1
The Pub / A contest for people who like bikes and beer
« on: June 05, 2013, 10:52:31 AM »
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2
Ingredients / 3 hour dry hop?
« on: May 17, 2013, 10:49:23 AM »
I was reading in the Hops book about dry hop extraction times, and how certain compounds are extracted very quickly, but then dissipate, while other take longer to develop. Has any tried to do a very short (3-6 hours) dry hopping? How'd it turn out?
3
The Pub / Reinheitsgebot craziness
« on: April 17, 2013, 03:25:21 PM »
I was describing how to brew Belgian beer to one of the guys I met on the German homebrewer forum.
rough translation:
Me "Strong Belgian beers use between 10 and 20% sugar."
Him "Sugar? Like, table sugar? White sugar."
Me "Exactly."
Him "But, that's against the law!"
Me "Then don't tell the police!"
It's really crazy to me how even German homebrewers take the Reinheitsgebot seriously. He also has a haze problem, (I suspect) because he never uses Irish Moss or any other clarifiers. He does have an amazing HERMS BK/MLT system with like, ropes and pulleys and stuff, though.
rough translation:
Me "Strong Belgian beers use between 10 and 20% sugar."
Him "Sugar? Like, table sugar? White sugar."
Me "Exactly."
Him "But, that's against the law!"
Me "Then don't tell the police!"
It's really crazy to me how even German homebrewers take the Reinheitsgebot seriously. He also has a haze problem, (I suspect) because he never uses Irish Moss or any other clarifiers. He does have an amazing HERMS BK/MLT system with like, ropes and pulleys and stuff, though.
4
General Homebrew Discussion / My "house" bug is taking over! Sanitation help needed
« on: April 08, 2013, 10:06:47 AM »
Hey folks,
I've been cultivating a "house" sour bug mix for just about two years now. It's cultured from grain, so it's probably a mix of lacto and other stuff. Anyway, I've maintained separate plastic goods (tubing, racking, bottling, etc.) but my last couple clean beers got infected. I guess the house culture is airborne? I'm not really sure how they got infected.
My main concern is how do I get rid of the bug in my brew buckets? I'd rather not buy new buckets. In the past I've used a vinegar/bleach mixed that seemed to work OK. I've thought about doing a concentrated PBW soak too. Starsan is worthless against these creatures.
Any ideas?
I've been cultivating a "house" sour bug mix for just about two years now. It's cultured from grain, so it's probably a mix of lacto and other stuff. Anyway, I've maintained separate plastic goods (tubing, racking, bottling, etc.) but my last couple clean beers got infected. I guess the house culture is airborne? I'm not really sure how they got infected.
My main concern is how do I get rid of the bug in my brew buckets? I'd rather not buy new buckets. In the past I've used a vinegar/bleach mixed that seemed to work OK. I've thought about doing a concentrated PBW soak too. Starsan is worthless against these creatures.
Any ideas?
5
Going Pro / Free business planning resources
« on: March 24, 2013, 11:53:29 AM »
Hey folks,
I came across this today: http://www.planware.org/
Tons of Excel templates and info about how to create budgets, pro forma income statements, etc. A lot of free examples to get you started. Some for sale too, but you should probably just make your own.
Thought some of you might find it useful.
I came across this today: http://www.planware.org/
Tons of Excel templates and info about how to create budgets, pro forma income statements, etc. A lot of free examples to get you started. Some for sale too, but you should probably just make your own.
Thought some of you might find it useful.
6
The Pub / Hellbender Meadery owners indicted on drug charges
« on: March 02, 2013, 04:31:33 PM »
http://southcountymail.com/news/owner-of-hellbender-meadery-indicted-on-federal-drug-charges/article_9f0ea230-331d-11e2-8dd8-001a4bcf887a.html
I know the guy who was going to be the brewer there. This totally sucks for him. I remember asking him how these people got so much money, and he said they got it selling fake drugs. At the time, I wondered how that was legal. Turns out, it wasn't.
I know the guy who was going to be the brewer there. This totally sucks for him. I remember asking him how these people got so much money, and he said they got it selling fake drugs. At the time, I wondered how that was legal. Turns out, it wasn't.
7
Going Pro / Product costing and overhead application
« on: February 03, 2013, 10:40:49 PM »
I've read a lot of business plans for breweries over the last few years. I've noticed that all of them use a volume-based overhead rate, usually the number of barrels brewed. For a manufacturer like a brewer, who has a lot of overhead, but relatively little direct material or labor costs, using production volume to determine applied overhead will distort the cost of your products.
