Topics

31

General Homebrew Discussion / Entered my first beer

« on: April 19, 2012, 09:12:15 AM »

Well, I just entered my scottish 80/- in a local BJCP event. Very interested in the feedback. It was my very first all grain beer, but I think it's the best beer I've brewed to date. Used Jamils recipe, it fermented like a champ, and my numbers were where they should've been. I tried to find a commercial example but was unable to do so locally. I think it tastes good, but then I have no idea what a real 80 schilling should taste like.

Oh yeah, best in show wins an all expenses paid trip to SN beer camp.

32

Ingredients / Zythos?

« on: April 13, 2012, 08:56:32 AM »

Anyone brewed with this hop? I've got 6 ounces of it laying around.

33

General Homebrew Discussion / Blow off

« on: April 03, 2012, 11:52:41 AM »

Has anyone noticed an increased likelihood of blowoff (5.5 gallon batches in a 6.5 gallon carboy) relative to the amount of hops in a recipe? The last 2 hoppy beers I've done have ended up needing a blowoff setup (the 2nd I caught barely in time this morning. I pulled the top of the 3 piece airlock and it sounded like opening the biggest bottle of angry beer you've ever seen)  ?

I thought originally it had more to do with higher gravity beers. The 1st was an IPA at 1.65, but this one is a session beer, just 1.041. It does however have a pile of hops in it. All the other low gravity beers I've done have fermented like perfect gentlemen.

So, whaddyatinkabootdat?

34

Equipment and Software / Meh

« on: April 02, 2012, 07:40:19 AM »

So I bought this: http://www.williamsbrewing.com/SELF-CALIBRATING-DIGITAL-P1434C102.aspx thermometer last week so I could get a quicker read on mash temps etc, seemed decent for the price. It has a "self calibrating" feature. You immerse it in the standard crushed ice solution in a glass, wait a couple of seconds and press the calibrate button and you're good to go. This is what i did, and it was off by a good margin. 35.7 degrees. Great, I'll calibrate it and be on my way. Wrong. If the reading is outside the range of 30-34 degrees you get the code "Err" and it will not calibrate itself.

So I'm wondering if I should just return this thing, or try fooling it by getting a reading off a bag of frozen peas or something to "trick" it into it's calibration range.

Thoughts?

35

General Homebrew Discussion / Math help

« on: April 01, 2012, 07:15:07 AM »

Not sure how to figure this one, so I thought I'd ask:

5 gallons of a 1.052 wort with 3 quarts water added = ? gravity

Thanks

36

Beer Recipes / Kelsey Mcnairs West Coast Bitter

« on: March 30, 2012, 09:15:37 AM »

Saw this recipe here a few weeks ago and I'm brewing it tomorrow. Has anyone else brewed it? Any advice, etc appreciated.

Here's the Beersmith brewsheet:

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.00 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.50 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal   
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.047 SG
Estimated Color: 7.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 55.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 78.5 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU         
8 lbs 12.0 oz         Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)           Grain         1        87.1 %       
8.0 oz                Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)             Grain         2        5.0 %         
8.0 oz                Crystal Dark - 77L (Crisp) (75.0 SRM)    Grain         3        5.0 %         
3.2 oz                Honey Malt (25.0 SRM)                    Grain         4        2.0 %         
1.6 oz                Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM)               Grain         5        1.0 %         
0.71 oz               Warrior [15.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min        Hop           6        36.5 IBUs     
0.25 oz               Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Boil 30. Hop           7        9.2 IBUs     
0.35 oz               Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min   Hop           8        3.7 IBUs     
0.35 oz               Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min         Hop           9        5.7 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min    Hop           10       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min         Hop           11       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min           Hop           12       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Boil 0.0 Hop           13       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min          Hop           14       0.0 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35. Yeast         15       -             
1.00 oz               Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Day Hop           16       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Chinook [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days     Hop           17       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Citra [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days       Hop           18       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Dry Hop  Hop           19       0.0 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Simcoe [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days      Hop           20       0.0 IBUs     


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 10 lbs 0.8 oz
----------------------------
Name              Description                             Step Temperat Step Time     
Mash In           Add 18.27 qt of water at 166.6 F        158.0 F       60 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (0.54gal, 3.90gal) of 168.0 F water

37

Homebrew Clubs / Grand Rapids, MI

« on: March 21, 2012, 04:29:55 PM »

Anyone active in a GR club?

