Messages

16

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Whirlfloc and Fluffy Trub

« on: March 21, 2013, 09:18:01 AM »

So are you guys really worried about the clarity of your beer or what's the deal? I don't have clarity issues and I don't use whirlfloc or irish moss. I don't need every beer to be clear like a lager either. Enough cold time (a couple weeks) gives me a nice clear beer.
Or is there an actual flavor difference that using whirlfloc aids in improving? This all just seems like paranoia and OCD stuff to me.

I don't worry about the clarity of my beer, but I find a clear beer much more aesthetically pleasing. "You drink with your eyes first". So, I use whirlfloc and usually gelatin or biofine later in the keg. Just my preference.

17

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Boil Question

« on: March 19, 2013, 06:54:20 AM »

Get a nice Blichmann burner to go with that kettle. You wont be sorry. They are built like a brick sh!thouse and get an 8 gallon boil going PDQ

18

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Whirlfloc and Fluffy Trub

« on: March 19, 2013, 06:51:27 AM »

Anybody else have really fluffy trub as a result of using Whirlfloc? I used a half tablet today in a 5-gallon batch of IPA and could only get a little over 4 gallons in my fermenter - the rest was trub - very fluffy trub!

I've always had issues with large amounts of cold break. Using one tablet whirlfloc at 15 minutes remaining in the boil. Even upped my boil size to 8 gallons in an effort to leave all the break behind in the kettle but i still end up with the last gallon of 5.5 into my fermenter being loaded with break material.  Not sure what else I can do about it. Whirlpooling doesn't form a cone either, I just get a solid 3 inch layer.

19

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: any suggestions for a nice IPA on St Pattys Day

« on: March 18, 2013, 06:13:12 AM »

Lagunitas "Sucks".

Outstanding

20

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Ever have one of those beers.....

« on: March 16, 2013, 08:23:34 AM »

That's the thing, Euge.  I never have a beer until I've pitched yeast.

21

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Ever have one of those beers.....

« on: March 15, 2013, 01:32:19 PM »

The hot foot, and sometimes the hot arm. Dropped my thermometer in the mash a couple brews ago.

22

General Homebrew Discussion / Ever have one of those beers.....

« on: March 15, 2013, 09:07:09 AM »

...that seems to fight you every step of the way?

Brewed my standard over hopped 4.5% abv pale a couple 3 weeks back. Here are a few highlights:

Mashing in: Ball valve open. Unaware brewer in sock feet.

Boil: Out of propane at 30 minutes

End of boil hop additions: Fancy new El Dorado hops come out of bag in one cow pie-like brick. Brewer attempts to separate said brick with thumbs. Brick explodes. Fancy El Dorado hops all over kitchen floor.

Dry hop: Repeat above, only hops are all over bottom of ferment fridge.

Cold crash: Brewer forgets that a fridge outside behaves differently in winter than a fridge outside in the summer. Beer freezes.

Fining: Gelatin turns into gelatin before making it into beer.

Kegging: Normal routine, except lid gasket decides things look better at the bottom of 5 gallons of beer.

In spite of all that, the hydrometer sample tasted pretty good.

23

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: maintaining temps in freezer

« on: March 10, 2013, 07:25:11 AM »

2 stage ranco controller and a fermwrap (35ish bucks) works great for me.

24

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: A few ideas for better beer.

« on: March 10, 2013, 05:55:31 AM »

I make a starter every time unless I'm using dry yeast.  No offense to anybody but mrmalty.com is way overrated

How so?

25

All Grain Brewing / Re: Batch Sparging: Dilution

« on: March 07, 2013, 02:33:35 PM »

Yep.  What you want to do is measure how much runoff you get from the mash.  Subtract that from the amount you want to boil.  The answer you get is how much sparge water to use so that you have nothing left behind.

^
That

26

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Hit me with your best Session IPA

« on: February 16, 2013, 02:03:03 PM »

Kelsey McNair's West Coast Bitter/San Diego County Session ale.

+1

Brewed it a bunch of times, absolutely love that recipe. I'm doing a series of single hopped versions with meridian, el dorado, EXP 1210, and Nelson starting tomorrow.

27

Beer Recipes / Re: Hopslam Clone?

« on: February 04, 2013, 09:51:41 AM »

should I maybe go with a yeast that is more alcohol tolerant?

WLP090 is neutral in character and more alcohol tolerant than 001. And it flocs out much faster. I've had good success with it twice now.

28

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Hop Pellets

« on: January 28, 2013, 11:38:53 AM »

I use the Hop Stopper: http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/hop-stopper

It's really quite a nice product. I tried just throwing pellets in & whirlpooling, then bagging them, then bazooka screens. This thing works EXCELLENT and will drain all but maybe 1/4 gallon from my kettle. I've used probably 10oz of pellets in the kettle once and it didn't even bat an eye. I have a feeling that it'll handle twice that. Best upgrade I've made in a long time.

I like the looks of that. Is it good at filtering break material as well as hops?

29

The Pub / Re: Why does Budweiser just not get it?

« on: January 11, 2013, 01:11:33 PM »

This is a great read if you want some insight into how AB was run before and after InBevs bid. Some fascinating stuff. What a train wreck that family ended up being in the end.

And evidently I forgot to add a link. In any event "Bitter Brew" by William Knoedelseder

30

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: 2013 Brew Year's Resolutions/Goals

« on: January 09, 2013, 10:02:13 AM »

1. Learn everything I can about brewing water and incorporate that into my process
2. Refine the couple of recipes I've come up with so far.
3. Brew a wee heavy
4. Figure out a more effective way to get clear wort into my fermentors
5. Enter more beers
6. Sours