Topics

1

Ingredients / 4 hour Dry Hopping?

« on: May 22, 2013, 03:44:34 PM »

I have been re-reading the Peter Wolfe masters thesis: "A Study of Factors Affecting the Extraction of Flavor When Dry Hopping Beer"

And find myself wondering if anyone has acted on his findings that the extraction of the oils Myrcene and humulene peak at 4 hours. 

I'm going to brew an IPA on Friday.  I'm already changing one variable for this brew so I am hesitant to change another and complicate things.

Anybody try dryhopping for 4 hours?

2

Yeast and Fermentation / Wyeast 1968 - Wow

« on: May 22, 2013, 09:54:48 AM »

Wow this yeast is flocculant!  I started this starter last night and got up to this this morning.  I'm also impressed with how well that little stir bar works!

http://s787.photobucket.com/user/yso191/media/IMG_0194_zpsf7ee27b1.mp4.html

I couldn't get the short video to post here so I just linked to photobucket.  Is there a way to post video?

3

Ingredients / Check my Brun' Water?

« on: April 12, 2013, 09:02:15 AM »

In a couple of hours I am going to brew a Southern English Brown Ale.  This is the first time I have used the Brun' Water spreadsheet for my water salt additions, so I am posting to see if there is someone who would be willing to recieve my spreadsheet file via email and look it over just to make sure I am getting things right.

If you are willing please message me with your email address and I'll shoot it to you.  Thanks!

4

All Grain Brewing / Gravity adjusting

« on: April 09, 2013, 03:22:45 PM »

I have heard on a podcast (Jamil Z. as I recall) that when one wants to adjust the gravity of a brew that what should change is the base grain(s).  However, Beersmith adjust everything proportionally.  Which is correct?

5

Commercial Beer Reviews / Ten Barrel Brewing

« on: April 07, 2013, 07:19:55 PM »

I just spent a couple of days on the Oregon coast, and as I usually do, went to the local grocer looking for beers Ihave not tried.  I bought two from Ten Barrel Brewing (from Portland I think): an IPA and a Black Ale.  Both were conspicuously good.  I hope to try more soon.

6

Ingredients / Muddled hop bitterness

« on: April 05, 2013, 11:12:50 AM »

So I've tried a couple of commercial IPAs recently that has me asking a question.  Some IPAs have a very focused or narrow or clear sort of bitterness.  Others are broad, muddled, imprecise.

What is this a function of?  Hop variety?  Too many hop varieties in one beer?  Yeast?  fermentation?

7

General Homebrew Discussion / Craft beer sociology

« on: March 28, 2013, 12:58:13 PM »

I am a very amateur sociologist.  In other words I love thinking about it, but I know very little...

Anyway, I was musing this morning as I was driving around, about an ongoing discussion point: The craft beer brewery movement, and its stopping/contracting/ point. 

So I am interested in actual demonstrable dynamics that have fueled this change from the macro-brew to the micro-brew in an effort to better understand when the pace will slow, stop or reverse, and why.

A few of these dynamics that I think are fueling the move are:
 *the cultural shift away from brand loyalty (i.e. my dad was a Ford guy - I've owned 6 different brands)
 *the shift toward local sourcing of food (i.e. the "Know your farmer's name" bumper sticker)
 *the new social phenomenon largely brought on by the internet: Affinity Groups. (I'm a beer guy -            therefore I know beer in its various forms and makers)
 *the homebrewing movement.  Nobody is going to just brew BMC clones!
 *the Baby Boomer-and-beyond value: "Just give us the best, we'll figure out how to pay for it."

On the other side of the coin, the biggest (IMO) barrier to the craft beer movement is the 'no-nonsense,' utilitarian mindset that many men have: "Just give me a beer!  I don't need any of that froo-froo crap!
On this note I have had a bartender say to me: "Oh yeah you're that guy that likes the fancy beer."  I thought: "You're an idiot." at the very same time I felt a small desire to communicate my masculinity to him.  Oh, and by fancy beer he meant Fat Tire which just happened to be the beer they had which had the most flavor

Then of course there is cost.

So those are my thoughts, what would you add?

8

Ingredients / BLackprinz malt in Brun' Water

« on: March 27, 2013, 01:37:13 PM »

Well I finally took the plunge and moved from the EZ Water spreadsheet to Brun' Water.  It is clearly more complete.

I am wondering about Blackprinz Malt since it is 'bitterless' malt.  I added it in as a roast malt @ 500 L, but since it is bitterless, will it be calculated as adding more acidity to the mash than it actually does?  If so, should I categorize it as base malt or what?

9

Beer Recipes / Check my recipe?

« on: March 26, 2013, 06:34:46 PM »

My next brew will be a Southern English Brown.  I'm thinking that I may have too much going on with the grain bill, but can't bring myself to delete something.  I looking for a nutty, caramely, malt forward beer, with a touch of sweetness.  What do you think?

