Messages

16

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Sanitizer in the Fermenter

« on: February 11, 2013, 11:36:41 AM »

I have put 10 gallons of fresh wort onto 2 gallons of star-san, and it came out fine. The iodine in the sanitizer will evaporate fairly quick, especially if there's any significant CO2 generation. If you're really worried about it add some fresh yeast a day before bottling.

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Beer Recipes / Re: Pliny the Elder extract clone..

« on: January 24, 2013, 06:37:29 AM »

Vinnie wrote an article about Pliny for Zymurgy, in the July/August 2009 issue. It's available for download online here: http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/zymurgy/free-downloads. He includes a little bit about the origin and changes over the years.

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General Homebrew Discussion / Re: BJCP Tasting Exam: Wow! That was hard!

« on: January 23, 2013, 07:25:55 AM »

It gets a whole lot easier with practice. Go to some competitions if you can. Our club has a program going to help teach judging (as well as to help new brewers with their beer). You can bring a beer to a meeting, and we'll have an experienced judge write up a scoresheet. Prospective judges are encouraged to join in, and get the opportunity to compare their perceptions with the primary judge. Then everybody sits down with the brewer to go over it, and the judges and brewers benefit. We do it without a time limit, so it's relaxed. Do this a few times and you won't worry about a time limit.

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Ingredients / Re: Chestnuts

« on: January 22, 2013, 06:25:31 AM »

Is chestnut flour just raw chestnuts ground up?  I would assume so if it requires gelatinization... I would think that roasting would gelatinize the sugars.  Any ideas about what percentage of his mash is chestnut flour?

Here's the stuff we use (my wife also uses it in her homemade pasta - I really like it there): http://www.amazon.com/Rogers-Funfresh-Foods-Italian-Chestnut/dp/B0038MVQHI/ref=sr_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1358860926&sr=1-1&keywords=chestnut+flour. I assume it's just ground nuts. Roasting will not gelatinize, but I would think you'd get some different flavors out of it. Busalla uses it at 17%. I used 20%.

20

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Cold Steeping Dark Grains

« on: January 19, 2013, 08:31:32 AM »

I just did the cold steeping technique with the chocolate malt for an American Brown. (Brewed for a national television audience - details to come when I know the air date.) I have found that the beer is lacking in intensity for the chocolate character. The recipe originally called for 8 ounces of chocolate malt. I steeped 10. I first added the equivalent of 6 ounces, and found it very weak. I added all of the rest, and it's improved, but still weak. I'm going to steep more grain, and blend it in soon. I'm curious about other people's experiences here. Have you gotten good results with the same amount of grain as you previously mashed, or did you need to use more grain? I'll add that I really like the smooth character, but it just needs to be bumped up a bit from where it is now. The nice thing is, it's easy to bump it up with this method.

21

Beer Travel / Re: Louisville, Kentucky

« on: January 19, 2013, 07:51:24 AM »

I have been there a couple times. Some additions to your list: Rich O's (http://www.richos.com/) and New Albanian (http://www.newalbanian.com/), just across the river in southern Indiana, and Apocalypse (http://apocalypsebrewworks.com/), less than a year old opened by a couple of friends of mine who happen to be outstanding homebrewers.

Even if you're not into spirits, take a short drive south and take the tour at Jim Beam. It's well worth it.

22

Ingredients / Re: Chestnuts

« on: January 18, 2013, 11:19:59 AM »

While traveling in Italy in 2011 we visited the Busalla Brewery outside of Genoa (Liguria). They make a chestnut beer called Castagnasca. The brewer there is Gabriel (in the orange shirt), an Argentinian who went to school in Germany and now brews in Italy. He was very open about everything they did. He uses chestnut flour (there are tax advantages to using it, as the government is seeking to help the chestnut industry). He does a full cereal mash with it, as what he has requires gelatinization. I purchased some chestnut flour through Amazon, and used it at 20% in a CAP. It's a really pleasant beer. I would not describe the flavor as "nutty", but you know something is subtly different there.

