Messages

16

Other Fermentables / Re: First Mead Questions

« on: August 02, 2012, 02:17:08 pm »

Not sure what my source is for this (NHC, podcast, mead induced dream?), but I of late degassing every day until about 50% fermentable consumed.  At that point you begin to worry about O2 doing harm.

17

Other Fermentables / Re: How'd mead and cider get to be part of a beer organization.

« on: July 22, 2012, 05:55:14 pm »

Yep. Mead and cider were not worthy of the oenophiles attention, and the AHA/BJCP welcomed them.

Today there is a little shunning from the BA, as these are not legaly beer amd do not fit into the BA charter.

Yes, I've noticed in my own HBC that there is a bit of a condescending attitude about mead makers - "you're not a brewer, you're just mixing", "I'd be upset if a mead won Best of Show".  Likely complicated more in recent years as wine organizations are talking about, and judging meads; and you get the chance to taste meads at wine festivals.

I usually respond by saying, "If so easy, then go ahead and show me how well you can make a really good mead", or, "like brewing, it comes down to selecting the right ingredients, and properly managing fermentation."  You would never say extract brewers are not really home brewers because the upfront is not as hard as doing all grain.

(edited spelling)

18

Commercial Beer Reviews / Commercial meads in PA -

« on: July 22, 2012, 05:44:46 pm »

A while back I posted a question about finding any good meads available in Pennsylvania. Since then I had the chance to taste some fantastic ones at 2012 NHC so I feel I can do a little amateur comparison.

Mt Hope Winery - I have enjoyed all of traditional and melomels.   They won a gold metal at the 2012 Pennsylvania Wine Competition for their Honey Mead.

Stonekeep Meadery offerings are also good.

Anyone else try any of these?  Any BJCP judges performed a commercial calibration on these?
Aware of any others available in PA?

19

Other Fermentables / How'd mead and cider get to be part of a beer organization.

« on: July 10, 2012, 05:09:01 pm »

Just wondering - as mead is more a wine than a beer, what is the history of it being part of AHA/BJCP? 

I did the old google thing and did not come across any of the history?

Same question for cider?

20

Homebrew Clubs / Re: BN Army wins club of the year.

« on: July 06, 2012, 07:28:20 am »

I'm late to this thread as I spend some more time in the fine Seattle area after the conference. Washington State should be proud! (Although you need to work on your ball team - fans too subdued - you should be yelling at your players - the east coast in me! :-)

This was my first AHA conference and the event was fantastic.  I did think the awards dinner ended a bit uncomfortably... I did not hear any boo's, but there was a noticeable toned down cheering, and the "I can hear the rules changing comment" seemed almost prepared.

I did not cheer as loudly as I mostly shouted for the individuals, and was hoping for a new club or Washington state club to win (I'm from PA, but always root for the home teams!).  I would have been subdued towards DOZE, ST Paul or Quaff too. (I boo the Yankee's and Patriots, root for the Cub's very year - just my nature)

I read JP's post and was disappointed with the public rant - being just what he was criticizing, petty.
At the event, I did heard varying opinions on if BNarmy is a club, but in any organization, you are going to have varying opinions.  It is naive to think all have same views - hell, we can't agree on decoction or no decoction - so what.

IMHO, I considered the Brewing Network and BNArmy, as a commercial media enterprise. I guess I would find it odd to have a BeerSmith Brew Club, White Labs Club, Northern Brewer Beer or other business club.

That all said, they are a Club per AHA and I would hope that no special rules are made to treat them differently.  That would be dangerous for the organization.

Does the BNArmy have an advantage - yes - timing - there was no internet podcasts 20 years ago.  They took advantage of  the internet - using it in an engaging, entertaining, and informative way.  So they ended up with energetic, passionate brewers who entered a lot of beer in the NHC.  Something any club can do if they choose to.

So my winning strategy for 2013 for my club is simple.. get about 10-15 of your club brewers making great beers and ensure they set the alarm for the registration date/time for NHC 2013.

I hope to see you all in Philly. 

21

Pimp My System / Geek: linksys stir plate

« on: June 15, 2012, 06:37:09 pm »

(note edited 7/22/2012 as the old photo site was shutdown - same content, new photo source)



I built this from parts found around my house.  Had an old fan, hard drive for the magnets, and a power supply.  Was stumped with what I could use as a base - almost went pure minimalist with just attaching fan to a piece of plexiglas - and then I saw the linksys in the electronic junk pile (yeah, I'm a full time geek and part time hoarder.)

