Topics

61

Commercial Beer Reviews / Bells' Hopslam Ale

« on: January 21, 2011, 06:54:13 AM »

Well it's that time of year again.  Time for some Hopslam!  While I'm not to keen on paying $20.00 for a sixer here in Panama City, FL, it is a great beer.  Very reminiscent of Pliny, according to a rep at Bell's they use almost the exact same hops, but slightly less bitter and with a little slickness from the honey.  I swear I tasted more honey in it last year, but my wife says I'm crazy!

All in all a great beer and if you can find it, it's definitely worth the money.  Also do not age this beer!  Drink it while you got it.  I can't wait to get home from work today and start the weekend with a couple HopSlams!

 

62

Ingredients / Apriocot/Peach flavor in IPA, what hop is it??

« on: January 13, 2011, 12:02:22 PM »

I've brewed this recipe a few times now and it has always turned out good.  However the first time I brewed it, it had a really nice apricot/peach aroma to it.    I've never been able to re-capture that smell/taste, following the recipe exactly.  Any help as to which hop might be contributing that flavor would be greatly appreciated.  This is my first original IPA, so there's quite a smattering of different types of hops!

Kyptonite IPA

13# 2-row
1#   C-40
.5 # Caravienne
.5 #  Carapils

Mashed at 147 for 75 minutes
Batch Sparge...

Boiled for 75 mins

1.5 oz Chinook  60 min
1 oz   Galena    60
1 oz   Chinook   30
1 oz   Warrior    30
1 oz   Simcoe   10
1 oz   Citra       10

Fermented at app 68 degrees for a week then added:

1 oz Amarillo
1 oz  Crystal  dry hopped with both of these for a week, cold crashed for one day, then kegged @ 12 psi.  Served one week after kegging.

OG  1.070
FG  1.013

I would really love to recapture that taste.  I've had a lot of commercial IPA's and never tasted it before.   Help!!

63

All Grain Brewing / Using Rice in a mash

« on: January 11, 2011, 06:14:40 PM »

Hey all!  I've been thinking about adding a small percentage ( about 2lbs for 10 gallons, maybe...) of rice to a future brew.  Can I just add the rice straight from the bag to my tun?  I've read some online about cereal mashing, but I'm not quite sure how to do this.

I've heard rice will give you a nice crisp finish to the beer.  I'd like to experiment and find out if it makes a difference.

So basically, what type of rice, how and when to add it to the mash would really help!  Thanks!

64

Kegging and Bottling / Co2 Pressure/Temperature Question

« on: December 28, 2010, 06:04:39 PM »

I recently tapped a new pale ale, and was surprised by the low carbonation. I normally always have good carbonation on my beers. I'm wondering if the cold weather is the culprit. My serving fridge is more or less outside, in an uninsulated garage. I know temperature affects atmospheric pressure, but is this the case?

Here's my normal carbonation schedule. Keg beer @ 30 psi for 48 hours. Turn to 12 psi for another 5 days. Seven days total. Then I usually turn to 5 psi for serving. Kinda the set and forget method. When the temperature drops, is this affecting the pressure at all?? I assumed that the regulator would be accurate at any temp. If there were changes in temperature, that's what the regulator is for, to keep the pressure where you have it dialed in.

If I'm not correct in my assumption, maybe I have a leak. Any thoughts?

_________________
Justin

Liquid Brewing Co.
"Find Your Own Level"

65

Equipment and Software / Heating a Fermentation Fridge

« on: October 22, 2010, 04:57:46 AM »

I currently am fermenting in a fridge with a Johnson controls analog external thermostat.  With the upcoming "winter" here in Florida approaching, I wondered what the best option for heating my fridge would be.

My fridge is in my garage, and despite popular belief, it can dip as low as into the 30's here at night.

Any ideas?  I've been considering buying a two stage controller, but I still need a heat source.  What kind of heat source will work well for the entire fridge?  Anyone had any successes they'd like to share? 

Thanks!!