Messages

136

All Grain Brewing / Re: First All-Grain Brewday - plus some followup ?'s

« on: July 20, 2012, 08:56:56 AM »

Also, being the first time I brewed with this setup, I wasn't sure what kind of brewhouse efficiency I was going to end up with.

Keep good notes on everything, it'll take a number of brewdays before you get a good feel for what to expect. Be prepared to adjust for lower or higher efficiency than expected. Most of all, have fun with it

137

All Grain Brewing / Re: Does it matter?

« on: July 13, 2012, 06:41:47 AM »

I open the ball valve on my HLT and stir while she pours the grain in.

So I guess we add it all at the same time 

138

Beer Recipes / Re: The Strawberry Rhubarb Gauntlet

« on: July 12, 2012, 11:45:30 AM »

on a side note, in your shoes I'd probably brew a "plain" Kolsch before I attempted to make a fruited version, but I'm sure you'll do fine.

I'm not sure I want to fart around with lagering times on an experiment, so on second thought I decided an american wheat or a blonde ale base might be better.

139

Beer Recipes / Re: The Strawberry Rhubarb Gauntlet

« on: July 12, 2012, 10:10:15 AM »

And I'd still recommend you look into flavor extracts.

Found some natural strawberry extract on Northern Brewers site, I'll give it a go.

140

Beer Recipes / Re: The Strawberry Rhubarb Gauntlet

« on: July 12, 2012, 09:51:53 AM »

So, maybe 2 pounds of berries per gallon, and 1 pd per/g rhubarb?

Would you guys agree with his recommendation on racking onto the fruit in a secondary?

141

Beer Recipes / The Strawberry Rhubarb Gauntlet

« on: July 12, 2012, 08:59:45 AM »

Went to the local brewpub last night, and my girlfriend was giving me the business about never making a fruit beer. The brewer was behind the bar, overheard the conversation and piled on. End result, he challenged me to brew a strawberry-rhubarb beer using kolsch for the base.

I've never made a kolsch, or a fruit beer. I could start with the kolsch in BCS, beyond that....

How much fruit and how much rhubarb? When in process? He recommended using frozen, thawing it and then puree in a food processor. Rack on to fruit in secondary.

Anyway, any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

142

All Grain Brewing / Re: How much of a difference does mash thickness make?

« on: July 10, 2012, 12:03:55 PM »

When I get home I'm going to ponder all this over a Session ESB

143

Kegging and Bottling / Re: dry hopping post carbonation?

« on: July 10, 2012, 08:44:31 AM »

1. Adjust carbonation gently. Slowly off-gas to add the hops, keep at serving pressure after adding the hops. Lower-gravity beers tend to get that carbonic bite if you rush in force-carbonating, especially more than once.

I set it and forget it. Carbed at 40f/10psi for a week and it seems to be where it should.

2. Suspend (per jeffy) and shake to get the most out of 'em. If the beer is cold, extraction will be slower. I use a bag, some fishing line, and a (new) plastic bobber to suspend keg hops.

Shake?
 

144

Kegging and Bottling / Re: dry hopping post carbonation?

« on: July 10, 2012, 08:19:43 AM »

How are you sanitizing the bag? Boiling, starsan? Or is it a non-issue?

145

Kegging and Bottling / dry hopping post carbonation?

« on: July 10, 2012, 07:03:44 AM »

Brewed a best bitter and didn't quite get the hop flavor I was after (shooting for something like Goose Island's Honkers Ale with Styrian Goldings) and I thought I'd throw an ounce, maybe an ounce and half in the keg for dry hopping. I've never dry hopped in the keg and the beer is already carbonated. Am I going to run into any issues if I do? Foaming perhaps? I was thinking I'd let it sit 4 days or so and then bottle it.

146

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Dealing with trub

« on: July 03, 2012, 09:09:50 AM »

That's what I thought.  I was hoping you were going to tell me you use pellets...

Same here. I'd try a version of the Gordon Smith setup (false bottom and whole cone hops only) but it would really limit the hop varieties available. And I love me some hops.

147

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Yeast recommendations for hoppy pale ale split-batch

« on: July 02, 2012, 01:51:43 PM »

I would suggest WLP007 pitched close to 60, but bump up the hops a little bit with this one.

+1. Especially with amarillo and citra.

148

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Dealing with trub

« on: July 02, 2012, 12:01:28 PM »

how do you do your whirlpool? I use a sanitized silicon spatula and get a really good whirlpool going

Sanitized stainless spoon. I usually stir for a minute or two then let it settle half and hour. I don't get much in the way of hop material using hop sacks. It's just fluffy break material.

Anyone using the JZ whirpool gizmo with a pump? Been thinking about trying that. Also looking at Blichmanns hop blocker, but I don't know how (or if at all) effective it would be on cold break. Another option I was considering was a hop rocket. I've heard of brewers using rice hulls or hops (when appropriate, obviously) to filter with good success 

149

General Homebrew Discussion / Dealing with trub

« on: July 02, 2012, 10:18:44 AM »

I try hard not to transfer a lot into my fermentors, but it seems like I always have to rack at least a gallon of wort that is loaded with break material. I chill (IC) down to 62ish degrees, remove any hop sacks, whirlpool for a minute or so, throw the lid back on and let it sit 20-30 minutes. I never get a "trub cone". All the break material settles but it's a solid 2 gallon layer. I've even tried upping my boil volume.

Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong?

150

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Yeast suspension on green beer

« on: June 28, 2012, 12:41:38 PM »

Is your hydrometer calibrated? Mine started reading a few points high and I found that the paper had slipped from being knocked around.

+1 Same thing happened to me. 3 points high