Topics

16

All Grain Brewing / Water Report Help

« on: March 20, 2011, 07:30:53 AM »

Could someone please help me interpret the water report results and I could correct to brew a light beer such as a blonde, berliner or pilsner?  The water appears to be moderately hard and moderately alkaline and pretty hard and therefore more suited to amber ales.

I am trying to understand what all this means and how to alter the water chemistry for lighter beers and also darker beers.
I have looked at the Chapter on Understanding Mash pH in How to brew and am not completely confident in what it all means.

Thanks

Here are some of the parameters, let me know if I need to include more info.

Alkalinity (as CaCO3): 104
Hardness (mg/L as CaCO3): 125 ppm
pH: 7.7
Sodium: 20 ppm
Sulfate: 11 ppm
Chloride: 41 ppm
Fluoride: 1.2 ppm
Calcium: 45 ppm
Iron: <0.05 ppm
Copper: 0.013 ppm
Manganese: 3.3 ppm
Potassium: not listed
Zinc: 0.0023 ppm

17

All Grain Brewing / Berliner stuck mash?

« on: March 17, 2011, 06:23:12 AM »

I am planning to brew my first Berliner this weekend and I was wondering if I should be concerned about a stuck mash.

My recipe is 58% Pilsner 42% Wheat. I plan to mash at 149 degF.

18

Yeast and Fermentation / save and store yeast slurry from bottle

« on: January 12, 2011, 10:17:21 AM »

I have a couple bottles of the barrel aged beers from Russian River (temptation & consecration) and would like to save the yeast slurry for future brewing projects, after I open the bottles.

My questions are...
How should I store the yeast? How long will it keep?
Also, any suggestions on styles to ferment them with?

Thanks!

19

Ingredients / where do I buy bulk grain

« on: October 15, 2010, 03:38:36 PM »

I recently moved from the home brew mecca of Portland, Oregon to the much smaller home brew mecca of Augusta, Maine.
I have been to a few home brew shops in the area and the ingredients do not seem to turn over very fast and the bulk grain prices aren't much of a discount.  So, I am looking for a home brew shop either online or otherwise that I can buy bulk ingredients from.

Anyone have a shop or online store they would recommend?

As always thanks in advance for your help.

20

Equipment and Software / temperature control

« on: September 09, 2010, 04:00:46 PM »

I aquired a used no-name analog temperature control with a solid wire from the unit.  While I was trying to work the kinks out of the line and bend to fit around teh door of my fermenting fridge the metal line broke  

So I am looking for a new temperature control.  Ideally I would like to wire it for both heating and cooling.  What brands/models does everyone recommend?  Are there any benifits of one product over another?

Thanks

21

Yeast and Fermentation / Steam beer question

« on: August 25, 2010, 08:51:54 AM »

I brewed a Steam beer on 7/18/10 following the recipe and mash schedule in the BCS book.  The only exception is I batch sparged.
On 7/18/10 my OG was 1.056 and fermented at 64degF with WL, SF Larger yeast for 10 days until me FG was 1.012 (for two consecutive days).
On 7/28/10 I transfered to a keg and primed using corn sugar to get ±2.8 vol of CO2.
I left the keg at 64degF for 1 week before I moved in into the kegorator set at 34degF.
I tasted the beer last night and it still has some sharp esters and not the fruity ones I was expecting with the style.

I get the feeling I transferred the beer off the yeast cake too early... 

Will this beer mellow with more time? Or did I screw the batch?

22

Equipment and Software / installing ball valve and therm well in S/S pot

« on: August 03, 2010, 04:10:39 PM »

Since making the leap to AG I have been pondering the fate of my old brewpot. 
I have a spare ball valve and brewmometer that I would like to install in this pot.
I have read that I can drill a hole using a step drill bit. Or would finding a friend with the ability to weld be more appropriate?
Thanks for the help.

23

Other Fermentables / non-alocholic sparkling cider

« on: July 29, 2010, 09:54:59 AM »

I know, I know a non-alocholic cider question on a homebrewers forum... 

We are expecting our first child in December and my wife/co-brewer is feeling a little left out of our favorite hobby.

Do anyone have any ideas on making a non-alcholic sparkling fruit cider?  Is it as easy as mixing 5gallons of apple cider, adding some fruit and force carbonating?

24

General Homebrew Discussion / how much fruit in the beer?

« on: July 22, 2010, 02:40:27 PM »

I brewed 6.5 gallons of California Common (Anchor Steam clone) last weekend and for my inlaws anniversary I would like to add cranberries to recreate a Cranberry Steam Beer my mother-in-law had in college and has told me about ever since I met my wife.

This was my recipe...
9 lb 2-row
2 lb Munich
1 lb Crystal 40L
0.5 lb Victory
1/8 lb Light Chocolate
1 oz N. Brewer (60 min)
1.5 oz N brewer (15 min)
1.5 oz N brewer (1 min)

So... How much cranberry should I add?  I have a 96 oz can of cranberry wine base and a 2 oz bottle of cranberry flavoring.

25

General Homebrew Discussion / Hop pest

« on: July 21, 2010, 12:26:42 PM »

This is the second year that I have grown hops.  The first year I didn't really pay too much attention since I started them late and they spent most of the energy developing the root system.  However this year, since we finally warmed up here in the PNW they are growing nicely. 
Having said that, I have noticed a 1/2-inch long brown and black, slightly furry looking bug on the under side of the hop leaves.  Has anyone seen or heard of these?  Should I spray my hops with a pesticide?
Thanks for the help,
Mike