Messages

31

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Amount of Wyeast Nutrient in starter

« on: September 21, 2012, 11:49:45 am »

Good point oly
I have not started harvesting yeast yet, but it is in the plans.  So I can save some nickels now by not using a nutrient and keep spending $$ buying yeast!

32

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Starter not starting - Do lager yeasts take longer to grow?

« on: September 20, 2012, 04:15:55 pm »

Amazing that so many have had problems with lager yeasts since I had the same thing happen about a month ago.  Did a starter of Wyeast 2112 California Lager and after 3 days, nothing.  Took the empty pack back to show the the pouch was broken and everything mixed.  But even letting the pack set for 3 hrs prior to pitching into the starter, it hardly swelled at all.  The shop credited it no problem.  I planned on making a california common and a scottish ale and left the starter setting.  Put the scottish ale to work with a liquid vial of yeast that a local brewery users and it was fine without making a starter.  5 days later, boom, the 2112 started churning and going like a starter should.  I took my california common ingredients and made another beer.  Now I probably need to tell the shop the yeast finally did its thing and pay them back.

33

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Amount of Wyeast Nutrient in starter

« on: September 20, 2012, 12:21:59 pm »

Just curious as to how much benefit you get from the yeast nutrient addition.  I have not done this yet and after my current porter batch blowing through the fermentation lock 4 times in the last 3 days, I wonder if I need to ever add yeast nutrient.  Current wort temp is 64 degrees so it is not over heating.  I do make a 2.5L starter of about 1.040 SG, give it a swirl everytime I go by and have always had good fermentation starting within 12 hours.

Thanks

34

Going Pro / Re: realistically, what does it take?

« on: September 14, 2012, 03:14:07 pm »

I have truly enjoyed all of the posts on this topic.  Here in Colorado Springs we have several different sized microbreweries from the big Bristol brewery done to Great Storm Brewing which is a nano that is very good.  Now I will keep digging on this site for  more info as I have my brother-in-law enticed to start something in the future.  Thanks for all the advice.

35

Ingredients / Re: Best time to selectively pick hops

« on: September 12, 2012, 02:30:13 pm »

Thanks for this topic.  I picked some wild hopes about a month ago and had some that were starting to turn brown on the leaves and then found some that were greener.  The greener ones were still very light and airy with a mild aroma.  Have not used them in a batch yet but will in about another week.

36

Ingredients / Re: Hop Drying

« on: September 11, 2012, 05:32:47 am »

Great topic for us newer brewers.  I picked some wild hops about 3 weeks ago here in Colorado Spring that grow along a railroad.  Don't know the variety but they are used by a couple of the microbreweries here.  When is the best time to pick hops and how do you know if they are too old to pick?  I dried mine in a food dehydrator and then vacuum-sealed.  They are in the freezer and will be used in a batch of rasberry porter as soon as I pick enough rasberries in my garden.
Thanks

37

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: White House Brew Recipe

« on: September 03, 2012, 10:49:11 am »

Here is a possible All-grain conversion to the White House Honey Porter
9 lbs 0.9 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1          66.9 %
1 lbs 6.2 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 2 10.3 %
1 lbs 0.7 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 3                        7.7 %
7.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 4                  3.2 %
3.5 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 5                        1.6 %
1 lbs 6.2 oz Honey (1.0 SRM) Sugar                                 10.3 %

0.55 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6             17.2 IBUs
0.55 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 7             13.2 IBUs
0.55 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker [4.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop   0.0 IBUs

1 pkg Nottingham Yeast (Lallemand #-) [23.66 ml] Yeast 

Standard 60 min boil, 2-stage fermentation.

38

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: White House Brew Recipe

« on: September 03, 2012, 10:29:03 am »

Just got the recipes and am reviewing now.  First question is on the Honey Porter:  10 HBU bittering hops   OK there are lots of hops that can be used for bittering, wonder what they specifically used?  I am going to play with the recipes and do a all-grain conversion to see what I can come up with.

39

Beer Travel / Re: Colorado and Utah Trip?

« on: August 27, 2012, 08:26:17 am »

Aspen Brewery is worth a stop for beers and conversation.  I agree with the comments on Glenwood Springs, hit or miss, but they do have about 9 beers on tap right now.  Was at both over the past weekend.  The recommendation for Elevation Brewery in Poncha Springs is right on and their Apis Quad is excellant.  But if you are in that area, drive a couple of more miles to Salida and hit Amicas.  Great beers and pizza.  There is another pizza/brewery up the street, Moonlight Pizza and Brewpub.  I could go on forever as my wife and I try to hit every brewery in every town in Colorado we go through.  Since we live in Colorado Springs and vacation in Colorado, our beer drinking/sampling is constant.  Also come to Colorado Springs and you have about tons of breweries to hit.  Bristol, Trinitys, Black Fox, Great Storm, Rocky Mountion, Pikes Pike, BJs...

40

All Grain Brewing / Re: Single-Malt beers

« on: April 20, 2012, 12:30:35 pm »

dang work getting in the way of beer research!  Anyway I just checked out skotrat's traquair house recipe and will look for the Golden Promise pale 2-row, might even has some N. Brewer hops in the fridge.  Looks like I need to start doing some small batch brews so I can test many variations.
Thanks everyone!

41

All Grain Brewing / Re: Single-Malt beers

« on: April 20, 2012, 08:18:43 am »

Thanks nateo.  As I moved into AG, I started trying to copy various commercial beers with my own blend of what I could find on the internet.  Like BJ's PM Porter.  Their website, as most brewer's, gives the main list of ingredients but no proprotions, so I look at other porters to get an idea of %'s for each grain.  But I was never sure which grain was doing what.  Now I will back up and start basic recipes, learn the flavors and move up from there. 

I got started in this from a friend at work, did 3 partial mash kits and then jumped into AG as he does.  Glad I made that move.  Now I have a keggle and a 10 gal Gott cooler mash tun; will build another keggle soon. 

If I want to stay with the fuller beer profiles like a scottish ale, what would anyone recommend on the type of grain to try first?  A british pale 2-row, MO, or something else.

Thanks!

42

All Grain Brewing / Re: Single-Malt beers

« on: April 20, 2012, 07:59:38 am »

I have been enjoying this discussion and thank everyone for their input.  Currently just put my 5th AG batch to ferment, an oatmeal stout that has 9 different grains in the bill.  Also have been reading Tess and Mark Szamatulski's Clone Brews where I find many beers made with a primary grain and only one other specialty grain which I find very curious.  Keeping the bill simple but producing very different beers.  So I think my next beer will be a SMaSH just for the education of malt and hop flavors.  Anyone have a good starter SMaSH for someone who is new to the AG brewing?  I have done a scottish ale, porter and a cream ale from my own recipes which turned out fine from my biased opinion but also all liked by my wife, neighbors and co-workers.  Just bottled a pale ale so I have to wait and see how it did.