Messages

31

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: pitching on a yeast cake

« on: March 15, 2013, 06:33:10 AM »

You need to take sanitary precautions, but you are pitching sanitary wort onto yeast. The environment the wort is going into should be sanitary, you just have to make sure you arent introducing anything wild while transferring. If you are doing it pretty quickly and covering the yeast in between transfers you should be good to go.

32

Ingredients / Brewing With Grits

« on: March 15, 2013, 06:26:33 AM »

I passed a little country store on my way down to Charleston, SC for work a couple of months back. Apparently there is a local guy around that place selling ground grits in sacks for cheap. Being a southern guy, I would love to impart this traditional ingredient into some beer. Has anyone ever used grits in brewing? It doesn't seem that far out there for some one to have done so, but would love a little insight if anyone has ever used them. Cheers!

33

The Pub / Re: My "missionary" work!

« on: March 15, 2013, 05:19:42 AM »

I can't get anyone to start homebrewing either. Seems that people are content with me brewing it for them. Why would they start and invest the money in something they know they can just go to me and get! Bla, lol!

34

The Pub / Re: Homebrewing Snafu in Alabama

« on: March 15, 2013, 05:13:51 AM »

Sucky deal in Alabama altogether. Not sure I would be tweeting about it though if I were in his position, but it seems like he got away with it for a while. Sucky deal I say!

35

All Grain Brewing / Re: Trub removal

« on: March 14, 2013, 05:05:57 AM »

I whirlpool with a pump and allow it all to settle for 15-20 minutes. On my flat-bottom kettle I have a dip tube thar extends to the very edge of the kettle. I find that the wort going into the carboy is very clear and virtually trub free. It is key to allow everything to settle once you have established that 'cookie'.

Here is a link to the dip tube that allows me to pull from the side of the kettle:

http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=46&product_id=157

36

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: racking to limit attenuation

« on: March 12, 2013, 10:24:09 AM »

Tom - do you think this is why you don't need a diacetyl rest with more powdery yeasts like WLP001/1056? Or is it that some yeasts are just better at completing fermentation in less-than-ideal conditions?

I'm sure flocculation and strain variability lays a role.

Solid theory there if I understand it correctly...What you are saying Tom is that the yeast are still able to take up diacetyl that they are in contact with, but that amount decreases as they pile up at the bottom of the fermenter, hence the surface area reduction. Am I reading that correctly?

Yes, exactly.  Although their ability to do so is still reduced by the lower temps.

AHA Forum Baby! Spreading the knowledge and making better brewers one post at a time! Woooo!!!

37

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: racking to limit attenuation

« on: March 12, 2013, 09:55:38 AM »

The yeast will clean up, or take back up, things like diacetyl at the end of fermentation. The thing is...to do so, the yeast have to be active and in suspension. Since you cold crashed your secondary and sent your yeast to the bottom (dormant), they will not have the chance to do so.

I am not convinced that this is 100% the case - I believe it will slow, but not stop the process.  I think it comes down to surface area and availability.  By cold crashing you massively reduce the surface area of yeast exposed to the beer.  You also drastically reduce that yeasts' exposure to compounds that need to get cleared up.  During an active or semi active fermentation the CO2 bubbling out is constantly mixing the beer, so the non-flocculating yeast and the compounds like diacetyl are being mixed throughout.  When the beer has been chilled and CO2 is no longer coming out, the compounds have to diffuse through the beer to come into contact with the yeast, which is now mostly at the bottom.  So I think it is these two factors, combined with the lower yeast activity due to the cold, that keep the yeast from cleaning up the beer.  And I don't mean to minimize the decreased activity due to the lower temperature, but it is not zero.

Solid theory there if I understand it correctly...What you are saying Tom is that the yeast are still able to take up diacetyl that they are in contact with, but that amount decreases as they pile up at the bottom of the fermenter, hence the surface area reduction. Am I reading that correctly?

38

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: racking to limit attenuation

« on: March 12, 2013, 05:38:23 AM »

The yeast will clean up, or take back up, things like diacetyl at the end of fermentation. The thing is...to do so, the yeast have to be active and in suspension. Since you cold crashed your secondary and sent your yeast to the bottom (dormant), they will not have the chance to do so.

As said previously, it is better to let the fermentation do its thing fully, go as low as it wants to. You can always adjust your recipe in the future to limit the amount of fermentable sugars, body, etc. Letting that yeast go all the way to the end before cold crashing has several benefits that go far beyond just the ABV.

39

Ingredients / Re: Lactate Taste Threshold Experiment

« on: March 11, 2013, 11:07:15 AM »

I read this in your blog this morning. Excellent work sir!

40

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: racking to limit attenuation

« on: March 11, 2013, 07:09:37 AM »

You need to kill off the yeast somehow.

Plutonium?

Glow in the dark beer!

Could this beer fuel the flux capacitor and help to achieve 1.21 gigawatts???

41

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What is your favorite music to listen to while homebrewing?

« on: March 07, 2013, 08:38:17 AM »

I keep the bluegrass going strong. Love that stuff, fast or slow!

42

All Grain Brewing / Re: Distilled Water and Salt Addition for Hoppy IPA

« on: March 06, 2013, 06:24:24 AM »

Big differences in minerals found in spring water is a big reason why I prefer distilled water. As of now it is the only option i have for getting consistent results. Maybe one day my local super market will get one of those awesome RO machines. Hear it tastes better.

If an RO dispenser is an option in your area, might be worth considering...

43

All Grain Brewing / Re: calcium carry over to kettle question

« on: March 05, 2013, 10:57:20 AM »

When the calcium and phosphate come together, is this the reaction that produces free hydrogen ions therefore lowering mash pH?

44

Beer Recipes / Re: Munich Dunkel Help Needed

« on: March 05, 2013, 09:21:27 AM »

I like to make mine with just about all Weyermann Munich II and a few ounces of Carafa Special just to darken it up, added at vorlauf. I am considering throwing a few ounces of melanoidin malt in there as well to add some of that character, but I am very confident that this one needs to be just about all Munich malt.

45

All Grain Brewing / Re: Distilled Water and Salt Addition for Hoppy IPA

« on: March 05, 2013, 05:48:18 AM »

When I brew I try to get my calcium up to 100ppm and a 3:1 ratio of sulfate to chloride. Those are the numbers I shoot for, but I ALWAYS try to keep the mash ph around the 5.2-5.3 range. This might call for a little phosphoric acid, depending on the malts used.

What does your grain bill look like? Already knowing your water profile (distilled) it is very easy to recommend salt additions depending on the grain bill you will be using.