The concept/basic instructions for this is well documented at: http://www.byo.com/stories/projects-and-equipment/article/indices/20-build-it-yourself/401-build-your-own-stir-plate

I pulled the router apart, removed any diodes/chips off the circuit board that were in the way, glued the fan on the board, and attached (just wrapped, did not even solder) the fan leads to the power adapter port inside the router. (I should of taken a picture of that, but I forgot, and I'm not pulling it apart now  ).  Trust me, it will be obvious, and you can use a volt meter to confirm the right points of contact.

I cut out out the top of the router, where the air vent is to allow clearance for the fan/magnet. 


Its not perfectly flat, but the flask does sit pretty stabile on it. 

I've used it for a few starters now and it has worked fine - and the price was right.

22

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: UPS returned my box of NHC beer

« on: June 11, 2012, 05:35:37 am »

I never had an issue - never needed to be coy with "declaring yeast samples, etc":

1) Plain brown box
2) Well packed, no clanging bottles
3) UPS online to create and pay for label/shipping
4) Walk into UPS, say "prepaid" and I walk out door.

Note- I ship only UPS ground, not sure if "air" would have any issues, scanning of package.
My NHC entries made it fine.

23

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What's Brewing This Weekend - 4/20 Edition

« on: April 21, 2012, 07:14:09 am »

It's Earth Day weekend... so an all Organic Baltic Porter.

24

All Grain Brewing / Re: Metal rod for measuring volume

« on: April 09, 2012, 05:52:55 am »

My only concern would be if it is galvanized steel.  Potential issues with leeching zinc and producing off-flavors.  Not sure how much contact time it would take, but since metal unknown, I would not put in my brewing.

I use a copper pipe, marked off in 1 gal increments using small hacksaw cuts. I've also use a notched plastic stirring paddle.

25

Yeast and Fermentation / First lambic - what to expect in fermentation

« on: April 06, 2012, 08:48:01 am »

Greetings,

I started my first lambic -  the Brewing Classic Style recipe.
I intially pitched S-05 and then when krausen fell, I pitched 2 bottles of ECY BugFarm. I did not make a starter of the Bugfarm.

So what should I expect to see in terms of fermentation activity?  Is this a subtle process or should I be seeing air lock activity, etc? 

I know this is a year+ brew, but curious on what visible indicators of progress I can expect short  term.

Regards,

26

Ingredients / PAWC: Scranton Dunmore PA

« on: April 04, 2012, 06:48:15 pm »

Ward labs results for Dunmore PA (Scranton area) - Pennsylvania American Water Company

pH 7.0
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 78
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.13
Cations / Anions, me/L 1.1 / 1.3

ppm
Sodium, Na 10
Potassium, K < 1
Calcium, Ca 10
Magnesium, Mg 1
Total Hardness, CaCO3 29
Nitrate, NO3-N 0.2 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 5
Chloride, Cl 19
Carbonate, CO3 < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 24
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 19

27

Events / NHC - how much beer for clubs to bring?

« on: March 25, 2012, 04:19:40 pm »

Hi experienced NHC attendee's and hosts... how much beer does a club need to bring for something like club night or to be a hospitality suite host?

28

Homebrew Competitions / Re: 14th Annual Domras Cup Mead Compeition - Feb 4 - Savannah

« on: December 23, 2011, 09:37:36 am »

. . . best viewed in IE.

Actually appears not to work for us Safari users at all... the "enter here" button does nothing for us non IE users.

29

Homebrew Clubs / Re: Looking for some diagrams on brewing process

« on: December 23, 2011, 09:34:48 am »

Thanks for the feedback.  I like the "miracle happens" slide lol!


I used this slide as the process overview.  We had 4 presentations during the day.  One overview of the end to end process, and then drill downs into the 3 segments (brew day, fermentation, package/serve).  Here is the slide we used for overview and "you are here" reference point for each of the presentations.  Nothing fancy.


Others at:  http://gallery.me.com/dschreffler#100194&bgcolor=black&view=grid
Handouts at: http://www.wyomingvalleyhomebrewers.org/images/LearnToBrew2011.pdf

These will continue to evolve, but wanted to share.

30

Other Fermentables / Re: Sulfur smell in a pear cider

« on: December 20, 2011, 11:29:24 am »

Well the aroma has cleared up fine.  A nice tasting perry - a bit on the light side.  As always, the key is to relax and let things take their course.

My friend whom used the SafAle05 still has a funky odor to his  He carbonated too early, as it is now in the keg and no way for odor to leave the cider.  He'll probably rack back to carboy to see if the scent leaves.