Messages

91

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Best Beers in America: Rock the Vote!

« on: March 07, 2013, 04:21:56 pm »

I'm pretty sure that I voted Founder's Breakfast Stout for my number 1....That's coming from a hop head lol. It was tough to vote for a top 20, because there are so many great beers out there!

92

Hop Growing / Re: Hop trellis options and a few other questions

« on: March 05, 2013, 07:58:00 pm »

Yeah, I learned the hard way too. I made a list and shopped for them with no luck. Then found out they there are several popular hops that are privately owned. I'm new to growing hops too. Last year was the first year. I started them with a tomato plant cone and then up a rope. I have been brainstorming a trellis too. But since most of my hops are new, I may go with just ropes again this year. We started by using well water to water them. Our well water is high in alkalinity, which we find out that you don't want that for hops plants. It also counteracts the fertilizer. So, we started catching rain water and using it to water with. We also fertilized with acidic Miracle Grow. The plants started to grow much better once we figured that out. We also mounded our dirt to plant them in. One thing that we are going to do differently this year is to work in some composted manure into our soil before planting. I have two centennial plants and a US Gold in the ground. I ordered Cascade, Mt. Hood, Magnum, Willamette, Zeus, Chinook, Nugget, and Perle from the Thyme Garden....all but one or two of them are rooted. Again, I don't know how good their product is, but it seems pretty legit.

93

Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: Great Lakes Alchemy Hour DIPA

« on: March 05, 2013, 07:31:11 pm »

I tried Alchemy for the first time last Friday and I really liked it.  They use Mosaic hops and it has a wonderful tropical fruit flavor and aroma.  I think I like Mosaic better than Citra now.  A guy from my club didn't like it and said it was just too much and couldn't finish the sample.  I just like a different flavor from IPA's every once in awhile instead of the same "C" hops.

A buddy I work with said that he wasn't a fan. He said it tasted peppery to him. I can see it in the earthiness that I get, but I didn't get a strong spice flavor. I did think the aroma and taste were way different. Like I said, very tropical/citrousy (I get strong orange) aroma, and a very earthy taste.

94

Hop Growing / Re: Hop trellis options and a few other questions

« on: March 05, 2013, 07:25:05 pm »

Unfortuntely, I don't think that you'll be able to get your hands on any Amarillo. It is a proprietary hops. Others would be Simcoe and Citra. There are a handful that aren't available to the public. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong, and then tell me where to purchase rhyzomes for these beauties  . I did pre-order rooted hops rhyzomes from the Thyme Garden way back in October. They should be shipped within the next couple of weeks. They seem like they would be a solid option and had great customer service when I was seeking information. I ordered 6 or 8 centennial rhyzomes last year from Midwest Supplies and only had two grow. The two grew nicely and one yeilded an ounce or two of hops. Not much to brew with, but they garnished beers nicely lol. But here is the link to the Thyme Garden....

http://www.thymegarden.com/site/561124/search/site?keys=hops

95

Beer Recipes / Re: Red IPA

« on: March 05, 2013, 06:43:30 pm »

I just finished up racking this beauty onto 1 1/2 oz of Simcoe and 1 1/2 oz of Amarillo. The suspense is killing me!

96

Ingredients / Re: Commercial examples of hops

« on: March 04, 2013, 04:50:20 pm »

I've also found that if you find a beer you like and search it on the web or brewery's site, many will list a general grain bill as well as hops used

Unless you try to email Lagunitas when you fall in love with DayTime... my emails fell into a black hole out in Petaluma. 

Had the Same experience with 5 Rabbits here in Chicago, asked some basic questions regarding their 5 vultures chipotle spices beer and never got a reply, not even a thanks for raving about the beer! Shame......

I recently contacted Bell's about their Java Stout. I was more than pleased with their response. I consider Bell's to be my favorite brewery....They extended that gap because of their response. I posted their response in this thread....
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=14762.0

97

All Grain Brewing / Re: MY First All Grain Experience(Long)

« on: March 03, 2013, 10:11:44 am »

Everything could have been avoided if you bought a blue cooler instead of red.......

Welcome to all grain! 

