181
General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Apartment Home Brewing
« on: January 16, 2013, 12:20:34 pm »
I straddle my 10 gallon pot over two burners on one side of the stove - this has worked for me for years and three different apartments.
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182
General Homebrew Discussion / Re: My first firkin!
« on: January 15, 2013, 02:23:05 pm »
Very cool!
183
Classifieds / Re: FOR SALE: Hop Stopper
« on: January 15, 2013, 09:51:53 am »
I use one of these and it's EXCELLENT at filtering out all pellet hops. I did figure out that to keep the suction, and get the kettle to drain within 1/4 gallon, I had to tilt the screen & dip tube until the side of the screen hit the kettle floor.
Works great!
Works great!
184
All Grain Brewing / Re: Hockhurz Step Mash: Check my Process
« on: January 15, 2013, 07:27:08 am »
I also just did my first Hochkurz mash on a Munich Dunkel. I nearly forgot that I wanted to do it (old habits), got the strike water up to temp for a 154* mash in and then realized that I was forgetting something. A few adjustments later and I mashed in at 144.9*, held for 30ish minutes (forgot to set the timer), my heat stick worked beautifully and brought is up to 158.3* within 15 minutes, rested for 45', then brought it up to 168.7* for mash out.
I got great efficiency too: 88%.
Something I was reading on Kai's wiki got me wondering though (http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Starch_Conversion):
I would assume that most of us are doing 30 minute maltose rests... how much time would really be added on to increase fermentability?
I got great efficiency too: 88%.
Something I was reading on Kai's wiki got me wondering though (http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Starch_Conversion):
Quote
In multi step saccharification rests like the German Hochkurz mash, the fermentability is mostly controlled through the length of the maltose rest which is held at 60-64 C (140-148F).
I would assume that most of us are doing 30 minute maltose rests... how much time would really be added on to increase fermentability?
185
General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Dry Hopping in Primary...why not?
« on: January 15, 2013, 07:08:42 am »FWIW - I think the vegetal thing varies from person to person. What I perceive as pleasantly herbal/grassy/hoppy may seem vegetal/grassy to someone else.
Totally agree. I'm way more sensitive to some things than others.
186
General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Dry Hopping in Primary...why not?
« on: January 14, 2013, 12:00:38 pm »I've heard both these things as well, and that's why I've added my dry hops on the late side in the past. I'm definitely going to try moving to a 2-stage dry-hopping regimen when practical after reading Stan's book, in hopes of catching the best of both worlds.
How are you planning on doing this on a homebrew scale? Commercial brewers can dump out of the conical, but what about us with carboys and pellet hops? My brain is not functioning this Monday morning...
I'm probably not going to bother trying to remove my initial pellets. For example, my old way I would probably add 2-3 oz of pellets at day 10, then bottle at day 17. I'm probably going to try something more like 1.5 ounces at day 8, then another 1.5 ounces at day 12, then bottle day 15 or 16.
What temperature are you doing this at? The reason I ask is that I tend to get vegetal aromas/flavors when I dry hop for 7-8 days. I'm much better around 3-5 days.
187
General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Dry Hopping in Primary...why not?
« on: January 14, 2013, 10:42:50 am »Wow, interesting to hear about you guys trying dryhopping before fermentation is done.
I had thought that the "conventional" wisdom was that yeasties tie up and drag hoppy goodness down into the cake...to use the technical terms.
Let us know how your trials go.
I always thought it was best to wait until after fermentation was done so you did not lose all of the hop aroma out the airlock with the CO2.......
I've heard both these things as well, and that's why I've added my dry hops on the late side in the past. I'm definitely going to try moving to a 2-stage dry-hopping regimen when practical after reading Stan's book, in hopes of catching the best of both worlds.
How are you planning on doing this on a homebrew scale? Commercial brewers can dump out of the conical, but what about us with carboys and pellet hops? My brain is not functioning this Monday morning...
188
General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Dry Hopping in Primary...why not?
« on: January 14, 2013, 08:09:38 am »Wow, interesting to hear about you guys trying dryhopping before fermentation is done.
