Messages

16

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Drinking while brewing

« on: May 09, 2013, 06:23:10 PM »

seems like a few of you are not very well functioning drunks. Just sayin'.

Yeah, I'm trying to figure this out myself. Brew day is usually 5 to 6 hours....A beer an hour can't hurt you... well at least it doesn't affect me too much. The only thing that I ever forget on a regular basis is whirlfloc. I have started to add a 10-15 minute hop addition, so I add my tab to that baggie.

17

Hop Growing / Re: Second Year Hops

« on: April 28, 2013, 07:17:44 PM »

These second year Cents are starting to take off. This pic was taken 17 days after the original posted pic on this thread. I have pruned them back to 5 or 6 main bines, and ran the twine up the side of the barn yesterday. Hopping is looking positive!

18

Hop Growing / Re: Rhizomes planted on 3/9/13

« on: April 28, 2013, 07:11:34 PM »

2013 Hop yard is complete.....Next step = Harvest!

19

Ingredients / Re: combo hops for rye pale ale

« on: April 26, 2013, 05:57:07 PM »

Great Lakes recently released the "Rye of the Tiger"... I don't have much experience with drinking any Rye PA's but I was more than happy with this beer. They use Columbus, Warrior, and Simcoe.

http://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/uploads/Beer/2013%20Beer%20Profile%20-%20Rye%20of%20the%20Tiger.pdf

20

Ingredients / Re: Online stores

« on: April 26, 2013, 05:46:26 PM »

I started with Northern Brewer for my first extract kits. They are packed very well with very nice instructions. I have ordered some all grain IPA kits from NB, but wasn't as pleased with them. I feel that Austin Homebrew has the superior all grain kits...The flat rate shipping is nice too. As previously posted, they have a ton of commercial clones. I ordered a handful of them late last summer. I think I got the Sam Adams Octoberfest, Breckenridge Christmas, Anchor Christmas (I think it was vintage 1998), and the two White House beers....the two White House beers were, meh. I live in Ohio, so I wouldn't recommend ordering liquid yeast from the heart of Texas now that the weather is heating up.

21

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Competition results - Bad addition on one of my sheets - what to do?

« on: April 26, 2013, 05:36:24 PM »

 
I wouldn't worry about getting the site in trouble.  I think a majority of them have sent out their scoresheets (except NY  ) and believe they were instructed to do so.
[/quote]

I have not gotten mine yet. Anybody get theirs from Milwaukee yet? And do they come in the mail or via email?

22

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Second thoughts on brewing

« on: April 22, 2013, 10:33:30 AM »

No apologies needed! Good point on the equipment not making the beer better. That being said, after weighing all my options, I took the plunge and bought a Blichmann burner and a 10 gallon SS pot.

Looks like the forum (and thirst) reeled him in!

Welcome to the obsession!

About that...I'll need about $20 from each person that has commented on my numerous threads to offset the cost.

.....and he fits right in 

23

Hop Growing / Re: Second Year Hops

« on: April 11, 2013, 02:25:46 PM »

Those look great.  Frank, how deep did you plant them?  Horizontal or vertical?

Thanks!

Those were planted last year and were started indoors in pots....which I think was a mistake. We actually lost a centennial after the transplant. They were planted horizontally in the pots. There were no signs of roots or shoots on those rhizomes, so they were just thrown in the pots. They were probably moved outside into mounds of top soil in late April or Early May (Ohio). This plant produced a little bit of cones its first year. The other centennial and golding didn't, but the were noticeably smaller than this one. They are just now sprouting a couple shoots. This one pictured now has leaves on some of the shoots just a few days later. We got 3 days of nice sunshine and 75 degrees, then it rained like hell yesterday, they should grow rapidly now. These plants were covered in mulch all year and topped off with it for the winter. Then new wood mulch was added after I planted eight more this year. I added manure to this years. This years rhizomes were planted directly outside. I think you saw those pics on a different hop growing thread. They were planted semi-horizontally. They were very nicely rooted and had a few starter shoots exposed on one end. So, I dug the whole deeper on one side. I laid them in horizontally with the end roots slightly deeper than the shooter end. They were probably 4"-5" deep on the high side and tapering down to 6"-8" deep on the low side. They were very large rhizomes, so the holes were rather long. Then packed the mounds pretty tight to ride the soil of excess oxygen in the dirt. These hops get about 80% of the day's sunlight too. They miss out on the evening sun but that's about it.

