Messages

31

Beer Travel / Re: Louisville, Kentucky

« on: January 19, 2013, 08:25:31 PM »

hey Siamese Moose, thank you. 

I know a few homebrewers who are making the move to a full-time brewing; With Apocalypse they are making their own equipment, brewing and distributing at their own pace, on their own dime.  Uniquely DIY (solar?), very inspirational.  Happy customers, nice selection to boot.

32

Beer Travel / Re: Louisville, Kentucky

« on: January 19, 2013, 01:31:41 PM »

I called Apocalypse; very very friendly.  They listed 3 other places that were "must visit" either coming or going from their place (I'll be on foot). Thanks for the tip! 

Feels kinda awkward to visit homebrewers without bringing a sample of my own.

33

Beer Travel / Re: Louisville, Kentucky

« on: January 19, 2013, 07:39:33 AM »

Thanks musseldoc!  Looking them up now.

You are in Louisville looking for beer?  That's like being in a gold mine looking for silver.  Really?!

Shame, I know.  I get hangovers from distilled spirits, so it's just a wee bit of tasting.

34

Beer Travel / Re: Louisville, Kentucky

« on: January 18, 2013, 07:24:15 PM »

I'm rolling through Louisville at the moment, here's a first pass:

I travel often; I always inquire about the $1 AHA discount when visiting craft breweries because it's fun to do so.  Usually servers have no idea what the AHA is and react in a skeptical fashion.

I dropped into Bluegrass because it was convenient.  With Bluegrass, when I asked about the discount the reception was warm and many samples were given.  They knew their beers.  One thing in particular is that they said the downtown restaurant beers are filtered whereas with their main location it would not be the case, and that beer enthusiasts would seek out their main brewing location (it's a bit off the tourist path).

Beers were excellent but not overly hoppy in aroma (usually what I'm looking for), and included a casked ale; the food was excellent and affordably priced.  Looking forward to visiting again.

35

Ingredients / Re: Hops storage

« on: January 09, 2013, 11:56:04 PM »

I'm in the same situation.  Search "hop storage index chart" to get room-storage numbers for your calculations, it's been studied.

36

All Grain Brewing / Re: Fly Sparging

« on: January 05, 2013, 02:27:03 PM »

What we're looking for is overall extraction efficiency with either method, so it's not so much a matter of time (at first) but keeping tabs of pre-boil gravity with a refractometer and doing some math in regards to overall wort volume.  I keep notes as I go and adjust the process as needed.

37

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Secondary fermentation

« on: December 27, 2012, 10:06:05 AM »

Lagers get stored on the primary yeast at 30-32F for six to eight weeks after fermentation is complete, then kegged and carbed.

Asking for the sake of clarification:  Let's say you don't have temp control (let's pick an ambient temperature of 68) and you were working from a kit, would you let it sit on the lager yeast cake for 8 weeks?

38

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Secondary fermentation

« on: December 26, 2012, 08:47:01 PM »

Why is it that some NB kits recommend a yeast starter and two-stage fermentation?

Inertia. You can't reverse forty years of tradition overnight, no matter how right you are.

For me, which yeast used and what fermentation temp are additional factors as to how long to leave in the primary.  If someone doesn't have great environmental control (i.e., starter kits), racking to secondary makes sense to avoid off-flavors.

39

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: 13 Years of Zymurgy Now Online!

« on: December 22, 2012, 11:37:30 AM »

The search and being able to tag with "favorites" and notes:  awesome.  Thanks!

40

Ingredients / Re: Maris Otter Floor Malted Malt?

« on: December 18, 2012, 09:39:16 AM »

It was SF Brewcraft

Save yourself a headache and don't bother with Brewcraft. Just make the trip to MoreBeer in Concord or Oak Barrel in Berkeley. Both are better stores with more reliable info and advice. And Williams Brewing is a good online option in the bay area - super fast shipping.

Good to note, thanks.  I needed 2 starters quickly and their yeast was fresh.  I do get to MoreBeer on occasion.  In reference to other Bay Area LHBS, I like Seven Bridges as well, specifically for the hop selection. 

Cheers!

41

Ingredients / Re: Maris Otter Floor Malted Malt?

« on: December 17, 2012, 07:55:23 PM »

Anyone used floor malted MO?  I have not heard of it before, looking to use it for an IPA to hopefully build a malty backbone.  The semi-LHBS said not to use more than 20% as compared to using regular MO for all the base malt.  I don't see many references to it on the web.

This makes me curious. Can you ask the LHBS about the 20% rule of thumb and the logic and reason behind it? Oh, and for what beer styles. I use Fawcett/Crisp often at 90+% for British beers, and just used Warminster for a bitter at 95%. I like the resulting beer's malt flavor.

It was SF Brewcraft; I won't have time to make it up there anytime soon.  I was only asking in reference to getting a decent malt backbone for an IPA.  They were not pushing; it was just something to try.  I did limit to 20% and step-mashed just that portion first at 135.  Thinking I'll keep an eye out for it next time I buy bulk malt.  They also mentioned to not overlook Golden Promise.

Learning a lot on this one; double-batched the day with two distinctly different styles.

42

Ingredients / Re: Maris Otter Floor Malted Malt?

« on: December 15, 2012, 10:05:02 AM »

Thanks all for the feedback.  It looks quite a bit different from other base malts and was not being sold as such, and I'll go the "do" route and see how it turns out. 

43

Ingredients / Maris Otter Floor Malted Malt?

« on: December 14, 2012, 08:57:50 PM »

Anyone used floor malted MO?  I have not heard of it before, looking to use it for an IPA to hopefully build a malty backbone.  The semi-LHBS said not to use more than 20% as compared to using regular MO for all the base malt.  I don't see many references to it on the web.

WAYRTTD: I figured on using roughly 20% of this, then 2.5% of British Crystal 70/80, 2.5% Carapil, with the remaining 75% being 2-row.  Apollo is the bittering hop.  On the aroma side, the plan is to blend ibu's of 50% Cascade with 50% Apollo and Chinook.

Happy brew-day to you all.

44

All Things Food / Re: Thanksgiving!

« on: November 24, 2012, 12:04:36 PM »

For us, as the boil kettle becomes the crab kettle for the weekend, turkey is saved for later in the eve.  We're buying them live from the commerical boats in the HMB harbor.  Takes about 45 min to cook & prepare, pairing with homebrew pilsner.  Each crab is about 2 pounds in size & each boat seems to have plenty in their holding tanks.

45

Pimp My System / Re: Electric control panel

« on: November 12, 2012, 04:11:06 PM »

Very inspiring!  The pump tidbit is a great find, thank you.