Messages

961

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Pitching rate effects (experimental results)

« on: May 10, 2010, 06:40:22 PM »

I applaud those who find the homebrewing hobby (or "obsession") so fascinating that their childlike curiosity compels them to conduct an experiment.  But, most of these studies are quite poorly designed with regards to their hypothesis, materials and methods employed, the use of objective and standardized metrics, and arriving at unsupported and biased claims and conclusions.

As a homebrewer, I'd actualy respect your opinion more if you just wore flip flops and a loud tropical shirt and said, "Well... in my experience, underpitching yeast blah blah blah (insert your opinion here)."  Otherwise, it's just dogma hiding behind the scrim of science.

"The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism."

-Sir William Osler

Well, that's slightly patronizing.  I agree with "Dr. England's" last sentiment (and I'm not questioning his credentials, but the only professor I ever had who actually told us to call him "Dr." was completely clueless) -- that allowing word of mouth myths to perpetuate only harms the hobby.  But most of his objections are basically excuses to dismiss without even commenting. Not sure about the reason for this experiment?  Don't be obtuse.  It you think that testing different procedure or ingredients in a homebrew setting with only "subjective" sensory analysis is a waste of time, just come out and say it.  But a useful contribution to making great beer is not necessarily the same as one that help us understand the metabolic pathways of yeast in a laboratory.

Your quote about dogmatic belief can apply to scientists as well.  I'm sure mathematicians smirk when they see biologists who are absolutely convinced they know what's going on with life

962

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Pitching rate effects (experimental results)

« on: May 10, 2010, 05:54:36 PM »

Well, it's a big pet peeve of mine when people say "irregardless".

That aside, I think this experiment was supposed to contribute some practical information about making a starter versus using average age yeast from an LHBS directly.  And while this is far too complex of a topic for generalizations without knowing OG, amount of aeration, and a number of other variables, I think it actually reflects homebrewing conditions better than most laboratory experiments. 

So, it may not be that useful to the brewing chemists at Coors. Likewise, most of what they do is not useful to me.

963

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Pitching rate effects (experimental results)

« on: May 10, 2010, 12:12:54 PM »

What was the OG of the Amber?  Also, what type of aeration was used?  There are definitely a lot of factors at play when it comes to ester production, so although it is always a good idea to pitch "enough" healthy yeast, it would be interesting to know what other parameters were used in this specific case when looking at the results.

964

Homebrew Competitions / Re: NHC 2010 Final round entries

« on: May 10, 2010, 08:23:01 AM »

Yes, you will receive instructions in the mail.

965

Events / Re: Brew Fest - Fell's Pt.

« on: May 05, 2010, 07:16:09 PM »

Well, if you find yourself at Max's again, they carry Stillwater Stateside Saison which is my buddy Brian's beer. I finally got the chance to sample it and it is phenomenal.

Actually if you met any of the local brewers there, chances are you saw Brian at the meeting. Looks like Jason Statham.

I was just there last night for the Tuesday night beer social that featured two casks of stateside... one with some Chinese berries, and the other with Chamomile.  Brian's a cool guy.

966

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Are First Round Results Posted?

« on: May 03, 2010, 08:26:18 AM »

Congrats to everyone who advanced!

My Saison made it through with a 2nd place, which I'm very pleased about. 

967

All Grain Brewing / Re: Pliny the Elder Clone Recipe

« on: April 23, 2010, 08:52:26 PM »

I believe Vinnie of Russian River told everyone what the recipe was. You can find it here:

http://beerdujour.com/Recipes/1Pliny%20the%20Elder%20clone%20PDF.pdf

I would think an extract version would come close, but since you have to mash carapils, you may be lacking some of the malty body it gives. Also, if you're doing a partial boil, your hop utilization will be different, but just plug it all into Beersmith or Pro-Mash.

Good Luck!
Brian

You do not have to mash carapils.

http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Assets/PDFs/Briess_PISB_CarapilsMalt.pdf

968

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: From Hobby to Career...Why not pursue a dream?

