Messages

121

Ingredients / Re: Dry hopping using pellets

« on: December 29, 2011, 11:36:46 am »

I use a stainless tea ball strainer in the secondary. It keeps the particles in and sinks to the bottom. The bigger the strainer ball the better. Those pellets can really expand.

How much do they expand?  I'm just about ready to dry hop for the first time, and bought a couple of these  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0047YKGPY/  to dry hop in the keg.  They are about 2.5" in diameter.... how many hop pellets can I fit in there?  Do they double in size? Triple in size? 

I've found that no more than 1oz of pellets should go in a strainer of that size. Otherwise it will be too compact. You may be able to fit more in, but you'll probably just waste hops. I don't remember the size that I use for sure, but I remember I got them online through Williams Brewing. I think they are close in size to the one you linked, just more of a circular shape.

122

Ingredients / Re: Dry hopping using pellets

« on: December 22, 2011, 05:11:16 pm »

I use a stainless tea ball strainer in the secondary. It keeps the particles in and sinks to the bottom. The bigger the strainer ball the better. Those pellets can really expand.

123

Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: Tallgrass Brewing Oasis

« on: December 14, 2011, 03:38:37 pm »

I haven't tried this one yet, but will now. Tallgrass makes my favorite stout, Buffalo Sweat.

124

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Full boil on stove-top: pre-heat "top off" volume

« on: December 07, 2011, 04:49:51 pm »

I'd have to agree. Boiling that much on a stove will either take forever or just not happen.  Invest in an outdoor propane heater and you won't be sorry.

125

Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: Snow Day New offering New Belgium

« on: December 03, 2011, 09:46:54 pm »

I really like this one. You can definitely get the cascade hops in the aroma. The roasted malt amount is spot on.

126

Commercial Beer Reviews / Lakefront Pumpkin Lager

« on: November 30, 2011, 08:30:01 pm »

I haven't had much luck finding a pumpkin beer I liked until I tried this one. In my opinion it is the best pumpkin beer available in this state (Nebraska). You have to like a spiced beer to enjoy this. It has a strong pumpkin spice aroma and a great mild pumpkin taste. Its the only pumpkin beer I've found that is a lager. I'm thinking that may be part of its magic. Anybody else try this one?

127

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Freon/Kegerator question

« on: November 21, 2011, 05:01:00 pm »

A 20 year old refrigerator of any type will almost certainly require refrigerant (freon) that requires a license to purchase. Your 1st steps to fixing this thing would be to give all the tubing you can find a thorough cleaning. Dust builds up bad on refrigerators making them work harder because they can't transfer heat. If it really is a refrigerant issue, you'll want a professional to look at it. Be prepared to pay a pretty penny! A family member of mine reconditioned an old glass front soda refrigerator. He said it would have been cheaper to buy something new.

128

Ingredients / Re: Buckwheat Honey

« on: November 17, 2011, 11:57:46 am »

I've brewed twice with buckwheat honey and have found a dab will do. I used 1lb both times, once in an American wheat and once in a hefe. The American turned out amazing at first, but actually got sweeter over time. Too sweet for me. The hefe was good at first, but has diminished in quality in a very short time. I'd suggest using no more than 1 pound and consider only a half pound per 5 gallon batch.

129

Equipment and Software / Re: "BeerBug" Wireless Specific Gravity - applicability?

« on: November 15, 2011, 04:16:18 pm »

I'd purchase something like this, but would like to see a more inexpensive option. Create a lesser version that does nothing but report temperature and gravity only when I request it. No fancy graphs or fancy graphics. Sell it for around $50 - $70 and I think you'd be selling a bunch of them. Get a deal worked out with one of the bigger online homebrew stores to include them in the starter equipment kits they sell.

130

Beer Recipes / Re: Apple Cinnamon Stout

« on: November 11, 2011, 08:15:46 pm »

If you're shooting for a lot of apple flavor, I'd recommended substituting a gallon of water with a gallon of cider.

131

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What's Brewing This Weekend - 10/28 Edition

« on: October 27, 2011, 10:19:45 am »

Brewing an ESB kit from Northern Brewer. There's only one commercial version of an ESB I've liked, so I'm keeping my hopes up!

132

All Grain Brewing / Re: How many people "brew in a bag" and their thoughts?

« on: October 04, 2011, 10:23:41 am »

I have done just 1 BIAB and the beer turned out great, but cloudy. I bought a bag from Northern Brewer and I had horrible luck cleaning it. Took me over a half hour to pick out the grain when I was done. I have no intention of doing another one because of it.

133

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Keg Availability

« on: September 27, 2011, 10:15:27 am »

My local supply store announced they won't be carrying used kegs and new kegs will increase in cost. They said it is due to a lack of new 5 gallon kegs being produced in the US and bags replacing soda kegging.

134

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Sulphur smell from US-05?

« on: September 08, 2011, 05:59:38 pm »

I caught a whiff of sulphur from this yeast on an IPA I did recently. The beer turned out great.

135

All Grain Brewing / Re: Using a grain bag for the mash......in the boil kettle.

« on: September 06, 2011, 02:24:33 pm »

I have seen that type of derrick setup before. I bet it works well for frying and a BIAB setup. I found that I had to do quite a bit of stirring in the bag which was a pain. Not being able to hold my temps is a big reason I'm stepping up to a cooler tun.