Messages

181

The Pub / Re: Met John Palmer This Morning

« on: April 22, 2012, 11:30:42 pm »

 Denny who?

182

The Pub / Re: How long before there are no spelling or grammar rules?

« on: April 19, 2012, 09:11:05 am »

Without gesture, volume, modulation and the other audio/visual signals that help us interpret intent, language and syntax become more important not less.

Tapping keys is really a s***ty way of communicating..........I cut people some slack for taking shortcuts, but sometimes it's annoying.  Particularly when a misunderstanding occurs as a result.

183

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Any suggestion on scales?

« on: April 18, 2012, 08:57:28 pm »

Have purchased several scales from this company. Very happy with the My Weight products.
I have a larger one for pounds and a small one for grams. They are used hard in the kitchen
and the brew area and perform well.

http://www.oldwillknottscales.com/buy-my-weigh-scales.html

184

Beer Travel / Re: London pub crawls

« on: April 14, 2012, 10:08:28 pm »

I'm married to a Brit, so over the years we've been there a number of times. I remember most fondly one trip where I wanted to drink beer at the Wensleydale Heifer to commemorate my love of James Harriot's wonderful books. We went off to Yorkshire Dales where I understood but about 15% of the dialect.
Beers + Language Confusion = snot ripping, side gripping laughter. I was carrying on a conversation with a local about stilts. He was carrying on a conversation with me about stoats and we never did make sense of a word that was exchanged.

In a small pub way out country I hopped up on the bar stool, ordered a pint of best bitter...the publican was sure I meant a half pint. I insisted I meant a pint. He raised his brows detectably, then pulled  me a pint. When that was finished, I ordered another. His brows raised slightly more detectably. I finished my second lovely pint, hopped off my bar stool and fell flat on my back. I got up, dusted myself off, gave him a sheepish grin and headed back to my hotel.

185

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: First brew

« on: April 14, 2012, 09:48:12 pm »

So i started out doing lots of research and buying several books before I started. I picked up a starter kit and an American Pale Ale from my local brew shop. On brew day, I brought 3.5 gallons of water to 150 degrees and placed the grain bag in for 30 minutes.
   Turned off the heat and added the malt extract, then brought to a boil. I added the bittering hops and had a boil over...I will be better prepared next time for this. The rest of the boil went without a problem adding the aroma and finishing hops at the prescribed times.
   I used an ice bath to cool down the wort and when it showed 75 degrees I poured it into the fermenter along with 2 more gallons of water. The OG at this point was right on at 1.055 The temp at this point was around 70  degrees so i pitched the yeast. I added the stopper and placed it in the basement where it came down to 66 degrees and stayed there for the duration. The only issue I had during this time was the bubbles only lasted a few days then stopped. I kept it in the fermenter for 14 days then took a gravity reading. It was at 1.013. I let it sit another couple of days and checked the gravity again and it still was at 1.013.
  I then attempted to bottle at this point. My issues came when trying to siphon. For some reason I just had a hard time getting it started...I finally figured it out but I was worried I had allowed to much splashing. Not much I could do at this point so I finished bottling.

   Beer has been in about 10 days so I opened my first bottle and was pleasantly surprised at the flavor. I had tasted it when bottling and it was pretty bitter, but had mellowed out alot during the brief time in the bottles. The color was nice with a good head on it. I am looking forward to my next batch without the mistakes I had made the first time.

Any hints or tips you guys might have would be appreciated.

\o//o\/o\\o/ Happy Dance....another baby brewer is born!!!!!! Way to go Deaner.

186

All Things Food / Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread

« on: April 14, 2012, 09:00:53 pm »

No zucchini?  Man, zucchini on the grill is one of my favorite things to eat.

Yeah, we love zukes.  Grilled is awesome, but I even like to grate it and mix it in with taco meat.

Going to be growing Zukes for the first time this year. Anyone have any tips? Do they grow like cucumbers or do they sprawl out further like winter squash? Do tomato cages work well for them? Don't know the exact variety of seeds I have, but it's one of the typical straight green varieties from Burpee.

If you make the mistake of planting too many Zuc's like we did, you can sneak over to your neighbor's at night and just leave them on the doorstep. Or......pick the blossoms and stuff them.....Or......dip the blossoms in batter and deep fry them. They are delicious. Picking the blossoms and eating them this way is not only a decadent gourmet delight, but it keeps you from having too many fruits mature.

