Messages

3286

All Things Food / Re: What's For Dinner?

« on: June 07, 2011, 12:04:02 pm »

What's the recipe for the spaetzle, I always have trouble getting them to hold together and not turn into a pile of goo.

3287

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Longer fermenation v longer aging

« on: June 07, 2011, 12:00:47 pm »

If it were me, I would absolutely give it two weeks of primary, then raise the temp to ambient for one day before dropping it to 30F. After 24 hours at 30F, I would hit it with gelatin and wait until 24 hours before the wedding to keg and carb it.

Generally, though, I wouldn't try to rush lagers. You still have time to replace this one with am American Wheat or something like that if you're looking for an easy drinker for non beer-types. 50% Wheat Malt, 50% 2-row, about 25 IBUs, just a pinch of any aroma hop you like at 10 min, mash at 150-152 for 60 min, shoot for 1.046-1.048, give it a healthy dose of US-05/WLP001/WY1056, ferment at 60F for a couple days, then raise to ambient once it has slowed down... drop it to 30F and keg it on the 23rd. Easy as pie.

I would brew something else but this was the beer specifically requested by the bride and groom. but your schedule looks promising, sans geletin for dietary reasons.

So will keep it in primary until the 19th, give it one day around 70 then crash to as cold as the fridge will get for a day (that puts me at the 22nd) Keg and carb for two days. My plan is to put the two kegs I just finished on sunday on tap first then, once everyone has had a couple, tap these two. If I can get ahold of another keg before then I might also carb up a batch of homemade lemonade which is the soft option at the wedding.

3288

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Longer fermenation v longer aging

« on: June 07, 2011, 07:30:38 am »

If you want to speed the fermentation up, you could start bumping up the temperature after a few days. Maybe raise it 1-2 degrees per day until you get into the mid-60s. That will help it finish quickly and clean up any fermentation by-products.

It's running right around 60-62 right now. maybe dips a little when the fridge is actually running. sometime in the middle of this week or next weekend I wll bump the temp up a couple of degrees as a sort of d-rest and to finish it up. The 5 gallons test batch that has been in a keg for two weeks now is plenty clear for me so I don't think I will worry about fining.

thanks all!

3289

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Longer fermenation v longer aging

« on: June 06, 2011, 02:51:03 pm »

you overpitched by quite a bit so that will speed up the fermentation.

Yeah, that was sort of intentional as I am not a somewhat short schedule.

3290

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Longer fermenation v longer aging

« on: June 06, 2011, 01:09:03 pm »

okay, the overwhelming consensus seem to be to go with the longer ferm. That's kind of what I was thinking anyway. The guests will just have to deal with cloudy beer if it doesn't clear though cause I am a vegetarian and don't use geletin or isinglass. Thanks for the advise everyone!

oh and by the way I am fermenting at 55-60 or as close as I can manage with my ghetto temp control of a timer on my ferm fridge turing it on for 30 minutes out of every 2 or 3 hours. it was at 62 this morning when I left. If it hasn't dropped by the time I get home I will up the 'on' time and try to get it down.

I don't mind cloudy beer most of the time as I feel it makes it seem more 'homemade'

3291

General Homebrew Discussion / Longer fermenation v longer aging

« on: June 06, 2011, 10:43:55 am »

I have 10 gallons of cali common I brewed yesterday, Pitched onto the yeast cakes from another 10 gallons of the same recipe. It is destined for a wedding on June 25th so here is my questions

WOuld it be better, assuming fermentation completes in a week or so, to leave it on the yeast for two weeks and then keg and carb and cold condition for 1 week or keg after 1 week and cold condition for 2 weeks. I will not rush the fermentation so if it takes two weeks to complete so it goes but I suspect with that much yeast it will not be suprising to see it 'done' after one week. it's only 1.051 OG and I mashed at 156 so I am expecting around 1.014 FG

which is better?

two week ferm 1 week cold condition

OR

one week ferm 2 week cold condition?

3292

The Pub / Re: Tell Us About Your Pets

« on: June 06, 2011, 10:00:18 am »

When we got our current pup we crate trained and it worked really well. We didn't have to keep it up much past 6 months or so, but when we had to leave him alone for a while it gave us a sense of safety it that we knew he wasn't gonna chew up an elictrical cord or whatever. At first we tried to keep the crate downstairs but he would howl until someone when down to visit him so we brought it into the bedroom and he was fine.

3293

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: 6-Pack Brewing

« on: June 06, 2011, 09:45:20 am »

I do the latter, I'm not a huge worrier when it comes to my beer.

I figure if you have purged the keg and you are careful when opening the lid and don't move the keg around to much it stays pretty much full of CO2 anyway

3294

Ingredients / Re: RO water

« on: June 05, 2011, 02:38:24 pm »

Hoser, You are spot on about me not knowing enough about water chemistry. So what I ended up doing is buying a coupel of gallons of plain old spring water which I will add to my brewing water and hope that will work well enough.

Thanks for all the info, as I get into this water stuff more I am sure to have more questions.

3295

Ingredients / Re: RO water

« on: June 04, 2011, 03:10:35 pm »

Okay given it's a two hour drive from the brew site to a HBS Here are a couple of possibly stupid questions

is the chalk used by climbers the same kind of chalk I want for this? **EDIT** never mind on this one, go go google!
How about the stick of chalk I use on my blackboard?

If those are my options for chalk should I use baking soda? or just not worry about it?

3296

Beer Recipes / Re: Red Witbier?

« on: June 04, 2011, 02:54:42 pm »

Cool!

Sorry I am going to miss the beer fest.

3297

Ingredients / RO water

« on: June 04, 2011, 02:49:19 pm »

Hey all,

I just moved to a town with terrible water for brewing and I have to brew 10 gallons of cali common tomorrow.

So I just bought 15 gallons of RO water but I realize now that I don't have anything to add to that water to adjust it. What is the bare minimum that I can get away with adding? recipe is as follows

for 11 gallons (All orgainic)
17.5 lbs gambrinus pale ale
2.5 lbs great western crystal 60L

1.5 oz cascade at 9.2%  60 min
2.0 oz cascade at 15
3.0 oz cascade at 0

Thanks in advance!

3298

The Pub / Re: Public Domain Beer/Wine/Brewing Books

« on: June 03, 2011, 01:45:47 pm »

One to avoid, or to take with enough salt to flavor gose, is "Curiosities of Ale and Beer" by John Bickerdyke. There's lots of bad beer history there.

Also, some historical brewing books are better than others. Some of the English books intended for "house brewers" have weird recipes which can include ingredients guaranteed to give off-flavors at best or poison you at worst. (In the 18th and 19th centuries, the UK had laws which basically enforced a sort of Reinheitsgebot on commercial brewers. On the other hand, people brewing for private consumption - which included rich families who privately brewed beer to provision their servants - could put whatever they wanted to into their beer.)

such as a whole chicken?

3299

Beer Recipes / Re: Oatmeal stout to commemerate my kitty

« on: June 03, 2011, 12:19:39 pm »

Funny, you and i think alike.

Mark wasn't black, but he was silver grey - don't know how to do that in a beer, so instead I'm going to make a "Fat Cat Imperial Sweet Stout" in his honor.

I saw the picture you posted. He was beutifull kitty, but yeah hard to match in a beer. My mothers old cat who passed away 10 years ago at the age of 23 was the same color as your Mark. My kitty actually looked like a smaller version of the picture of his cat that beersk posted in the tell us about your pets post.

3300

The Pub / Re: Finally

« on: June 03, 2011, 10:36:49 am »

Not as a cold dip.

I thin it's often served warm and gooey