Topics

16

All Things Food / Venison rib recipes?

« on: November 05, 2010, 11:26:53 am »

My co-worker and his dad managed to get a doe and a buck last weekend and offered me some it.  Actually, he offered a rack of ribs, so now I'm completely lost what to do with them.

Normally I would marrinate the venison with something acidic to help tenderize the meat, but that doesn't sound like the way to go for ribs.  It seems wrong to not put ribs (of any kind) on the smoker  I've heard that a coco based rub can be pretty tasty on venison - anybody tried that?

Your ideas and recipes are much appreciated.

17

All Grain Brewing / Why mash for 60 minutes?

« on: October 29, 2010, 05:54:21 pm »

It seems that conventional wisdom is to let the mash sit for 60 minutes.  Why?

A pro-brewer friend of mine insisted to me & others in my brew club that conversion is complete in 15 minutes, unless you are using a large percentage of adjuncts.  He says that is what he was taught in brewing school.  So why waste your time with a longer mash?  

I did an oatmeal stout today with a 30 minute mash and came pretty close to my anticipated OG.  It was the first time with a new (to me) mill, so I'm pretty sure the crush was a bigger issue than mash time for the lower pre-boil OG.  The only reason the mash sat that long was to get the sparge water heated and get some yard work done.

I might let a big beer mash longer, but I can't see me wasting time with a 60 minute mash again.

18

The Pub / a cartoon for Weaz

« on: September 28, 2010, 11:28:54 am »

http://theoatmeal.com/blog/utilikilt

19

Equipment and Software / Anybody use steam?

« on: July 20, 2010, 06:57:59 am »

After reading this article ( http://www.brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue2.4/jones.html ), I've been thinking that a steam injection system would be a nice addition to my setup.

It sounds like a good way to gain greater control over mash temps and an easy way to conduct step mashes.  At low pressures it sounds relatively safe.

Does anyone use a steam system?  If so, do you use something similar to the article?

20

The Pub / Woohoo, hop overload!

« on: July 14, 2010, 07:33:47 am »

I went for a tour to pick up ingredients for my next batches last night.  Before the 2 hour drive back home, I stopped in for a pint and a chat with the brewmaster at my favorite brewpub.  He sold me surplus hops for $10/lb!!  Now my freezer is stuffed with Magnum and Chinook, I would have bought more than 2 pounds, but there's no point if I can't use them all up.

When we were getting ready to leave, he disappeared for a bit and came back with 2 full glasses - a hefe and a hopped up APA (~80 IBU, loads of dry hops but only 5.5%) - straight out of the conditioning tanks.  He asked me to try them 'for quality control purposes' 

Oh, and yes, I had a designated driver.

21

The Pub / Another 'Beer Makes You Smarter' thing

« on: June 23, 2010, 09:16:32 am »

Just for sh!ts and giggles...

http://www.babybacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/The-Buffalo-theory2.jpg

22

General Homebrew Discussion / Another sour question

« on: June 07, 2010, 10:51:45 am »

I'm thinking now that my first sour brew should be a Berlinner Weisse.  I intend on using a lacto culture, rather than a sour mash - the sour mash sounds like a fun experiment, but I want a reliable outcome the first time, so I know what to aim for when I do start playing with sour mashes.

Will lactobacillus permenantly infect my equipment?  What if I ferment in glass?

23

The Pub / Spring is here and the Stanley Cup playoffs have started...

« on: April 15, 2010, 05:12:04 am »

There is no better time of year!!

GO SENS GO!!!

24

Beer Recipes / Gluten Free recipes

« on: March 26, 2010, 07:47:15 am »

My buddy wants to start brewing with me.  His wife was also recently diagnosed as allergic to gluten (celiac, I think), so I thought it would earn him some browny points to make her a gluten free beer.

