Messages

496

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What's Brewing This Weekend - 3/23 Edition

« on: March 21, 2012, 10:12:42 am »

Making a Mild with 2/3 munich malt.

Probably bottling my Honey Brown Porter as well...

Oh, and taste testing my Altbier, now that it has been in bottles for about 3 weeks.

497

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: A simple, Kosher alternative to gelatin

« on: March 20, 2012, 05:57:23 pm »

I have never found fining necessary with a stout.

+1

If you can see through an oatmeal stout, you are doing it wrong. I'm not sure fining should matter with that style. I only use any finings on my light beers, and then its just irish moss and time.

498

Going Pro / Re: Another view about commercial Nano brewing.

« on: March 20, 2012, 02:03:21 pm »

I came across these guys the other day: http://www.crookedstave.com/

Looks like they're trying to do pretty much what I was describing. Who knows if it'll work out for them.

I don't know how successful he is money wise, but he makes a mean saison. I picked up a bottle when I was in Colorado, and it was tasty.

499

The Pub / Re: Colt To Bronco.

« on: March 20, 2012, 12:59:06 pm »

Winning.

500

Ingredients / Re: Please critique this American coffee stout

« on: March 20, 2012, 12:56:28 pm »

I am also in the camp that Hop flavor and Coffee flavor don't seem to go too well together. However, Naked City up in Seattle does a coffee IPA, and I have heard its excellent. In my coffee Stouts/Porters, I usually keep the Hopping to a minimum, opting for an oz or so of a high alpha variety at 60 minutes. I pour a shot of espresso into each bottle to add the coffee flavor, though I am thinking of doing 2-4 cups of cold steeped coffee in my next batch...

Coffee IPA, very interesting...that's either really effin' good or horrible. 
A shot of espresso is each bottle? Damn, that's a lot!

Naked City is known for doing some really crazy things. The next time I go, the coffee IPA is on the list to try. They were out when I was there last. I did have a Cascadian Red that was fermented with a Belgian yeast, and it tasted like I was sucking on a bubblegum jolly rancher. I was less than a huge fan of that beer.

I have found that 1 shot of espresso + 21 oz of beer gives me just enough coffee flavor and bitterness that I know I am drinking a coffee porter, but not enough that the coffee is bashing me over the head. As I said, I might try a couple cups of cold brewed coffee in my next coffee porter or stout.

501

Beer Recipes / Munich Mild

« on: March 20, 2012, 12:12:29 pm »

So I know this is totally out of style, but I want to do a mild this weekend. I need a new session beer, because my ordinary bitter is almost gone, and my wife wants me to do some sweeter, darker beers. In the last couple beers I made, I used munich malt, and I love the color and maltiness that it gives a beer, with out the sweetness that I get from crystal. So putting this all together, I was thinking about doing a mild with a munich base. This is kind of the basis of where I am starting. I haven't done any preparation yet, so I am up for all sorts of changes.


6lb Light Munich
2lb Pale 2 row
8oz Pale chocolate
4 oz Crystal 80
4 oz wheat

shooting for 1.045 OG

Hops:
.5 oz Magnum (13.1 AA) - 60 mins
1 oz EKG (4.5 AA) - 15 mins

Thinking of using WY1968 or 1469

Again, any suggestions would be appreciated!

502

Ingredients / Re: Please critique this American coffee stout

« on: March 20, 2012, 11:58:58 am »

I am also in the camp that Hop flavor and Coffee flavor don't seem to go too well together. However, Naked City up in Seattle does a coffee IPA, and I have heard its excellent. In my coffee Stouts/Porters, I usually keep the Hopping to a minimum, opting for an oz or so of a high alpha variety at 60 minutes. I pour a shot of espresso into each bottle to add the coffee flavor, though I am thinking of doing 2-4 cups of cold steeped coffee in my next batch...

503

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Possibly the worst homebrewing article ever

« on: March 20, 2012, 10:18:32 am »

Based on a real quick examination of the page, why do I get the feeling that the blogger who wrote that article is the same person as the one who runs the brewery facebook page?

504

All Grain Brewing / Re: Preheated MLT strike water calcs

« on: March 19, 2012, 01:00:14 pm »

I usually calculate my mash temperature (using Brewzor on my phone) and then heat the strike water about 5 degrees warmer. I dump the water in, stir it, and I am always pretty close to what my strike water is supposed to be. Once it gets down to that temperature, I add my grain and mash as usual.

IMO, its easier to take heat away than add heat, so I prefer to have my strike water a couple degrees hot.