187

All Things Food / Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread

« on: April 14, 2012, 08:56:23 pm »

I got onions (white and red), leeks and mustard greens in. My tomatoes are nearly ready to transplant into the ground.

Will triple the size of my growing area this week. Will also have 6 yards of garden soil delivered on Thursday.

Then it will be chiles and cucumbers. Might try some zucchini squash.

Cheaper to buy beans than grow them. Pics will follow.

Not cheaper to buy beans if you love the tiny French filet variety like we do. Blanched al dente and dressed with some shallot, balsamic vinaigrette while still warm...mm, mmm, mmm. So wonderful on a salad plate.

188

All Grain Brewing / Re: 10% Malted Wheat

« on: April 14, 2012, 01:44:04 pm »

Contemplating a recipe here. Haven't used malted wheat in anything for donkey's years. Am I going to want/need rice hulls, or at 10% will I most likely get away without a stuck run off.

Unless you have a seriously screwed up mashing system ( and knowing you I doubt it) 10% wheat shouldn't be a problem at all.

If you're worried, you can condition your malt before milling. I do this anyway for all my mashes, but I'm kinda weird.

I'm not worried now that I have a pragmatic answer, but thank you for responding.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

189

All Grain Brewing / Re: 10% Malted Wheat

« on: April 14, 2012, 11:59:48 am »

Thanks Denny. That's the answer I was looking for....usually stock everything I need for brewing what ever whenever, but I've never needed rice hulls, so I don't keep them around. (Yeah....like why would I have a container of wheat malt????but no rice hulls???)

Disfunctional x-scout. My motto: Almost be prepared!

190

All Grain Brewing / 10% Malted Wheat

« on: April 14, 2012, 10:42:30 am »

Contemplating a recipe here. Haven't used malted wheat in anything for donkey's years. Am I going to want/need rice hulls, or at 10% will I most likely get away without a stuck run off.

191

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Near-perfect Brew Day

« on: April 14, 2012, 10:30:38 am »

I only say near-perfect because i don't want to jinx my next session.

Had some friends over on thursday to help me brew because they were interested in the process and may want to start homebrewing themselves. Everything went smoothly and they had a blast. I let them add the grains, stir the mash, vorlauf, etc etc while I instructed them during the whole process, they even helped me clean up!

We spent the whole day brewing, eating bbq, drinking beers and laughing while the kids played in the yard. Such a great day!

btw, the SNPA Clone we brewed is bubbling away and smells great!

I highly recommend having people over to help you brew, it made my brew day just that much better.

Tony

Even if the beer sucks that would still be a perfect brew day in my books. Hangin with people interested in homebrewing is always a perfect day!

192

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Boiling in an erlenmeyer flask

« on: April 14, 2012, 10:20:43 am »

Boiling in the flask works great for me and then no need to transfer to sanitize the flask or transfer to it after cooling.  Less steps.  Then again I use fermcap in every starter.

+1

193

All Grain Brewing / Re: Problems with Single Decoction mash

« on: April 09, 2012, 12:29:24 pm »

Hmmmmm. I'm going to try that.

I'd be interested to hear your feedback on that. I have a Helles planned that I'm going to try it on. Probably won't be for a couple/few weeks though.

Depending on our weather, my lager brewing may be over until late fall. But if I can find some friendly cooler space, I'll have a go and keep you posted. I only have one keezer which i use for lagering in the cool months when i can leave the rest of my kegs sitting out in the cold garage.

194

All Grain Brewing / Re: Problems with Single Decoction mash

« on: April 09, 2012, 11:28:19 am »

I don't want to go quite that far.  Let's say "Don't be surprised if you don't get the effects you expect from a decoction".

This discussion has got me really interested in decoction mashing. I went back and listened to Kai's interview on Basic Brewing. Kai said that decoction mashing can draw out tannins. In something like a Marzen the tannins might give the beer some nice structure. In a light lager like a pilsner, you wouldn't want excess tannin extraction.

It seems to me that instead of triple decoction, pilsner-type beers would actually be better suited to no-sparge single infusion. Is that crazy? Does anyone brew their light beers like that?

Hmmmmm. I'm going to try that.

195

All Grain Brewing / Re: Metal rod for measuring volume

« on: April 09, 2012, 11:14:15 am »

Luv, luv, luv my sight glasses. No more measuring into or out of the HLT.  Instantly know what's in the kettle and
if my calculations and or evaporation rates are right. Can't believe it took me so long to appreciate the value
of knowing where my volume is at ALL times.