24

Hop Growing / Re: Second Year Hops

« on: April 10, 2013, 05:24:51 PM »

Thanks guys! The plan was to cut them back a bit, but I wasn't sure about it since it is still a relatively young plant. I think that I am going to wait until May to do so....Get out of the clear of a chance of another frost....which might happen this weekend.

25

Hop Growing / Re: Second Year Hops

« on: April 09, 2013, 06:48:40 PM »

I'd prune those back to just a few shoots per plant and train them up your string, trellis, etc. You should start to see a harvest your second year.

Duboman... They're on their way. Mine all started breaking through the ground in the last few days. That's about a month behind last year.

This plant actually gave me a couple ounces in its first year. It grew probably twice as full and 50% taller than the other two, so I'm excited to see what it will do this year. The other two only have a couple shoots per plant. So, as far as pruning back to a few...should I wait until they grow a bit to see which are the healthiest?

26

Hop Growing / Second Year Hops

« on: April 09, 2013, 04:17:55 PM »

The weather finally turned for the better here in Ohio. The gardens are coming alive and have had a lot of perennial growth the last couple days. I have three second year hops starting to develop shooters. This centennial was the best plant last year and is, by far, the earliest to develop significant new growth. As you can see, there are several larger shooters starting, but there are probably close to 30-40 smaller ones. Being that this is its second year, should I just let it go this year or should I prune some these back when they begin to mature a bit more?

27

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Brewing Attire

« on: April 08, 2013, 03:24:00 PM »

Yep....

28

Hop Growing / Re: What do mixture do you use for your hops?

« on: April 07, 2013, 05:36:40 PM »

I just used good top soil last year when I planted and they did pretty well for first year hops. I planted eight more rhizomes this year and mixed two bags of manure/humus compost into the 8 mounds. The top soil for these mounds is from the same source as last years. I'm expecting better results this year. I got them in the ground much earlier this year too.

29

Commercial Beer Reviews / Rye of the Tiger!

« on: April 05, 2013, 07:39:12 PM »

Great Lakes hit a home run with this new release! I was very happy with their Alchemy Hour, but this is absolutely stellar! I had it on tap at a local restaurant yesterday. I bought a 12 pack today. Both tap and bottles are equally great. It pours a very light golden color. As you drink it, it starts out mouthy but dries our rather quickly on the palette. It is pretty piney tasting. I immediately thought Simcoe. I checked out their website to find out that I was correct. It's hopped with a combination of Columbus, Warrior, and Simcoe. When I originally read about the release of this beer, I figured that it would be a 4 pack specialty. Nope! It is sold in six packs at $9 at my local giant eagle! That's a pretty nice price for a beer with 7.5% ABV. I highly recommend this IPA!

Great Lakes has quickly risen up my list of favorite breweries over the past year or two.... At least Cleveland has one thing going for it 

30

All Grain Brewing / Re: Extreme Efficiency Boost!

« on: April 05, 2013, 06:55:19 PM »

Are you absolutely sure you weighed out your grain correctly -- didn't lose your train of thought and add another pound?

No lol....I didn't weigh them out. My uncle did. I asked him about it afterwards. He assured me that it was 11 pounds on the nose. I got there as he started weighing the caramels...they were on.

I am going to double check the hydrometer again...or have him do it. All of my equipment and supplies are at his place. That's where we do our brewing...Just more room.

I won't be doing any brewing until May. I'm trying to finish up grad school this month. But when I do, I am going to use the same grain bill and make another APA with a different hop combination. Thanks for all of the two cents!