Messages

856

All Grain Brewing / Re: Fauxpils results and discussion

« on: August 06, 2012, 07:08:58 AM »

Kai pointed out that the perceived difference in bitterness may have been due to reduced hot break in the kettle for 3X. The wort for 3X was noticeably clearer running into the kettle, so there may have been less hot break to bind the hop acids.

This is interesting. I wonder if this means a triple decoction is worthwhile for a massive IIPA.

857

The Pub / Re: song title game

« on: August 05, 2012, 08:06:51 PM »

How Blue can you get - BB King

Suite: Judy Blue Eyes - CSN&Y

858

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Pitching rate

« on: August 05, 2012, 06:32:02 PM »

I hate to kick up the old "rehydrate vs. sprinkle" debate, but you should be fine with 1 pack even if you don't rehydrate. A lot of the side-by-side comparisons I've seen are fairly ambiguous over which method results in a better tasting beer. In my limited experience with beers similar to the one you're planning on brewing, sprinkling 1 pack of dry yeast has given me clean, tasty beer with no off-flavors.

859

The Pub / Re: How to introduce a girl to brewing...

« on: August 04, 2012, 06:49:56 PM »

I guess if you are going to introduce a girl to brewing this is a good time to examine whether to or not to wear pants. Sorry. I don't have an answer. It's a conundrum wrapped in an enigma.

I think the "no pants" rule applies to the ladies as well

The "mandatory beard" rule does not, however.

860

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

« on: August 04, 2012, 12:00:38 PM »

I've got so many pineapples ripening now that I can't keep up with them. I'd give them to friends, but everybody has lots from their own gardens.  Kinda like citrus season was back in Florida.

Been making pineapple candy by drying pineapple pieces in the dehydrator.  Yum!

Gonna juice up several gallons and make some spike.

I have determined that I would die in a diabetic coma my first pineapple season if I ever lived in Hawai'i. I would just end up drinking pineapple juice instead of water all day long...

861

Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: Saison Dupont

« on: August 04, 2012, 11:58:11 AM »

I've seen a couple bars around here (Colorado) sell Dupont in a 12-oz bottle that's brown.  So maybe Dupont has finally figured out that their beer tastes better minus the skunk?  We can only hope they'll follow suit with their 750 mL bottles.

I'd love to see that. I've seen some 375's (splits) in my area, but they're green too

862

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What makes it "Belgian"?

« on: August 04, 2012, 09:55:49 AM »

So back to Tom's comment, I don't think I want to try a hoppy IPA with Belgian yeast.  I don't think it will be as good as with American yeast. 

I highly recommend you try a hoppy IPA with Belgian yeast - a commercial version or someone else's homebrew.

However, I recommend you don't brew 5+ gallons of it until you've at least tried it first.

863

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What makes it "Belgian"?

« on: August 04, 2012, 06:43:40 AM »

When Papa Roach steals a lick from Iron Maiden, I call it derivative because I don't like Papa Roach and I'm not a fan of how it's being used.

When Ace Frehley steals an entire solo from the Doors, I call it creative because I'm a huge Kiss fan and I like it in the new context.

There is obviously some semantics going on with the word "creative" here, but a lot of this is perspective as well.

While Black/Red/Belgian/Rye/(insert prefix here) IPA's have been around long enough where I don't think you could call it "creative" at this point, they're still a crapton more "creative" than the standard "50-60 IBU of Cascade plus too much crystal malt" IPA that keeps getting put out left and right.

864

The Pub / Re: How to introduce a girl to brewing...

« on: August 03, 2012, 08:49:07 PM »

Do you have lager capabilities? Tis the time for Octoberfest brewing. Different than a brown, but not way out in left field.

865

The Pub / Re: song title game

« on: August 03, 2012, 08:45:30 PM »

Blue Jay Way - The Beatles

866

All Grain Brewing / Re: Fauxpils results and discussion

« on: August 03, 2012, 01:28:45 PM »

Does anyone else think it's weird OG and FG were the same when 3X spent so much time at 158* and 5% was just a single rest at 149* with a mashout?

