Messages

3046

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Dark starter for a dark beer?

« on: July 24, 2010, 09:54:29 am »

Putting it in the fridge overnight will cold crash the yeast.  The liquid on top is clear, layer of yeast on the bottom.   No porblem doing this.

3047

Other Fermentables / Re: Cider from store bought juice

« on: July 24, 2010, 07:23:18 am »

but if i stabilize it and back sweeten it, i won't be able to bottle it with carbonation, right?

That is correct, unless some yeast can manage to remaing active.  I looked, and you didn't say that you wanted it sweet and carbonated.

Backsweetening, kegging the cider, and force carbonating would be my choice at this point.

3048

All Grain Brewing / Re: Head Problems

« on: July 23, 2010, 07:03:17 am »

The best head retention of late was a N. German Pils with 100% pils malt we brewed in Dec., but is now sadly gone.  No car-pils required for a towering head on a German Pils.

Edit - and we pitched a big starter of lager yeast, aerated.  Fermentation was done in 5 days at a controlled 50F.  That was a healthy fermentation.

3049

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Any tips for filtration of beer?

« on: July 23, 2010, 06:59:02 am »

I use a big nylon fine mesh bag.  It is long enough to stick out of the top of the carboy.  Boil to sanitize.  Put racking cane in the bag, put bag and cane through the carboy neck, then siphon beer.  This keeps the debris out of the beer you are racking off - hop particles in my case.

3050

Other Fermentables / Re: Cider from store bought juice

« on: July 23, 2010, 04:40:18 am »

You can stabalize it with Potassium Sorbate and Campden tablets.  Then back sweeten to 1.006-8 with the sugar of your choice.

You can find more on this at gotmead.com or wine forums.

3051

Ingredients / Re: Home grown Cascade

« on: July 21, 2010, 05:48:05 pm »

To add to Kai's post, we dry out hops at much lower temps.  Mine are in the garage on a screne.  The commercial hop farms have to use 140F air to get throughput.  This flashes off some of the essential oils.

Here is James Altweis's presentation.  Some really good stuff here.  I might dry in the house or in the basement with the house AC unit this year.

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/attachments/0000/4802/Hop_Quality-James_Altweis.pdf

3052

Beer Recipes / Re: Balancing a recipe

« on: July 21, 2010, 05:42:11 pm »

Hey Guys,

Another really good read is this one on Balance Value (BV) ==> http://beercolor.netfirms.com/balance.html

I use that particular formula in http://www.brewmate.net, to hit the desired balance depending on each style.

Rob.

Rob - I had not seen that.  Will read in detail and use it.  Looked good at first glance.
Thanks for sharing!

3053

All Grain Brewing / Re: First time all grain

« on: July 21, 2010, 09:05:46 am »

I learned that the Pros do an iodine test.  It is a quick test.  It may save you grief.  I went a long time not doing one after getting my process down, but have been doing it for the past year.  Saved one mash that had not converted. The base grains were vienna and munich, so a temp boost and more time did the trick.  YMMV.

3054

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: San Diego Conference - What would make it awesomer?

« on: July 21, 2010, 08:36:44 am »

No announcements.  I heard "rumors" from someone at the conference, that had talked to somebody who knew a guy from San Diego.  So it must be true!

3055

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: San Diego Conference - What would make it awesomer?

« on: July 21, 2010, 05:22:08 am »

Drew,

Unlike this year, we will be flying.  We were somewhat familiar with Denver, and very familiar with the Bay Area.  We used the light rail in both cities and did not bother with a car when at those conferences.  We did not use beerbybart.com, but that is a great resource.

Just did some google searches.  It looks like there is a trolley stop not far from the hotel.  So far so good.  We are not familiar with SD. Some links on the conference page would help us out seeking a beer off the hotel grounds.

Just looked for one, found this link below.  Do the locals have more?  Will there be a list of other things to see and do using the trolley that are not beer related?  This can really help one have mobility without the cost and responsibility of a rent a car.
http://www.sandiegoisbrewing.com/2010/02/san-diego-trolley-and-san-diego-breweries.html

Edit - If my wife has the social package, info like this will be a big hit for things to do during the day.

3056

Beer Recipes / Re: Balancing a recipe

« on: July 20, 2010, 05:51:26 pm »

Just a coincidence here, maybe.  In 2009 I had a barleywine that did pretty good at the second round of the NHC.  OG was 1.101.  I would have to lookup the SO4:CL ratio.  The IBUs were to be in the 100 range, but were measured at 65.  The judges commented on the balance of the beer.

3057

Beer Recipes / Re: Balancing a recipe

« on: July 20, 2010, 12:28:55 pm »

As pointed out, pay attention to the BU/GU ratio.

This page says a little more than 0.5, but most of us just have a guess as to the BU's.

 http://www.realbeer.com/hops/FAQ.html

3058

Pimp My System / Re: Building the Ultimate Brewhouse?

« on: July 20, 2010, 12:24:35 pm »

Stainless steel sink with double capacity slop sink is a must as well, AFAIAC.

As John B. pointed out, you spend more time at the sink than anywhere else.  At least a double sink, or even tripple would be good.  Or one with a built in SS sideboard would be nice as he points out, for a place to drain and stack things.

I have one of the plastic twin utility sinkd from the big box store.  Better than nothing.

The big thick rubber floor mats that you see behind some bars are good to have in front of the sink.  Comfort is good, and it increases the safety factor.  No slip surface when wet, and glass objects bounce on it - I know this to be true!

3059

Pimp My System / Re: Building the Ultimate Brewhouse?

« on: July 20, 2010, 09:38:57 am »

If it is a new build, I would think over what you want for floors and drains. 

Many good things on setting up your home brewery were covered at the NHC by John Blichmann.

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/attachments/0000/4955/Tips___Tricks_to_Setting_Up_Your_Own_Homebrewery-Blichmann.pdf

3060

Ingredients / Re: Mailbox Cooked Hops

« on: July 18, 2010, 01:19:09 pm »

They got hot for one day.  You can still use them.  They were dried with 140F air, FYI.

Before AC was invented, the brewers had to deal with old hops that had been stored at warmer temps, as the harvest happens once a year (N. Hemisphere anyway).

Keep them in the freezer.  Vacuum packed is best, and the Freshops bags seem to be pretty good.