The main cost-driver in a brewery is the brewery itself and the equipment, not the labor or materials used.
I guess that makes intuitive sense, because you're paying for that brewery and that fermentor every day, whether it has beer in it or not. So the 21-day beer costs you a lot more to make than the 10-day beer.
I made a very simple spreadsheet to project the number of brews per month, assuming 4 fermentors, 4 beers, and only brewing on the weekdays.
(These are very rough figures, with some rounding, just to show how fermentation time affects cost per barrel in an activity (time) based costing system)
Fermentation time, # of batches per month
Blonde 10 days, 3
IPA 14 days, 2.2
Weiss 10 days, 2.7
Tripel 21 days, 1.4
4 days unused
Direct materials cost per bbl:
Blonde $21
IPA $34
Weiss $21
Tripel $42
Overhead per month:
Depreciation $2000
Salaries $2500
Utilities/maintenance/misc $1500
Total overhead = $6000
BBL per month = 93
4 FV * 30 days = 120
Cost per barrel (OH + direct materials) w/volume-based overhead
OH = $64.52 per barrel
Blonde $83.7
IPA $96.17
Weiss $83.7
Tripel $104.7
Cost per barrel w/time-based overhead
OH = $50 per day, per fermentor
Blonde $71
IPA $104
Weiss $71
Tripel $147
Cost of unused capacity (4 days) - $200
Why does any of this matter? If you can get your cost per barrel down on the blonde and weiss, you can lower the selling price, making it more competitive, and perhaps selling more.
This will also show you if you should be charging more for the tripel, or other beers that take a long time to brew.
The main cost-driver in a brewery is the brewery itself and the equipment, not the labor or materials used.
I guess that makes intuitive sense, because you're paying for that brewery and that fermentor every day, whether it has beer in it or not. So the 21-day beer costs you a lot more to make than the 10-day beer.
I made a very simple spreadsheet to project the number of brews per month, assuming 4 fermentors, 4 beers, and only brewing on the weekdays.
(These are very rough figures, with some rounding, just to show how fermentation time affects cost per barrel in an activity (time) based costing system)
Fermentation time, # of batches per month
Blonde 10 days, 3
IPA 14 days, 2.2
Weiss 10 days, 2.7
Tripel 21 days, 1.4
4 days unused
Direct materials cost per bbl:
Blonde $21
IPA $34
Weiss $21
Tripel $42
Overhead per month:
Depreciation $2000
Salaries $2500
Utilities/maintenance/misc $1500
Total overhead = $6000
BBL per month = 93
4 FV * 30 days = 120
Cost per barrel (OH + direct materials) w/volume-based overhead
OH = $64.52 per barrel
Blonde $83.7
IPA $96.17
Weiss $83.7
Tripel $104.7
Cost per barrel w/time-based overhead
OH = $50 per day, per fermentor
Blonde $71
IPA $104
Weiss $71
Tripel $147
Cost of unused capacity (4 days) - $200
Why does any of this matter? If you can get your cost per barrel down on the blonde and weiss, you can lower the selling price, making it more competitive, and perhaps selling more.
This will also show you if you should be charging more for the tripel, or other beers that take a long time to brew.
8
Equipment and Software / Is hydrometer calibration linear?
« on: January 10, 2013, 05:35:36 PM »
My hydrometer (apparently) lost its calibration somehow. I know I checked it a year or two ago, and it was correct, but I checked it today in 60*F water and got 1.005. Do I just subtract 5 points off any measurement? Why/how would a hydrometer lose its calibration?
9
Other Fermentables / How likely is it a Brett/infected batch of mead will come around?
« on: January 09, 2013, 02:30:06 PM »
I was having issues with some medicinal blackberry mead from a while back. It was a split batch. One half is fine. The other had a pellicle form, and smells like rotten fruit and funk. I'm guessing it's Brett and maybe lacto. Is there any way this will age out, or should I dump it?
10
Ingredients / Any ideas where to get citron/bergamot peel?
« on: January 05, 2013, 07:32:45 PM »
I've found some bergamot marmalade online, and every sells bergamot essential oils, but I can't find anywhere that just sells dried bergamot peel. Has anyone seen this for sale anywhere?
Can you use just the oil to brew with?
Can you use just the oil to brew with?
11
Commercial Beer Reviews / NB + Brewery Vivant Biere de Garde
« on: December 28, 2012, 04:14:13 PM »
Really interesting brew. Reminds me of Campari and soda. Firm, dry bitterness, with a strong floral/citrus aroma. One of the better Biere de Gardes I've had.
