1591
General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Doomsday yeast vault?
« on: March 24, 2012, 07:34:58 PM »
I refuse to live in a world without 3787. My doomsday plan is a single bullet.
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1592
Other Fermentables / Re: Calcium hydroxide instead of potassium hydroxide?
« on: March 24, 2012, 09:55:23 AM »
I ordered some caustic potash so I'll try that on the next batch.
1593
Ingredients / Re: soaking oak chips in red wine
« on: March 23, 2012, 12:43:55 PM »40% ethanol was bactericidal with a 1-2 minute contact time in this particular study and found a MIC of 10% for the aerobic bacteria tested and 8% for anaerobes.
Am I missing something? Here's what I saw "The aerobic and anaerobic MIC of ethanol for growth was 10 percent and 8 percent; 50 percent inhibition of growth rate occurred at 3.7 percent and 2.8 percent. Ethanol (40 percent) was bactericidal within 1-2 min, but 10 percent had almost no effect.
If I'm reading that correctly, at 10% you won't get bacterial growth, but it won't actually kill it. 80 proof will kill bacteria quickly, though.
So I guess the OP shouldn't count on the wine killing anything on the wood to begin with, and I can start using bourbon for mouthwash.
1594
Ingredients / Re: soaking oak chips in red wine
« on: March 23, 2012, 08:42:04 AM »The optimal concentration of alcohol to kill most microbes is 70% (140 proof), but it is effective at a wide range of concentrations.
Do you have some reference for % bacteria killed vs alcohol % vs time? I'm still skeptical that 80 proof is actually adequate.
1595
All Grain Brewing / Re: metric nerdery please: calculation question
« on: March 22, 2012, 12:46:12 PM »
I'm pretty sure most of the probrewer world uses Plato, and wine guys use Brix.
The imperial system makes so little sense to me, I do all my measurements in metric. I couldn't tell you how many ounces are in 3 pints if my life depended on it.
The imperial system makes so little sense to me, I do all my measurements in metric. I couldn't tell you how many ounces are in 3 pints if my life depended on it.
1596
Equipment and Software / Re: Anyone else using Yeastcalc?
« on: March 22, 2012, 06:58:07 AM »I would take slight issue with the use of the word doublings 35 b doubled twice is quite a bit more than 100b
In White and Zainasheff's Yeast they make the same mistake, using "doubling" when they meant "multiplication factor." They do that in a few places throughout the book, so I wonder if that's just some yeast guy convention that makes no sense.
1597
Other Fermentables / Re: Calcium hydroxide instead of potassium hydroxide?
« on: March 21, 2012, 06:30:48 PM »
In case anyone else wants to try using calcium hydroxide, I'd say use with caution. I ended up using a bit too much and the mead ended up seriously insipid/flat from low acidity. It had a pretty strong "mineral" fault. My wife said it tasted like a pepto bismol chew tab.
FWIW I ended up adding about 0.75g/L over the course of fermentation to keep the pH in the proper range. This is equivalent to adding about 400ppm of Ca.
FWIW I ended up adding about 0.75g/L over the course of fermentation to keep the pH in the proper range. This is equivalent to adding about 400ppm of Ca.
1598
Equipment and Software / Anyone else using Yeastcalc?
« on: March 21, 2012, 06:03:14 PM »
This: http://www.yeastcalc.com/index.html
After futzing with Sean Terrill's MrMalty instructions for stepped starters for a few batches, getting annoyed and calculating them out by hand, someone pointed me to a calculator that figures the steps out for me!
This is probably old news for you guys, but in case it isn't, check it out.
After futzing with Sean Terrill's MrMalty instructions for stepped starters for a few batches, getting annoyed and calculating them out by hand, someone pointed me to a calculator that figures the steps out for me!
This is probably old news for you guys, but in case it isn't, check it out.
1599
Ingredients / How much and when - Nelson for a Brut?
« on: March 21, 2012, 02:33:27 PM »
I'm making a Belgian Brut-style beer right now, and want to dry hop with Nelson Sauvin. It's oaking right now. Should I wait until it gets closer to bottling time to dry hop it, or should I dry hop it now? How much should I use? I haven't dry-hopped any Belgian beers before, and don't want to overdo it. I'm planning on bottling it around the end of April.
EDIT: I'm thinking 2oz, one week from bottling. Does that sound reasonable?
EDIT: I'm thinking 2oz, one week from bottling. Does that sound reasonable?
1600
Ingredients / Re: soaking oak chips in red wine
« on: March 21, 2012, 08:40:57 AM »
You need a really high proof alcohol to "sanitize" with. IIRC it's like 180 proof. Regular spirits will retard growth of bacteria, but won't kill all bacteria it contacts. That said, in a Flanders Red you've probably already infected that beer with whatever sorts of bugs you might get from the oak, so in this case I wouldn't worry about it.
In general, I'd say add the most flavorful spirit you can find to beer. I've used good whiskey and cheap whiskey, and can definitely tell a difference in the finished product. So use a wine that has a good flavor profile. If you wouldn't drink it straight, don't add it to your beer.
In general, I'd say add the most flavorful spirit you can find to beer. I've used good whiskey and cheap whiskey, and can definitely tell a difference in the finished product. So use a wine that has a good flavor profile. If you wouldn't drink it straight, don't add it to your beer.
1601
Going Pro / Re: Another view about commercial Nano brewing.
« on: March 21, 2012, 08:31:26 AM »They're doing some pretty interesting things with saisons and funky beers. I believe he's an alt prop with Funkwerks
As an aside, Funkwerks made the most disappointing beer I've ever tried. It was ok, but uninspired. A pretty run-of-the-mill Saison. I tried their New Zealand-hopped version too, which was better, but also unremarkable. I expected so much more from a brewery called "Funkwerks."
1602
Going Pro / Re: Another view about commercial Nano brewing.
« on: March 20, 2012, 02:49:12 PM »I don't know how successful he is money wise, but he makes a mean saison. I picked up a bottle when I was in Colorado, and it was tasty.
He's started since I moved from Denver. If I were still there, I'd probably get a Reserve membership. I'm heading out in May for a friend's wedding, so I'll pick up some of his bottles.
1603
General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Possibly the worst homebrewing article ever
« on: March 20, 2012, 12:59:50 PM »I'm mostly German too, but I've been very indifferent about a lot of issues lately.
It's hard for tone to come across on the internet. I was (mostly) joking.
1604
Yeast and Fermentation / Re: A simple, Kosher alternative to gelatin
« on: March 20, 2012, 11:52:32 AM »
No problem with bottling cold. You can let it warm up if that's easier. Just remember to calculate residual CO2 based on the highest temp the beer was ever at. I made that mistake on my Koelsch, and it ended up way flatter than I wanted.
1605
Going Pro / Re: Looking into starting a meadery
« on: March 20, 2012, 11:46:58 AM »
Nothing new to report, except more run-around, more people saying "oh, I don't do that, you want this guy." But I think I've found the person I need to talk to. I'll try calling them tomorrow.
I didn't plan on it being this difficult to determine who is actually in charge of regulating wineries.
I didn't plan on it being this difficult to determine who is actually in charge of regulating wineries.