Topics

1

Beer Recipes / Vienna Lager Recipe Input

« on: May 05, 2013, 07:42:51 am »

Just put this together today and I'm looking for some feedback, thanks!

5lbs 4oz Vienna
4lbs Munich
1lbs 8oz Cara-Munich

Mash @152f for 60min

1oz Hallertau @60
1oz Hallertau @15

WLP830 w/starter recommended by Mr. Malty

Ferment @ 50f

2

Beer Recipes / Strawberry Hefeweizen Recipe- Input Please

« on: April 14, 2013, 12:06:51 pm »

Attempting my first fruit added beer and I'd like your input on the recipe.

5 lbs Wheat Malt
4 lbs Pilsner Malt

Mash @155 for 60

1 oz Hallertau @60

WLP300 w/1.7l starter

7lbs of frozen/thawed strawberries in secondary for approx. 10 days after primary.

Thoughts/suggestions?

3

Beer Recipes / Amber Ale Recipe- Input Please

« on: March 29, 2013, 04:01:57 pm »

Would like some input on an amber recipe I'm trying out. This is really my first all grain experiment outside of a kit, and I just kind of decided to wing it. Any suggestions/critiques are welcome. Thanks!

9lbs 2-Row Pale
1lb Crystal 40
1lb Biscuit
.5lb Dextrine

Mash @152f for 60 min

.5oz Columbus @60
.5oz Columbus @10
1oz Columbus Dry Hop

WLP060 w/starter recommended by Mr Malty

4

Kegging and Bottling / CO2 Pressure vs Temperature Chart

« on: January 28, 2013, 11:55:17 am »

Just finished my keezer and my buffalo sweat clone is carbing as I type this. I'm going to put the CO2 tank inside, and I'm trying to find a pressure vs temp chart, to account for the lower tank temp, and I've been unsuccessful. Can anyone help me out, or does it not really matter at such low pressures?

5

Kegging and Bottling / Newbie Kegging Questions

« on: January 15, 2013, 07:55:18 am »

I got sick of bottling, so now I'm in the middle of constructing a three tap keezer that hopefully doesn't turn out looking like Homer's spice rack. Craftsmanship skills aside, I've been browsing this sub-forum and after reading all about line length, elevation, temperature, etc- I'm now completely confused and realize I know nothing. I'll list all the details about my setup, if you could answer some basic questions I'd be grateful. Thanks!

Details:
- three tap keezer
- 5 lb co2 tank
- roughly 5 feet of liquid line
- elevation between the top of the keg and faucet is only about 6 inches

Questions:
- The first beer that I'm kegging is a sweet oatmeal stout. At about 2.2 volumes, and 45 degrees, TastyBrew lists a recommended pressure of 11.4 PSI. So do I just set this pressure and be done with it? Should I cold crash the beer first, after it's done fermenting? About how long will it take to carbonate? How does my line length and elevation affect this? Thanks for all your help.

6

General Homebrew Discussion / Lagering Temp Change

« on: August 14, 2012, 01:03:13 pm »

I brewed an Oktoberfest this past weekend. It's at about 50* right now, and after a diacetyl rest (if needed), I plan on dropping it down to about 38-40. Can I just set the temp control and be done with it, or do I need to slowly drop the temp 1-2* per day?

7

All Grain Brewing / First All Grain Batch

« on: August 11, 2012, 07:47:47 pm »

I brewed my first all grain batch today (5 gallons), how long should fly sparging take?

I'm pretty sure I rushed it; it seemed to be completed with 15 min or so. Is this something that I should worry about?

8

Kegging and Bottling / Undercarbed Bottles

« on: July 30, 2012, 07:05:52 am »

I bottled an amber ale about three weeks ago and it's pretty undercarbed. (If you remember my other post regarding 12 vs 16oz bottles, it seems bottling is not my strong suit). The bottles were left in a room that's about 70 degrees, so they SHOULD be well carbed by now.

I made a 3.5 gallon batch, and used DME for priming, but I think I under compensated with the amount. Is there a way to fix this? Could I make a another dme/water solution and add a few drops per bottle?

9

Kegging and Bottling / 12/16oz Bottle Taste Difference

« on: July 20, 2012, 03:57:18 pm »

So I'm about 10 batches into my brewing journey and I've noticed a distinct difference in quality of my 16oz ez cap versus normal 12 oz bottles. The 16's typically carb faster and taste better than the 12's, and the 12's typically taste "meh". Has anyone had any experience with this and have any recommendations?

10

Yeast and Fermentation / Shipping yeast in the worst heat wave ever

« on: July 09, 2012, 05:52:18 pm »

Because sometimes my IQ drops 30 points without warning, I ordered yeast from NB last Sunday in the middle of the worst heat wave in recorded history. It arrived today and I'm wondering if the yeast is still viable. It's WLP830 and I was planning on making a 2-3L starter anyway. Should I do a two step starter just to make sure, or just do what I should have done all along and take my happy ass down to the LHBS and get more yeast?

11

Beer Recipes / Lager Recipe Suggestions

« on: June 30, 2012, 01:33:58 pm »

Hello,

I'm looking for some ideas/suggestions/recommendations on brewing a lighter lager. I haven't done one before, but I've got temp control, a free weekend and a heat wave that's making me thirsty. I have a setup where I can do a partial mash and probably looking at a 3 or 3.5 gallon batch. Starting off with roughly 4 lbs pale DME, some questions I have are:

- What kind/how much specialty grain can I use?
- What type of hops are good for bitterin/aroma/dry hopping?
- Any recipes you guys recommend?

I appreciate any help. Thanks.

12

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Amber Ale Recipe

« on: April 05, 2012, 10:54:03 am »

I'm using BeerSmith for the first time and wanted to get some feedback on an amber ale recipe. I'm using Palmer's Big Basin Amber Ale as a basis for starting. This is what I have so far:

5#2oz- Light DME
.5oz Centennial (60 min)
1.oz Mt Hood (30 min)
.5oz Centennial (Dry hop in primary)
1#14oz- Crystal 60L (160F for 30min)

WLP060 w/2L starter

Target OG= 1.054
Target IBU= 34

Also, a few questions:

-For dry hopping, do I just toss the pellets in a grain bag and put them in the wort when I pitch, or should I wait until after fermentation slows down?

- I have a 10G brew kettle, so I can do a full boil. Since I'm looking for a 5 gallon batch, and I'm still new to this/BeerSmith, what amount of H2O should I use? The program says total water needed to be 7.9 gallons- that seems pretty high for boil off/ trub loss.

Thanks for the advice.

13

General Homebrew Discussion / Cold Crash Belgian Wit

« on: March 05, 2012, 02:08:51 pm »

Hello all,

I've been lurking on the forum awhile now, after having started the obsession right around the New Year. This might be on the only place on the internet that has a wealth of knowledge and no trolls.

I've got a belgian wit in the fermenter right now and wanted to know if cold crashing before I bottle would be appropriate. I know one of the things that makes a wit a wit is the haziness from the yeast. I took a hydrometer reading today and it was very, very cloudy. Just wanted to get your input on what seemed to work for you guys. Thanks.