Dave

Yes, and blue coolers are awesome! It's proven that they maintain heat better and prevent stuck sparges from occurring!

98

All Grain Brewing / Re: MY First All Grain Experience(Long)

« on: March 03, 2013, 10:08:46 am »

I've had the debate about using a hop spider on the forum not too long ago. I used one...now I don't lol. I do like the idea of the strainer over the bucket shown above. I currently attach a sanitized knee high leg stalking to my hose with a zip tie. I run my wort into a bucket first. The hose catches mostly everything. I then dump by bucket through a funnel with a screen into my carboy. By this point, there is very little debris on the screen. This also gives the wort some nice aeration. Anyways, here's the thread where this was debated quite extensively.

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=14289.0

Welcome to all grain! Fortunetely for me, my transition was smoother, but if I was still brewing extract beers, I probably wouldn't be brewing anymore. The beer is better, and you brew more authenic beers.

99

Commercial Beer Reviews / Great Lakes Alchemy Hour DIPA

« on: March 02, 2013, 05:46:18 pm »

I don't remember this seasonal last year, so I'm guessin that it is new this year? Anyways, it is a great change of pace DIPA. It pours a nice amber color and has the nice amber malt taste and smoothness. The blend of nugget and mosaic hops gives it the nice change of pace. I feel that the aroma is very orangy, but the bitterness and taste if very earthy. It's not piny or fruity....kinda a smooth earthyness. The 9.4% ABV is very well disguised. I won't say that it is my favorite DIPA, but it is certainly a great change of pace. This DIPA might appeal to people who aren't fans of the traditional smack you in the face DIPA's that are out there.

100

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What's Brewing This Weekend - 3/2 Edition

« on: March 01, 2013, 06:09:35 pm »

No brewing this weekend....If fermentation slows, I will be racking my Red IPA and harvesting the WYeast American Ale II from it.

101

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What is your favorite music to listen to while homebrewing?

« on: March 01, 2013, 06:07:32 pm »

Classic Rock....Pink Floyd, Led Zep, The Beatles, The Who......My classic rock has no boundaries...Pearl Jam, Metallica, Buddy Holly....It's all great!

102

Ingredients / Re: Mosaic Hops?

« on: February 27, 2013, 08:11:43 pm »

I am currently drinking a Great Lakes Alchemy Hour DIPA. It is finished with mosaic hops. This is my first experience with mosaic. I like it....different, but I'm a fan. I would say that it is has a sweet-earthy taste. The aroma is amazing. As far as the beer goes...it is 9.4% ABV and would compare it to Troegs Nugget Nectar, but bigger.

103

All Grain Brewing / Re: 5-gallon vs. 10-gallon cooler?

« on: February 26, 2013, 08:20:38 pm »

Got it! This is a very solid design....I too pull just about all the wort through. There is minimal, if any, dead space with this design and would recommend it for anybody.

104

All Grain Brewing / Re: 5-gallon vs. 10-gallon cooler?

« on: February 26, 2013, 06:56:00 pm »

Very nice set up. Obviously it is very close to my set up that I posted above. Do you have issues getting the inside of your copper clean of debris with it all soldered together. I take mine apart after every mash to wash and can be a pain to put back together. I was just wondering what you do, because I may certainly consider soldering mine.

105

Beer Recipes / Re: Bell's Java Stout

« on: February 25, 2013, 07:18:13 pm »

Well, I emailed Bell's for some insight....They did me a solid with some nice information.This was their reply....

Hi Frank. Sorry for the delay getting back to you on this. Here’s what I can tell you: the mix of coffee comes from Water Street Coffee, but is pretty tight lipped. I would make at least part of the blend a pretty aggressive flavored coffee. I would crush the beans and add around ½ lb. to a 5 gallon batch after primary fermentation subsides (maybe in a secondary).

 
As far as the recipe goes, I’d put together a nice stout with plenty of chocolate malt, maybe half of that amount roasted barley, and about half that amount black malt. Give it some good body with some munich and flaked malts as well as a bit of medium crystal (60L ish). Shoot for a gravity of 1.075 or so. Hops are just enough to balance sweetness. Something neutral. A neutral yeast as well.

I hope that helps.

 
Cheers,