« on: April 23, 2010, 08:14:58 PM »

Pull a Mikkeller... brew on other people's systems. A friend of mine started doing this, and with some good contacts in the distributor (and local beer) business, his beer is appearing on tap in every good bar in the region.  He started local, but his next beer is a collaboration Saison with 't Hofbrouwerijke in Beerzel (Belgium).  Just goes to show you that there's a huge demand for good beer in a place like Baltimore : ).

969

All Grain Brewing / Re: saison mash

« on: April 22, 2010, 11:37:28 AM »

I made a Saison using 14 pounds of Belgian Pils and 1 Pound of Demerara Sugar.  Mashed at 144 for 90 minutes, added the sugar late in the boild.  Used wlp 565 Saison I.  Went from 1.072 to 1.027 in like 4 days and then it took over a month in the hot garage to get it to 1.002.  It did turn out dry and great.  I am going to brew this style again and I will use the approach described in Farm House Ales for a more fermentable wort.  I'll always use a little sugar to dry it otr.

Cheers,

Richie  

If you are making a 1.072 OG Saison, I'd agree that some sugar is necessary to dry it out.  But if you are looking at the traditional Saison style (not the American interpretation), this is much too high of an OG, so you're already in "Super-Saison" territory.

970

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Is the NHC for rich people?

« on: April 18, 2010, 08:44:34 AM »

But the people who do enter dozens and dozens of beers are just ruining the experience for other people IMO, especially since they're crowding people out.

Crowding people out for what exactly? If you want to win the category, brew the best beer.

Granted if you want to win the entire shooting match (Ninkasi) you'll need excellent beers in multiple categories. Really want to be the best, win Homebrewer of the Year (BOS) and the Ninkasi. I cannot recall the last time that happened.

Crowding people out of the 750 spots for entries in the region?  If you enter 80 beers (including the same beer in multiple style categories, as some people do), that's 10% of the entry cap.

971

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Testing for a CO2 leak

« on: April 17, 2010, 10:17:12 AM »

If your regulator is reading 450 psi, you're either nearly out of CO2, the tank is extremely cold (about 24°F), or the gauge is defective.

If your tank is on the hump in the back of a mini-fridge, it's sitting right up against the cooling element, so it will be very cold.  My high pressure gauge usually reads about 450 - 500, even when full.

972

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Things you should not do

« on: April 15, 2010, 01:42:16 PM »

<pendant>
That wouldn't be skunking you'd be fearing - it would be the beer getting oxidized.

Skunking is a very specific reaction between UV light and isomerized alpha acids that results in the creation of mercapatan, the chemical best recognized as the smelly stuff in skunk spray.
</pendant>
 

<pedant>
The word you're looking for is "pedantic"  
</pedant>

Edit: damn, I should read the whole thread before commenting

973

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Kegged beer tastes slightly sweet on the second day (not the first)

« on: April 15, 2010, 12:05:04 PM »

Do you have check valves for each keg?  If you have a shutoff valve like this, it has an integrated check valve to prevent any backflow:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/kegging/gas-hardware/shutoff-valves

974

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What's Brewing This Weekend - 4/9 Edition

« on: April 11, 2010, 08:50:53 AM »

The weather was beautiful yesterday, so I decided to do the decoction on the pils.  Everything turned out great... can't wait for summer!

975

All Grain Brewing / Re: saison mash

« on: April 10, 2010, 12:59:48 PM »

And if you can't get a Saison to dry out using an all malt grainbill then you are either A, having fermentation issues, or B, only make strong saisons. I personally prefer a lower gravity saison and it's quite easy to get an all malt grainbill in the 1.040s to finish at or below 1.005 without sugar. Usually a long and low single infusion mash is all that is necessary. If, on the other hand, I am trying to make something stronger, then sure, simple sugar is the way to do it and still have a dry product. But it's far from a requirement in every Saison brewed.

I agree completely.  My last all-malt Saison went from 1.055 to 1.004 with the Dupont yeast.  6.7%, dry, and delicious!