Messages

46

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: maple beer

« on: August 25, 2011, 07:55:02 PM »

Maple ferments pretty much straight through, so don't expect to get overwhelming aroma or flavor. It will leave a hint of smokiness and some sweet maple behind. I spoke with a brewer over at Harpoon who made the Maple Wheat beer, and he said they used 105 gallons per 120 barrel batch. (31 gallons = 1 barrel of beer, thus maple syrup constituted about 2.8 percent of the volume.)

I've never tried it myself, but I like the idea of adding some at bottling time. Good luck. (And, BTW, here's a link to the video with the Harpoon brewer: http://youtu.be/IfOzpONtKhU

47

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?

48

All Grain Brewing / Re: Head retention in German pils

« on: August 14, 2011, 08:46:09 AM »

Paying attention to temperature and sanitation are the two most important things. Also, if you're going to do a protein rest, keep it on the shorter side (15-20 min.). I usually do a step mash at 122 for 20 min, and then ramp up to 146-149 for 60 min. Both pilsners I've done have had excellent head retention, with pilsner malt being the only malt.

49

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Competition letdown

« on: August 12, 2011, 06:56:06 PM »

Been there myself. Personally, I liked both beers I submitted and then took samples to my brew club. They liked them too, and through discussion, we concluded that I may have submitted a contaminated bottle. So, guess what? I cleaned up my sanitation practices. I think you can learn a lot from submitting to competitions. (Some of them, anyway.)

If you're curious, here's a blog post that explains more: http://www.brewsreporter.com/a-case-for-competition/

50

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.

51

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: When to Use Fresh Hops

« on: August 12, 2011, 06:42:50 PM »

The comment about chilling to 180 is excellent...never considered that. I know everyone says that you can dry hop with homegrown hops, but to be honest, I haven't had much luck. Last year, I split a batch in two -- same exact pale ale, with 3 gallons done without the dry hops and the other 3 gallons done with them. The latter came out a bit sour, and I was pretty careful with my sanitation. For what it's worth.

52

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Poured out that old Belgian

« on: July 30, 2011, 09:51:46 PM »

I agree with Gordon's suggestion about starting with lower temps than you'd expect. I just brewed a saison I thought was going to be perfect, but started it at close to 80 degrees (the temperature at which many people recommended) but I got some fusels. I think it would have been better to have started it lower (maybe 68-70 degrees) and let it warm up.

Also, I used to be way big into spices, but the best Belgians I've done have just been the result of careful attention to the yeast.

53

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?

54

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Considering Homebrewing as a new hobby

« on: July 25, 2011, 10:51:42 AM »

I agree with most of what's already been said. It's not any more complicated to brew than other beers, but requires additional equipment (and patience.) If you don't have a spare fridge, try doing an ale version with a clean fermenting yeast (US-05) and put the bucket in the coolest part of your home. It'll be tasty enough to enjoy.

55

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Straining direct onto trub

« on: July 24, 2011, 10:26:33 AM »

Thanks guys. These are great suggestions. I think I'll just scoop out the trub and repitch it.

56

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.

57

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What's Brewing This Weekend - 7/15

« on: July 18, 2011, 08:41:23 AM »

Got a Saison going that was inspired by your Saison Ete recipe, Drew. (I still go back to that May/June 2008 issue of Zymurgy all the time.) So far, so good.

58

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?

59

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: My First First Place (Brag Warning)

« on: June 09, 2011, 04:42:37 AM »

Well done. You give the rest of us something to aspire to.

60

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