Messages

1

Beer Recipes / Re: Witbier grain bill: Unmalted wheat vs flaked wheat

« on: Today at 01:43:40 pm »

Your efficiency will likely suffer as well but yeah, that's the main concern. I would hazard a guess that whole wheat berries will taste a lot fresher than flaked ones as well.

Puffed is another option, just to make things more complicated.

2

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Belle Saison Dry Yeast

« on: Today at 12:41:48 pm »

...I believe it needs a little more something so I am going to spice it, perhaps with lemongrass or even dill or basil or something odd like that maybe.  Perhaps even some olde gruit herbs.

At a recent "Homebrewer's Night" at my LHBS, I tried a cucumber basil ale that was actually really good.  Not sure that I would drink more than one, but it was a lot better than I expected.  I don't think I'm brave enough to brew up a basil beer, but as I was drinking it all I could think of is that it would go real nice with some good spicy Thai food.

As for the Bell Saison Yeast, I keep meaning to pick some up and with the results from this thread, I'll make sure to look for it next time I'm at my LHBS.  Thanks to everyone positing their results with this yeast!

I think basil is lovely in beer. Bison Honey Basil comes to mind. but I also did a no hops basil beer that, once it settled down a bit (I used too much basil) was really nice as well. Dill, well anything's possible

3

Beer Recipes / Re: Witbier grain bill: Unmalted wheat vs flaked wheat

« on: Today at 12:40:20 pm »

flaked wheat IS unmalted.

However flaked is pre-gelatinizated so you don't have to worry about that aspect. whole unmalted wheat berries have a gelatinization temp around the mid to high 150s if I recall. but that is best case scenario with a grind close to flour.

so with the flaked wheat the starch will be readily available to the enzymes for conversion where the un-flaked wheat the starch has to gelatinize first. which is may or may not do completely.

4

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Wrong?

« on: Today at 12:37:18 pm »

just the clamato is foul. the beer doesn't even enter in to the question.

yes, yes drinking calmato is foul. Truly, deeply foul. (Just, like, my opinion, man)

5

The Pub / Re: Cellar decided to become a sauna

« on: Today at 08:09:56 am »

The other advantage to storing at your parents is... wait for it...

the beer won't be readily available 

At least in my house, a beer that is two hours away is far less likely to get popped before it's time than one that is in the closet in the hall.

6

All Grain Brewing / Re: Water to Grist Ratio

« on: Today at 07:59:39 am »

I don't think there are any standards by style. At least I have never found any.

You can sometimes find some cool historical descriptions of brewing practices on the internet with some searching. Check out the Shut Up About Barclay Perkins blog.

I mash pretty thin when possible. Sometimes, with a big beer it's jut not possible to fit enough water in my tun for 4 l/kg but I do aim for that. That also tends to mean that my first addition is half my pre-boil plus absorbtion and my mashout, second step, or sparge is the other half of the pre-boil.

7

The Pub / Re: West Sixth vs Magic Hat

« on: May 21, 2013, 03:17:06 pm »

Full disclosure:

I grew up in Vermont but I was never terribly fond of Magic Hat beers.

Now that that's out of the way, I couldn't get to west sixths site but I found this article with a picture
http://www.kentucky.com/2013/05/21/2648036/vermont-craft-brewer-files-federal.html


looking pretty similar to me.

**EDIT** Modified to add, I can't imagine why you would want someone to potentially mistake your beer for a #9. that stuff is nasty.

8

Going Pro / Re: Fermentation Temperature Control

« on: May 21, 2013, 12:18:25 pm »

It's probably way over complicated but I have considered a zoned temp controlled area accomplished by putting 'gates' or dividers in at various points each with it's own temp controller which would actually trigger a little servo to open or close a vent and/or turn on a ventilator fan.

So your zones would go from;

coldest=closest to cooling or farthest from heating
to
warmest=closest to heating or farthest from cooling.

just a thought I had.

9

Equipment and Software / Re: New MT ordered

« on: May 21, 2013, 10:47:39 am »

That is SO going in my imaginary brew pub. thanks hopfen.

10

Equipment and Software / Re: New MT ordered

« on: May 21, 2013, 08:01:49 am »

[...]

the third type is counter flow by the way.

Just to be an OCD engineer, a plate chiller is a type of counter flow chiller, at least the ones I know. The plates can give high area in a small package.

Never apologize for being an engineer! that's absolutely true.

dr. tom once described a old school chiller at a brewery that I can't recall just now that was essentially a sheet of copper that the wort sheeted down with counterflow cold on the opposing side.

That image stuck in my head and I sort of want to build something like that. It seems very willy wonka to me

11

All Grain Brewing / Re: Collecting Cooling Water for Future Brews

« on: May 20, 2013, 01:01:48 pm »

It's never a bad idea to have 10-15 gallons of drinking water available.

Are you prepping, Mort?

 

Nah, Really it's just because I live in earthquake country. Not to say the apocalypse isn't coming, I'm just not specifically preparing for THAT.

12

The Pub / Re: 2nd Gourmets & Growlers pairing event

« on: May 20, 2013, 11:42:52 am »

sounds delic!

13

Beer Recipes / Re: Amarillo IPA

« on: May 20, 2013, 09:45:28 am »

I'll just throw this in, in a recent issue of Zymurgy they have a recipe for testing single hops and the author makes a point to say that Amarillo was not good for the 60 minute addition.

That was a statement of opinion. granted from Vinnie at Russian river but still. Try it. Maybe YOU would like it as a 60 minute addition. I find Columbus to be really oniony but others love it.

14

Beer Recipes / Re: Lavender in a Dubbel?

« on: May 19, 2013, 09:14:58 pm »

Lavender is a very strong herb. Add to that there are different varieties and only some are really appropriate for eating. Nothing dangerous, just taste/smell more soapy than flowery/yummy.

I would probably have started in the <5 GRAMS range rather than the .5 ounce range. or even made a tea and dosed at packaging.

anyway, the lavender will fade in a bit over the next couple years and it might end up quite nice, so if you have the space I would bottle it up and stick it in a corner.

15

Equipment and Software / Re: New MT ordered

« on: May 19, 2013, 11:27:35 am »

http://morebeer.com/products/wort-chiller-superchiller-recirculation.html

http://www.mrmalty.com/chiller.php

like I said, don't know if it's any better, but it's the tool I wanted to try. I also have read a good bit about plate chillers and cleaning issues. anyway, just the direction I went.

cheers

yeav ive also ready about some of the issues with plate chillers holding hop gunk in them, thats why i bought a stainless steel hopspider from stainlessbrewing to put my hops in while boiling. when the boils over i can just pull all of it out and nothings going in my plate chiller:) also in regards to said cleaning issues, since the wart will be boiled when it first hits the plate chiller, anything in it will be eradicated:)

the boiling wort sanitization only works if you recirc for a bit with no water running. Remember if your plate chiller is working the wort should be below 'safe' temps by the time it's 10% of the way through the chiller.

I don't think that plate chillers are inherently better than IC's on the home scale. Pro scale I think plate becomes the only choice just because it's impractical to have a IC that big.

The advantages to IC include dropping the temp of the entire mass of wort quicker thus reducing isomerization and volatilization of flame out hops.

the third type is counter flow by the way.