Messages

121

Ingredients / NZ hop varieties?

« on: October 01, 2012, 06:34:24 pm »

Here's a good guide from hop union

http://www.countrymaltgroup.com/downloads/zythos.pdf

I personally don't care for Nelson sauvin, I feel like they impart a weird vinous, tart, almost astringent character.  My buddy did a saison with them exclusively and I thought he had a process flaw.  Bought a sixer of anchor humming, and found out that my buddys process was just fine.  I do like Galaxy quite a bit though.

122

General Homebrew Discussion / Cramming for a BJCP Tasting Exam

« on: October 01, 2012, 02:33:46 pm »

You should organize a comp!  I'm not sure if u need your BJCP to be the organizer of one, and u might be able to get in as a novice judge without your certification. 

123

Going Pro / Some figures for opening a pub.

« on: September 30, 2012, 06:38:31 pm »

Don't forget spicey. spicey sells beer!

Customer1: Mmm, these rosemary and chilli fries go really well with this tzatziki burger!
Customer2: Yeah! spicey though!
Customer1: the IPA really cools the spice.
Customer2: right you are! Waiter!
Waiter: Can I help you?
Customer2: can we get another couple pitchers of the IPA?

 I thought hop bitterness escalated/intensified spice?

124

Beer Recipes / IPA Help

« on: September 30, 2012, 06:32:43 pm »

.  Between the two, these days if I'm using dry yeast (however infrequently) my choice would probably be the 04.  It's excellent  with American hops, and also lets some malt come through to balance things.

Don't know how I missed this part.  Maybe my starter and split bt two batches with the s04 gaveme the bad results. 

125

Beer Recipes / IPA Help

« on: September 30, 2012, 06:29:53 pm »

Sounds like others agree,but I would also stay away from s04...just used it for two am ipas for the same reason and did not have good results despite big healthy pitches and temp control.  Not enough attenuation and a weird flavor.  Build you recipe with the malts first with a big strong neutral yeast like Chico/us05 or PAC man then mess with yeast if u need to once the grains and hops are right.

126

Homebrew Clubs / Any help on protection the Club from liability?

« on: September 29, 2012, 05:01:53 am »

Our club has rudimentary (and out-dated) bylaws, but we never incorporated.  The only reason we have a federal Tax ID number is because we needed it to open a checking account.  Sheesh, we even have a PayPal account linked to it.

FWIW, u don't need a TIN to have a bank account, most banks can open it as an unaffliated unincorporated association, like a cub scout troop.  Members' names/SSNs are on the account as authorized signers, but I don't see how that would impose liability.

Which club are u associated with?  I just did the above for Baltibrew's checking acct!

127

Going Pro / How I Raised $1.25 Million To Start My Brewery

« on: September 29, 2012, 04:53:05 am »

Bell has been trying to buy all shares back so he can leave the brewery to his kids. You can read more here -
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2012/04/bells_brewery_inc_to_be_sold_l.html

THAT is rarely a good idea!

128

Equipment and Software / Best Big Burner

« on: September 29, 2012, 04:44:11 am »

I've been checking out this one.  But of course, they won't ship to Canada
http://bayouclassicdepot.com/619alp-32-jet-propane-gas-jet-burner.htm

I don't think I would risk the money on one of these. From the site you pointed to:

PLEASE READ:  We know that these burners are hard to find, and when you do find them they are anywhere from $100.00 - $500.00.  We found these burners and brought them in because we have had so many customers request them.  HOWEVER, please note that these are NOT Bayou Classic burners.  They are bought directly from China.  We do not have the human resources to hook up and try each burner before shipping.  The result is the cheaper price.  STARTING 07/27/11, WE WILL NOT ACCEPT RETURNS ON THESE BURNERS OR ISSUE CREDITS.  They are shipped AS IS.  Each burner will be individually wrapped prior to shipping.  Please have some type of knowledge about these burners prior to purchase.  If you have experience with them, they are worth the price.  If you do not have experience with building outdoor burners, then please stick with our PROPANE CAST IRON BURNERS.  Thank you for your understanding

Right now they are on sale for $62. That is a lot of money to spend on something untested and nonrefundable.

But what's life without a little risk???
I have a friend who's a machinist and another who's a gas fitter so I'm sort of willing to take the risk since I can get anything made that I need to fix a minor issue with the burner but I do know I'm in a unique situation and I wouldn't risk it either without some back up.
From what I've found the Blichmann ones look nice but they're crazy expensive (close to $200 for the floor standing burner).

