Messages

106

Ingredients / Re: honey malt

« on: February 11, 2013, 09:38:41 am »

My experience is just what the name implies. It adds a sweetness and honey flavor that you would hope to get by using actual honey. For flavor purposes, honey malt is much more useful than honey in my opinion. I think crystal malt for caramel and honey for honey

107

All Grain Brewing / Re: 100% munich

« on: February 09, 2013, 12:37:49 pm »

Tasting my first 100% munich APA.

What brand/color of Münich?

Weyermann Munich I

108

Ingredients / Re: All Zythos APA or IPA

« on: February 08, 2013, 03:41:28 pm »

I just finished botting my all Zythos APA so I thought I would post my impressions up to this point. Definitely no garlic like I sensed after brewing which is good. The aroma is pretty subtle though pleasant. I get pear, kiwi, and perhaps some other tropical fruit that I cannot put my finger on. The taste is similar and I get some similarities to Columbus with pungent bitterness. For having an OG of 1.060 and 37.5 IBUs it packs a lot more punch than I was expecting. The description for Zythos that I have is citrus-grapefruit which I don't taste or smell.

At this point, am getting a lot of similarity to Lagunitas hop profile. I definitely like this blend and will be using it again but probably not by itself. It is a very different character than I am used to in brews. I would use Zythos for bittering in an IPA but not necessarily an APA as it is more pungent than expected. Next time, I might bitter with Magnum then use a combo of Zythos and something else for flavor/aroma.

B+

Disregard these notes. The 100% munich malt bill has completely overtaken this beer. All the earlier impressions I had of Zythos have all but disappeared. Bummer...

109

All Grain Brewing / 100% munich

« on: February 08, 2013, 03:38:13 pm »

Tasting my first 100% munich APA. I had no idea that it would turn out this malty. The malty aroma completely masks the hop aroma, dry hop additions and the hop bitterness is an afterthought. If I try this again, I will definitely need to push the IBU:OG way up to overcome the maltiness. Tastes like a slightly bitter german beer of some type...

I think my next one grain attempt will be 100% Vienna. I brewed this beer in attempt to showcase Zythos and get a feel for that hop blend but I can kiss that idea goodbye. The beer still needs quite a bit of bottle conditioning but I can't imagine it will completely change from what it is now. Oh well, you live and you learn. I can use this moving forward...

110

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Hop Addition Question

« on: February 07, 2013, 02:50:58 pm »

You will get much more extraction thus higher IBUs for a full boil when compared to a partial boil. I would use less but its hard to say how much.

Have you tried to run the recipe through a calculator using both different volume levels to see what the corresponding IBUs would be?

111

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Paint Strainer

« on: February 05, 2013, 05:24:14 pm »

Don't worry about straining unless you're a commercial brewer. The trub will settle out and you can leave it behind in the fermentor. At least that's what I do.

I hear you but I repitch quite a bit and try to keep my yeast as trub free as possible.

I do the same regarding the yeast. I use the paint straining bags and they work pretty well except when there is a ton of hops. The bag gets clogged and retains a ton of wort so you have to work it from side to side in order to filter it through. Takes some patience and time but works pretty well.

When bottling a dry hopped beer, I also use the paint strainer bag in the bottling bucket to get suspended hops that have not settled out.

112

Ingredients / Re: Meridian Hops

« on: February 05, 2013, 02:52:15 pm »

I personally like at least 10% crystal in my pales and especially in my IPAs. I don't think your amounts are too high but like the others said, do what you think you will like.

113

Ingredients / Re: All Zythos APA or IPA

« on: February 04, 2013, 02:54:12 pm »

I just finished botting my all Zythos APA so I thought I would post my impressions up to this point. Definitely no garlic like I sensed after brewing which is good. The aroma is pretty subtle though pleasant. I get pear, kiwi, and perhaps some other tropical fruit that I cannot put my finger on. The taste is similar and I get some similarities to Columbus with pungent bitterness. For having an OG of 1.060 and 37.5 IBUs it packs a lot more punch than I was expecting. The description for Zythos that I have is citrus-grapefruit which I don't taste or smell.

At this point, am getting a lot of similarity to Lagunitas hop profile. I definitely like this blend and will be using it again but probably not by itself. It is a very different character than I am used to in brews. I would use Zythos for bittering in an IPA but not necessarily an APA as it is more pungent than expected. Next time, I might bitter with Magnum then use a combo of Zythos and something else for flavor/aroma.

B+

114

Beer Recipes / Re: basic blonde ale

« on: February 04, 2013, 09:04:26 am »

Honey flavor and sweetness

I've not used that, anyone else?  A data-point is that I've had good results when pouring honey into the wort when the boil is done.  Chill to 180, mix it in, continue chilling.

That will work fine but the honey is all fructose and glucose.  It will ferment out completely, might add flavor but shouldn't add sweetness at all.

In my experience, honey malt works better than honey for imparting actual flavor and sweetness. 5% seems to be the perfect amount for me to get a nice influence that is not overpowering whatsoever.

115

Beer Recipes / Re: basic blonde ale

« on: February 02, 2013, 06:29:19 pm »

I know don't want it too dry, but 15% crystal malt in something this delicate seems like it would be overpowering to me. I'd cut both in half.

Good point. I always forget that honey malt is more or less crystal. I might leave the honey where it is and decrease the carapils...say 5% honey, 5% carapils? I know that isn't half...

I'm using 2% - 3% carapil.  I get the effect I'm wanting and don't see a need to use more, unless wanting a crazy silky IPA.  I target roughly a half pound per 5 gallon recipe and scale/adjust as needed.

What are you looking for regarding the Honey malt?

Honey flavor and sweetness

116

Ingredients / Re: citrus juice

« on: February 01, 2013, 05:25:11 pm »

Thanks All. I am definitely planning on using the zest with 5 mins remaining but thought about throwing in some juice as well. Sounds like I should just stick with the zest.

117

Ingredients / citrus juice

« on: February 01, 2013, 04:49:56 pm »

Hey All. Are there any concerns when adding juice from oranges, lemons, limes, etc near the end of the boil? I am not sure if the acidity would mess anything up during the fermentation or with the finished beer.

118

Beer Recipes / Re: basic blonde ale

« on: February 01, 2013, 02:38:31 pm »

I know don't want it too dry, but 15% crystal malt in something this delicate seems like it would be overpowering to me. I'd cut both in half.

Good point. I always forget that honey malt is more or less crystal. I might leave the honey where it is and decrease the carapils...say 5% honey, 5% carapils? I know that isn't half...

119

Beer Recipes / basic blonde ale

« on: February 01, 2013, 01:48:17 pm »

Hey Guys. I am looking for some basic direction on a simple blonde recipe. I am going for something crisp but with some sweetness. I am not sure yet but I will probably be adding zest, lemongrass, or something at the end of the boil to make it a bit more interesting. Any feedback?

85% two row
10% carapils
5% honey malt

14 g Centennial 60 min
14 g Centennial 10 min

OG 1.048
IBUs 22
US05 yeast

120

Beer Recipes / Re: Belgian IPA Critique Please

« on: January 31, 2013, 10:57:44 am »

Can you post your final recipe? I am interested to see how it ended up.