16
Zymurgy / ezymurgy not working
« on: December 15, 2011, 01:59:28 pm »
Trying to see the new mag and it's not working. Just wanted let someone know.
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17
Zymurgy / Zymurgy online?!?!
« on: October 21, 2011, 10:14:13 am »
I just went the zymurgy page to see when it may have shipped out and the newest issue is now online!!! This is awesome, thanks AHA!
18
All Things Food / Making Hot Sauce
« on: September 27, 2011, 12:53:46 pm »
Has anyone ever done this here? I have a whole plant of orange thai chiles that would probably make an awesome hot sauce.
I was thinking of just grinding them up in a blender with a tablespoon or two or vinegar, can always add more if needed, and some salt and garlic. I might add a cayenne or two to fill it out since the thai chiles are small. I was then going to strain the mixture, or not, into a glass jar for spooning onto my favorite foods or some chili.
How about it, sound good?
I was thinking of just grinding them up in a blender with a tablespoon or two or vinegar, can always add more if needed, and some salt and garlic. I might add a cayenne or two to fill it out since the thai chiles are small. I was then going to strain the mixture, or not, into a glass jar for spooning onto my favorite foods or some chili.
How about it, sound good?
19
All Grain Brewing / Hops and malt.... a delicate balance
« on: August 22, 2011, 08:25:54 am »
Okay friends and brewers, I need some help. I just got back my score sheets from the Michigan Beer Cup this year and once again my IPA received high honors (41.5 this year) but lacked one quality, balance. I hear this time and time again with my beers, IPAs especially. I need some hints, tips, tricks, or ideas on how to take my beer to next level.
What I hear from judges who blindly taste my beer in comps and from people who know me and are willing to give me honest feedback is that I have a clean tasting beer with no off-flavors and tastes great. There's just one thing missing, the malt. I hear many comments about the hoppiness is great and the flavors and aromas are good-great for and IPA but there isn't any malt to balance the beer.
A little background on my setup. I batch sparge using a cooler (bluish-grey color since that matters) and I do single infusion mashes. I usually boil everything for 90 minutes and will routinely do a 2 hour boil if necessary. I like to add 5-10% Munich malt in my IPAs to try and achieve that "maltiness" I am looking for but never really seem to get there. I have tried mashing anywhere from 149-156 degrees to vary my final gravity. I usually reach 1.008 to 1.014 for a final gravity on my IPAs.
If you need any more info before you'd like to critique my process or recipes just let me know. Thanks for all the help!!
What I hear from judges who blindly taste my beer in comps and from people who know me and are willing to give me honest feedback is that I have a clean tasting beer with no off-flavors and tastes great. There's just one thing missing, the malt. I hear many comments about the hoppiness is great and the flavors and aromas are good-great for and IPA but there isn't any malt to balance the beer.
A little background on my setup. I batch sparge using a cooler (bluish-grey color since that matters) and I do single infusion mashes. I usually boil everything for 90 minutes and will routinely do a 2 hour boil if necessary. I like to add 5-10% Munich malt in my IPAs to try and achieve that "maltiness" I am looking for but never really seem to get there. I have tried mashing anywhere from 149-156 degrees to vary my final gravity. I usually reach 1.008 to 1.014 for a final gravity on my IPAs.
If you need any more info before you'd like to critique my process or recipes just let me know. Thanks for all the help!!
20
Ingredients / Deformed Hop Plant
« on: May 25, 2011, 12:53:16 pm »
I am posting this hear thinking it's the best of any places.
Okay, I have one hop plant at my house (nugget), which is 3 years old this year. It came up just fine and starting growing quickly. It got to around four feet and starting looking very funny. The leaves all curled and the ends starting becoming deformed. I was wondering if anyone has ever seen this before. The only thing I can think that caused this was the mulch. My wife bought some brown colored mulch that she put down in the flower bed (my hop plant is in the flower bed). The brown colored mulch had a lot of brown coloring that came off on her gloves and pants when she was doing this. Could it have caused an issue with the hops? I decided after she put that stuff down I was not going to use the hops anyways but I still like having it grow through the summer.
