Messages

31

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Belgian Golden Strong

« on: October 17, 2012, 08:07:53 AM »

I checked the Duvel conditioning schedule two Januaries ago for a failed gluten-free golden strong ale (it turns out lagering in my garage was a bad idea), and I was surprised to see the low temps.

32

Equipment and Software / Re: First All Grain - Temperature Test

« on: October 17, 2012, 08:05:11 AM »

Grains would likely reduce convection within the pot, but I don't think that would slow heat loss significantly. It may just cause a greater temperature difference between the edges of the pot and the center of the mash when compared with a pot full of hot water only.

33

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Belgian Golden Strong

« on: October 17, 2012, 07:55:24 AM »

I'd let it rip once it starts on the downslope of fermentation.

According to BLAM Duvel "ripens" in the bottle at warm temps for about six weeks IIRC.

The Duvel website gives the complete fermentation/conditioning schedule with temps. It looks like the final resting period is 6 weeks at ~41*F

34

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Belgian Golden Strong

« on: October 17, 2012, 07:31:45 AM »

I haven't used WLP545, but White Labs claims it's from the the Ardennes region, which is not where Huyghe is.

I did culture from a bottle of DT once and the result was great.  Of course, when you step up from bottle dregs, YMMV.

I was looking at the yeast strain guide on Mr Malty ( http://www.mrmalty.com/white-labs.php ) and didn't see WLP545 so I sent an email to Kristen England asking, and the reponse I got was Huyghe. I checked the map and I see what you mean, I'm not sure what to think now.

Yeah, I don't know... White Labs already has strains sourced from most of the breweries in that region. Could be Caracole... BLAM says they have two different house strains, and given the White Labs description, the stronger one used for Nostradamus is a possibility.

I forgot to mention earlier that the Huyghe identification came with a disclaimer, which was basically that is was more of a best/educated guess rather than a positive ID. I opened a bottle of my beer last night and there is a promininent  banana-like fruitiness to the aroma. It's been a while since I've had a bottle of Delirium, or Caracole, so I can't quite recall their yeast characters very well.

WY PC Canadian/Belgian strain. It's restrained with gentle apricot and lemon character. Very very nice yeast for a light colored belgian.

That does sound really good.


As for temp, I started around 68*, though the first night it crept up to 73* while I slept before I got the temp down again the next morning. After that it was a fairly constant 68*.

35

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Belgian Golden Strong

« on: October 16, 2012, 04:59:05 PM »

I haven't used WLP545, but White Labs claims it's from the the Ardennes region, which is not where Huyghe is.

I did culture from a bottle of DT once and the result was great.  Of course, when you step up from bottle dregs, YMMV.

I was looking at the yeast strain guide on Mr Malty ( http://www.mrmalty.com/white-labs.php ) and didn't see WLP545 so I sent an email to Kristen England asking, and the reponse I got was Huyghe. I checked the map and I see what you mean, I'm not sure what to think now.

36

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Belgian Golden Strong

« on: October 16, 2012, 02:09:41 PM »

You can't go wrong with WY1388 or WLP570 (also Duvel). A recent golden strong my brother made turned out quite well with 570, it had a nice fruitiness it that definitely is reminiscent of Duvel. I bottled a golden strong last Tuesday that I fermented with WLP545, which is reportedly from Huyghe (Delirium Tremens, etc.). I haven't tried the final bottled conditioned product, and there seems to be a lot fruit in the aroma (bananas maybe) and some spiciness, which is the yeast character was I shooting for. As for a favorite? I think may stick with WLP545 because I like the ester profile and it seems to ferment well. After two and a half weeks my beer went from 1.085 to 1.008 and finished with (a very smooth) 10.3% ABV.

37

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Red Hoptober

« on: October 11, 2012, 01:21:07 PM »

right you are. my bad. had some good odells though, the 80 shilling

Odell's 90 Schilling (is that what you meant?) is my go-to beer around town, I love it to death. Odell's IPA is a very close second though.