Any body have a gluten free recipe they stand by?  I found this one:

Type: Extract
 Date: 12/2/2008
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.03 gal Asst Brewer: 
Boil Time: 60 min  Equipment: 8 Gal. Pot 
 
Ingredients
 
Amount Item Type % or IBU
6 lbs Sorghum (8.0 SRM) Extract 80.00 %
1 lbs Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 13.33 %
8.0 oz Rice, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 6.67 %
1.00 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker [4.00 %] (60 min) Hops 14.6 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (30 min) Hops 15.4 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (2 min) Hops 1.7 IBU
1 Pkgs Safale American (DCL Yeast #S-05) Yeast-Ale 

 
Beer Profile
 
Est Original Gravity: 1.050 SG
 Measured Original Gravity: 1.040 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.59 %  Actual Alcohol by Vol: 3.90 %
Bitterness: 31.7 IBU Calories: 175 cal/pint
Est Color: 7.2 SRM Color: Color 
 
 
Mash Profile
 
Mash Name: None Total Grain Weight: 10.00 lb
Sparge Water: - Grain Temperature: -
Sparge Temperature: - TunTemperature: -
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE Mash PH: -
 
Steep Grains as desired (30-60 minutes)

 
Mash Notes: -
Carbonation and Storage
 
Carbonation Type: Corn Sugar Volumes of CO2: 2.4
Pressure/Weight: 3.8 oz Carbonation Used: -Honey
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 60.0 F Age for: 28.0 days
Storage Temperature: 52.0 F   
 
Notes
 
prime with 2 cups of water to 1 cup of Honey
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Doesn't flaked rice and flaked corn have to be mashed?  How are you gaining anything by steeping the rice and corn?

25

Yeast and Fermentation / My brewday got put on hold, will my starter be OK?

« on: March 12, 2010, 07:58:05 pm »

I was going to brew today, but the babysitter had a dental emergency so I decided not to brew (taking care of 18 month old boys and propane burners does not make good a combination).

I put the starter in the fridge until Monday when I'll next have a chance to brew.  Is there anything I should do to make sure the little fellas are ready to go Monday?  Step it up with fresh wort?  A little yeast activator?  Yeast nutrient?

26

Kegging and Bottling / Kegging Advice - Am I crazy for offering?

« on: March 03, 2010, 06:52:59 am »

No, I'm not asking how to keg - I can browse the forums and figure that out.

A co-worker asked me about the cost of a keg of (store bought) beer for her upcoming wedding.  I told her that she'd have to pay the cost, put a deposit on the keg and rent the tap... or she could get a hand crafted beer from me for the cost of the ingredients.  I was only joking, but apparently she and her fiance and now seriously considering it.

My dilema is that I am not currently setup to keg & I don't have the spare cash for it right now (if I get kegs, then I'm gonna have to build a kegerator, draft tower, etc).  She knows this and offered to buy the kegs and sell them to me afterwards.  Am I stupid for even considering this?  It would be my first time kegging and I fear something would go wrong and I would give her an inferior product.

If I do go through with this, do I get a CO₂ system at the same time?  Would a hand pump and picnic tap be good enough, where it is going to be drank all in one day?  And if I go picnic tap, force carb, or prime with sugar?  My gut tells me a priming sugar, hand pump and picnic tap would be good enough, but I'm in unknown territory here.

The fiance is a lager drinker, I think she doesn't mind a (commercial) red ale.

27

All Grain Brewing / Imperial Mild? Really...

« on: February 26, 2010, 10:32:12 am »

I'm hoping the name of this kit is meant as a joke...

http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/imperial-mild-all-grain-kit.html

or maybe somebody from NB was reading the 'Black IPA' thread a few weeks ago.

28

General Homebrew Discussion / How worried should I be about DMS?

« on: February 08, 2010, 07:40:18 am »

I brewed a Belgian Wit this weekend, but didn't realize how low I was on propane.  I got a good rolling boil for at least 45 minutes, but the final 45 minutes the strength of the boil was weak at best, as the tank got lighter and lighter (less pressure pushing the gas out).  I left the heat on for a little longer to compensate (maybe 15 minutes).

A little less than half the grain bill is German Pils (40 to 45%).

29

The Pub / Have a beer for your health.

« on: January 21, 2010, 02:11:05 pm »

Why beer is the latest hope in fight against cancer - like I need a reason to have a beer.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1243754/Why-beer-latest-hope-fight-cancer.html

30

Yeast and Fermentation / wyeast 2124 for Dunkel & a BoPils

« on: January 16, 2010, 07:24:23 am »

I'm planning a Munich Dunkel and a Bohemian Pilsner as my next couple of batches and don't really want to have my LHBS order in 2 different yeasts for it.

Do you think it will turn out ok if I use Bohemian Lager 2124 for both?  Should I pitch one onto the yeast cake of the other, and if so, which would you recommend be the first?