23

Ingredients / Re: Mosaic Hops?

« on: October 31, 2012, 02:22:10 PM »

You are unlikely to find them for a while. According to a presentation given at Perrault Farms during the NHC preconference tour, there won't be enough in the pipeline for any to reach homebrewers until 2014 at the very earliest, and more likely not until 2015.

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General Homebrew Discussion / Re: One of the best brew days ever

« on: October 04, 2012, 06:08:35 AM »

I have a few neighbors who come over and brew with me on occasion. I call them my minions. It's a great deal for me, as they offered to pay for all the expenses, and I still get 5 gallons of beer.

As far as brewing in the rain, my boil-off rate gets rather unpredictable. Unless it's really windy I do not boil off as much as normal. I now plan for a lower final volume and top off as needed.

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Kegging and Bottling / Re: Correlation between bottle weight and max CO2 volume?

« on: April 19, 2012, 08:18:21 AM »

I would doubt you could do it by weight. Bottle quality varies a lot between suppliers. Take a look sometime at the bottles you've broken. Some are nicely symmetrical, with even wall thicknesses all the way around. Others are not, with big differences in wall thickness from one point to another. Those asymmetrical bottles weigh the same as the better ones, but clearly they won't have the same pressure capabilities. There are some breweries out there whose bottles I never reuse anymore.

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General Homebrew Discussion / Re: How to Add Vanilla

« on: March 20, 2012, 09:57:04 AM »

OTOH, I've never used vodka or anything else to sanitize the beans and it's never caused me any problems.

Oh, I know most people get away with it, most of the time. The pros I know won't chance it anymore. They know other pros who have had to dump batches.

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General Homebrew Discussion / Re: How to Add Vanilla

« on: March 18, 2012, 06:27:51 AM »

Vodka at the very minimum. I've had this conversation with two pro brewers (including one from Sam Adams). Raw vanilla beans are absolutely loaded with bacteria. The SA guy said it's the most troublesome ingredient they've ever used. Both pros pasteurize their beans in sealed containers, and then flush the whole thing into a bright tank without ever exposing the beans to air. Keeping it sealed this way they manage to keep most of the aroma, and still avoid infection.

28

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: WLP001 fermented cold

« on: February 25, 2012, 01:07:58 PM »

For the 2008 NHC in Cincinnati the conference beer was an Imperial Cream Ale. (The local craft pros created the recipe, donated everything, and brewed it for us.) It was fermented with 001 at 56°. I don't remember the exact fermentation time, but Rick DeBar, the brewer who actually made the beer, said fermentation took about the same as any other 1.075 beer he'd ever done. The beer was very well received at the conference.

29

Going Pro / Re: Brewery internship?

« on: February 23, 2012, 03:35:09 PM »

I volunteer at a 1500 barrel/year brewery. We have the two owner/brewers, four full-time employees, and a dozen part-time volunteers. The owners were friends of mine for years before they opened, so that's how I started. I thought I was going pro, and went in with the intent to learn pro brewing. They knew and welcomed that. My situation fell apart, but I still work 2 shifts per week. (I'm otherwise retired.) To get in as a volunteer, you need: 1: Know brewing, be a homebrewer, and preferably BJCP certified. 2. Be prepared to do any job asked. In my case the only thing I won't do is lift full half-barrels (back issue), but I spent most of my time cleaning floors and cleaning/sanitizing kegs. I occasionally brew, bottle, keg, filter, and kibitiz on recipes. The other volunteers were accepted because of the ability to make a long-term commitment. I estimate 60 hours of training is required to become an asset. Anything less than that and you are a liability. In a small brewery they just don't have the time to train you.

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General Homebrew Discussion / Re: How much did you brew in 2009?

« on: January 02, 2010, 07:22:30 PM »

30 sessions, 185 gallons, not including wine or mead.