38

All Grain Brewing / Preheated MLT strike water calcs

« on: March 19, 2012, 11:31:02 AM »

I'm trying to nail down what my strike water temps need to be on my system to get my desired mash temp. I'm using the dreaded not blue 10 gallon gott MLT. Did my 1st AG brew following along "How to Brew", and it got me pretty close but surprisingly I don't find a graph for calculating strike temps for a preheated tun. I have beersmith, and there is a place to set mashtun temp, but I have no idea what to enter after I add 2 gallons of boiling water and let it rest 10 minutes per HTB. I kept good records, and know I lost 8 degrees after stirring in the mash and about 4 degrees over the 60 min sacc rest. Is it just a matter of repetition and getting to know my system or is there a chart somewhere I can use to get close? Should I skip the preheat and just use beersmith with a roomtemp mashtun setting?

Thanks

39

Equipment and Software / Ranco 2 stage settings

« on: March 15, 2012, 11:41:41 AM »

I wasn't planning on having to ferment in my fridge, let alone battle mosquitoes during mid-march, but evidently high 70's and low 80's are here to stay for a while in Michigan.

I have a ranco 2 stage and a ferm wrap, and my 80/- is getting warmer than I wanted, although it is conveniently at day 5 and  while i was planning on a diacetly rest I don't want it going above 69 or 70 (65 is the desired ferm temp for this recipe, i was going to bump it to 68 for the d-rest) So...I need to chuck the whole works in the fridge and I'm unsure what I need to set my heat, cool and buffer numbers at to hold at 68. Thanks in advance

40

Equipment and Software / Hop Rocket

« on: March 15, 2012, 09:58:55 AM »

Does anyone have a Blichmann Hop Rocket? If so, are you happy with it, and do I need a pump to use it or can you use it inline from kettle to fermentor with gravity? I wrote Blichmann but haven't heard back yet and there isn't much information on the website. Thanks

41

All Grain Brewing / Well that was cheap and easy.

« on: March 12, 2012, 07:40:33 AM »

Thanks to all of you for your advice and answering my rookie questions. My first all grain brew day went great, no real surprises (other than how much easier it was than I had anticipated). Batch sparge went well (didnt quite get the 3.5 gallons I wanted, sparged with 4, got my 7 to the kettle, preboil gravity was within 2 points of recipe)  and the scottish 80/ is happily burbling away in the carboy.

My big take away from the brew was the need for a good thermometer. The floating jobs are crap for checking the mash, IMO.

Thanks again

42

All Grain Brewing / First All Grain brew

« on: March 08, 2012, 04:17:38 PM »

Picking up my mash tun (10 gallon Gott (I know, it isn't blue) with a ss false bottom) tomorrow, brewing saturday morning. Pretty geeked about it too. 

Since I have no idea what my efficiency is going to be, I thought I'd shoot for a Scottish 80/. I'm guessing I won't come in too high, and it'll give me the wiggle room between 1.030 for a 60/ up to 1.054 for the 80/. Not planning on a starter for this one since I don't know what my gravity will be so I'm just picking up 2 vials of 001 which covers me if I need a smaller or larger pitch.

All of that aside, any advice, tips, tricks, things that might pop up I'm not expecting etc that come to mind would be helpful. Thanks in advance

43

Kegging and Bottling / Aging

« on: March 02, 2012, 02:16:46 PM »

How long do you age before you consider a beer is at its best flavor? I know this varies a ton between  different styles, but maybe pick one, or even a couple.

44

Ingredients / Grain storage

« on: March 02, 2012, 02:06:08 PM »

How long can I keep pre-crushed grain around before it goes over? Storing in big ziplocks in another tightly sealed heavy plastic bag in low humidity. I'm going to get a mill but other expenses have taken priority.

Thanks

45

Kegging and Bottling / cold crash....freeze??

« on: February 27, 2012, 05:04:33 PM »

Getting ready to bottle up an IPA, 15 days in the fermentor, its done but I thought Id cold crash it to get it to clear prior to bottling. Lacking a fridge and seeing as howits february and I live in Michigan, I put a black t-shirt over it and set it outside this morning. Checked on it when I got home this evening, and it hasnt cleared much at all and the temp of the carboy is about 40f. Its supposed to drop down to 22f tonight and Im worried it could freeze. Is that likely? If i t does how bad is that for my beer? Im bottle conditioning so I cant really afford to kill my yeast etc. Any input greatly appreciated.