Topics

61

Homebrew Clubs / A visitor in Paris

« on: September 19, 2011, 02:44:01 AM »

We had a special guest at the club on Friday evening:


Randy Mosher!

He was vacationing in the south of France at a client's house and was in Paris to do some sightseeing, and was kind enough to give a talk about Radical Brewing to our club. He also did a beer and cheese pairing, and managed the considerable feat of convincing some of our French club members that perhaps beer and cheese go better together than wine and cheese. The New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red and Burrata, and the (some smokey beer, I can't find my notes) and Beaufort pairings really won a lot of us over.

All in all, a great time! Plus we went out to dinner afterwards, which was fun! The best quote of the night, in re the lack of good categorizations for beer styles in France, Randy said, "If you think five categories are enough for beer, how can you justify over 400 different types of cheese?" Which is a great way to push for BJCP-style categories at the contests here. Someone on the French forum had a good point, though, which is that the contest categories are designed for the huge breweries - 1664, Kro, Leffe, etc. So they have to be broad.

Anyway it was fantastic to see Randy in person, and he donated signed copies of Radical Brewing and Tasting Beer to our club library.

62

Yeast and Fermentation / Question on racking technique

« on: September 16, 2011, 03:49:59 AM »

Say I have a beer I've had fermenting in a 150 L bucket, 38 L of wort, I pitched the yeast a day ago. Now say I take a fresh batch of just-cooled wort, and pitch it on top, bringing the amount in the bucket up to 76 L. Now say in two more days, I put another fresh batch of just-cooled wort into the same container. All three worts are the same style. Is the finished beer going to be much different from what I'd get if I had put each one into its own bucket? The end goal here is to allow me to "brew" 150L batches while putting off until later the purchase of expensive large capacity kettles.

63

Yeast and Fermentation / Probably infected

« on: September 16, 2011, 03:46:33 AM »

BetterBottle #1  has an airlock and is bubbling happily, high krausen, etc. BetterBottle #2 has a piece of aluminum foil which I forgot to sanitize (hey, it was late...) and has what seems to be high krausen plus something that looks like slimy cloudy spiderwebs. I am guessing that #2 is infected? Beer is a Mild.

Thank God for double batches...

64

The Pub / Presenting... Doughboy Brewing Company!

« on: September 09, 2011, 03:40:58 AM »

One small step, one giant leap, as it were. Thanks to the lack of regulations around my neck of the woods, opening a brewery has been as easy as filling out a form online. No health department visits, no filing with authorities for license to sell (that's only for places where you have open containers), only getting a business ID and paying a couple hundred euros to join the appropriate society/guild thing. Still waiting on supply deliveries, but my first production runs have already been 'spoken for' by a pub and a beer shop. No distribution laws here either, btw, I can just show up and sell it. Also planning on selling from my house. Anyway! I have the following clients:
1. this pub (l'Express de Lyon) http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Gare+de+l%27est,+Paris,+France&hl=en&ll=48.84592,2.37235&spn=0.002588,0.008256&sll=48.847748,2.374157&sspn=0.002503,0.008256&vpsrc=6&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=48.846066,2.372277&panoid=w14GSAyPVXIRqv_Z0juZ4A&cbp=12,241.96,,1,7.03
 - it's across the street from Gare de Lyon and gets a huge amount of traffic. He's getting 2 30 liter kegs as a market test, american IPA featuring centennial hops, beer's called "Lafayette Escadrille."
2. the best beer shop in Paris, Cave a Bulles (http://caveabulles.fr/) - he's getting a couple cases of 33cl Chesty Puller (Classic american Pilsner, of course)
3. Not finalized, but I'm working with the chateau across the street to do a special edition hyper-local biere de garde featuring hops we found growing wild on the grounds, and lagered in the on-site "Glaciere" what is basically the French version of a lager cave.

Not making a profit by any means but right now I'm just doing market feasibility. Thankfully the easiest way to do that in France is to just start the business, seeing as I already have everything I need to do this, save the 30L kegs which I am waiting on.

Good times!



Many thanks to TonyP who hooked me up with some awesome graphics work.

65

Ingredients / CaraPils alternatives (two?)

« on: September 08, 2011, 05:59:23 AM »

I asked my local maltster about what he might have that's an equivalent to CaraPils. I told him it's for head retention and is also called Dextrine malt. He sent me two data sheets, and I'm not sure either will be applicable:

Caramel Wheat Malt, 90-110 EBC, Product obtained by custom malting, saccharification and roasting of specially selected wheat, to develop the aroma and colour required.
- Strongly accentuates aroma, thus giving beer a typical taste.
- Reinforces the colour of the beer.
- Enhances foam stability.
- Increases extract and thus brewing yields.
- Colour : 90 to 110 EBC (equiv. 34 to 42 degrees Lovibond).
- Moisture : 7% maximum.
- Extract : minimum 78% on dry matter.

OR

Pilsen Caramel
Product obtained by custom malting, saccharification and roasting of specially selected barley, to develop the aroma and colour required.
- Gives beer mild flavours and a pleasant, subtle taste.
- Improves the smoothness and stability of beer.
- Slightly reinforces the colour of beer.
- Colour : 20 to 30 EBC (equiv. 8 to 12 degrees Lovibond).
- Moisture : 7.5% maximum.
- Extract : minimum 75% (dry matter).


