Messages

7081

The Pub / Re: Why Grammar is Important

« on: September 15, 2010, 09:00:18 PM »

There's a lot of "supposably" around here. But when I tell people I'm from Baltimore, I get a 2-second quizzical look before they brighten up and say, "Oh! Bal-Ti-More!" like they just figured out the secret to cold fusion.

Yeah, because you probably pronounce Baltimore "Ballmer"

7082

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Texas Chef Successfully Deep-Fries...Beer!

« on: September 15, 2010, 08:37:24 PM »

I love bacon, the only thing that makes bacon better...


MORE BACON!

You've got to get proper bacon though, not the belly bacon we grew up with.  Just fry up a few pieces and have yourself a bacon sandwich.  Unbelievably good.

http://www.properbritishbacon.com/

7083

Beer Recipes / Re: Diabetic and Beer

« on: September 15, 2010, 08:29:31 PM »

From my understanding, you are trying to make a low carb beer.  If it's really that important I think you should stick with adding the amylase to the fermenter.  It will be more active in the mash because of the temperature, but it will also be deactivated by the boil so whatever sugars are in the wort are what you'll have in the fermenter, whether they are fermentable sugars or not.  I'm sure pro brewers add it to the mash if they are using a lot of adjuncts and/or malt with low diastatic power, but they can deactivate it when it gets to the point that they want, whereas you want it completely dry (right?).  By adding it to the fermenter it will work more slowly, but it will work for as long as it needs to really dry the beer out.

Rather than add it in primary with the yeast though, you might try putting it in secondary.  It might help retain some of the yeast character you're going for.  Maybe not though, but I figure it's worth a try.

Just some thoughts.

7084

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Minimum time needed for a starter

« on: September 15, 2010, 03:49:54 PM »

You want to make sure your yeast population is larger and healthier?  Get a stir plate.  Check out this picture from the Falcons website yeast page.

That's a great article overall, but I find it dubious to suggest that a stirplate will result in a four-fold increase in yeast growth over a shaken starter. (FWIW I found the increase to be about 13%.) Access to oxygen is the key.

I've never met MB personally, but if she says she got 4x as much I believe her.  I don't know how her conditions may have differed from yours though, so that may affect the results.

7085

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Texas Chef Successfully Deep-Fries...Beer!

« on: September 15, 2010, 03:12:14 PM »

I have to say, calling this fried beer is just marketing BS.  This is no more fried beer than ravioli is boiled cheese.

That being said, I want to try it

7086

The Pub / Re: Brewpubs that serve BMC

« on: September 15, 2010, 03:09:46 PM »

One thing to keep in mind is that the craft brewing sales share in 2009 was 4.3% by volume and 6.9% by dollars. In other words keeping BMC on tap won't hurt the bottom line.  

It sure as hell will when you're only making 50 cents a pint on the BMC but are making $2 per pint on the house brews.  Unless you'll sell 4x as many BMC, which is certainly possible in some places.  Those would be the kinds of places where you might want to rethink opening a brewpub and just open a bar instead.

7087

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Minimum time needed for a starter

« on: September 15, 2010, 02:50:39 PM »

Is that still to much?

I can't say for sure, but it would probably be fine.

To some extent it will be strain specific, because there are different genes that protect against oxygen toxicity.  It also will depend on how much O2 is getting dissolved, and I don't have a good answer for that.

7088

The Pub / Re: Brewpubs that serve BMC

« on: September 15, 2010, 02:41:48 PM »

Also the general population wants these beers, they want cheap beers. Selling them in volume is how you make money.

Yeah, but if I wanted a dive bar I'd buy a dive bar.

Maybe your place wont need that kind of thing. but most larger operations will need the income from selling these beers. If the brew pub that has BMC on tap has a good house brew why would I not take them seriously?

Well, in the original post the house beers were all crap . . .

7089

The Pub / Re: Brewpubs that serve BMC

« on: September 15, 2010, 02:16:39 PM »

I understand the "give them what they want" mindset, but if you have BMC then that's all they'll drink.  If you have something like BMC then they can try that and try something else too.  That's why you bring in real German lagers and some good craft lagers, to cater to those folks.  I worked in a bar that carried mostly BMC with some craft bees, but when a Curs drinker comes in he doesn't want anything but his Curs.  It doesn't matter what else you have.  So thinking that eventually they'll try the house brews just doesn't hold up in my experience.

If you want to cater to the BMC crowd that's cool, I just don't think it fits well with a brewpub.  If you're going carry BMC just so you can sell what sells, you should also stop selling what doesn't sell - namely the schwaggy house brew.

Now maybe this is just because of where I live, because here it is harder to find places that carry BMC than those that don't, and I don't think any of the places I frequent carry BMC.  Here there's just no need to carry BMC to draw a crowd.  Our local crappy beer is called Redhook.

7090

The Pub / Re: Why Grammar is Important

« on: September 15, 2010, 01:45:49 PM »

Im alright with anyways, wont use it but it is OK,. Now "anywho" on the other hand, that just makes me want to punch someone in the face. Doesnt even have to be the person who said it, just anyone within arms length.

I'm with you on that one.

7091

The Pub / Re: Brewpubs that serve BMC

« on: September 15, 2010, 01:37:41 PM »

No, I can't take them seriously.  I'm all for bringing in what the customers want (light lager), but you don't have to go with BMC.  Bring in some nice German lagers or even American made ones and offer them that.  I would offer them Bitburger before I put Budweiser on tap.  I've even got some people hooked on Boddington's.  There are better beers available.

But if they insist, they can buy cans of BMC, warm, for $20 each.

7092

Ingredients / Re: Potential Gravity for Orange Juice?

« on: September 15, 2010, 01:27:11 PM »

I think your best bet is to just measure it with a refractometer or hydrometer.

DOH!  Read too fast and missed that!  Good idea, Tom! 

I think you've just been skipping over mine - too many posts to read all of the way through

7093

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Minimum time needed for a starter

« on: September 15, 2010, 01:26:02 PM »

So, hit the starter with O2 every 8 hours for a couple of days?

Sure, although that might not be as good as a stirplate.  It foams up pretty quickly so there's only so much O2 you can bubble through it.  Some foam control and/or a larger vessel would help.  But the stirplate is set and forget, so I like that solution better.

No, no, you misunderstand.  2 or 4 liter starters in a 6 liter flask on a stirplate, with .5 micron sintered stone!

Wow, ok, that's a lot of O2.  There is some small danger of actually hitting them with too much O2, and between the stirplate and the O2 tank you might be getting close.  I would just stick with the stirplate and some kind of cover that will keep stuff from falling in but allow air to flow through.  Like a cotton ball or loose aluminum foil or something.

7094

Ingredients / Re: Potential Gravity for Orange Juice?

« on: September 15, 2010, 12:10:29 PM »

 

I think your best bet is to just measure it with a refractometer or hydrometer.

7095

The Pub / Re: Does every state poke sport at the state to the south?

« on: September 15, 2010, 12:09:02 PM »

He was the only person I talked to during the whole trip who spoke that way.  It was just too funny.

Maybe he was just playing along?

I went to Vancouver BC for work once, and a Canadian I worked with told me - when you're in a conversation with some Canadians and there's a lull in the conversation, out of nowhere just say:

"Play hockey, eh".

So I did.

It was hilarious!  They immediately started going "oh hell yeah" and yammering on about hockey this and hockey that.  I'm a hockey fan so the conversation was fun, but man!  It was like a pre-programmed trigger phrase.