Messages

6286

Ingredients / Re: Post your water report

« on: April 04, 2010, 12:54:09 PM »

San Antonio, Texas.

All-Grain brewer's here will find themselves needing to brew in the 18+ SRM range when using 100% Edwards Aquifer water.

6287

Ingredients / Re: Mineral Analysis Reports

« on: April 04, 2010, 12:32:48 PM »

Where should it's appropriate location be? Under Ingredients or All Grain Brewing?

6288

Ingredients / Re: Brewing water

« on: April 04, 2010, 12:28:33 PM »

Drank a couple of gallons of excess Brown-ale I just kegged earlier this week. For the first time I used 25% R/O water to dilute. Even though the beer was only 11 day old it was very good. I designed this beer around the mash water and the RA. There's none of the odd harshness I used to see in some of my other batches even though I'm using pretty much the same ingredients.

6289

Ingredients / Re: Mineral Analysis Reports

« on: April 04, 2010, 12:20:17 PM »

Just an idea. If you've gotten a mineral analysis report, please post the results as well as the location and date the sample was taken. This could be useful for other people in your area, so that not everyone will have to spend the $20 to get an analysis done. I think a lot of us live in an area where the water isn't served up by a municipality, or that municipality just doesn't do a good job of making available this information.

Me, I'm in Santa Clara CA, and will be sending a bottle off to get analyzed unless someone else has done it, as getting the water department to give me a detailed mineral analysis is proving a futile effort. Apparently people are more concerned with fecal coliform bacteria and arsenic than calcium, sodium or magnesium.

I've been thinking about this very subject. And it's a good idea.

Denny-

How about a water sticky that explains water, and which also allows people to post by region or state and locale? I've already done much of the legwork for myself for my situation. The info was already out there, as well as how to interpret it via John Palmer; however for the new brewer quick and ready info on this forum would help a great deal.

I suspect for many homebrewer's knowing how to deal with their water will be the missing piece of their brewing puzzle.

6290

Ingredients / Re: Mash water

« on: April 04, 2010, 12:12:26 PM »

Thank-you Kai for the spreadsheet!!

I will put it to good use...

6291

All Grain Brewing / Re: Batch-Sparge and maltiness?

« on: April 04, 2010, 10:48:45 AM »

I like this too. Never thought about it but it is a built-in failsafe of sorts.

Spent last night thinking about this whole aspect of maltiness. It makes sense that it could be occurring.

I'd put forth that this is one for the blind taste test category if it already hasn't been done.

6292

Kegging and Bottling / Re: New Bottles vs Used

« on: April 03, 2010, 11:14:15 AM »

Well as a natural progression of thought concerning this thread: what should a new bottle cost per type and size?

The LHBS sells 22's for a dollar apiece

6293

All Grain Brewing / Re: New to using rye and oats in AG recipie

« on: April 03, 2010, 11:08:23 AM »

Don't be afraid of the rye! It can gum up a mash in higher concentrations but if one throttles back the lauter a bit usually a stuck mash can be avoided- at least with my equipment.

I feel that it's influence can be detected in lower concentrations but Denny is the expert. 

6294

All Grain Brewing / Batch-Sparge and maltiness?

« on: April 03, 2010, 10:50:03 AM »

Been reading and clicking around and found a piece of info on Fred Bonjour's website "sparging demystified" http://beerdujour.com/SpargingDeMystified.htm

Fred states that batch-sparging creates a maltier beer. He cites a quote from George Fix:

http://hbd.org/hbd/archive/977.html#977-3“I have found that to get a very high malt flavor the sparge must be omitted as well. This is an expensive way to brew since the amount of grains needed must be increased by a factor ~4/3. Nevertheless, some of the world's great ales and lagers have been brewed this way, and I have found it works in homebrewing as well for special beers. Clearly this is not the way to brew our standard beers.”

Not sure I understand and whether I'm taking this out of context. Maybe because I tend to mash at the lower side of the scale- usually 149-150F; I just don't consider my beers very malty.

6295

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Star San - Galvanized Steel - Oops...

« on: April 03, 2010, 10:34:38 AM »

My opinion is you're gonna be OK and so is the brew.

Chalk it up to "experience" and move on? Curious to see what the response is from Mr Palmer and the 5-Star folks.

6296

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What are your house styles?

« on: April 02, 2010, 10:56:26 AM »

I brew Bitters almost exclusively now- though some frequently are a fusion of American and British ingredients.

Plans are to branch off into Steam Beer in the next few months.

6297

Beer Recipes / Re: Jessica Rabbit Mild Ale

« on: April 02, 2010, 10:52:51 AM »

I'm not big on Black Patent and would probably have it subbed by Chocolate malt or Special B. But that's my preference LOL.

Looks good. Looks good.

6298

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: yeast is dead, beer is brewing, what to do?

« on: April 02, 2010, 10:47:00 AM »

And, are you set up to actually lager properly?

Might be worth it to go get a couple packs of Saflager 23 (just following Kai's train of thought)- rehydrate and pitch.

And, some Fermentis S-05 ale yeast produces a nice clean ale so subbing and doing a Blonde ale is a good alternative to a lager.

6299

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What's Brewing This Weekend - 4/2 Edition

« on: April 01, 2010, 12:32:32 PM »

Want to knock out a porter this weekend, but I have so much other stuff to do.

6300

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Dark Malt extract

« on: April 01, 2010, 11:37:25 AM »

I've used it before as an addition to Amber extract- about 50%. The beer was really tasty as an 100% extract recipe. Better than my steeping efforts at the time.