Messages

1036

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Krausen

« on: July 16, 2012, 04:45:01 pm »

yeah, that Krausen is not going anywhere.  I'm guessing that the fermentation is done.  I was wondering if dry hopping on all that krausen would effect the ability of the hop oils to dissolve/do their thing.

You using cones or pellets? Pellets should drop right in. Cones may sit on top for a bit, but eventually they'll sink through/absorb the krausen.

1037

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: President and First Lady are brewing in the white house

« on: July 16, 2012, 03:05:02 pm »

Politics aside, any positive exposure for the obsession, especially on such a big level is great IMHO

1038

The Pub / Re: song title game

« on: July 16, 2012, 07:58:36 am »

Black Metal - Venom

1039

Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: Rochefort 8

« on: July 15, 2012, 08:30:13 pm »

It's from (arguably) the best craft-brew store in the state, so I'd like to think that handling at the store isn't an issue. Plus I had a Rochefort 10 the night after from the same trip and it was just fine.

1040

All Things Food / Re: What's For Dinner?

« on: July 15, 2012, 08:26:54 pm »

As far as grilled pizza goes, I am by no means an expert but I've started to get comfortable with it over the past year. I usually roll out the dough, let it rest a few minutes, then roll it out again. No hand-tossing/stretching for me; I'm just not that skilled in the dough department. I don't necessarily need the dough to be paper-thin, but it can't be Chicago-deep. I cook one side just until it sets up, flip it, then top it. My favorite is actually just doing cinnamon-sugar on top - sort of like a grilled doughboy.

In other news - I cooked my first meal of the summer using ingredients out of my garden. Kitchen sink tacos - chourizo seitan with roasted anaheims, unroasted jalapenos and lime basil from the garden. Plus some local garlic and grilled corn. The sauce was some taco sauce I had laying around in the fridge thinned out with some homebrew IPA. It's what I call a "conversation starter lunch" when I bring the leftovers to work.

1041

The Pub / Re: "Homebrewers" (insert eyeroll)

« on: July 15, 2012, 07:54:55 pm »

Now that I have enough brews under my belt to feel like I'm pretty comfortable with certain styles of beer, I often have beers that are completely not my taste or seem like something's off. Usually I can place my finger on it (i.e., too much crystal malt in pale ales). Sometimes I can't quite nail it down (i.e., something's going on with the yeast/fermentation).

Even if I don't like a beer, I think it's absurd to bust a guy's balls about it. Obviously he knows how to make beer that people enjoy or else he won't be in business long. I usually take it as an opportunity to talk shop with the brewer. If there's something I don't like in a beer, I generally ask as much detail about it without letting on that I'm not a fan. This way I'll learn exactly what not to do in my own brews.

Either way, no need to be a prick about things regardless of what side of the bar you're on.

1042

Other Fermentables / Re: Melomel - low OG

« on: July 15, 2012, 10:53:02 am »

I just racked this over to secondary. Wow - this yeast is a beast! It went from 1.120 down to 1.002

I obviously need to sweeten this quite a bit. To calculate the amount of honey to add, is it as simple as this?

(desired gravity point increase) * (total volume) / (PPG)

Or is there another factor to consider? Also, do I just warm the honey I'm adding, or do I need to mix it in water first?

I'm thinking of adding enough honey for about 15 gravity points, waiting a couple days to make sure I don't get any more fermentation (which would blow my mind since the mead's already at 15.7% ABV), then giving it a taste to see if it needs any more sweetness or acidity at that point.

1043

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: bu:gu help

« on: July 15, 2012, 05:58:54 am »

I just find using a bu:gu ratio is a better way to get in the right ballpark for bitterness when I'm formulating a recipe. This way if you're brewing a beer that's either small or big for a particular style you keep in the right ballpark for bitterness.

One thing with IIPA's is that they generally end up bone dry and are so highly hopped that the hops end up filling out the mouthfeel a bit. If you use a real low hopping rate for the style like you are,  then you may want to add some carapils or flaked barley to make sure it doesn't end up too thin.

1044

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Confused by koelsch/weizen/alt/lager yeast byproducts

« on: July 14, 2012, 10:56:59 am »

Did he mention what temp he fermented them all at? That's an interesting finding, but unless they were each fermented in their normal temp range, those results may not extrapolate well to everyday use.

1045

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Krausen

« on: July 14, 2012, 10:53:15 am »

Any reason why you're racking to secondary? I'd just dry hop in the primary unless you're planning on reusing the yeast. If you're absolutely set on a timetable, you can add the dry hops in the primary before the krausen falls. I've done this and the beer has been fine. I wouldn't rack to secondary if the primary fermentation is still chugging along, though.

If you're not on a strict timetable, I'd just be patient and let the yeast tell you when they're done.

1046

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Spent Coconut/ Fruit

« on: July 14, 2012, 10:48:07 am »

Compost. Although I'm curious is there is any other possible use for it that someone has discovered.

1047

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: sake yeast in beer

« on: July 13, 2012, 07:52:55 pm »

Let us know how this works. I don't know if I'd make beer with it myself, but cider season is just around the corner and my interest is piqued.

1048

Beer Recipes / Re: Fruit beer base

« on: July 13, 2012, 11:49:45 am »

For my tastes, I'd do an apricot APA with the Cascades, but that's the hop junkie in me talking. Aprikolsch sounds tasty too.

1049

Beer Recipes / Re: Belgian Barleywine

« on: July 13, 2012, 11:02:22 am »

Thanks for the info. I think I'm going to stop by the LHBS and grab 1/4lb of either Special B or some English Dark Crystal.

My other thought is that the Abbey yeast is going to give you a beer that is more BDS with some English character.

To clarify a bit, I'm looking for the phenols/esters/flavors from the Belgian yeast and Candi Syrup, but the body/sweetness and sherry-like components of an English Barleywine. The only part of the Abbey yeast that scares me is that it might dry things out a bit too much for me. Hopefully by adding some crystal malt and maybe bumping the mash temp a few degrees will keep some sweetness.

1050

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What's Brewing This Weekend - 7/13 Edition

« on: July 13, 2012, 10:30:35 am »

Brewing Hoptoberfest on Wednesday. A lot of firsts for me - first starter, first lager and first all-grain. Still have to tweak my swamp cooler fermentation rig a bit. Gave it a trial run last night, and the fermometer on my carboy was still reading 47F this morning (11 hours later). But I'd say that running a bit cold on the first run is a good problem to have - this means I should be able to pitch in the 40's and let it rise. I'm pretty sure I can get it to hold at 50F, I just need a bit of practice.