Messages

46

The Pub / Re: Pliny Documentary

« on: January 27, 2013, 01:43:28 AM »

*grr* (on pronunciation - I love me some PtE.. PtY is a fine treat, but I'm not down for the uber drastic hype of it)

I agree.  Both Plinys are good beers, but neither are particularly earth-shattering groundbreakers in my estimation, and the hype is certainly overblown (albeit apparently quite effective). 
Definitely well made beers, though

47

Zymurgy / Re: Printing a page

« on: January 19, 2013, 10:23:26 PM »

I don't think you're missing anything, just running into the intentional anti-piracy features.

Right.  Most online readers for digital publications disallow printing or saving.


However, you could just grab a screenshot  and print that. 
I'm not sure how to do it in Windoze, but if you happen to be on a Mac running OS X, just do a command-shift-4, select the area you want,  then print the saved result as usual.

48

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Aging a big Baltic Porter

« on: January 18, 2013, 06:53:54 PM »

you're just keeping it cold to drop the yeast,warm it up to age it. am i right?

That is my thinking, yes.  But given the other input I recieved that it is better to just keep it cold for the whole aging time...

I've done it both ways.  If I have room, I leave it in the fridge.  If not, I age at cellar temps (for me, that's aroud 60°F year round).
Both methods work.

49

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What were your gateway beers?

« on: January 17, 2013, 04:49:08 PM »

Wow, I must be weird.  I didn't get into 'craft' beers until after I had started homebrewing.  ...

Then I guess even weirder... my very first beers were my "gateway" beers and fueled my desire to try brewing. 

While as a kid I was permitted  by my Dad to have a few sips and eventually a very small glass of his Ballantine Ale or Kruger Pils with dinner,  the very first sixpack I ever bought for myself in the late 1960s was a bock beer...and the second one was an IPA (not knowing the significance  of either one at the time).  Those spoiled me for good and all, and as a result when I eventually got to college I didn't much care for the comparatively bland stuff my friends were drinking.  My go-to beers during those college years included Aas Juleol, Lowenbrau Maerzen, Prior Double Dark, Yuengling Porter, and of course  Ballantine XXX, Ballantine IPA.   

So I had my gateways pretty much right out of the gate.      Ten years later when the "craft" movement began rolling in, I was ready for it!

I took a lot of ribbing during my  college years for my strange beer choices (and especially for paying more for beer than they were),  but now most surviving members of my old crew with whom I still talk profess to being  craft beer afficianados.   They also finally seem to "get it" that there was indeed some good beer around in the so called "dark ages" B.C. (before craft). 
So now, I get to rib them with a satisfying "I told you so".  LOL

50

Ingredients / Re: Hops turned slightly brown. Can I dry hop with them?

« on: January 17, 2013, 04:10:33 PM »

You can do it, but you won't get quite as nice an aroma effect as opposed to fresher hops.  You might get away with it since they have only been exposed for a few days.

A vacuum sealer is ideal for keeping pellets or whole dried hops in fresher condition.

51

Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: New Albion Ale

« on: January 16, 2013, 06:27:20 PM »

Cracked open one of these last night. At first I was a bit put off by the simplicity ...

Wow.  Are palates really becoming so jaded that simplicity and balance  are offputting?
I'm much more put off these days by so many new brews coming out that just overdo  everything,  resulting in a muddled mess. 

I'm looking forward to trying this new "tribute"  iteration of New Albion to compare it with my memory of the two bottles of the real thing which I got to enjoy 33 years ago during  it's original run. 
If this one's anything close to the original, it'll be a shame if this is indeed a 'one-off' effort.

52

The Pub / Re: Why does Budweiser just not get it?

« on: January 15, 2013, 05:50:16 PM »

What if they made a truly great all malt pilsner and kept the price reasonable?

Michelob?

I'll agree with you there.  Michelob is definitely a very good beer, especially considering the source (though technically, they position it as a 'lager', and not specifically as  a pilsener).

I think it's a shame that it is seen so rarely on draft anymore.

53

The Pub / Re: Why does Budweiser just not get it?

« on: January 15, 2013, 10:16:12 AM »

In the end, I don't believe that the BMCs of the world are really competing with the small brewers.  They don't need to.

There are so many small wannabe brewers jumping on the bandwagon these days  that the small brewers are really competing mainly amongst themselves... and as nateo seems to suggest, I think that they are doing so with some good products, but also quite a few uninspired or downright lousy products (It's the main reason that when I buy "craft" beer it is rarely a full sixpack, especially if I'm trying something new). 
If it weren't for my local store offering single bottles of just  about anything in stock, I probably wouldn't be buying it at all (especially at the crazy prices that are becoming so prevalent).

Further, I don't even think that the special products being rolled out by the BMCs should be called "faux craft" or "pseudo craft".  Some of them are quite good, and in fact in a few instances they're better than a some of the "boutique" stuff out there. 