I'll post pictures for sure, just two more weeks until I get possession of the new house.  Gonna take a while to get things going but eventually things will get going.

Top tier = 72k btu
Bayou=50-55k btu

Pretty and handy around the house :-)

129

All Grain Brewing / Too much caramunich, doh!

« on: September 28, 2012, 10:05:08 pm »

This thing is bubbling more than any other brew I've done (51st!)...hoping it will be nice and dry before I secondary with the cranberries!

130

Equipment and Software / Re: Best Big Burner

« on: September 27, 2012, 06:13:36 pm »

luuuuuuuuuuuuurve my Blichmann Top Tier.  When I win the lotto, I'm going to get a few more and the stand.  I haven't run any tests, but it is an extremely propane-efficient burner from what I've read. 

For my puny five gallon batches, I can take an 8 gallon brewkettle from mash/runoff temp to boiling in about 10-15 minutes. 

Also, FWIW, my group Baltibrew did a 2 BBL brew split between 2 kettles/burners, and it got those up relatively quickly on full blast as well.   

We need pics when this is done. 

Love me some brewin' p0rn!

131

All Grain Brewing / Too much caramunich, doh!

« on: September 27, 2012, 08:45:11 am »

Making Jamil's standard saison today:

10.5# pilsner
.75# wheat malt
.75# munich
1# table sugar

it is supposed to have 2oz of caramunich, but instead I measured, milled, and then MIXED with the rest of the grain .75 LBS (12oz) of caramunich. Yes, six times the recipe (but still under 6% of the total grain bill; 5.4% of total fermentables).

I know caramunich will add body, caramel, and sweetness (the latter very NOT appropriate for the style), HOWEVER, here is the catch:

I am planning on doing a secondary fermentation with this beer with 3-4lbs of fresh cranberries for our brewing guild Christmas party. Would this sweetness help to balance out the tartness/sourness of the cranberries, or will it simply just be too much? The good thing is, I have kind of written off hitting my color completely, as I've read around the interwebs that cranberries will add a brownish color to the beer anyway.

Could I/shouldni kick up the table sugar or add a half lb of honey to further dry?  I was planning on doing 90 minute mash at 147 anyway.

132

Yeast and Fermentation / Very quick high krausen with S-04

« on: September 26, 2012, 08:12:43 am »

IMO it's better to have fewer active yeasts than more inactive yeasts. I'd bet chilling and decanting was your problem. If you properly rehydrate dry yeast, you'll get ~90%+ viability, and 20b cells per gram. Proper temp is in the 100-105*F range, but that varies a bit by strain. IIRC viability will drop by ~10% with every ~10* drop in rehydration temp, but that might not be exactly linear.

It's partially a WAG, but I'd bet you'd have been better off just rehydrating and splitting the packet between the two.

Ok, I hear ya, but I pitched almost a cup of slurry!  Most say that is borderline over pitching!  It's just weird.

133

General Homebrew Discussion / Cramming for a BJCP Tasting Exam

« on: September 25, 2012, 03:28:33 pm »

do you have time to spend @ a craft beer bar and have the bartender pour you a random beer, where you'd have to guess it?  combine that (I'd suggest a half pour, or taster if they'll do it), fill out the score sheets, as they say, and try to find some good reviews on BeerAdvocate/Ratebeer and compare to yours.  iPad/remote internet/smartphone would be key for this approach.

You dont have to guess a style.  Just drink a classic example and score it, then see if you've used the right descriptors.

I understand, but for me, working backward helped me to know what to look for.  I also was able to check and develop descriptors.

134

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Cramming for a BJCP Tasting Exam

« on: September 24, 2012, 08:04:27 pm »

do you have time to spend @ a craft beer bar and have the bartender pour you a random beer, where you'd have to guess it?  combine that (I'd suggest a half pour, or taster if they'll do it), fill out the score sheets, as they say, and try to find some good reviews on BeerAdvocate/Ratebeer and compare to yours.  iPad/remote internet/smartphone would be key for this approach.

135

Yeast and Fermentation / Very quick high krausen with S-04

« on: September 24, 2012, 01:56:25 pm »

Sorry, also mash temp of 152, roughly 2Q/lb mash thickness.