Messages

31

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: First partial mash....and Im confused.

« on: August 04, 2011, 01:31:31 PM »

So, I did my first partial mash yesterday. Pumpkin Ale kit from Austin Home Brew. Followed the recipe, and ran into some problems.

1) I had pellet hops, and a new plate chiller. In the past, I was cooling the wort in an ice bath, as a result the hops residue and other trub settled below the valve in my brew pot. So when it came to pour off, I didn't have a problem with the residue getting into the primary. Now, running hot wort thru the plate chiller has the problem with trub and hops still in the mix. What's the best way to address this?

2) Recipe called for a combination of 3 gal of liquid once sparge and addition before boil. Once boiled, i was left with 1.5 gal in the  primary, and easily a gallon below the valve in the pot. Does the liquid requirements on paper need to compensate for this difference?

3) After the mash I added 4 lbs of LME, and once my 1.5 transfer was done, I began to add the water to get my OG. I was only able to add 1 gal before I hit OG. So I have 3 gal of wort tormenting. Not cool. Clearly, I didn't mash quite right. So, is the 1 gallon of liquid that was below the valve in my pot the reason? Do I need to add 1 extra gal initially to compensate?

Looking forward to the input.

1) when you finish the boil, stir your wort in one direction for a few minutes.  Slap the lid on it, put it where you won't be moving it until it's empty, and let it sit for 15-20 minutes.  The hop trub and hot break should form a cone in the bottom of your kettle, away from your spigot.  At least, that's the plan.

2) You need a false bottom with a pick up tube for your kettle to get that last gallon or so or wort.  That's too much left in the kettle.  If you add water to what's in the fermenter to get to five gallons, your OG will be too low.  Or you could get a stainless racking cane and some sort of clamp to siphon the remainder out, and leave the cone of stuff behind.

3) If you want to leave "a good gallon and a half" of wort in your kettle, then yes, add more water up front to compensate.  You might have to add more LME to hit your OG.

The first few batches will teach you mostly about your equipment--what it can and can't do.  The next few will help you become consistent.  Fermenting 3 gallons at the correct OG is the right thing to do for the beer, but not the best for you wallet.

32

Beer Recipes / Re: Oatmeal Stout

« on: July 21, 2011, 07:09:56 AM »

You can toast tor not, it's not a "requirement" for an oatmeal stout.  I use 2 pounds of Quaker oats in the mash, per 5 gallons, untoasted and it makes a great beer.

If you enter competitions, it's a requirement.  The judges told me they couldn't taste a toasted oat flavor.  And they knocked off points because it didn't taste like an oatmeal cookie.

Wanna know why I don't enter competitions anymore? 

33

The Pub / Re: What's the Weather Like Where You Are?

« on: July 20, 2011, 05:51:37 AM »

Too hot to brew.
Not a good thing my reserves are getting low.

To hot and humid here as well.  Fortunately, my stocks are okay.

34

Homebrew Clubs / Re: Virtual Homebrew Clubs And Competition

« on: June 23, 2011, 02:16:38 PM »

Since this dead horse as not been beaten enough, I'll add my two cents.

I live in a small town.  There are several homebrewers here, but none of them are interested in a club.  Sometimes, it's like we don't even want to say hello when we see each other in the grocery store, much less get together and brew!  There is a small club in a town about 25 miles south of here.  Then there are clubs in San Antonio and Austin, about an hour and a half from me.  I don't feel comfortable that far, having a few beers, then driving home.  I am an honorary (i.e., non-dues paying) member of a club in Midland/Odessa, four hours away.  But that's because I run their website.  While I wore the colors on club night, I entered my beers under the BN, because that's where I get most of my information. 

This whole argument seems to boil down to meetings.  I would agree that an annual party is not a meeting.  But I have entered a BN forum competition, did a judging on Skype, and we passed along the results to the greater community.  There were several of these judging sessions.  I would say that they qualify as meetings.

35

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: AHA Conference Talk - Power Points

« on: June 23, 2011, 01:49:12 PM »

Are you saying people actually used that word at a professional conference? Doesn't sound like anything I ever attended.

National Homebrew Conference. American Homebrewers Association.

Sorry, that wouldn't justify it for me. I use the word myself, but there's a time and a place for it and a conference isn't one of them in my opinion.

I guess we won't be seeing you in Seattle then.

 

I'll be there!  (BTW, thanks for coming along with us to Stone and Lost Abbey!)

36

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Can I make whiskey in Florida

« on: June 23, 2011, 01:48:21 PM »

Can you make whiskey in Florida?  Yes.
May you make whiskey in Florida?  No. 

This discussion should be done more discretely.  Big Brother might be listening.

Therefore, the eagle flies at dawn. Repeat, the eagle flies at dawn.

37

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: AHA Conference Talk - Power Points

« on: June 23, 2011, 01:45:48 PM »

Mine is still being edited for f-bombs.

I have to add them into the slides to give the appropriate flavor.

No s***!  It wouldn't be the f##kin' same without 'em! 

Which is why I went to Drew's session.   

Besides, I'd seen Denny in Cincy.

38

The Pub / Re: Brewery Logo Design

« on: May 18, 2011, 07:14:52 AM »

I like it.  Let us know if helping out fellow brewers is something you'd be interested in.

39

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: In Memorium, Ant Hayes, 1970-2011

« on: May 04, 2011, 07:58:01 AM »

After a long Club Night last year, I swore I wouldn't drink until the afternoon on Saturday.  Unfortunately, Ant had a session on English beers with a sampling.  Left that session with a buzz.  One of the best sessions in Minneapolis last year. and one of the best in Oakland the year before.  I was hoping he would be back. 

