Messages

331

Beer Recipes / Re: Tweaking a witbier recipe.

« on: August 31, 2011, 10:20:56 AM »

Adding zest/peel during secondary fermentation will give your beer more of a citrus flavor.  The citrus flavor decreases rapidly so don't worry too much about overdosing.  Note though 1 oz of zest in secondary is much more potent than 1 oz at the end of the boil.

332

All Grain Brewing / Re: Mash schedule for no boil Berliner Weiss

« on: August 13, 2011, 10:51:23 AM »

If you make a lacto starter you will get sour.  Trust me.

In addition, I'm thinking of doing a rest at 132 to produce more glucose in the wort, which is the only stuff that lacto delbruekii eats, or adding some corn sugar.

333

All Grain Brewing / Re: Mash schedule for no boil Berliner Weiss

« on: August 11, 2011, 08:13:23 PM »

For anyone still following this thread, making a lacto-only starter is the key to this style.  I made a 1 liter starter and kept it near 100 degrees with a heating pad and let it go for 2 days on the stir plate.  The finished product has the crisp and lively twang that is the hallmark of this style. 

Just tasted mine, not sour enough.  I didn't make a lacto-only starter, but I did pitch lacto straight from the smack pack and pitched an ale starter nearly 24 hours later.  I may end up putting some lactic acid in to get to the desired acidity.  Oh well, there is always next time.

334

Beer Recipes / Re: Any ideas for a historic wit?

« on: August 11, 2011, 08:05:04 PM »

Mash at 131-140 with a very long rest (lets say 2-3 hours) and a short rest at 160-165F (lets say 3 minutes) and mash out at 170F and don't boil.  Pitch lactobacillus delbruekii into wort at 120 F, and let the wort cool overnight to 65-70.  Then pitch wit yeast (T-58?) and allow wort to warm to 70-75F.

The idea of the mash schedule is to produce a wort with lots of glucose for the lactobacillus at 131-140 and lots of dextrins at 160-165F.  The proposed mash schedule is just an initial stab in the dark.

Alternatively,  follow the Slijim mash procedure in Radical Brewing, skipping the first rest.

335

All Grain Brewing / Re: first Witbier

« on: August 09, 2011, 11:11:10 AM »

 I like some spiciness, Hoegaarden is one of my fave hot weather beers, but I don't want to get it up into the Franziskaner-type super-fruity-clovey regions.

Wit yeast don't make clove flavors so you can easily ferment at 70-72 F to get a nice spice character. 

Typically Belgian wits require a more complicated mash schedule due to the unmalted wheat and pilsener. The more complicated mash schedule helps maintain the efficiency and avoid stuck mashes.

336

Beer Travel / Brooklyn

« on: August 04, 2011, 07:06:50 PM »

What are the good places to get a beer (store or bar) near Atlantic & 4th Ave?  I'm visiting this weekend.  Any beers that are must haves and not available in Chicago?

337

Beer Travel / Re: The Goose has extended it's range....

« on: August 04, 2011, 06:58:33 PM »

But overflew me in the process......

The new corporate owners of Goose Island Brewery (AB-Inbev) aren't wasting any time finding new markets for their purchase. Yesterday I'm sitting in my favorite little watering hole in Manchester UK (ok it's the Knott Bar, CAMRA pub of the year 2009 and 2010) and lo and behold there's Goose Island coasters on the bar.... They have bottles of the IPA in the cooler. Meanwhile, I still can't get the stuff on the East Coast. Go figure.

I found Matilda at a small package store in N. Dartmouth, MA last summer. 

338

All Grain Brewing / Re: Mash schedule for no boil Berliner Weiss

« on: August 02, 2011, 03:33:19 PM »

For anyone still following this thread, making a lacto-only starter is the key to this style.  I made a 1 liter starter and kept it near 100 degrees with a heating pad and let it go for 2 days on the stir plate.  The finished product has the crisp and lively twang that is the hallmark of this style.  You can't beat the cost of less than $2 a gallon either.  Love me some Berliner Weisse!

Thanks for the update Dee.

I brewed my Berliner Weiss this weekend.  It's a no boil which I batch sparged with water at 70F.  Efficiency was 80% confirming the suspicions of some that cool water would not effect the efficiency of batch sparging significantly.  I pitched the lactobacillus at 104 F straight from the "smack pack."  I pitched a yeast starter made from the wort the following day.  I'll report back later. 

When making a lacto starter, it probably isn't particularly helpful to do it on a stir plate as lactobacillus likes low levels of dissolved oxygen.

339

Beer Recipes / Founders Cerise Clone

« on: July 28, 2011, 08:14:32 PM »

Last week I picked 18 pounds of Balaton cherries (cross between sweet and sour cherries).  Any ideas on a recipe for a Founders Cerise clone?

340

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What's Brewing This Weekend - 7/29 Edition

« on: July 28, 2011, 07:49:04 PM »

Making a no boil Berliner Weiss.  Better late than never if I want to drink it during the summer!

341

Beer Recipes / Re: Wit Recipe

« on: July 06, 2011, 10:32:32 AM »

freshly ground coriander has a lot of lemon flavor.

342

The Pub / Re: Chloramines coming to a city water supply near you...you may already have it.

« on: July 05, 2011, 10:33:22 AM »

On Saturday, I added crushed Campden tablets to brewing water and it just sunk to the bottom.  Do you need to stir it until it dissolves?  Do i have an old or bad batch of Campden tablets? I added 4 crushed Campden tablets to 7 gal of water to dechlorinate and deoxygenate water following boiler water treatment guidelines.

343

Equipment and Software / Re: Swamp coolers

« on: July 03, 2011, 12:11:04 PM »

Here's my report:

I didn't account for the difficulty in cooling wort in the summer - I rarely brew in the summer - so I pitched the yeast at 78 F.  So I ran out to the store and bought a large rubbermaid container.  I put two carboys in there and filled the thing with water at 63 F.  The next morning the beer was fermenting at ~72F (PET Better Bottle) and the surrounding water was a few tenths less at ~71 F and my basement was at 74F. 

I really like the bath over the swamp cooler.  1. Ease of temp control by measuring the bath water and adding ice packs as necessary.  2. Large thermal mass avoids temp swings.  3. Importantly here but wouldn't be a big advantage generally was the ability to cool the beer overnight predictably. 4. The system is compact.

I still don't care for brewing in the summer, but the bath works in a pinch, when I run low on beer.

344

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What's Brewing THis Weekend - 7/1 Edition

« on: July 03, 2011, 11:50:17 AM »

Wit was brewed yesterday.  I forgot to make sure i had oranges around so I'll have to add peel later in the week.  I think I'll drop an orange and a clementine into some star san before zesting with a microplane. Late hopping with Cascade to see how it combines with the orange and clementine peel.

345

Equipment and Software / Re: Natural gas burners

« on: June 30, 2011, 10:46:27 AM »

The true limit to how fast you can safely boil 10 gal of water indoors is how good your ventilation is, not the fuel.  It is not good when your CO meter reads 200 ppm (mine did that once).  The OSHA limit is 50 ppm, but OSHA wants to lower it to 35 ppm.