Messages

1

Events / Re: AHA Conference: 2013 Call for Presentations

« on: January 30, 2013, 09:42:29 PM »

Hey Kathryn
Do you know when you will be letting people know if they are chosen?

2

Equipment and Software / Re: Digital refractometer

« on: January 14, 2013, 08:18:48 PM »

I have that exact model. I own a malt testing lab and that is what I use. It is fast and accurate. IT is totally overkill but that is the point.
Their are two things you need to be prepared for when you use a digital model. First they are not as rugged as a handheld. We had to send one out because someone dropped it. We always make sure we do not wipe the glass but just soak up the water from it.
Second. In broad daylight it will not read. You will need to just cover it.
Other than that I have never noticed any inaccurracies at all.

3

Classifieds / Looking for Help in our New store in Sunderland,MA

« on: October 05, 2012, 10:21:29 PM »

We are looking for PT weekend help in our New Sunderland MA store. The hours are going to be for the time being Friday 12-6 Saturday 12-6 and every other Sunday 10-1. Please apply either through here or in Ludlow Store at 289 East St. You can also email me [emai]lbrewmaster@diybrewing.com[/email] or call 413-457-1110
Thanks

4

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: star san and pbw question

« on: September 06, 2012, 06:15:36 AM »

If your water is piping hot, I think a 15 minute soak is normally good enough. It also depends on what you are cleaning. Bottles clean easier then carboys.

5

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Old Extract?

« on: August 30, 2012, 09:25:53 PM »

Wes MB certainly does turn over their LME in that manner.
I am 90% positive More beer does not Briess use but has a private label malt extract maker. Nothing against them at all.
Also when did you put your LME in the beer? Adding LME at the end of the boil will have huge positive effects on your beer. We are currently validating in store putting LME in after the boil. Since you only need to sanitize it, our theory is that if we keep it above 160F for 15 minutes we will be fine. So far we have had luck at keeping LME above 180 for 30 minutes with no problem. Just some food for thought.

6

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Old Extract?

« on: August 28, 2012, 10:54:13 AM »

In our shop we go through around 700 lbs of LME a month and we have no darkening or molasses at all. One of the things you also have to pay attention to is where the LME is coming from. We use Briess currently although we are switching to United Canadian. We get Briess that has been manufactured less than a month old. So for us from manufacturing date to being sold to you is less than 2 months. If we were to buy Muntons, the best case scenario we could get was most likely 6 months old. We also only sell 3 types of LME ( Pilsen or extra light, Wheat, and Munich). Our Munich and wheat sell less so we buy smaller containers of them so that is still stays fresh.
DME costs close to twice as much wholesale and is a pain to work with. 
Also the ration LME to DME is 6 lbs LME = 4.92 lbs DME.

7

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Shandy advice

« on: July 11, 2012, 11:32:46 AM »

Be careful if you are bottle condition since the lemonade could lower your pH to a point where beer yeast might not ferment it.
 I would throw champagne yeast in there to be sure.
You could also experiment with a wheat beer and then throw some MIO in the glass and see what that does.
I don't know if it would be good but I think shandy's are already gross so how bad could it get.

8

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: my latest pale ale is pretty dry and meh.

« on: July 11, 2012, 11:28:28 AM »

How long was the boil? Did you throw the DME in at the beginning or the end of the boil?
If I was going to do this I would just do a 15 minute boil and hopburst the crap out of it at the end to get my ibu's.
Something like this
Columbus 1 oz 15 minutes
amarillo 1 oz 10 minutes
simcoe 1 oz 5 minutes
all three at flameout 1 oz.
For your water if you are buying store bought generic water you might as well use your tap water. It is probably the same since the gvmt has very low labeling laws so tap water can basically be called spring water and filtered usually means just run a charcoal filter.

9

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: citra help

« on: July 04, 2012, 07:38:16 AM »

Yea they are great for dry hopping. The only thing I can recommend is that they are pretty powerful so if it is a light beer they can overpower the beer but that is usually a good thing.

10

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Really bad O.G. from specialty grains - any chance of a redo?

« on: March 19, 2012, 08:49:11 AM »

I can guarantee it is stratification. Whenever I hear someone putting ice into beer to cool it down it makes me cringe. 
FYI CaraPils does not need to be mashed at all. Carapils is lightest of the crystal malts which makes it already converted technically. Also their is no difference in mashing and steeping. Keeping grains at a certain temperature with water is mashing whether you call it a steep or a mini mash. the only difference is whether you sparge or do not sparge. That has nothing to do with conversion of starches or not. The flaked oats are their to add body so no need to convert since you want the starch their. The technique is fine. That is why it went past the editors because it is correct.

11

MA / DIY Brewing Supply

« on: October 14, 2011, 09:29:05 AM »

We will once again be doing a Learn to Homebrew Day event.
Location
37 Hampshire St
Ludlow, MA 01056

We will have some supplies on hand but would really prefer you to order ahead of time if you want to brew. We have plenty of open space for brewers. We plan on doing an extract batch and an All Grain batch. We will have lots of Homebrew and some snacks. Kids are welcome to come. We will have a bouncy house for them rain permitting.

12

Beer Recipes / Re: Need Stout Ideas

« on: October 08, 2011, 07:36:49 AM »

Cut back on the roasted malt and add some Coffee Malt to it to make them silky smooth. We do one with 4 oz of Roasted Barley and 1 lb of coffee malt and it is awesome.

13

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Capping for the long haul

« on: October 31, 2010, 08:50:16 AM »

I personally am not a fan of the Oxygen barrier caps. They activate as soon as they are wet. This means that you either do not use a liquid sanitizer or you will lose most of their absorbing power. I personally for Barleywines like a little oxidation in the beer. It helps to mellow the beer out and adds a lot to the flavor.

14

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Is old malt extract safe?

« on: August 20, 2010, 02:22:48 PM »

You can always use old extract to make a starter. Then who cares if the beer is terrible since you will throw it away anyway.

15

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Homebrew contest scores?

« on: August 20, 2010, 02:21:06 PM »

I have judged in a bunch of competitions and 40's are a rarity so I would start by saying getting high 30s is where you want to be.
People have gone over the good stuff like temps and starters but I will throw a couple of more in there too.

1.Get a good appreciation of how the grains taste before going into the brew. I have eaten every grain in my homebrew shop and that is a huge help when formulating beers. Go into your LHBS and ask to taste some of the grain or ask if they do any classes that involve tasting of the grains ( we do and I think other LHBS do that too)
2. Brew more often. The more you brew the better you will be. You should also try tweaking your techniques occasionally to see if they make a difference.
3. Work on one recipe until you feel it is perfect. Brewing a large range of styles is great and highly recommended but if you want to make a truly outstanding beer brewing 5 times in a row with minor tweaks is the only way to go.
4. Join a homebrew club. Homebrew clubs are the place you want to go to get better.
That is the only ones that I have noticed that I think are missing.