You know, I remember hearing Dr. Charlie Bamforth on one of the homebrew podcasts not too long ago make an off-the-cuff comment that alluded to mash temps not having as much of an effect as commonly thought. He didn't really go into any specifics IIRC. I hadn't gotten into all-grain at that point, so the comment kind of slipped by me, but I'm wondering if this is the type of result that he was referring to.

867

The Pub / Re: song title game

« on: August 03, 2012, 08:42:30 AM »

Heavy Fuel - Dire Straits

868

Ingredients / Re: Alpha Acid number variation

« on: August 03, 2012, 08:34:14 AM »

I can't say I recall making the mistake of not checking my hops, although I've made beer with hops of unknown AA%.

Any experience with hops of unknown AA% AND unknown variety?  Got an ounce as swag from a comp.

Use them as a flameout addition for an APA maybe?

869

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What makes it "Belgian"?

« on: August 02, 2012, 09:16:36 PM »

Yeah, generally it's as simple as using a Belgian yeast AFAIK. I haven't tried a Belgian stout, but the commercial Belgian IPA's I've tried have been really nice. The Duvel Tripel Hop is insanely good. While it's not a Belgian per se, the Schneider Hopfenweisse is along the same idea and is possibly the best beer I've had in the past year.

870

General Homebrew Discussion / RDWHAHB works once again

« on: August 02, 2012, 09:07:18 PM »

Last Thursday I brewed my first high-gravity beer - a Belgian Barleywine (cross between Koenigs Hoeven Dubbel and Thomas Hardy Ale) clocking in at 1.110 OG. I've heard so much about needing to be really careful with taking care of your fermentation for beers in this gravity range. I've had a few nailbiter moments this past week, but in each case I chose the RDWHAHB approach and it paid off.

Day 2 - my airlock is bubbling at a decent clip. Fermometer reads 68. Looks good to me. 8 hours later, airlock is going berzerk - fermometer reads 73. Crap! Way higher than I wanted to see. Should have expected this, but I didn't. RDWHAHB - rigged up a swamp cooler with several frozen water bottles.

Day 3 - 8 hours later - fermometer now reads 65. Now I'm starting to worry if I brought the temp down too fast and may end up stalling out the yeast. Airlock is still chugging along, albeit a bit slower.

Day 4 - Airlock activity has slowed way down. Starting to worry a bit more about the yeast. Rouse the fermenter and let it sit in the swamp cooler another day (but don't change the ice so the temp can creep up)

Day 5 - No airlock activity whatsoever. Dammit. RDWHAHB - rouse again and take the fermenter out of the swamp cooler.

Day 6 - Still no airlock activity. Crack the lid on the bucket and take a peek - no krausen whatsoever. Looks like a bucket of motor oil. Didn't have time to take a gravity reading, but I'm really thinking it's stuck at this point. Still, I RDWHAHB since this is a bucket and fermentation could still be creeping along without seeing much airlock activity.

Start thinking of contingency plans: Do I get a vial of WLP099 and get a starter going? I was going to reserve a gallon to pitch Brett into - do I just Brett the whole batch now? Do I need to put my Brew Belt on ASAP? Decide to RDWHAHB and reserve judgement until I get at least 1 gravity reading.

Day 7 (today) - The moment of truth. Various calculators are giving an estimated FG in the 1.024-1.028 range. I figure there's no way I'd get there from 1.110 with only 4 days or so of steady fermentation activity.

The sample reads: 1.029 - and the gravity sample is tasting damn good. The sweetness level is just fine as-is, so even if it doesn't drop another point I can live with it. Didn't pick up on any significant fusels either, so the early excursion to the mid-70's seems like no harm/no foul.

Lessons learned: A) RDWHAHB really works and B) WY1762 is a beast of a yeast