505

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Just tasted my very first brew. Could use some thoughts.

« on: March 19, 2012, 12:27:53 pm »

PBW = Powdered Brewery Wash

Its great for cleaning stuff. I use it on carboys, brewpots, and all my small accessories. Just let it soak for a couple hours, pour out, wipe down, and done. I have heard oxyclean works as well. It is made by the same people who make star-san, which is a great no-rinse sanitizer that I also use.

506

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Just tasted my very first brew. Could use some thoughts.

« on: March 16, 2012, 11:46:33 am »

A similar thing happened to me not too long ago.  While it may well be young beer or that the style is too hoppy for your tastes, I would point to the PBW.  The stuff is MAGIC in taking off labels.  However, there is not sufficient water flow that makes it into the bottle in the dishwasher to rinse out the PBW residue.  I learned this the hard way.  I bottled two batches of beer in PBW-contaminated bottles, and they all have a coarse bittnerness (which is different from a hop bitterness) that will never go away.  It's due the caustic chemicals and just won't age.  Incredibly frustrating.

Next time, rinse the bottles 3-5 times (at least) in hot running water after taking the labels off.  Then maybe give them a soak in a pot full of fresh water just for good measure.

An alternate theory is that you squeezed your grain bag and potentially introduced dusty husk material into the beer that made it astringent. 

I vote for PBW in the bottles. 

I haven't heard of this, but it makes some sense.

On my back porch, I have a large 35 gallon plastic storage container that I put about a half cup of cheap bleach in. I fill it up with the overflow from my wort chiller, and just soak bottles in there until I remember to pull them out. Quick rinse with tap water, and they get thrown into an oven, 350 for 15 minutes, turn off the oven, and an hour later I bottle. I have never had any issues with chlorophenols or any other off flavors since I started this schedule. I got the idea out of Charlie Papazian's book.

507

Other Fermentables / Re: Acid in cider

« on: March 15, 2012, 10:27:33 am »

The other thing is that in most traditional ciders, about 4-6 months after fermentation is complete, there is a secondary malo-lactic fermentation, where malic acid is converted to lactic acid. lactic acid is said to be a smoother tartness, and not quite as harsh as malic acid.

Just my 2 cents.

508

All Things Food / Re: Tony’s Anchor Steam Corned Beef

« on: March 15, 2012, 10:20:50 am »

Does anyone have a time machine? There isn't 6 days between now and Saturday...

Maybe I will do a late St Patrick's day...

509

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Just tasted my very first brew. Could use some thoughts.

« on: March 14, 2012, 04:11:50 pm »

My next problem is collecting enough bottles to keep brewing while these have time to age. Where to keep them all? 

If you have a Costco membership or know someone with one they sell their own craft beer, 4 different 6 packs for $18. I bought those, drank them, then removed the labels. The beer is pretty good, especially for less than $1 per beer.

Another idea is to go to a local specialty beer shop which serves on-premises. Tell them you are a homebrewer, and ask them if you can take some bottles off of their hands. I have gotten bottles and boxes more than a few times this way.

Dumpster diving can also work, if you are in an area where lots of craft brew is consumed.

510

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Just tasted my very first brew. Could use some thoughts.

« on: March 14, 2012, 12:07:56 pm »

So,

Others on this forum are WAY more experienced than I, so if they give opposite advice, take theirs over mine.

Couple of things I noticed:

1) Never pitch at 80. Most people on this forum recommend pitching at 60, and then letting it rise naturally to 62-65 for fermenting, and no one recommends letting it get over 70 for the first few days of fermenting. That temperature will give you some serious esters and fusel alcohols, which could be part of the issues you are tasting, but I wouldn't describe it as bitter.

2) Over-bittering. The biggest thing I think that may have caused it to be over bittered for your taste, is that you took a long time cooling your wort. If I remember right, above 170* F, Alpha acids (bittering compounds) will still be isomerized and dissolved in wort. If it took as long as you are saying, that may have been your issue. However, in most of my pale ales and IPAs, I use a minimum of 2-3 oz of hops, and if I am looking at something really hoppy, most people are looking at 6-10 oz for a 5 gallon batch. In my Honey Brown Porter (Not a hoppy or bitter beer, only about 34 IBU) I use a full oz of Magnum for the full 60min boil.

3) My recommendation is to go buy How to Brew by John Palmer and/or The complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian. Both of these will give you an overview of how beer works, and a lot of the basic science behind it. It should help you understand your beer a bit better, and help you with more pointed questions for the forum.

4) Keep drinking beer and asking questions, we are always happy to help new people into the obsession.