Type: All Grain Date: 3/24/2013
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal Brewer: Steve Harrison
Boil Size: 7.50 gal
Boil Time: 60 min Equipment: A My 5 gallon
End of Boil Volume 6.50 gal Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 5.50 gal Est Mash Efficiency 85.2 %
Fermentation: Ale, Single Stage Taste Rating(out of 50): 30.0

Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
6 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 68.6 %
12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 2 8.6 %
8.0 oz BlackPrinz Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 3 5.7 %
8.0 oz Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 4 5.7 %
8.0 oz Pale Chocolate Malt (200.0 SRM) Grain 5 5.7 %
4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 6 2.9 %
4.0 oz Special Roast (50.0 SRM) Grain 7 2.9 %
1.00 oz Styrian Goldings [5.40 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 8 18.4 IBUs
1.0 pkg British Ale (White Labs #WLP005) [35.49 ml] Yeast 9 -
 
Beer Profile
 
Est Original Gravity: 1.044 SG Measured Original Gravity: 1.040 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.012 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.2 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 3.9 %
Bitterness: 18.4 IBUs Calories: 131.4 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 29.4 SRM

10

Ingredients / Flavor sequencing

« on: March 20, 2013, 04:28:18 PM »

I'm trying to get my head around grains; the flavors and other characteristics they add.  I found myself wondering about a dynamic that I have not heard about.  For lack of a better name, I'm calling it flavor sequencing.  What I mean is, I am wondering about the manipulability or just predictability of what flavor one experiences on the attack, mid-palate, and finish.  For example: "Crystal 120 is big on the attack, and quickly fades, adding nothing to the finish.

There is a lot of info in this vein: "Crystal 120 gives a pronounced caramel flavor.". But I can't find anything about what flavor a grain provides time wise.

I'm sure the same could be said, or asked, about water salts, hops and yeast.  It just seems to me that a part of recipe design, like filling in which flavors one wants in a beer, it would be good to fill in what flavors one wants in each of these three times so that there isn't a hole or weakness.

Any thoughts or resources?

11

Ingredients / Belma Saison follow-up

« on: March 16, 2013, 02:18:47 PM »

I recently brewed a Saison using Belma hops exclusively.  My goal was to test Belma hops in a beer that I thought would complement them nicely.  Here is the recipe for 5 gallons:

3.5 lbs Belgian 2 row
3 lbs Belgian Wheat malt
.5 lb. Munich
.25 oz. Caramunich (56 SRM)
.75 lbs. Orange Blossom Honey
1 oz. Belma in the mash
.25 oz. Belma 60 min.
.25 oz. Belma 10 min.
1 oz. Belma 5 min.
1 oz. Belma hopstand for ~10 min.
No dry hopping
Wyeast 3711 French Saison yeast

This resulted in, according to BeerSmith:
5.4% ABV
24 IBU
5.4 SRM

This is my first attempt at brewing a Saison, and I have little experience drinking them too, so I am mainly going off of the BJCP style guidelines for evaluation. 

The beer turned out good, but there is very little Belma flavor discernable.  Next time I would seriously increase the hop additions (while eliminating the mash addition).  So given that this was an experiment to test Belma hops the one thing I learned is that they are very light in flavor - which I had heard - but since I was brewing a Saison, I figured it would show through... but no.

I would also ferment a little warmer, as I got very little of the phenolic character from the yeast that I was hoping for.  I fermented at 66*, then ramped up to 73* as I saw primary fermentation ending.  I think I'd ferment at 69* next time.

So not a waste.  It still is a pleasant, maybe even a good, light-tasting beer.  Perhaps a good gateway homebrew for BMC drinkers.

12

Ingredients / Hop to complement Citra?

« on: March 13, 2013, 08:32:55 AM »

My next brew is going to be a Zombie Dust clone (even though I have never tasted the original).  But I love Citra hops so...

Anyway, one of the things I am considering is to add one other hop variety at flameout to round out/complement the flavor of the Citra.  So what variety would you recommend?

13

Ingredients / Lipohop c-plus

« on: March 02, 2013, 10:51:38 AM »

One of the things that have stuck in my head from last August's Hops Academy put on by the Haas company, was a hop-derived product called Lipohop c-plus.  It is a completely natural extract from hops that provide foam control similar (I assume) to the silicone based products.  I looked into it as I don't like the idea of silicone in my beer, but they only sell it in 10 kg containers.  Their info here: http://www.barthhaasgroup.com/johbarth/images/pdfs/Lipohop_en.pdf

Fast forward to this week.  I mentioned this to a couple of great guys opening a LHBS here in Yakima.  They emailed me saying they were going to get this from Haas and sell it in homebrewer sized doses (~3 grams per 5 gal.).  I'll keep you posted regarding availablility and my experiments with it.

FYI, here is their website, though nothing is there about this yet.  http://www.yakimavalleyhops.com/default.asp

14

Ingredients / Today's question...

« on: February 28, 2013, 03:29:16 PM »

Boy it seems the questions never end.  Everyday I have more.  So I am glad you all are here!

Tomorrow I am going to do two things I haven't done before.  Add cold-extracted coffee to my milk stout, and bottle a Baltic Porter.

For adding coffee:  The primary fermentation is done including a diacetyl rest.  I intend to put the coffee in the keg, and then transfer from the carboy onto the coffee.  Should I put it in the house at 70* so the yeast can handle the oxygen introduced via the coffee, or go straight to cold conditioning at ~34*?  OR, should I just go straight to cold conditioning, and wait til I'm ready to bottle it and add the coffee and priming sugar at the same time?  OR, add the coffee and priming sugar tomorrow, bring the bottles inside to 70*, then after a couple of weeks cold condition then in the bottle?

On bottling the  Baltic Porter (fermented with lager yeast):  I have never bottled, I have only kegged.  This beer has been lagering at ~34* for 6+ weeks in the keg.  Do I need to add yeast with the priming sugar?  If so, how much and what kind?

Whew!

15

Ingredients / Grain for just color

« on: February 26, 2013, 10:50:02 AM »

I am working on a Nut Brown ale recipe, and would like to adjust the color a little darker/more brown without changing the flavor or gravity.  I seem to recall a grain that is made for this purpose, but my grain cheat sheet doesn't list it.

What do you suggest?