Messages

1

Going Pro / Re: Cleaning chemicals

« on: May 09, 2013, 07:42:50 am »

We use Ecolab products

mipCIP (lye solution) for cleaning
Horolith V (nitric acid solution) for beer stone
Oxonia Active (peracetic acid solution) for sanitizing

(Actually haven't had to remove any beer stone yet)

2

Going Pro / Pro Brewing Software

« on: February 14, 2013, 03:30:54 am »

I'm finding that templates in MS Word and Excel are getting cumbersome.
So who uses what?  ProMash seems to be the most common one I see online, but BeerSmith claims to be good for professionals too.  Are there others that are solid, and is there anything I should "look for" in brewing software?

3

Going Pro / Re: What have I done?

« on: December 13, 2012, 04:01:53 am »

Been busy, so just saw this.  Congrats!  Don't worry, it's all the work it's cracked up to be.   
If you got through nuclear engineering, you should do fine here. 

Good luck!

4

Ingredients / Re: What is candi sugar?

« on: October 06, 2012, 10:12:18 am »

Here's info from one of the major "candi sugar" suppliers for beer in Belgium:

http://www.castlemalting.com/CastleMaltingSugar.asp?Language=English

5

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Beard beer?

« on: October 01, 2012, 03:13:53 am »

As interesting as that is....it's more revolting. 

+1
The name doesn't help either.  Especially since I really didn't like the "old" one either. 
Ironically, I'd still be willing to try it.  It sounds better than chicha.

6

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Newb Question - Original Gravity

« on: September 23, 2012, 02:22:19 am »

I know this might be hard since this is your first batch, but leave it alone for two weeks.  It'll probably be done at that point.  Opening the fermenter a bunch of times can just introduce more opportunites for oxygen and contamination.

+2
And make sure you take readings two days in a row to make sure it's done. Don't go by what the kit tells you it should be.  You'll know it's done if you get the same reading two days in a row.  Your final gravity could be higher than what the kit tells you or it could be lower.  Go by the two days in a row reading though.  I never had a kit get to the final gravity the kit said it should, but all my beers turned out pretty good (well on that side of things ... tinkering with adding additional things later sort of wonked one up  To this day one friend tells me to never attempt a coffee stout again.  )

7

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Newb Question - Original Gravity

« on: September 22, 2012, 04:51:08 am »

My kit beers always ended up less than it was supposed to.  I think the pre-printed markings on my fermentation bucket were off.  I also never got the attenuation the kit said either, but that was probably due to lack of oxygen.

The beer will probably have a bit less alcohol, but you should still get beer.

Welcome to brewing.

8

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: When can you call yourself a Homebrew Master?

« on: September 14, 2012, 02:38:10 am »

According to Dictionary.com:

brew·mas·ter/ˈbro͞oˌmastər/
Noun:   
A person who supervises the brewing process in a brewery.

So technically, we are all brew masters in our own brewery.  I think most people assume the name is an earned rank of some kind.  I don't refer to myself as a brew master but rather as a brewer (or hack with dumb luck  ).  If others call me a brew master while drinking my beer, I don't correct them.

Paul

I'm called the brewmaster in our monastery because I'm in charge of the brewing.  However, I really don't like having that title precisely because it infers so much training, knowledge, and experience.  I'm learning a lot every day I brew, but to really consider myself a "master" is a far stretch at this point.  I personally prefer being called "head brewer".

However, I would say that a lot of homebrewers are true brewmasters (even if it's only on their system).  The creativity and art is much more thriving in a home environment than a professional/business one.  And of course consistent and good results are the sign of that.  Understanding the ingredients, process, and results, as well as being able to formulate a recipe based on what flavors you want seem to me to be the biggest criteria for being a master.

9

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: The coolest thing to happen to me in my brewing career... (so far)

« on: August 29, 2012, 02:05:34 am »

Auguri!

