Topics

16

General Homebrew Discussion / Boza recipe?

« on: January 06, 2012, 06:09:28 PM »

Does anybody have experience making boza? I've heard it's pretty interesting stuff and would like to try making a batch.

17

General Homebrew Discussion / Foamy keg?

« on: December 15, 2011, 03:56:42 PM »

I just kegged my third beer and, for whatever reason, it's super foamy. Force carbonation and I used the same process as before. Basically 30 psi over night, and then 10 psi after that. Still, all I get is foam coming out of the tap. Anybody have experience with this?

18

General Homebrew Discussion / Freon/Kegerator question

« on: November 21, 2011, 01:49:46 PM »

I just got a "Superior" brand 3-tap keg system from someone, and while the compressor and fan appear to work well, it struggles to keep anything cold. It's a hand-me-down system and probably at least 20 years old. The guy who gave it to me said it could use some freon, but was unsure of what type it needed. Anybody have advice on what type of freon this would need, and also how I could go about charging it?

19

Yeast and Fermentation / Is it too soon to bottle?

« on: August 27, 2011, 10:14:25 PM »

I've got a batch of Super Saison that has been fermenting in the primary for 4 weeks. The airlock still shows some slow activity (one bubble every 20-30 seconds) but I'm afraid to leave it on the yeast much longer, lest it develop off flavors. Any thoughts? Should I bottle it, rack it to a secondary or let it ride and not worry about it?

20

Beer Travel / Providence beer trip

« on: August 25, 2011, 07:40:14 PM »

I'm heading down to Providence, RI for two days over Labor Day weekend. Any suggestions for beer bars or breweries?

21

General Homebrew Discussion / gypsum addition

« on: August 12, 2011, 06:50:56 PM »

I've been reading up on water chemistry and am preparing to do a fresh hop ale. I'd like to get the most bang for my buck and was wondering if it would be worth adding gypsum.

I've had my water tested, and here are a few stats:
hardness = 65
ph = 5.93
alkalinity = 36

My questions are this: Do I need to add gypsum, and if so, how much? Also, should I add it to the mash, or if I'm just looking to maximize hop extraction, should I throw it into the wort before boil?

I'm probably splitting hairs here, but any advice is welcome.

22

Other Fermentables / Why remove scum?

« on: July 25, 2011, 11:14:35 AM »

Just made my first mead and I was wondering why every recipe calls for removing scum? Is this for clarification? Sanitation? What is it, exactly, that I'm removing?

23

Yeast and Fermentation / Straining direct onto trub

« on: July 23, 2011, 10:38:43 PM »

Has anyone tried straining wort directly onto the trub from a prior batch? (Same fermenter, which contains the yeast from a just-bottled batch.) I'm about to bottle a Saison and am very happy with how the yeast has performed, so I plan on using it again. I was wondering if I would be OK to pour a second Saison (slightly different recipe) directly into the fermenter of the previous one -- no additional sanitation of the bucket, which would have been emptied for bottling just a few hours prior.

It'd make for a busy day, to be sure, but I thought that it might avoid risk of contamination if I cut back on the steps for saving the yeast.

24

General Homebrew Discussion / Plastic primary fermenter for Mead?

« on: July 18, 2011, 08:37:54 AM »

I've been thinking about making mead for a long time, and the latest issue of Zymurgy convinced me to go ahead and try it. I was wondering, however, whether I should use glass or plastic for my primary. I'm a bit worried about the mead getting oxidized if it sits in the fermenter too long (more than 6 months.) Does anyone have experience with this?

25

General Homebrew Discussion / Spruce Tips

« on: June 06, 2011, 03:56:08 PM »

I was out yesterday picking spruce tips for a beer that Harpoon is planning to release this winter. I now want to try it on my own, and found a recipe in The Homebrewer's Garden that says to add 1-4 oz. for 60 min. That seems awfully long. I'd figure more like 15-20 min. would be plenty.

Does anybody have experience with spruce tips? I want enough flavor to come through a porter-like beer with molasses, but definitely would prefer to go light than over-do it. What are people's thoughts on quantity and length of time in the boil?

Chris

26

General Homebrew Discussion / AHA National results from Northeast?

« on: May 19, 2011, 05:43:06 PM »

Anybody who submitted their beers to Saratoga Springs received their results yet? I'm not holding out much hope for advancing to the second round, but would love to get some feedback.

27

General Homebrew Discussion / AHA Nationals?

« on: May 07, 2011, 12:02:06 PM »

Anybody know when we should expect to hear about the AHA National competition results?

28

Beer Travel / Philadelphia beer trip

« on: April 11, 2011, 04:56:02 PM »

I'm going to Philadelphia for 4 days and am trying to plan beer bar/brewery stops. I've been told that The Foodery and Monks are must-sees. Any other suggestions?

Chris

29

General Homebrew Discussion / Saaz and Cascade in an IPA?

« on: March 26, 2011, 08:36:10 AM »

I've got about 4 oz. each of Czech Saaz and Cascade pellets and was thinking about using them in an IPA. Anybody ever tried this flavor/aroma combination?

30

General Homebrew Discussion / Occassional diacetyl problem

« on: February 26, 2011, 11:51:15 AM »

I've been noticing a strong diacetyl presence in several bottles of doppelbock that I bottled about a month ago. Weird thing is that it's not every bottle. Some of them seem just fine. Is this possible, or am I just making this up? If some bottles have a diacetyl problem and others don't, what accounts for it? My sanitation methods are pretty thorough (or so I thought.)