With regard to the subject line of this thread, I think that  Budweiser (ie., AB-InBev) "gets it" perfectly well.
I'm betting that we'll be seeing some significantly bolder offerings from the bigs in the coming few years.  Tastes are changing, slowly but surely.  Light "American Lager" won't be going away, but recognizing the growth (albeit slow growth) of the specialty beer category, they will definitely be upping their game.
If the change means more good beer, and more variety, that's a good thing.  When they do finally roll out  some significantly enhanced products, their main problem will be convincing a segment  of beer lovers who value snob  appeal as much as they like good beer.

54

Equipment and Software / Re: best bottling equipment

« on: January 07, 2013, 12:31:52 PM »

I bottled several cases over the holidays using a piece of racking cane and a stopper.  Worked great and actually got me thinking I should bottle more.  I used oxy caps for a little extra insurance.

Definitely the bottle tree makes this process easier...

+1 on all counts.   I've been doing the racking cane/stopper thing to fill bottles from the keg for 2 decades (even for beers intended to cellar in the bottle for 2 years) and it's all you really need...

Very interested in this "don't have to buy a $70 counter pressure filler" method. Does it really work? How's it work? I get everything has to be cold, but the racking cane. Do you open the keg and put the racking cane in the keg? Or are you pushing out beer using CO2 but using the racking cane to fill bottles? Will they hold on to their carbonation for extended periods of time?

No need to open the keg. I'm pushing the beer out with co2.  My method lately is pretty much the same as what Denny describes (I forgot to mention the stopper which, as Denny points out, actually serves as  primitive kind of counter-pressure device).

And  yes, the beer stays well carbonated over time:  I've kept Burton/Old Ale and Scotch Ales bottled this way for years will no ill effects.

55

Equipment and Software / Re: best bottling equipment

« on: January 04, 2013, 09:44:37 AM »

I bottled several cases over the holidays using a piece of racking cane and a stopper.  Worked great and actually got me thinking I should bottle more.  I used oxy caps for a little extra insurance.

Definitely the bottle tree makes this process easier...

+1 on all counts.   I've been doing the racking cane/stopper thing to fill bottles from the keg for 2 decades (even for beers intended to cellar in the bottle for 2 years) and it's all you really need.

If the beer is conditioned properly, and the beer and the bottles are as cold as possible (ie., near freezing) at filling time, there is virtually no foaming  or loss of carbonation.  And being a very simple setup, it is easy to use, to clean and to sanitize.

The vinator & bottle tree (and StarSan for that matter)  are newer additions to my setup and have definitely made the whole process of sanitizing the bottles much easier (compared to all the years when I stubbornly clung to the 'bleach soak' method).

56

Ingredients / Re: Base Malt for APA

« on: December 29, 2012, 12:22:56 PM »

I have tried pils in apa/ipa, but didn't like it. you should try it - maybe you will like it.

That's the best answer to many of the questions that pop up in the forum...just try it. The best part of this hobby (other than the reward in the glass  few weeks down the line)  is the experimentation to find exactly what suits your own tastes. 

With regard to some Pils in the pale ale grainbill;   although I've worked hard to standardize certain of my recipes and attain consistency in my favorite beers, I did  few batches of both pale  ale and 'best bitter' this past year with some pils to fill out the grainbill, simply because of  availability, and they all turned out great. 

57

Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: Ballsiest beer ever...

« on: December 28, 2012, 07:50:27 PM »

Seems a bit gimmicky to me.

...seems a lot gimmicky to me.

58

The Pub / Re: Your favorite Christmas beers?

« on: December 26, 2012, 08:33:01 AM »

The only two commercially  made Christmas beers I truly enjoy and will go out of my way to stock up on are Celebration and Samichlaus.  There are  a  few others I find "pretty good", but these two I've mentioned are the only ones I find to be as satisfying as a good homebrewed one.

Regarding Samichlaus, one year I found  a bottle I had unintentionally tucked away...it was in a corner of a basement cupboard for more than 7 years (and possibly as much as 10).   It was in remarkable shape and smooth as  silk.  I don't think I would intentionally buy Samiclaus to cellar it  since I enjoy it quite a bit in its original bottling year, but it was interesting to discover how well a filtered strong beer can hold up after so many years.

59

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Aging Commercial Beer

« on: December 18, 2012, 07:39:00 PM »

...You can go too far with "aging" because there will come a point at which the brew starts to lose quality.

True, that.
And the deterioration happens faster with filtered and/or pasteurized brews.  The stronger beers, whether filtered/pasteurized or not, do much better in general.

60

Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: Crispin Artisanal Ciders

« on: December 17, 2012, 11:30:00 AM »

I happened upon three of these at my local store. Don't waste your time, two of the three absolutely sucked and the third, The Saint, was only passable IMO.

Wow...different strokes, I guess.
They may not possess the character of a fine, home made cider...but the Crispin ciders I've tried were anything but offensive; in fact, I rather liked the dry one. 

As with beer, I guess that it just proves the notion that one man's poison is another man's elixer.
I'm lucky enough to have a local retailer that offers a single bottle purchase option for nearly everything new that comes into his store.  It's a godsend these days, especially with so many duds hitting the shelves lately.