38

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Red Hoptober

« on: October 11, 2012, 07:57:16 AM »

Mihalybaci, It's the first year they've used the name Red Hoptober.  It's not the same as the previous 2 years fall seasonal either.  Still has the harvest ale idea going for it, but different flavors, new hops I think.
It's not a beer I'd go out of my way for, but it's a good one either way.

Hmm...maybe I'm thinking of this http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/51991 since, as I seem to recall, the beer I had wasn't that "red". The only thing I know for sure is that whatever I had came out at least two October's ago, but in any case, I think my earlier remarks can be stricken from the record.

39

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Red Hoptober

« on: October 10, 2012, 02:20:28 PM »

Yeah, I had it when it first came out (2 years ago?). It's good, but lacks the "wow factor", to use an overused phrase. It's worth a try, but don't expect greatness.

40

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Using sweet cherries

« on: October 09, 2012, 01:14:48 PM »

Bell's Brewing in Michigan makes a pretty nice cherry stout, so that's one option.

41

Ingredients / Re: Spent Grain as Compost?

« on: October 09, 2012, 11:08:57 AM »

I spread my grain into a 2x3x2 (l-w-h) open compost bin. I don't usually mix it in (i.e. with dried leaves), but I try to make as thin a layer as I can to increase the amount of oxygen and I've never have had a problem with it rotting and turning foul. It decomposes like a charm too.

As a side note, I was in Florida back in May and stopped by the Florida Brewing Company in Melbourne. They had giant 6 foot tall, 15-20 foot long dumpsters full of their spend grains, and let me tell you, it was possibly the most horrid odor I've ever had the displeasure to smell. They're lucky that the smell wasn't seeping into the tasting room. Compost properly and you can avoid your backyard smelling like death.

42

All Grain Brewing / Re: Recipes for some grain I've acquired

« on: October 07, 2012, 09:00:43 AM »

Carafa brings schwarzbier to mind, or really any beer where you want some color without too much roastiness.

43

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Reusing yeast

« on: October 02, 2012, 08:20:32 AM »

Like Joe said, you may try washing the yeast.  I just started doing this and have had great results.  Here's a link I used to get me going:  http://billybrew.com/yeast-washing
 

I read the link and it mentions that washed yeast can be used a few weeks up to maybe a few months after washing. Is this a reasonable estimate? I'm going to bottling a belgian golden strong in the next week or two, and probably won't make another Belgian until next January/February. Would I be better off just getting a fresh vial after that long?

44

Beer Recipes / Re: First Barleywine

« on: October 01, 2012, 04:17:18 PM »

Also, I'd personally keep it in secondary for longer...but that's just me (some of my barleywines/Burton ales have stayed in secondary for a year).   I just find that it results in (to me) a better brew and lessens the likelihood of  foamouts or bottle bombs for those bottles that make it to the two year mark (or longer)...and it's those bottles that will be the best tasting, hands down.  You will wish you had made more or, at the very least, you'll wish that you had saved more.  Trust me on this.

So there's a difference between bulk ageing and bottle ageing? Say you made two batches of barleywine and bottled one after one month and bottled the other after 10 months, then tasted both after one year total conditioning time (carboy+bottle), do you think there would be a big difference?

45

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: First German Dark Beer

« on: September 28, 2012, 06:40:58 PM »

I know White Labs has a few different ale yeasts that they claim have a "lager-like" character (the East Coast Ale yeast comes to mind). Maybe you could try one of those and just ferment as cool as you can. I think their Oktoberfest lager yeast has gives a fermentation range up to near 60F. I'm sure it wouldn't be as clean, but I've often thought of trying that since I don't have a fermentation chiller either.

On a related note, I was trying to cool one of my carboys down and I wrapped it in a soaking wet towel with a box fan on it. The room temp was ~62F and in about 5 minutes with the fan on the outside of the carboy was reading 52F with my infrared thermometer. Though you'd have to keep the towel wet 24/7...