Messages

16

Other Fermentables / Re: Copper does remove sulfur!

« on: January 15, 2013, 09:16:40 pm »

not that i don't believe that the copper worked, but does anyone know the science behind this?  seems like it could go into a paper titled 'metallurgy and the homebrewer'.

17

Beer Recipes / Re: Chocolate Tabasco Porter

« on: January 10, 2013, 07:45:25 pm »

i can't speak on the peppers, but i recently made a chocolate stout by cutting the cherries from the black forest stout in Brewing Classic Styles.  i used 8oz of toll house unsweetened cocoa powder at knockout in a 5gal batch.  the chocolate was almost perfect, didn't overpower the malt.  i don't know if i would go as high as a pound in a 10gal batch as the beer will pick up more chocolate flavor the longer it sits on the cocoa.

hope this helps!

18

Other Fermentables / Re: best wine book for a beer brewer?

« on: January 07, 2013, 03:04:24 pm »

i have annie proulx's book, and have made several batches of cider.  mainly i'm looking for recommendations for good wine books people have used.

19

Other Fermentables / best wine book for a beer brewer?

« on: January 04, 2013, 06:11:17 pm »

so next fall i'm going to have access to quite a few fruit trees i just discovered on some family property, namely plum, pear, and apple.  the apples and pears will most likely get made into cider, but i'm thinking about making wine out of the plums.

so my question is: what's the best book on making wine for a simple extract beer brewer?

20

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Double Boiling, Double Fermentation

« on: November 28, 2012, 06:40:39 pm »

i haven't been homebrewing long, but i do know that alcohol boils at a much lower temp than water.  if your friend re-boiled his wort (beer, actually) he lost a ton of alcohol in the process.  i'm not sure what the LME and cane sugar would produce for alcohol, but you can't really take the previous alcohol content into account.  something smells fishy about the math.

21

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: cider scare?

« on: November 09, 2012, 03:53:07 pm »

so i'm getting that i should have him skim the pellicle, sample it, and - as long as it tastes fine - bottle it up ASAP?

22

Other Fermentables / Re: Cranberry cider help

« on: November 08, 2012, 03:50:58 pm »

Good call on freezing them.  Don't heat them or you will end up with pectin haze.

pectin haze isn't a huge problem, just add some pectic enzyme.  you can find it at your LHBS and it's fairly cheap.

23

Yeast and Fermentation / cider scare?

« on: November 08, 2012, 03:47:47 pm »

so my buddy and i both started batches of cider a couple months ago.  both were fresh pressed apples from the same orchard; both were originally transported from the orchard in 5gal buckets that were cleaned in the same process, at the same time.  both were hit with campden tablets as soon as we got to our respective homes.  his has formed a translucent almost milky skin on the top (is this what's called a pellicle?), but mine hasn't.  variables : he used cotes de blanc, i used nottingham; he's fermenting in plastic, i'm in glass; his basement is warmer than mine.

is the skin a property of the cotes de blanc?  is this possibly an infection?  it doesn't smell like vinegar yet, so i told him not to dump it out 'till we got some answers.

24

Ingredients / Re: now hear me out first....

« on: October 26, 2012, 03:16:21 pm »

i'm not gonna deny that the objective is to get a beer down my boss's throat.  i just wanna make my best effort at keeping with the spirit of the deal.  thanks for the links and tips!  i wouldn't turn down more help with the project though!

25

Ingredients / Re: now hear me out first....

« on: October 25, 2012, 02:28:56 pm »

i'm also not necessarily interested in making a full 5 gallon batch either.  a simple 1 or 2 gallon would be more than enough.

26

Ingredients / now hear me out first....

« on: October 25, 2012, 02:27:29 pm »

so i was sitting at work talking to the guys about the next beer i wanted to brew, when suddenly my manager sticks his head into the conversation and tells me i should brew a guacamole beer.  i was surprised, i was disgusted, i was intrigued.

now i know i should have dismissed the thought outright, but my manager has never willingly let a drop of alcohol pass his lips in his entire life.  so the answering phrase that came out of my mouth was "if i make it, are you gonna drink it?"  to which he grudgingly agreed.

so in the interest of breaking in a 35 year old virgin liver, how would you go about making a guacamole beer?  also i'm not at the all grain level yet, still just partial mash.

27

Other Fermentables / Re: My First Cider

« on: October 17, 2012, 06:52:59 pm »

+1

28

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Rehydrating Dry Yeast

« on: October 15, 2012, 02:12:22 pm »

i've rehydrated, sprinkled, and made starters with dry yeast.  sprinkling is definitely longer lag than the other 2 from what i've seen.  as for starters vs rehydrating, i don't necessarily think the difference in lag is worth the time and materials put into a starter.

29

Beer Recipes / Re: What to do with 6lbs of Amber LME

« on: October 11, 2012, 01:03:28 pm »

meh, so it'll be a session beer.  add another pound or 2 of DME and you'll take it up over 5%.

30

Beer Recipes / Re: What to do with 6lbs of Amber LME

« on: October 10, 2012, 02:16:16 pm »

a little crystal 40, maybe some carapils or victory or something fun, some northern brewer, and you have a cali common.