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/JXijilHkZkejlAcw8tnMcg?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DM0ngH2ZWZNyIwjYpB5DJw?feat=directlink
Okay, I have one hop plant at my house (nugget), which is 3 years old this year. It came up just fine and starting growing quickly. It got to around four feet and starting looking very funny. The leaves all curled and the ends starting becoming deformed. I was wondering if anyone has ever seen this before. The only thing I can think that caused this was the mulch. My wife bought some brown colored mulch that she put down in the flower bed (my hop plant is in the flower bed). The brown colored mulch had a lot of brown coloring that came off on her gloves and pants when she was doing this. Could it have caused an issue with the hops? I decided after she put that stuff down I was not going to use the hops anyways but I still like having it grow through the summer.
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/JXijilHkZkejlAcw8tnMcg?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DM0ngH2ZWZNyIwjYpB5DJw?feat=directlink
21
All Things Food / Turkey Day recipes
« on: November 24, 2010, 09:30:33 am »
So, tomorrow is Turkey Day! Anyone have any favorite recipes they'll be cooking up. I just picked up my bird from the local farmer and he's a beauty at 20.75 pounds. I'm going to brine him al-la Alton Brown and deep fry him.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/deep-fried-turkey-recipe/index.html
I'm also making Altons green bean casserole and mac & cheese with a nice sharp cheddar.
I'm thinking of a cornbread stuffing recipe. Anyone have any good ones they'd like to share?
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/deep-fried-turkey-recipe/index.html
I'm also making Altons green bean casserole and mac & cheese with a nice sharp cheddar.
I'm thinking of a cornbread stuffing recipe. Anyone have any good ones they'd like to share?
22
Yeast and Fermentation / First Stuck fermentation
« on: November 22, 2010, 08:00:51 am »
Hello everyone, need some ideas here. I have been brewing for 4 years and this is the first real stuck fermentation I have had.
11 days ago I brewed a Winter Warmer. OG was 1.076 and I pitched a nice slurry of British ale II from a 3 liter starter. The yeast was a little older (6 months IIRC) but the starter looked good and smelled great. I pitched the yeast at 67 degrees and put it in the basement at 62. The next morning I had a nice krausen on top and it was moving along nicely. During the weekend I took a gravity sample and found it was down nearly 30 (to 1.046) points in only 3 days. Since then it has only moved to 1.036. I pitched a re-hydrated packet of nottingham 2 days ago to hopefully get it going again. I have never had a fermentation slow off like this so quickly and I followed my normal brewing procedure.
I wanted to know if anyone has experience with this yeast before, first time using it, and whether or not this could be a normal sign. Or am I just getting too worried? It's only been 11 days but most my beers finish within a week and this still has 15-20 points to go. Any info is helpful, thanks.
BTW, I think I might start doing the fast ferment test from now on.
11 days ago I brewed a Winter Warmer. OG was 1.076 and I pitched a nice slurry of British ale II from a 3 liter starter. The yeast was a little older (6 months IIRC) but the starter looked good and smelled great. I pitched the yeast at 67 degrees and put it in the basement at 62. The next morning I had a nice krausen on top and it was moving along nicely. During the weekend I took a gravity sample and found it was down nearly 30 (to 1.046) points in only 3 days. Since then it has only moved to 1.036. I pitched a re-hydrated packet of nottingham 2 days ago to hopefully get it going again. I have never had a fermentation slow off like this so quickly and I followed my normal brewing procedure.
I wanted to know if anyone has experience with this yeast before, first time using it, and whether or not this could be a normal sign. Or am I just getting too worried? It's only been 11 days but most my beers finish within a week and this still has 15-20 points to go. Any info is helpful, thanks.
BTW, I think I might start doing the fast ferment test from now on.
23
Homebrew Competitions / NHC 2010 Final round entries
« on: May 10, 2010, 07:45:23 am »
Hello all, this is my first time entering my beers into the NHC and I happened to get two into the final round (2 third placers). My question is, will I receive more information in the mail about send more bottles for the final round judging? I know we have a few weeks before I must ship them but I just wanted to make sure. I already re-brewed one of the beers so it's nice and fresh. Thanks
-Mike
-Mike
24
General Homebrew Discussion / The NHC...What should I do
« on: January 20, 2010, 11:56:50 am »
I have wanted to go to the NHC for the last two years but it has just not happened. With it being in Minnesota this year, a days drive from Michigan, I'm really thinking about going. My question is, what package is best. I don't really want to spend 500 bucks for my wife and I to go to events we really don't care about so I'm looking for some info about what goes on. I am real interested in the presentations but not so much the social events. Just looking for some insight. Thanks
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