... But neither of these seem like exactly what I'm going for. I suppose I could go the caramel wheat route, which sounds interesting on its own, but that 30-45 L coloration makes me wonder about what contribution it would have (8 oz per 5 gal)

66

Going Pro / Canning

« on: August 31, 2011, 08:28:24 AM »

Perhaps I should ask this on the BA "forum", but I've never had much luck with responses over there. I'm looking at a manual canning line (Cask, 2 head). How much do empty cans typically cost? MODS: I am NOT asking how much to sell these for, but just asking what the typical going price is for printed cans and tops from a manufacturer... 

67

The Pub / "Never Again" beers

« on: August 16, 2011, 05:02:51 AM »

Sunday evening I felt pretty good after going through my bottle of 2010 Cuvee van de kaizer... That is, until 4am the next morning. I dunno whether it was due to a crappy fermentation (11% ABV) or something else, but I had the worst hangover I've ever had my entire life. Cold sweats, dry heaving, shakes, unable to lie down but feeling like I needed to pass out, and then of course the headache. Oy vey. I am never touching anything by Carolus ever again.

This also happened to me on a night when I had six bottles of Fischer. It was at an event my wife asked me to go to ("asked") that ended up being crap (she apologized to me the next day) but while I was there I soothed the suffering with those six bottles... Except the next morning I thought I was going to die.

So those are my two "never again" beers. Anybody else?

68

The Pub / Sharing small joys

« on: August 14, 2011, 10:39:15 AM »

Times are tough, but sometimes you gotta sit back and think about how great a day can be. So that's what this thread should be about, perfect days. Today, for example, I got to:

1. sleep in (I usually wake up at 4am for an Australian client and don't go to bed until 10 or 11)
2. go for a drive with my wife and talk about random stuff (I love that)
3. play with my son in the yard for more than an hour. He just started walking and I was lucky enough to see him take his very first steps yesterday (steps plural, he's been doing a one-step drop for a while)
4. coming up to the deck to clean it from all the hazlenuts that have fallen, and finding that my cascade and EKG hops are going -gangbusters-. Gonna be a good fall.
5. bbq while watching a bears preseason game, drinking my pliny clone
6. just about to open a Cuvee van de keizer 2010 from Carolus
7. just about to eat MORE wings and kebab.
8. etc etc...

Have you had a good day recently?

69

Beer Recipes / Marston's Banks's mild

« on: August 12, 2011, 04:18:55 AM »

I had a pint of this at the GBBF. Holy cow. Amazing. Anybody got a recipe for something similar? Tasting notes are burnt caramel, chestnuts, 3,5 % ABV, not much in the way of IBUs, caramel/red color. Here's a pic of us drinking it - I'm the one with the mild.

70

All Things Food / Tips on breaking down primal cuts

« on: August 12, 2011, 01:44:48 AM »

I have a new 8 cu ft freezer, woo! Well, "new" we got it used, only two years old, Bosch, bought for about 1/8th the price of a new one. So now I need to put stuff in there.

I've considered buying primals (like a side of pig or quarter cow) because 1. it's cheaper and 2. I can cut it the way I want - THE AMERICAN WAY. Just try buying real st. louis ribs around here, just try it.

So, I have dealt with what I guess you could call 'sub primals,' for example shoulder + trotters of a pig, I can find the gaps in the bone and get through the cartilage without killing myself, but what I really want to do is break down an entire side. I know I need, at the very least, a band saw (was going to buy a manual one) and a cleaver - no using my wusthofs on these babys - but what else is there? Is there a guide out there in internetland that can help me step-by-step? Anybody done this before?

71

Going Pro / Labeling

« on: August 10, 2011, 07:52:07 AM »

What's a good resource for good quality printed beer labels? Ideally sticker variety, because otherwise you need a labeling line with that glue....

72

Going Pro / Contract Brewing

« on: August 10, 2011, 07:51:21 AM »

I know a guy who got a bad case of arthritis and then caught a bug in the hospital. He has 500 square meters of space plus 700 square meters as 'selling space' (not sure about taproom capability). 8.52 BBL / 1000 L system. Dunno about cost yet.

What are some things to look out for when contract brewing? If you don't know the space, you don't know the equipment, so you don't know the infection risks, etc - but what are some good signs to keep an eye out for?

73

The Pub / Grodziskie History post on Serious Eats

« on: August 09, 2011, 10:11:23 PM »

Great bit of history on Grodziskie/Gratzer on SE today:

http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2011/08/beer-styles-grodziski-gratzer-polish-smoked-wheat-beer-history.html

74

Equipment and Software / Left some keg jumpers in starsan...

« on: August 01, 2011, 05:07:40 AM »

For about two weeks. When I pulled them out they were slippery to the touch, and after "drying" they're now quite sticky. Have I ruined them completely? I thought StarSan was OK with plastic?

75

Equipment and Software / "Sparge arm" with "flex" tubing?

« on: July 29, 2011, 05:10:28 AM »

This:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#hose/=ddwjd0

I have seen this sort of thing used in Brutus systems and elsewhere. Does anyone have a shopping list for building one of the assemblies? Seems like a lot of little parts that you have to order and assemble yourself, but I guess that's just how McMaster-Carr works (also it's cheaper)