager flavor

« on: May 23, 2013, 06:21:30 pm »

Resurrection! I'm hitting the German lagers hard again. I just had a Weihenstephaner Pilsner and damn was that good! Anyone brewing any good lagers lately? Maybe it's oxidation or something, but whatever makes that beer smell and taste so good, I want it!

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Equipment and Software / Re: Those little red cans of Oxygen

« on: May 23, 2013, 09:29:13 am »

I boil the stone part in a small pot, then spray the wand part with starsan before dropping it into the wort. Then pull it out, rinse it off, and stick it back into the boiling water for a few minutes. I turn it on before I put it into the wort and keep it running for a second after I pull it out of the wort to blow the stuff out. It's great, very simple to use.

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General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Wrong?

« on: May 22, 2013, 04:03:04 pm »

No, he said Pilsner Urquell, which is a good beer on its own. To wreck it with clamato is sacrilegious.

While I agree with what Keith has to say, he did ask if it was wrong...

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General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Wrong?

« on: May 22, 2013, 01:18:40 pm »

Oh, dude...yeah, that's wrong. Pilsner Urquell is tasty on its own, why would you deface it like that? I had clamato once at a beer festival, the AB table was handing them out. I said what the hell. Opened it, took a drink and nearly puked. That sh*t really is foul.

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Kegging and Bottling / Re: SS Bottles

« on: May 22, 2013, 12:11:46 pm »

I would rather spend $50 on a 5 gallon bottle corny keg.

Can't get 'em for $50 anymore...

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Equipment and Software / Re: Those little red cans of Oxygen

« on: May 22, 2013, 09:16:54 am »

The first beer I used the wand on was a hefe with that new Mangrove Jack's hefe yeast. It only attenuated to 1.016 from 1.050. I rehydrated the yeast and aerated for 30 seconds so the I could see just a little movement on the surface of the wort. Perhaps that yeast just isn't that high of an attenuator. I mashed at 150-152, I think. Oh well, it should still be good.

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Equipment and Software / Re: Those little red cans of Oxygen

« on: May 22, 2013, 08:05:38 am »

Yeah, it's totally sweet and easy to use, even if it's not ultimately necessary. It works great for me fermenting in kegs.

8

Equipment and Software / Re: Those little red cans of Oxygen

« on: May 21, 2013, 01:42:22 pm »

For me, dropping in a stone attached to an O2 tank for a minute is way less effort than shaking, pouring back-and-forth, getting out the whisk or hooking up the drill with a whip on it.  The O2 tank is a convenience thing for me.

It works especially well for me since I ferment in kegs now. I can stick the aeration wand in there, turn the gas on for a minute, then I'm good to go. With the mix-stir I had to take the liquid tube out when I wanted to aerate, so the blades didn't hit it, and put it back in. That was kind of annoying. Plus it splashed wort all over, making a mess. With a carboy it's fine, but anything with a wide opening, it gets messy.

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Yeast and Fermentation / Re: dry yeast temp shock

« on: May 20, 2013, 09:13:11 am »

Agreed, I think it probably doesn't matter.

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Equipment and Software / Re: Those little red cans of Oxygen

« on: May 20, 2013, 05:45:53 am »

Same here, pouring back and forth probably doesn't mess with head retention. I like aerating with pure O2 if only for convenience. I doubt it's really necessary for most of the beers I do, which are in the 1.050 to 1.065 range. I just need to figure out what to do with the red canisters. Seems so wasteful to just throw them away.

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Yeast and Fermentation / Re: dry yeast temp shock

« on: May 19, 2013, 05:35:40 pm »

I've been rehydrating at the beginning of the brew session. It might not be down to temp when it's time to pitch, but it doesn't seem to negatively affect how the beer turns out.

12

Equipment and Software / Re: Cleaning Beerstone

« on: May 16, 2013, 11:18:00 am »

Damn, I probably have to worry about this with my keg fermenters. I scrub them with a brush well during cleaning and usually run PBW through.
How does beer stone affect the final beer?

13

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: When did you switch to all grain?

« on: May 15, 2013, 09:19:24 am »

I think I did 4 extract batches, then did a couple 3 gallon all grain batches, then did a couple 5 gallon partial mash (this was all stove top), then moved to 5 gallon all grain outside with a propane burner.

Now, 4 years after starting all grain, I'm doing 4 gallon all grain batches on the stove top. Got a nice stove that handles 5.5 gallon boils. It's the right amount of beer for me.

14

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Goose Island beer

« on: May 15, 2013, 09:09:58 am »

This is a little off-topic, but a couple of former brewers for Goose Island are starting their own 40-bbl brewery in Geneva, IL, shortly.  http://www.penrosebrewing.com/

I've heard that they are bringing a few other Goose Island employees with them.

I think there's been a bit of a diaspora since the ownership change, though I think to some degree there were always people leaking out to other local breweries.  This is good for the local craft beer scene. I'm not sure if the rate has increased, but I bet it has.

Diaspora...good word! Hope Penrose's beer comes to Iowa.

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General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Goose Island beer

« on: May 15, 2013, 05:59:44 am »

I'm in their Wrigleyville pub having a Dublin stout.

You can keep the Nero. Nasty stuff.

Jealous! I love that pub. The one time I was in there was just packed, as it was after a Cubs game. But I found one spot at the bar, which was cool. Only stayed for one beer since I didn't have much time.  Would love to throw down a few there sometime.