Messages

1111

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: What to expect from cultured dregs of Orval?

« on: February 03, 2010, 03:47:56 PM »

The freshness of the bottles matters-don't take that Orval you've been saving for 5 years.  I've never used more than 2 bottles worth of dregs but 3 won't hurt.  In fact having to drink 3 Orvals in an afternoon for the dregs sounds kind of pleasant.  I use saison as my base beer usually, the last one I brewed was underattenuated when I pitched the dregs but it was stillexcellent.  Keg no. 2 of that batch was innoculated a year ago, and the first keg just kicked so I'm anxious to hook it up and taste it.

1112

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: succession?

« on: February 01, 2010, 09:18:24 PM »

Wow, that's putting a lot of thought into your beer drinking .  I pretty much go with what tastes best while I'm cooking, what goes best with dinner and then I do enjoy a Trappist ale while I do dishes.

1113

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Brett

« on: January 31, 2010, 10:09:56 AM »

Are you going with primary fermentation with Brett, or adding it too secondary.  If you want to add it to secondary rack the beer when it gets to about 80% of your expected FG and prepare to wait as long as 6 months. 
Are you using bottle dregs, or a vial/pack of Brett?  A starter is helpful, but I've had  beers do just as well without.
What's the base recipe?

1114

The Pub / Re: Germany...

« on: January 28, 2010, 08:48:29 PM »

When will you be there?  We're spending June 14-23 driving around Germany and will be in the Koln area the 21st and 22nd.

1115

The Pub / Re: Beer at Burger King

« on: January 24, 2010, 09:05:42 AM »

I've had beer at McDonalds and Burger King in Europe starting back in 1981-nothing beats a good dunkles with a Big Mac. But I don't really see it working as well over here.  In New Mexico anybody who serves or sells alcohol has to be licensed which means attending classes, license renewal classes, etc so the training costs would be prohibitive here, especially considering the turnover rate at these joints.

1116

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: the bare essentials

« on: January 23, 2010, 08:47:00 AM »

March pump
wort chiller
refractometer

1117

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Complete Fermentation

« on: January 13, 2010, 10:38:55 PM »

But keep in mind that if you're expecting an FG of 1.012 and you get 1.020 for 3 days the beer may not be done.  You may have to warm it or take other measures.  Hydrometer readings are not the absolute indicator of a beer that is completely fermented.  I've had beers stall at a particular gravity for a week until I warmed it, shook it or added more yeast. 

1118

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Recipe ownership?

« on: January 13, 2010, 10:35:29 PM »

If I brew something I'm proud of I'll give the recipe away.  First of all no matter what I think I did, somebody probably did it before me.  And even if my recipe is somehow absolutely original I know that nobody will probably ever brew my beer exactly as I did so it won't be the same.  I'm from the Gulf of Mexico coast, my mom has made her gumbo for 65 years now.  She gave her recipe, and even trained us to make it, to me and my sister, but nobody would ever know that those 3 gumbos had any connection.  There's way too much more than just a recipe.

1119

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Cork & Cage Bottling

« on: January 12, 2010, 06:06:23 PM »

The easiest one in my opinion is the Ferrari Champagne corker.

We bought a Ferrari years ago for bottling wine, it's ery easily adapted for corking beer.
The cages can be a little tricky.  i broke several before I figured out how tight I could get them without breaking.

1120

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Beer Gun or Conditioning with priming sugar?

« on: January 11, 2010, 10:08:31 PM »

I decided to keg and Beergun mine, it would be tough to get the carbonation right on an old beer like this.

1121

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Cork & Cage Bottling

« on: January 11, 2010, 10:07:02 PM »

Put a standard  carboy stopper on the plunger so it doesn't push the cork all the way in.  This will leave about 1/2 inch of the cork sticking out for the cage to rest on.  as the bottle carbonates the cork get pushed out creating the mushroom shape.
Make sure your bottles and stoppers are compatible-Belgian bottles take bigger corks.

1122

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Whatcha brewin' this week? - 2010 Jan 7 - 2010 Jan 13

« on: January 09, 2010, 10:00:45 AM »

10 gallons of porter to pitch on the Nottingham yeast cake from my rye pale ale.  I'll soak vanilla beans in bourbon and add to one keg, cold brewed coffee in the other.

1123

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Beer Gun or Conditioning with priming sugar?

« on: January 08, 2010, 11:24:47 AM »

I was glad to see this thread, I've got a similar issue I'm dealing with.
I brewed a Belgian strong dark ale in January 2007, racked to secondary and added Roselare blend when it got to about 75% of expected FG and let it sit in a carboy until June last year.  Then I racked it back to the fermenter and added 8 pounds of fresh/frozen cherries.  It's time to get off my lazy ass and bottle it but I don't know if I should use priming sugar and new yeast or force carb in a keg and beergun it.  Anybody had a similar situation?

1124

The Pub / Re: Bama vs the Longhorns-What are y'all drinking?

« on: January 08, 2010, 11:12:35 AM »

My wife, a total non football fan opened the last bottle of Mumm Champagne she had and I actually enjoyed it last night.  Not so much this morning though.

1125

The Pub / Bama vs the Longhorns-What are y'all drinking?

« on: January 07, 2010, 06:13:27 PM »

Being from Mobile and being a beer fiend I'm prepared to win or lose tonight.  I've got some Maredsous, Spaten Pils, and  a Rodenbach Grand Cru if Bama looks goods, and if we lose I''ve got some St. Arnolds Lawnmower and some Real Ale Coffee Porter.