10

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Simpsons Legal Battle Over Duff Beer- Simpsons' Vs. Colombian Brothers

« on: August 29, 2012, 02:01:38 am »

I agree. To me, as a someone who has no background in legal matters, this is a flagrant copyright violation. The breweries are using a brand developed by someone else to sell their beer.

Absolutely right.  They haven't got a prayer... the product may have been birthed in a fictional world, but the name and concept is the intellectual property of 20th Fox and provable as such, and these guys stole it plain and simple.  After 20+ years on the air (the longest running sitcom in broadcast history), "The Simpsons" is an international brand in and of  itself, which these clowns are blatantly trading on.

As to what the courts in Columbia will have to say about it...well, THAT should be interesting to watch. 
But the brothers will most probably lose...and frankly,  they deserve to.

+ 2

I see this beer, as well as people wearing t-shirts with the logo, all over the place here in Italy (and the Simpsons is hugely popular here).  I've seen it so much, that I assumed that it was approved by Fox.  I had no idea that it wasn't.  I think the Duff Beer name, and especially the logo being exact, is a copyright violation.  It's pretty clear they're cashing in on the popularity of the Simpsons.  I've been curious to try the beer, but I would think it's pretty mediocre, given it's mass marketing and the use of the "Simpsons" schtick. That's probably the only thing that really sells the beer.

11

Going Pro / Re: Blog post on going pro

« on: August 20, 2012, 08:06:07 am »

I'm learning that this post is pretty true.  Thankfully a monastic brewery is not quite as volume oriented.  Still, due to the nature of the process, brewing days and cleaning days are pretty long.  I think someone else said somewhere "you have to remember, a brewery is a factory.  It's a factory that makes pretty cool stuff, but still it is a factory."

But at our inauguration, seeing people enjoying the beer just made all the work worth it. 

12

Going Pro / Re: And now comes the REAL test

« on: August 13, 2012, 09:59:25 am »

Congrats, I hope it goes well with you and you're able to get more business.

13

Going Pro / Re: New monastic beer in Italy

« on: August 03, 2012, 07:54:36 am »

Thanks for y'all's support (yes, I lived in Texas before coming here).

Yup, really a monk.

Yes, we're only about an hour and a quarter away from Assisi and less than three hours by car from Rome.

Starting a brewery is hard enough, but doing it in another country adds to the challenge, especially when it is not a beer country ... yet 

I do have to say though that our building workers, architects, plumbers, electricians, and painters, and commercial lawyers have really worked hard for us, and they were especially helpful in helping us understand the Italian red tape we needed to deal with.  Much like in the States, don't guess, ask someone who knows.

The best advice I can give for starting a brewery is find others who know what to do and are willing to help explain things to you.  Even though every brewery is unique in its story, there's a lot of hula hoops that everyone has to go through.  Finding informational resources will speed things along nicely.

The monks of Cascinazza (the first monastic brewery in Italy) and the guys at Birra del Borgo and at Vecchio Birraio were also really friendly and helpful with advice. 

14

Going Pro / New monastic beer in Italy

« on: August 02, 2012, 07:16:58 am »

Ours!

We just received our brewery license from the Italian state! 

We're the 2nd monastic brewery in Italy.  Over half of our community are Americans, so we have the international spirit.  Belgian style beers, slightly modified for Italian tastes, brewed by Americans and Italians, Belgian brewing consultant, etc.
Talk about a crash course in learning about opening a brewery.  (the research in Belgium was fun though)

We've started with a Belgian Blond and a Brown.

Sadly, we will have an almost Westvleteren scale distribution.  Our brew system is really small (nano brewery), so our market at the moment is only our town which get's a lot of tourists, and maybe some special requests within Italy.  But the craft brewing movement is growing in Italy much like it did in the US in the 90's, so we hope we'll be able to grow too.

I've wanted to post this earlier, but wasn't able to until everything was official.

Who knew all my years of tasting beers would come in handy in a monastery! 

http://www.birranursia.com

15

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Beer and ice

« on: July 11, 2012, 08:12:14 am »

It's been sweltering in Italy  .  I just turn the beer fridge down lower  .