Messages

391

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Yeast Starter had Zero Krausen

« on: September 17, 2010, 10:01:43 AM »

Thanks for the feedback guys.  Sounds like I just need to RDWHAHB.  Even folks who have brewed for 11 years need to do that on occasion.

392

Beer Recipes / Re: Porter vs. Stout

« on: September 15, 2010, 06:33:19 PM »

I agree that it is primarily the BJCP that made the distinction based on level of roasted barley.  There is little other basis provided for calling these styles different.

Personally, I think the two styles are nearly one and the same.  I have had porters that are as black and roasty as midnight, and likewise I have had wimpy stouts.  Go back 100-200 years, and there might have been a more obvious difference.  Or, perhaps not.  But here in the 21st century, we're just making up our own garbage.  I think what it really comes down to is, if you think it's super dark and very roasty, call it a stout.  If you make another batch that turns out a little less roasty, you can call it your porter.  And vice versa.  It seems no one out there besides self-proclaimed snobs truly know or understand the difference.  And I fail to see why we call these two different styles.  Stout is historically the son of porter.  And yet now, porter has become the neglected relative of the more-popular stout.  So call it all stout if you want it to sell.  People just aren't as interested in your porter, even if it tastes a thousand times better than Guinness, and even though Guinness is little more than a cream ale with 3% roasted barley and/or black malt.

393

Yeast and Fermentation / Yeast Starter had Zero Krausen

« on: September 14, 2010, 05:30:17 AM »

When I make a yeast starter, I am used to seeing a big foamy krausen on top, complete with "braun hefe".  But my last starter for my saison, made with WLP570, had absolutely zero foam, and now, after 24 hours, my fermenting beer (2.5 gallon batch) appears likewise -- it is obviously fermenting strongly, but there is no krausen.  How could this be?  I wonder if I screwed up the starter wort somehow, but I don't know how.  I know the starter was fermenting strongly as indicated by the tiny bubbles rising that broke when they hit the surface, and I ended up with much more yeast on the bottom than I started with.  And of course, all the spicy fruitiness in the aroma and flavor to go with it.  But what gives?  Is this normal perhaps for WLP570?  Are there sufficient fusels being produced to entirely kill head retention?  Is my final beer also going to have zero head retention, or will it be much different after fermentation is complete?  In both the starter and in the fermenter, it is going at about 73 F, which I figure is fine for a saison.  Finally, is there anything I can do after fermentation has started to perhaps improve head retention in my final beer?  A saison with zero head just seems so wrong to me.

394

All Grain Brewing / Re: umami water treatment

« on: September 13, 2010, 03:31:00 PM »

MSG does not capture the full horror of yeast autolysis.  Umami plays a role, but there are other sulfury things going on there as well.  I don't think I'd want to add MSG to my beer, but to each his own.  But I don't think anyone really craves autolysis flavors in their beer, whether they know it or not.  Yuck.

395

Ingredients / Re: Brewing with Honey

« on: September 01, 2010, 09:27:41 AM »

Did you use clover honey?  Or what sort did you use?  Clover honey can be super hard to detect in the final beer.  For general purposes, I have switched over to basswood honey, which is still very mild similar to clover honey, but pretty widely available and much more flavorful than clover honey, so that you can actually taste it in the final beer.  If you use any of the darker honeys, you should be able to taste it no problem.  But try the basswood and see what you think.

396

Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: Piraat Ale

« on: August 31, 2010, 10:27:59 AM »

It's good and I like it, but yes it is a bit fusely.  With Belgians, the occasional fusel does not bother me much because the beer itself tastes so dang good.  With certain recipes and strains of yeast, there's no easy way for them to make a kickbutt tasty beer while at the same time minimizing fusels -- it just comes along for the ride.  You can accept it, or not.  I don't mind it, unless it's way over the top.  In this beer, I didn't think the fusels were too terrible.  In others, certainly yes!

397

Ingredients / Re: Leaf growing out of a hop cone

« on: August 27, 2010, 09:58:20 AM »

Oh... it's you, Baron von Bruce?  That sure is a nice club you guys have down there in Milwaukee.  Loved the World of Beer Fest again this year.  And while I'm usually a beer guy.... I think I spent more time at the meads and ciders than anything else this year.  Fantastic stuff.

Yes, the hops are having an amazing year this year, with all the extra rain we had, at least the first half of the summer.  For a while it seemed it was raining almost every day.  And now, barely a drop for weeks.

