Messages

46

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Too much mash/sparge water causing off flavors?

« on: March 25, 2013, 06:21:10 PM »

The first 1.10 gallon batch sparge is just a hot water addition before draining the first runnings from the mash, right?  If so, that's not considered a sparge, and it's unlikely that the extra water is a problem... you're rarely going to extract tannins because of too much water in a single batch sparge.

The culprit is probably your water chemistry.  Although you're using too much water for your target recipe, you should be able to make a 1.042 ale easily without any tannin extraction or grainy flavor. High pH is most likely the problem, although the symptoms would show up more in lighter colored beers or smaller grain bills.

47

All Grain Brewing / Re: Oops...Session IPA

« on: March 25, 2013, 09:05:05 AM »

6 ounces includes the dry hops?  That better be for a session IPA, cause it's not going to cut it for a double!   

48

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Stone Brewing, Wil Wheaton and Drew Curtis of Fark?

« on: March 21, 2013, 01:38:22 PM »

Sounds to me like Stone is setting up an epic April fool's prank.  Since the release date and carefully guarded "secret" are set to be released conviently at the beginning of April.  Stone is notorious for their April fool's pranks and they surprising had no tricks up their sleeve last year. 

Curious to see if it's a "real collaboration."

But, don't be shocked if it's another Stone April Fool's joke.  And if so, it looks like Greg is going to great lengths to sell it this year.

Sounds reasonable, since Fark also does April Fools pranks, but what's the punchline?  It's not that hard to invite someone to come help brew, so why not just do it?

49

Equipment and Software / Re: Digital hydrometer kickstarter

« on: March 21, 2013, 11:48:09 AM »

Just came across this digital hydrometer kickstarter. Says it will measure percent alcohol too.
 
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1792835394/edrometer-digital-hydrometer-for-brewers-and-winem

This is cool, but I wonder how it measures percent alcohol?  Seems like it's not possible without knowing an OG.

50

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Whirlfloc and Fluffy Trub

« on: March 21, 2013, 07:48:16 AM »

I wonder if it is an interaction between a particular recipe and Whirlfloc.  The reason I say this is I do not recall  experiencing this until my most recent brew - and I always use whirlfloc.  It should be said that I have only done 9-10 brews since starting last Fall.  The recent brew where it showed up was a Zombie Dust clone.

The unique features for this brew were: lots of Citra hops (10 oz.), and Cara-Pils grain.  Honestly it looked to me like hop sludge.  I always use a hop-sack, which retains most of the hop material.  But maybe Citra hops have a higher percentage of really small particles that excape the hop-sack?

What do you more experienced brewers think of this idea?  Is it possible that the massive fluffy trub is due to a particular recipe ingredient?

Could be the recipe, though not necessarily the whirlfloc.  When pH isn't low enough, you get inferior protein coagulation and hot break.  Some of it probably is hop trub as well.

It *should* look like egg drop soup after flameout.

51

Homebrew Competitions / Re: NHC Competition question...

« on: March 21, 2013, 06:59:39 AM »

My entries are on their way.   Only bottle labels were required, right?  The rules and info on the region 11 site said to include your entry form and payment in box along with your entries along with bottle labels attached to your bottles (I know, rubber bands only...no tape ).  I didn't see an entry form and the entries were prepaid as required by the AHA, so I assumed this was just the standard template for this competition software.

Good luck to all that are entering!

Are the results posted yet? 

There used to be a form you sent which showed proof of payment, and before that, you probably could pay with check.  Probably just old instructions.

52

Beer Travel / Re: Small Town Brewpubs

« on: March 20, 2013, 04:56:16 PM »

Well, since we're all here anyway, I'd suggest a stop at Two Mile Brewing* in beautiful Leadville, CO (pop. 2600).

*Opening Spring 2013.

Spring? Can't you just fast forward 3 years in a wink like the time traveling OP did?

I swear the post looked new when I read it...

53

Kegging and Bottling / Gilda corker with belgian corks?

« on: March 20, 2013, 04:41:12 PM »

I was going to fill a Jeroboam (3L champagne) with Geueze for NHC club night but the thing is too tall for my floor corker.  Has anyone used a handheld with Belgian or champagne bottles?  This one seems to be the best of the bunch, since it has an iris.  I figure it will be a pain to get it right, but I only need to do it once.

54

Beer Travel / Re: Small Town Brewpubs

« on: March 20, 2013, 01:25:08 PM »

There were a few good brewpubs that we visited in Astoria, OR last year before NHC.  The town isn't 200 people, but it was small and seems like it would have seasonal tourism.

55

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Do corked belgians lose carbonation?

« on: March 15, 2013, 06:06:52 AM »

Maybe it is gas gremlins.

Or it could be that the priming sugar wasn't mixed well enough.  If you bottled all the capped ones first, they could have taken more of the sugar if it sat at the bottom.

56

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Imperial Side Car

« on: March 14, 2013, 02:09:58 PM »

The target FG was just calculated from my Beersmith software.

That's not reliable, and if you're off by even a couple of gravity points you're going to get bottle bombs.

57

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Do corked belgians lose carbonation?

« on: March 14, 2013, 06:36:14 AM »

They shouldn't lose carbonation.  I once had a problem with some corks that didn't hold carbonation... they were sold as Belgian corks but they were harder and didn't have the "Ref" or (R) symbol on them.  I placed these bottles on their side and that fixed the problem, but in general I use the Ref corks and store upright without any carbonation problems.

58

All Grain Brewing / Re: Emphasize pilsner?

« on: March 14, 2013, 06:31:07 AM »

They're probably quoting from the style guidelines.  Things like "lightly sweet Pils malt character", "Smooth, light to moderate Pils malt sweetness initially", "Often has an almost lager-like character, which gives it a cleaner profile in comparison to the other styles", "Relatively recent development to further appeal to European Pils drinkers".

Whether your beer is actually lacking an important characteristic of a Belgian Blond or they're just misguided is another question.

59

Kegging and Bottling / Re: how to transfer between kegs

« on: March 13, 2013, 07:47:40 AM »

Jumper from beer-out to beer-out is the way to go.  Be sure to purge the receiving keg with CO2 first.

I just bleed the receiving keg from the pressure relief valve; however, if you're transferring already carbonated beer, you could get some foaming unless you do it slowly.  Kai has a better solution for siphoning under pressure here: http://braukaiser.com/blog/blog/2012/08/13/five-things-that-made-brewing-easier-for-me/

60

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Hospitality Night - Worth volunteering our club?

« on: March 12, 2013, 07:35:55 AM »

During any downtime at NHC (including 11pm to 2am... who needs sleep!), everyone heads to the hospitality suite.  Homebrew clubs take shifts, usually a few hours long, and take over all of the taps to showcase their club's beer.  It's like club night but you don't have to worry about decorations, and you'll be the only one (or one of two clubs) there so you get the spotlight.  I would definitely recommend doing it if you can drive to the conference... shipping kegs when it's all the way across the country is a PITA and very expensive.