Messages

7261

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: How Common Are Infected Batches?

« on: September 05, 2010, 05:35:57 PM »

I was teaching a guy who had just finished cullinary school how to brew.  When I said I wanted the sparge water to be at 170F, he looked at it for a while then said it wa, at 170F.  I was on the side with the bulkhead thermometer, and it was 170F.  WTF?  I asked him how he knew.  He said if you pay attention, water as it is heated will have some different character. with temp.  At 170F the surface becomes very still and even.  Look sometime, I was convinced that the brewers before instuments had some clues as to what to do.

You're right, they did do that.  I read about it somewhere, it might have been something Randy Mosher wrote about old brewing techniques.  They heat it to blood warmth as one example, and another was when you could see your face reflected in it.

7262

Questions about the forum? / Re: 1st Kit and Other Rankings

« on: September 05, 2010, 04:31:08 PM »

I don't know what bluesman looks like, but the drunk guy is Push, aka Push Eject from BN.

7263

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Just finished my first batch

« on: September 05, 2010, 04:28:43 PM »

So what kind of beer did you make?

7264

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Drawbacks from kegging 2.5gal instead of 5gal?

« on: September 05, 2010, 04:27:20 PM »

It'll be fine, just make extra sure to purge the keg so there's no air in it.  I'd suggest filling it with starsan, closing it up, then pushing the starsan out with CO2.

7265

Questions about the forum? / Re: 1st Kit and Other Rankings

« on: September 05, 2010, 04:05:20 PM »

Good stuff, thanks Drew.  Do you know what Push does for them?

Aside from appearing as a drunken fool? I think he helped them mix their sound, etc.

At least no acting was required

7266

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Absent Minded Brewer

« on: September 05, 2010, 04:03:09 PM »

Oh no!  Well, consider it an experiment in oxidizing beer.  Since it's only been a week the yeast might absorb some of it, and even if not it's not a total loss.  And if it tastes awful, maybe you can find someone to help you "concentrate" it.

7267

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Should the AHA Keep TechTalk?

« on: September 05, 2010, 03:59:44 PM »

V2 will be a few weeks IIRC.  They're working on it, but V1 has been put to bed.

7268

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: My Beer Taste like Dry Wine

« on: September 05, 2010, 02:38:26 PM »

After you've got it bottled, carbed, and chilled, let us know how it is.

7269

The Pub / Re: Garden harvest pics....

« on: September 05, 2010, 02:01:23 PM »

Looks great, it's going to be a while until I can harvest much, the weather here has been awful for growing.  I have a few peppers that are ripening, but lots are still growing.  And the tomatoes are all still green too.

7270

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: How Common Are Infected Batches?

« on: September 05, 2010, 01:58:17 PM »

I agree that we might not hate them as long as you agree that we might! 

I hate some of the beers made with modern techniques and fancy equipment, so I have no problem with that

7271

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: My Beer Taste like Dry Wine

« on: September 05, 2010, 01:57:06 PM »

Do you have a hydrometer to check the gravity?  I think you pulled it off of the yeast too fast, there's really no need to do a secondary with this beer, although it is a low floccer so maybe it's ok.  Your fermentation temp was a little high too, but not ridiculously so.

No offense, but you know that is a bavarian yeast strain and you can expect to get banana and clove flavors from it?

When you say it tastes like dry wine, what do you mean?  In what way?

7272

Questions about the forum? / Re: 1st Kit and Other Rankings

« on: September 05, 2010, 01:48:23 PM »

Good stuff, thanks Drew.  Do you know what Push does for them?

7273

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: My Beer Taste like Dry Wine

« on: September 05, 2010, 01:35:42 PM »

Can you post your recipe and fermentation conditions?  That will help diagnose what's going on.

7274

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: How Common Are Infected Batches?

« on: September 05, 2010, 01:34:38 PM »

And that's my point...standards and tastes change over time and differ from person to person.  Maybe those kings/pharaohs expected beer to taste a way that we wouldn't find acceptable now.

Then we agree.  I just don't think we can assume that we'd hate them or that they were bad, someone around today would probably like them, maybe even you or I.

7275

Kegging and Bottling / Re: bad secondary regulators?

« on: September 05, 2010, 01:31:29 PM »

I don't know what c-valve shut offs are, but below is a picture.  There doesn't seem to be a master relief valve.  It is just residual pressure that bleeds into the regulator, it seems to read the correct pressure.  It is more of an annoyance than anything else I guess, since I can only use that gauge for beers that I want carbonated at higher than 8 psi, which is most but not all of them.