398

Ingredients / Re: Leaf growing out of a hop cone

« on: August 22, 2010, 07:47:28 PM »

I've got a lot of these this year on both my Cascades and my Hallertauers.  I think it might have something to do with being such a rainy year.  Or who knows.  I take the extra leaves out from inside the hops and use them anyway.  They still have plenty of good lupulin.  Some people think the hops with leaves growing out are the over-ripe stage, but I've come to realize that this is a false assumption, as you can have leaves while the hops are still very wet and grassy (not ripe yet).

399

The Pub / Re: Howdy everybody!

« on: August 21, 2010, 07:33:23 PM »

I was on alt.beer.home-brewing for years before I found r.c.b.  Both of those used to be really awesome forums... about 10 years ago.  I learned so much.  Now they are so laden with spam it ain't funny.

400

Ingredients / Re: Grain substitution recommendations.....

« on: August 21, 2010, 07:29:41 PM »

+1 to majorvices' good advice.

And +1 to no biscuit malt in an Ofest.  No way Hozay.

401

Beer Recipes / Re: New Glarus Crack'd Wheat

« on: August 17, 2010, 02:23:56 PM »

That's exactly it.  Take any basic hefeweizen recipe with good old WLP380, and jack up the Amarillo hops.  Simple as that.

402

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Growing Hops Alpha Acidity

« on: August 17, 2010, 02:21:27 PM »

I always make a pale ale to start out, taking a guess as to the alpha acid that is typical or average of the hop variety.  Then if it turns out too bitter, call it an IPA.  If not bitter enough, call it a blonde ale.  From there, when you make the second and third batch, you will be able to come amazingly close to figuring out the true alpha acid based on taste alone.

I also sometimes like to mix my homegrown hops (at least the bittering addition) 50/50 with a known similar alpha acid variety.  Then I don't need to "waste" as much of my homegrown hops figuring out the alpha acid.

Homebrewing software such as ProMash, StrangeBrew, BeerSmith, etc. is key to figuring out your alpha acid based on taste.  First assume something, then iteratively adjust it based on taste for successive batches.  You'll come really really close on the third or fourth batch, and very reasonably close even on the second batch.

403

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Choosing the correct BJCP category for competition

« on: August 16, 2010, 06:15:12 PM »

for category 23, it's not a Black IPA so it won't win

*Dave likes this*

404

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Is old malt extract safe?

« on: August 08, 2010, 12:57:44 PM »

...had a "woody" taste to it...kind like chewing on toothpicks.

Perfect description of what oxidation tastes like.  Others describe it as "papery" or "cardboardy".  Personally I detect it as an unusual "sinking feeling" about midway through gulp.  It's as though when the beer first enters my mouth, it tastes just fine, but then a half-second later, it loses what was delicious about it, and with successive gulps, becomes distracting to the point that you figure out that at one time, this beer might have been pretty good, but has gone stale and just isn't quite right anymore.

405

Beer Recipes / Re: shooting for a Pete's Wicked ale clone

« on: August 08, 2010, 12:46:42 PM »

Pete's Wicked Ale is one of my old favorites.  I haven't brewed it yet, but a couple of years ago I got my hands on what was supposedly the REAL recipe.  Here's how that one looks.

6.625 lb Maris Otter malt
5 oz Chocolate malt
1.75 lb Crystal 60
0.75 oz Brewer's Gold (60 minutes)
0.75 oz Brewer's Gold (10 minutes)
Danstar Windsor ale yeast

Here's how your recipe and mine differ:

Mine is obviously all-grain.  Yours is partial mash.  Are you comfortable with mashing?  The 2-row malt in your recipe must be mashed.  If this is your first time mashing, it's pretty easy -- keep a thermometer in your kettle and "steep" the grains at about 150 F for about 40 minutes before removing the grains, heating up, and adding the extract.  The mash will convert starches to sugars.  Without mashing, your beer will be more of a starch soup, sort of like when you overcook rice or potatoes and it turns into glue.

Your recipe has special roast.  This should give a very pleasant roastiness.  It's not a bad ingredient, but possibly would not be authentic for a true clone.  I don't get a big roasty flavor when I taste Pete's Wicked.  Big sweetish caramelly malt, but not roast.

Your recipe also has a lot of hop additions.  I don't think Pete's Wicked is nearly that hoppy in character.  It has enough bitterness and a little hop flavor to balance out the big malt flavors, but it's not big on hoppiness IMO.

Finally, your choice of yeast will be more attenuative than mine.  My recipe would finish higher in gravity and be more sweetish, with alcohol by volume of around 5%, whereas yours will be more dry and have a bigger kick at about 6%.  This, I think, is a matter of personal preference.  But might be worth looking at a bottle of the real stuff to see how much alcohol theirs has -- I'm not sure.

Any way you go, you will have yourself a very tasty beer.  Wishing you the best of luck with your clone attempt.