If anyone else has tried this, I'd love some feedback on taking a stab at cloning it.
http://www.newbelgium.com/beer/detail.aspx?id=ebbb4453-3830-464f-b569-fb2fad5970f7
If anyone else has tried this, I'd love some feedback on taking a stab at cloning it.
http://www.newbelgium.com/beer/detail.aspx?id=ebbb4453-3830-464f-b569-fb2fad5970f7
12
All Grain Brewing / A better way to brew with raw wheat berries
« on: December 26, 2012, 01:26:50 PM »
Grinding wheat berries is a PITA. I've found that if you boil the wheat berries for 15 minutes before grinding, you can keep the pericarp intact, while pulverizing the endosperm to flour. The intact pericarp acts like a husk, making rice hulls unnecessary; it will lauter faster and the wort will be clearer.
I used a Corona mill with no problems. I didn't try it on my two-roller mill, but it might get gunked up, so use a malt mill at your own risk.
The wheat will be much fluffier. Here is a picture. Both bags contain 800g of wheat berries. The left one was boiled first, the right wasn't.
I have some more info on my blog, if you're interested: http://nateobrew.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-better-way-to-brew-with-raw-wheat.html
I used a Corona mill with no problems. I didn't try it on my two-roller mill, but it might get gunked up, so use a malt mill at your own risk.
The wheat will be much fluffier. Here is a picture. Both bags contain 800g of wheat berries. The left one was boiled first, the right wasn't.
I have some more info on my blog, if you're interested: http://nateobrew.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-better-way-to-brew-with-raw-wheat.html
13
The Pub / Shortshipped grain from AHS
« on: December 24, 2012, 03:57:56 PM »
Hey folks,
I'm making an inventory of my grain supplies, and I came across a still-sealed bag of Special B from AHS. For kicks, I threw it on the scale. It weighed exactly 1.76lbs with packaging, but it said 2lbs on the label. Is it possible the grain lost weight during storage? I ordered the grain in March, and I'm kind of annoyed, but I feel kinda weird telling them about it at this point. Maybe I should just let them know that it happened, so it won't happen to someone else? Am I being completely insane and unreasonable?
Next time I get grain from them, it's going on the scale right away.
What's an acceptable variance to you? I feel like +/-0.05lbs is OK, and +/-0.1lbs is pushing it.
I'm making an inventory of my grain supplies, and I came across a still-sealed bag of Special B from AHS. For kicks, I threw it on the scale. It weighed exactly 1.76lbs with packaging, but it said 2lbs on the label. Is it possible the grain lost weight during storage? I ordered the grain in March, and I'm kind of annoyed, but I feel kinda weird telling them about it at this point. Maybe I should just let them know that it happened, so it won't happen to someone else? Am I being completely insane and unreasonable?
Next time I get grain from them, it's going on the scale right away.
What's an acceptable variance to you? I feel like +/-0.05lbs is OK, and +/-0.1lbs is pushing it.
14
General Homebrew Discussion / That German Lager flavor, round 2
« on: December 23, 2012, 10:17:19 AM »
So the first thread got really long, and I realized I couldn't remember what conclusions we came to. There was some conflicting info, which I think is why this topic hasn't been settled. I read through the thread again, and took some notes:
Necessary things:
noble hops
decoction (or not)
huge starter
low mash pH (5.2)
late hop additions
sulfury yeast
lager on the yeast cake
German ingredients
aerate well
FWH
aroma hops @ 10-15min or aroma hops @ 5min
extended aging (or not)
Necessary things:
noble hops
decoction (or not)
huge starter
low mash pH (5.2)
late hop additions
sulfury yeast
lager on the yeast cake
German ingredients
aerate well
FWH
aroma hops @ 10-15min or aroma hops @ 5min
extended aging (or not)
15
Commercial Beer Reviews / Blue Moon's Proximity
« on: December 22, 2012, 11:47:38 AM »
Blue Moon's latest "crafty" beer. It's half wheat malt, half sauvignon blanc grape juice. Fairly uninspired, but inoffensive. Not worth the price tag ($8, IIRC). It tastes exactly like a mix of Blue Moon and a sauvignon blanc wine, which is what it is, so I guess that makes sense.
It could be really cool if done properly. I think I'll try to brew something like that soon.
It could be really cool if done properly. I think I'll try to brew something like that soon.