Messages

121

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Using Wort for Starter

« on: October 18, 2010, 12:09:30 PM »

Why not just freeze it instead of canning it? If you can it you don't need to put it in the fridge.

The concern is botulism.  Boiling or freezing alone won't kill the spores that cause it.  That's why people use a pressure cooker to can food (boiling temperature is higher under pressure, high enough to kill the spores).

That said, I'm not sure I share the concern.  We don't worry about spores in finished beer, presumably because of the lower pH and the alcohol.  So if this wort eventually becomes finished beer, what's the danger?  Maybe that the spore count will be too great by then for the pH and alcohol to bring it down to the (very low) level tolerable by humans ...

122

Ingredients / Re: Secondary additions - sanitation questions

« on: October 09, 2010, 12:48:41 PM »

How much extract would you guys recommend for a 5 gal batch?

I don't have my notes handy from that batch (would be different for a different base beer anyway), but I recommend pouring a liter (exactly) of base beer, then add extract with a medicine dropper, say 0.4 mL at a time, until you like what you taste.  Then figure out what you'd need proportionally for a 5-gal. batch, and add half that to the keg.  You can always add more to taste, buy you can't subtract.

Also, I find what tastes great in a couple of sips can be too much to drink a whole pint of.  You're going for harmony.

123

Ingredients / Re: Secondary additions - sanitation questions

« on: October 09, 2010, 09:40:09 AM »

I made a hazelnut brown ale with extract (I forget the brand, but I got it from Whole Foods) added to secondary.  It tasted great and placed second in a local (but very large) competition.  I avoided real hazelnuts because of what I'd heard about the oils affecting head retention, but I've never actually tried them.

124

Kegging and Bottling / Re: straight beer out tubes in ball lock kegs?

« on: October 09, 2010, 06:31:51 AM »

So I have been fermenting in corny kegs.  Works great - I'm never going back to carboys.

Sorry to hijack your thread, but I have to know -- are these 5-gallon Cornies?  Is blowoff a problem?  Do you use Fermcap-S or just settle for less beer?

Thanks ...

125

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Post Keg Fittings... confused

« on: September 18, 2010, 08:21:38 AM »

Or a deep-well 12-point socket.  Most of my kegs take 7/8".

126

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Freezer collar build question: collar I built won't lay flat

« on: September 03, 2010, 10:19:55 AM »

I fixed this problem by leaving all the screws loose until the whole thing was assembled.  Then I successively tightened each one a little bit more until they were all tight.  In the end, all the joints were pretty true.

127

Equipment and Software / Re: Garage Brewing & Water

« on: September 02, 2010, 05:21:39 AM »

I think it depends on your plumbing.  I live in Indianapolis, where it gets nowhere near as cold as Michigan, yet my outdoor spigot has frozen several times, even with the hose detached.  Five minutes with a hair dryer takes care of it, though.

128

Kegging and Bottling / Re: bottle sanitizing

« on: August 14, 2010, 05:46:37 AM »

Right, the OP was talking about putting clean bottles in the dishwasher.  I wouldn't expect the dishwasher to adequately clean dirty bottles.

129

Kegging and Bottling / Re: bottle sanitizing

« on: August 13, 2010, 09:58:28 AM »

That's what I do.  I also make sure Sani-Rinse, which enables further heating of the incoming water, is turned on and Air Dry, which disables the heating element during the dry cycle, is turned off.  I leave the bottles in the dishwasher with the door closed until a couple of hours before bottling, at which time I cap them with aluminum foil and put them in a refrigerator to chill them down to beer temperature.

Some claim a dishwasher doesn't produce the temperatures needed for sufficient sanitization, and I've never tested the internal temperature of my dishwasher.  But I've never had a bottle infection.

130

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Weird citrus smell

« on: August 13, 2010, 04:33:12 AM »

Could it have been acetaldehyde (green apple)?  I just racked a cream ale (fermented with Kölsch yeast) that was still very cloudy.  It had a strong aroma and flavor of green apple, but after a couple of weeks of cold conditioning, it has almost completely subsided.  I figure it was either acetaldehyde that the yeast wasn't finished cleaning up or just some off-aroma/flavor caused by the yeast still being in suspension, and now that it has mostly dropped, the aroma/flavor is almost gone.

131

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Conserving/Storing Starsan

« on: August 13, 2010, 04:23:58 AM »

I accidentally swallowed a mouthful of StarSan once.  Forgot I'd stored the draft line full of it.

Drinking straight from the tap again?

Whenever possible. :-)

It was funny because I didn't realize it wasn't beer at first.  The beer in the keg was a Saison that was still pretty young.  I snapped on a cobra tap line, pulled a sample, and took a sniff and a sip without observing the appearance.  It was extremely citrusy, watery,  mineraly, and, as you can imagine, very astringent.  I thought, "Wtf happened to this beer?!"

132

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Bread and Beer

« on: August 13, 2010, 04:18:03 AM »

One time we ran out of bread yeast and used Danstar Windsor to make cinnamon rolls.  Tasted fine.  I thought they were a hint estery, but that was probably just my imagination.

133

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Conserving/Storing Starsan

« on: August 12, 2010, 05:18:21 PM »

I've heard one of the 5-star people has drunk a glass starsan to demonstrate how safe it is.  I don't worry about the starsan on my hands so much as the pbw, my skin doesn't like that stuff.

I accidentally swallowed a mouthful of StarSan once.  Forgot I'd stored the draft line full of it.

134

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

« on: August 12, 2010, 12:32:51 PM »

No quick way to know if someone has replied to your post other than going back to the board frequently and clicking on the reply button at the top - If I am not reminded to go check something - it probably won't happen.

Follow the PROFILE link at the top of the page, then "Notifications and Email" under "Modify Profile".  Check "Turn notification on when you post or reply to a topic."

I have checked several of the categories to get an e-mail on when there is a new topic - I will get one e-mail from each category - but unless I follow the new link - nothing more will come from that category - and with 5-10  categories checked I tend to forget which ones I went to check thus I quit getting emails from several of them.

In the same list of checkboxes, uncheck "Receive reply notification only for the first unread reply."  At least I think that will get you what you want -- I'm still experimenting myself.

135

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Conserving/Storing Starsan

« on: August 12, 2010, 07:49:36 AM »

I also use the thick blue "chemical safe" gloves that go up to mid forearm (I got them at HD--I can't remember if they're PVC, or Nitrile, or what) to prevent skin exposure during the equipment dunking and transfer process.

You really think the stuff (at proper ratio) is that bad? I can see with iodophor (fake tan /jk) but I'm surprised with starsan. I figure if I dip a finger in the wort or starter then it's no biggie - I've been sanitized.

I sanitize my hands with the stuff all the time when working on the cold side.  No ill effects yet.  And without any brain damage-amage-amage-amage-amage ...