40

The Pub / Re: I'm f***ing pissed at my own stupidity

« on: April 05, 2011, 05:01:47 PM »

Glad it worked out, Kai.  I was really concerned after getting your email this AM, but it sounds OK now.  My domain name is set to auto renew unless I tell them otherwise.  Can you do something like that?

All of my domain names auto renew.  I am nowhere near organized enough to keep track of the different expiration dates.

41

The Pub / Re: How Beer Saved the World

« on: February 01, 2011, 11:01:52 AM »

I didn't really think of it as an hour long commercial for MillerCoors.  Yes, they advertised on it, and yes they showed a lot of their breweries.  No one here seemed to complain that Brew Masters was a DogFish Head infomercial.

I thought the was quite accurate. Micheal Jackson made the same points about Beer leading to the beginning of civilization. "Bread, Beer and the Seeds of Change" by Thomas and Carol Sinclair described the diet of pre-Industrial peoples as being mainly beer and bread, with the thesis that Civilization owes its existence to beer. Gregg Smith's book "Beer in America: The Early Years" said some of the same things the show did.  I didn't find anything factually incorrect.  Yes, they presented it in a humorous way, but if that makes thing inaccurate. . .

The product placement, shots of the breweries, and some interviews of the head brewer all made me think that, along with the actual commercials being Miller Coors.  But I watched it all, and enjoyed it for the most part.

The Ben Franklin quote about beer has been proven erroneous.  The Pilgrims did not run out of beer, but the ships crew would have on the way back if they had gone to Virginia, so the pilgrims were put off early.  Johns Hopkins was John Hopkins, Emory was Emery, nitpics, I know.

Sam C. is the star of Brewmasters, so I expect lots of DFH.  For a show with no star and more of a documentary premise, I expected something different.

I know the Ben Franklin quote is not correct, but I still see them on t-shirts everywhere.  No biggie for me, since it's part of Pop Culture, like "Beam Me Up, Scotty" which was never said on the show.  I think by saying the crew would have run out of beer on the way home so the pilgrims were dropped off early means they didn't go to Virginia because they were running low on beer.  Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.  They didn't have enough beer, therefore.....

I expected more of Sammy C than the crew at the brewery, that's why I was so disappointed by Brew Masters.  I wanted more than Ace of Cakes in a Brewery. 

I thought the shots of the Miller Brewery to highlight how industrial beer production is was perfectly valid.  Yes, every shot in a store featured MillerCoors, but I spotted a lot of Sierra Nevada taps, too.

42

The Pub / Re: How Beer Saved the World

« on: January 31, 2011, 02:07:38 PM »

I didn't really think of it as an hour long commercial for MillerCoors.  Yes, they advertised on it, and yes they showed a lot of their breweries.  No one here seemed to complain that Brew Masters was a DogFish Head infomercial.

I thought the was quite accurate. Micheal Jackson made the same points about Beer leading to the beginning of civilization. "Bread, Beer and the Seeds of Change" by Thomas and Carol Sinclair described the diet of pre-Industrial peoples as being mainly beer and bread, with the thesis that Civilization owes its existence to beer. Gregg Smith's book "Beer in America: The Early Years" said some of the same things the show did.  I didn't find anything factually incorrect.  Yes, they presented it in a humorous way, but if that makes thing inaccurate. . .

43

The Pub / Re: On the road again

« on: January 07, 2011, 09:39:18 AM »

That's a great HEB too.

I lost count of the empty Bud Light cartons littering the side of the road on the way up from Ozona. Plenty of dead deer and hogs on the shoulder too.

IMO it isn't a money thing but a cultural anomaly. There's lots of money out here just a slowly growing exposure and acceptance to niche markets.

On the way back home, swing by Eola School and say hello to Mark.  He's about twenty miles east of San Angelo.  He's the only brewpub between Fredericksburg and Artesia, NM.  Not the best beer in the country, but he's trying.  He's also a really nice guy.

I call Fredericksburg the beginning of the Great Beer Desert that stretches pretty much from I-35 to I- 25.

44

The Pub / Re: On the road again

« on: January 06, 2011, 04:17:26 PM »

It's 79705.

There's a supermarket with an ok selection. You can get some of the standards like Sam Adams or Sierra Nevada. Guess I've got spoiled. 

Back in the early 90's it was a pretty big deal when we could finally get Shiner here. Before that it was strictly BMC and the odd Heiniken or Fosters.

I'd like to know about a good beer store around here.

The Wine Rack, 4610 N Garfield St # D4, has an excellent selection of Belgians and imports.  My cousin lives in Midland, and every time I go to visit, I make a point to stop. The front three quarters of the place is wine, and the beer is along the wall across from the register.

UPDATE:  Checked with my cousin.  His homebrew club, The Basin Brewers, goes to Cigar Frog's a lot.  "Cigar Frogs for bottled selection and some good ones on tap....only a couple though."  216 North Main St.

45

The Pub / Re: "No refusal" DUI checkpoints could be coming to Tamp

« on: January 05, 2011, 07:57:07 AM »

I think texting while driving is at least as dangerous than driving drunk, personally. I'm certainly not going to defend it at all, and lots of places are cracking down. But  its really hard to enforce.

That's why Austin Police Chief Art Arcevedo wants to eliminate the blood alcohol limit laws, and replace them with "Driving Impaired" laws.  The police would have to see the crime being committed, rather than stopping everyone, taking police away from other duties.