Messages

1

All Grain Brewing / Re: Hot Side Aeration

« on: June 12, 2013, 07:51:46 AM »

...I believe it's an old brewers' myth, myself.

Could be. Or, it cold be a problem only in theory.
All I know is that the late and lamented Vernon Valley Brewery (NJ's first, pioneering Microbrewery in the mid 1980s) made the best authentic German beer this side of the Atlantic.  A friend of mine (the late Jay Misson) was a brewmaster there  and he told me that they cooled their wort by cascading it over a heat exchanger. 
They seemed not to worry about HSA at all, and from what I tasted (draught and bottled), there was zero effect on the beer in the short term or the long term.
Ever since then, I never gave HSA a second thought.

2

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Lagering Time

« on: June 04, 2013, 09:51:54 AM »

...Let's remember that Germans are lagering and carbonating at the same time (can not force carbonate).
This means that fermantation is still going on.
This is why it takes them longer time to lager.

Of course one can consume beers as soon as they clear...that's just a matter of personal taste preference and/or homebrewer impatience.  There are definite flavor benefits from a longer aging time for lagers and ales...it's up to the individual to decide if it's worth waiting a bit longer for a significantly enhanced experience.
 
Conditioning encompasses a wider range of effects than simply carbonation.  One need only compare the taste of an alcoholically "hot" sample of a just fermented and cleared barleywine with a sixth month old (or older) sample from the same batch.

3

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Who's going to NHC?

« on: June 03, 2013, 04:55:26 PM »

Number 8 for me this year.  No name tag for me...just look for the red Chuck Taylor hi tops.

LOL.  Another thing we have in common.

4

Equipment and Software / Re: Vacuum Sealers? Can I get some recommendations-Need to seal hops

« on: June 03, 2013, 12:56:00 PM »

My Seal-a-meal by Rival promptly failed after a couple uses. I've had it's replacement (Foodsaver) for 5 years now.

I love my Foodsaver...I bought it in 1991 (or thereabouts) and have used it for both food and brewing stuff. It still pulls as good a vacuum as ever.  I've had sero issues with it. The only maintenance I've had to perform is to run an ounce or two of a warm, diluted vinegar solution through it to clean it.  One of the best appliance purchases I've ever made.

5

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Lagering Time

« on: June 02, 2013, 07:29:49 PM »

...For my 1.065 OG beer that would be 8 weeks of lagering (minimum).  To me that seems excessive, so what is the current consensus for lagering time?...

It's all personal preference in the end, but 8 weeks doesn't seem excessive at all.
For me 12 weeks minimum would be preferable.

The old Horlacher brewery in Easton, Pennsylvania (closed in 1978) for many years made a beer they called PERFECTION. I don't know what the original gravity was, but I do remember that it was higher ABV than most other "regular" beers.  PERFECTION was  lagered for 9 months (even though it most  likely wasn't as high as OG 1.065). 
And it's very well known that Ballantine aged their famous IPA (OG 1.075, 70-75 IBU)  for a full year before releasing it.

Of course, as far as homebrewing goes, any beer is ready to drink when your tastebuds say so.  But the great character of a long aged brew can be something of a revelation...if you can hold out long enough.

What I took to doing years ago is to brew a quicker maturing "quaffer" beer to enjoy while time works it's magic on a heftier brew.  It'm a good excuse to brew more often (not that I really need an excuse).

6

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Who's going to NHC?

« on: May 31, 2013, 07:05:05 PM »

Well, dang it, I didn't register in time so I'll miss the fun.  Ironically enough,  I'm going to be in and out of Philly most days that week for interviews and a few auditions.  I'll probably be mere blocks away from the festivities.

If there are any impromptu gatherings of note outside of the official convention stuff, Let me know...I'd love to pop in, say  hi, and have a beer or seven. 
Sure would be fun to put faces to the great people I've met on the forums.
 

7

The Pub / Re: Frivolous Magic Hat Lawsuit

« on: May 29, 2013, 04:19:46 PM »

...If you don't protect your appropriately then you might find yourself losing the right to protect and use it down the road, which would be silly. Breweries are going to have to start doing a better job of making sure their IP is not infringing on other brewers' IP...

Absolutely right.  Especially since what I've been saying for years is particularly true these days:  'craft' breweries aren't so much in competition with the BMCs of the world nearly as much as they are in competition with each other.  It will get even more intense as  new breweries continue to jump on the bandwagon, competing for shelf space,  tap space, and customer loyalty (though in the new world of beer, customer loyalty is less prevalent as drinkers are always looking for the next new thing).