I had thought that the "conventional" wisdom was that yeasties tie up and drag hoppy goodness down into the cake...to use the technical terms
Let us know how your trials go.
If you read the Hops book, you'll know that there really is no 'conventional wisdom' when it comes to dry hopping. Everyone does it a bit differently and you'll have to work out what works for your system.
PS- Gotta love those technical terms!
189
Ingredients / Re: To Hop Stand or not to Hop Stand?
« on: January 11, 2013, 06:40:44 am »
So now the real question becomes, to dry hop in the primary after fermentation is done OR to dry hop in the keg?
I'm leaning towards dry hop in the keg.
I'm leaning towards dry hop in the keg.
190
Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Post a pic of your Pellicle!
« on: January 11, 2013, 06:38:29 am »A few updates from my gueuze blending right before New Year's:
December 29, 2012 - Lambic Collection. Left to right: 2011, 2012a, 2012b, and the remaining 2010.
Are your lambics really as dark as they look in those pics? I haven't seen mine get that dark even after two years of aging and using red wheat.
Full disclaimer: I'm an extract lambic brewer, so my lambics are a tad bit darker than others.
That being said, that picture is a crappy camera phone picture and it is ~ 8-10 SRM darker than reality. Also, once bottled, all of the lambics and blended gueuze came out to be roughly the same color, a nice copper (probably around 12-17 SRM if I had to guess). Tell me if that makes any sense!
191
General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Soapy off flavor
« on: January 11, 2013, 06:17:28 am »
I'm here for the results - I've had this in competitions, but besides autolysis, I haven't had a good answer. I would love to have a better one.
192
General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Dry Hopping in a corny keg
« on: January 10, 2013, 11:09:47 am »Nylon stockings should work well without letting any hop debris through.
Excellent!
at least you have the benefit of not getting funny looks when going to the store to buy them
BTW, if using pellets to dryhop, I find the nylon 'socks' for paint sprayer pickup tubess are the perfect size and can be reused multiple times. :
http://www.dropclothsplus.com/pump-strainer-w-drawstring-2pk-lg/
I have found them much cheaper at SherwinWilliams, FYI
Even better. I only have pellets (storage space limits my hop hoard otherwise) and these seem like they might last a bit longer than a pair of knee-highs.
193
Equipment and Software / Re: Removing keg lube?
« on: January 09, 2013, 11:32:06 am »I use olive oil in very small amounts. Works fabulous.
I like this and may steal it if my tiny stash of keg lube ever runs out. (It was a hand-me-down from another brewer and hasn't run out in 8 years. Ridiculous!)
194
Equipment and Software / Re: best bottling equipment
« on: January 09, 2013, 11:29:58 am »I think the vinator, in combination with a bottle tree, is the easiest and fastest way to sanitize a run of bottles.+1 The vinator is so much better than soaking/dunking the bottles. Mine doesn't fit on my bottle tree, but I consider that secondary.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/vinator-bottle-rinser.html
I also spritz the tree down with Starsan as a precaution.
I'm a tree spritzer too!
195
Ingredients / Re: To Hop Stand or not to Hop Stand?
« on: January 09, 2013, 08:03:45 am »You can also reduce the temp to 80 C (~180F) for the hop stand. That will limit isomerization and DMS production.
That's what I do.
Kai
Ooo. I like this. Might even have to break out the old immersion chiller for the occasion.
If you've got a plate chiller, just circulate the hot wort through until the kettle is <180F, then cut the cooling , add hops, and start the whirlpool. Let stand 20-30 min or as long as it takes you to get the fermenter ready, then cool-in as usual.
This process mirrors a professional brewery. I only use the "Hop Stand" because I use an immersion chiller and have to whirlpool after cooling.
I've gone away from the typical knockout addition and use that portion of the charge in the Hop Stand.
I have a counterflow chiller set up where the wort drains (gravity, no pumps) from the kettle, to the CFC, then straight into the fermenter. Either way, the kettle I use is pretty wide (18-20" diameter), so I should get at least some heat loss if I decide that the IC is too much of a pain in my new apartment.