Messages

1

Ingredients / 3 hour dry hop?

« on: May 17, 2013, 04:04:20 pm »

Oregon State did or is doing studies in dry hopping and they have found that shorter dry hop times are equally, if not more effective but all their research has involved constant circulation of the beer while the dry hop additions are added. IMO if you don't have the ability to circulate constantly then it's either more hops or a longer time or both. BTW the studies are on line and can be searched, sorry , don't have the link handy...

2

Homebrew Clubs / Newbie Here

« on: May 17, 2013, 03:58:38 pm »

Congrats on taking the first step and I totally agree with what's already been said.

Take a trip to a good liquor store that sells quality and variety of craft beer and buy some pilsner, kolsch, Saisons or other light beers to sample. A good store manager should be able to help you pick a few.

Lager style beers will require time and dedicated temperature control but kolsch and Saisons are more forgiving and the yeast actually like some heat to ferment so it's less of an issue.

Once you find the lighter styles you enjoy you can then look into those types of kits from the various suppliers of quality kits.

Once your palette adapts to home brew you'll be hooked and your hobby will become an obsession:)

3

Commercial Beer Reviews / New Belgium Rolle Bolle

« on: May 16, 2013, 05:32:42 pm »

I sampled this at a beer tasting and found it to a nice pleasant beer for a hot summer day, nothing special but a great, easy drinker

4

Kegging and Bottling / Bottles Bursting with Flavor

« on: May 15, 2013, 04:51:16 pm »

You need to properly calculate and weigh out the sugar. If you are measuring by volume it is not accurate.

A good rule of thumb is .75-1oz per Finished gallon of beer

5

Beer Recipes / Gumball Head

« on: May 14, 2013, 10:31:52 am »

It's my understanding that at times all 3 hops have been used but the majority of batches are all Amarillo by FFF.

That being said I know a lot of people don't like Amarillo as a bittering addition.

The batch I make is all Amarillo with Simcoe to bitter and its well liked.

6

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / dry hopping for the first time

« on: May 14, 2013, 09:26:57 am »

+1 to tossing in the pellets. Just place a hop bag over the racking cane to act as a filter and if you can cd crash the beer a couple days after hopping its a plus as well

7

General Homebrew Discussion / Goose Island beer

« on: May 12, 2013, 05:37:30 pm »

It has everything to do with InBev and yes, they still maintain control so the beer is still Goose.

Distribution is expected to ramp up nationally and I believe they now have one of the largest barrel aging programs in the country as well as a brand new facility that strictly handles wild yeast to the tune of about a million $'s

8

The Pub / Do you hate to be corrected?

« on: May 12, 2013, 08:44:34 am »

I agree with the OP and do the same thing and if someone doesn't like it, well, too bad!

No different then trying to help someone on a forum, if I provide bad advice, answer something incorrectly or someone has a better idea then I'm all for hearing about it and learning as well:)

9

General Homebrew Discussion / American Beer Classic

« on: May 11, 2013, 04:21:56 pm »

Was anybody else at this event today at Soldiers Field? I thought it was a great event and really fun being on the field sampling some really great beers from some really great breweries with a lot of really fun people, the only downside was November weather in May in Chicago...

10

The Pub / It's stupid, but I want one....

« on: May 11, 2013, 04:18:22 pm »

We used to use one at the Dead shows to cruise the parking lots and sell craft beers but it was a cooler perched on a skate board:)

11

Equipment and Software / Mesh bags for hops?

« on: May 10, 2013, 03:58:10 pm »

I made this, it's an insinkerator disposal collar and paint strainer bag and work great!

12

All Grain Brewing / 2 beers, 2 yeasts, same nasty sulfur smell and taste

« on: May 08, 2013, 10:56:29 am »

I've used both those strains and have not had any issues with sulfur. I make proper sized starters of healthy yeast, ferment in buckets and use  a blow off tube . The Hefe yeast I start at 60 and allow to rise to 65 and the other I start at 65 and allow to rise to 70.

My opinion is stressed yeast and under pitching producing excessive sulfur notes which is a somewhat inherent byproduct of these strains.

13

All Grain Brewing / SG OG BG FG,... why is my post boil reading lower than pre boil?

« on: May 07, 2013, 05:00:03 pm »

If measurements over 100f are worthless, how do you get a valid gravity pre boil?

You cool the sample down and then read it, it will take less than an hour to chill a sample and if you want to add DME you have plenty of time

Truly, I have never calibrated my hydrometer. But I do have a spare, next brew I will use them both and compare. I am thinking margin of error, and dont worry it too much. Thanks.

Take 60F distilled water and it should read 1.000, if not then add or subtract the difference for every reading you take with it to calibrate

All brewing tools should be calibrated to ensure your readings are correct, otherwise it's a crap shoot

14

All Grain Brewing / SG OG BG FG,... why is my post boil reading lower than pre boil?

« on: May 07, 2013, 03:51:01 pm »

In reality, even with temp correction, IME readings taken over 100 degrees are worthless.

Also, when was the last time you calibrated your hydrometer?

Generally , assuming your boil off measurements are correct a 8-10 point rise would be expected between pre and post boil

15

General Homebrew Discussion / A simple way to organize boil additions

« on: May 07, 2013, 10:20:27 am »

I just fly by the seat of my pants and measure them out right before I need them. Surely I can't be the only one!

Me too! Plenty of time between additions to weigh them out and BeerSmith's brew day timer function keeps me on track