8

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Everything in my freezer smells like hops

« on: May 28, 2013, 08:26:06 AM »

...I had a vacuum sealer and it just quit pulling vacuum after not too many uses. I have been reading reviews on a number of food saver and seal a meal units and finding they all seem to share that problem.

Just curious...were you using your vacuum sealer for sealing other food items, meats, etc.?  If so, the units can stop pulling strong vacuum when they get clogged with juices from some items.  Just put a few tablespoons of a vinegar/water solution into a bag and let the liquid suck into the works.  It will clean any gunk out quickly and effectively.

FWIW, using that remedy, my FoodSaver unit has been purring along faithfully and effectively for 19 years or more.  It sucks s much s ever (in this case, a good thing  )
Frankly, I wouldn't even consider buying hops is bulk if I wasn't sealing them by vacuum in barrier bags.

9

Equipment and Software / Re: Plastic carboy

« on: May 25, 2013, 08:49:36 AM »

It looks to be the same type of product as a Better Bottle PET product and IME they work very well with no issues. I do find that being only 6 gallons instead of the 6.5 gallon bucket, head space can be an issue and definitely require a blow off tube!

I've primarily gone to only using buckets as I find them easier to deal with, head space is better and since I dry hop in primary, access is much easier as well as cleaning. I really don't care what my beer looks like fermenting:D

+1 on the size deficiency, at least for use  as a primary...for that purpose, 6.5 or 7gal would be much more useful. I use a 7 gal carboy and a blowoff tube has never been necessary.
As others will undoubtedly state. a bucket is the simplest solution. 
Really, I only continue using the carboy because I'm a stubborn bastard.

10

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Over Attenuation?

« on: May 24, 2013, 03:11:44 PM »

So a buddy and I were having a conversation about final gravity. I have several recipes that have finished below 1.010. Around 1.005-1.008 to be exact. He mentioned getting that low usually means wild yeast was introduced somewhere. I've only been brewing for a year and typically US-05 is my go-to yeast. What do you think of this hypothesis?

I think it's completely off the mark unless the beers taste like they're infected.

Totally agree. As a rule I don't like my beers to finish below 1.015 or so, but if they do, I don't give it a second thought if the taste I want is there.

11

Beer Recipes / Re: ESB suggestion - Victory or no?

« on: May 21, 2013, 02:17:58 PM »

Nope. Don't need it. Maris Otter plus dark crystal equals good ESB malt bill.

+1

+1
The best ESBs I've had were always the simplest ones.

12

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: First beer taste

« on: May 21, 2013, 09:26:49 AM »

Frank, it might help to do what I do...I take an 8-12 oz. hydrometer sample.  After I get the gravity, I pour the sample into a 20 oz. PET bottle, put a carbonator cap on it and hit it with about 30 psi.  Put it in the freezer for maybe 30-45 min. and you have a cold, carbonated sample.

sheer genius!

13

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: First beer taste

« on: May 20, 2013, 07:48:24 PM »

IMO a good brewer needs to taste beer all the way through the process, from wort to glass.

Keith is 100% correct both on the quoted statement and his earlier one:  after you have a number of brews under your belt (a belt which, I can say from 4 decades of experience, will be incrementally larger in size after a time) you'll be able to taste a brew in late or end-stage primary and suss out what it will be like when it hits minimal maturity.   

14

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: When did you switch to all grain?

« on: May 15, 2013, 09:41:48 AM »

I brewed from extract for around 15 years before going all grain in the mid/late '80s.
The reasons for the delay were threefold:   1)  I was fairly satisfied by my extract brews (though perhaps not blown away by them);   2)  space considerations regarding the setup of all grain brewing;  and 3)  being irrationally intimidated by the perceived difficulty of the all-grain process.  I bought a house in the mid '80s that finally allowed me to build a dedicated brew kitchen and, with some help and great advice from Al Andrews and from "Stew's Brews" (anyone here remember them??),  I took the plunge.

I only wish I'd realized before that how dead simple it all really was...I would have taken the plunge much sooner.

15

The Pub / Re: NTSB Recommends 0.05% BAC Limit

« on: May 14, 2013, 02:36:32 PM »

In the PA coal region, neighborhood bars that literally double as people's homes are a common thing.  However, a friend of mine was busted for trying to walk home, which was three doors away from a bar.  An undercover liquor control guy followed him outside.

Can's say I'm totally surprised.  PA is kind of known for it's bizarre and backwards liquor laws as well the overzealous folks on the liquor control board who 'enforce' the law.