Messages

61

Ingredients / Re: Ideas for Sorachi Ace

« on: October 14, 2012, 03:18:37 PM »

I agree that APA and Saison are great choices for this hop. I would also suggest that they would work well with Saaz or Celeia in a Gratzer, or perhaps a Belgian Pale.

62

Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: Timothy Taylor's Landlord

« on: October 08, 2012, 09:40:39 AM »

There are a few things I am thinking about for the next time.

All Simpsons GP for the base malt. Use the dark British Crystal. Pitch a full amount of yeast (or a little more), don't use O2 just splash or shake, and ramp the temps up at the end. Get he sulfates to 350 ppm or above.

Last time needed more esters, and lacked some residual sweetness, and needed a little of the Burton snatch. At least that was how it compared with my memory.

Very interesting. I have a couple of questions then.

I have been using Fawcett GP, and have not used Simpson's. Do you think I should make the change, and what has been the difference between the two brands been, in your experience? Further, generally I have been using the Fawcett Dark Crystal (II), which has a 118-124 L, is that too dark?

Otherwise, I usually make a starter, and make a nice healthy dose to pitch. I agree that the ones I have underpitched have been a bit too much with the esters.

63

Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: Timothy Taylor's Landlord

« on: October 07, 2012, 07:01:46 PM »

Which clone version do you brew?

Funny you should ask, I was actually going to brew your version, Hopfenundmalz, in a couple of weeks.

However, I brew the Northern Brewer version, except that I move the EKG to 15 minutes usually.

www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/allgrain/AG-Innkeeper.pdf

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Commercial Beer Reviews / Re: Timothy Taylor's Landlord

« on: October 07, 2012, 05:23:06 PM »

Speaking as the Yank in the UK that I am.

Landlord is a good solid ale.  One thing I find is that it varies from year to year in taste.  I don't know if it is the Golden Promise malt but it seems to swing with the seasons.  The one thing it has going wrong with it is that Madonna said it was her favorite beer a few years ago and that riled the locals up a bit.  Regardless, it is a much better out of a hand pump thna it is out of a bottle.

I've only ever had it on cask so I would hesitate to buy it in a bottle in the US. I remember being excited to get Fullers' Porter over here and being very disappointed. It was a completely different beer compared to what I'd had in England.

I brew the clone all the time, so I was excited to see the bottle. However, I wasn't expecting it to blow my mind. Nonetheless, I was not at all disappointed. It was certainly different than what I've been making, but then, I've never had the real thing, so I don't know if I should be disappointed.

65

Commercial Beer Reviews / Timothy Taylor's Landlord

« on: October 07, 2012, 01:06:16 PM »

I just bought some Timothy Taylor's Landlord from my local liquor store? I saw it on the shelf, and obviously just had to buy it. I didn't realize that they were being imported here. Regardless, it was a pretty tasty beer. Some hay and spice in the aroma, nice chewy malt...really quite delicious. I don't get the slight orange marmalade that I get from the clone version I brew, but that may be because this has traveled, and lost some aroma.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45557462@N02/8064097529/

66

Ingredients / Re: NZ hop varieties?

« on: September 30, 2012, 04:19:38 PM »

So, I went a little crazy. I picked up the following, and what I'm thinking of making with them:

Motueka - blonde or pale lager?
Pacific Jade - APA?
Rakau - dry-hopped wheat (maybe rye)
Green Bullet - bittering?
Super Alpha - bittering?

And I picked up some more Nelson Sauvin so I can rebrew the Nelson Brut I made last year.

Any suggestions?

I was actually just thinking that Rakau might be nice in a pale lager. It has a rough quality to it that fades over a couple of months to give a nice fruity aroma. I do not the ability to lager, so I was thinking of doing a faux lager this winter with it.

Pacific Jade would make a great APA. I think it blends well with Crystal and Columbus. It also makes a really good rye and amber. I was thinking of making a saison with it soon.

67

The Pub / Re: Finding a city

« on: September 28, 2012, 10:59:11 AM »

Hey Phil,

Have you considered any of the college towns in the Midwest? Some places that might fit your criteria: Madison, WI, Urbana, IL, Iowa City, IA.

I live in Champaign right now, and they do NOT allow chickens, the bastards, but I lived in Urbana for a long time, and it sounds like your kind of place.

In Urbana however, you can have chickens, it has plenty of upper-middle class neighborhoods. The neighborhoods where professors live are particularly lovely. You are 1 1/12 hrs from Chicago, and we are supposed to get high speed rail connecting us, but who knows when that will happen. We get a great amount of culture, have wonderful places to eat, and a lot of diversity. There are a lot of nice parks throughout the county that have lakes or rivers to kayak in. Obviously it is connected to Champaign which has a great little Brewpub, and many other great features.

Oh, and Urbana has an amazing farmer's market. I could go on. But, I love living in a vibrant college town.

Best,
Kyle

68

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Welcoming the new year

« on: September 24, 2012, 09:42:34 AM »

I think I brewed Denny's Quad last August, and it has only been getting better. So, I would definitely recommend that brew. I actually still have 2.5 gallons bulk aging with a little oak, that I used 3789 Trappist Blend on. Maybe I should bottle that.

Delicious stuff!

69

Ingredients / Re: NZ hop varieties?

« on: September 20, 2012, 01:52:57 PM »

Does anyone have a source they'd recommend for getting these kinds of hops? I've been googling a bit and I've seen a pretty wide range of prices.

I buy mine from Northern Brewer and farmhouse brewing supply. I like to buy two 4 oz bags from farmhouse, and test them out. That also gives me really cheap shipping.

70

Ingredients / Re: NZ hop varieties?

« on: September 17, 2012, 01:36:55 PM »

I forgot to mention that I really like Pacific Jade as well. It has an herbal, fresh fruit, peppery quality that blends really well with Crystal hops. I made a really good rye ale, and amber ale with the two.

71

Ingredients / Re: NZ hop varieties?

« on: September 16, 2012, 02:08:13 PM »

I made a single hop pale ale with Rakau. I agree with erockrph's assessment of "grassy, tropical fruit, spice". It took me a while to like it. There was a rough quality to it that I didn't quite like, but after a couple of months I started to really enjoy it. There was a stone fruit quality to it that was enjoyable to me.

I also used .25 oz of Rakau in a 3 gallon batch of Patersbier, along with Saaz at the 10 minute mark that was absolutely delicious right away.

72

Other Fermentables / Re: Medicinal mead - d'oh!

« on: September 02, 2012, 08:40:32 AM »

Hey Nateo, I've only made one mead, a carrot blossom mead which I am about to keg. So, with my limited experience in mind. When I tasted mine after a few weeks, I also had a medicinally/band-aid flavor. After 2-3 months, I couldn't taste it at all, or at least it is to the point where I don't notice it. My girlfriend also tasted it initially, and now says it is gone.

I also used Kris England's nutrient addition/fermentation schedule for what it is worth.

73

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: WLP002 VS Fermentis Safale S04

« on: August 24, 2012, 06:15:32 PM »

You should really do a split batch and compare them for yourself. I'm a big fan of Denny, but I don't agree with him on everything. Taste is subjective, and you might find S-04 to be the best yeast ever, for your taste. I happen to like S-04 a lot, especially for making cider. I made a special bitter with S-04 I thought was good, but nothing fantastic. More of my friends loved that beer than any of the other beers I'd made before.

+1 I've used S-04 a couple of times, and I thought it was good enough. I fermented quite cool with it, around 62F. I thought the fruity aspect came through a bit much for me, but it was still a very enjoyable beer.

I also like to use it for a bottling yeast.

74

All Grain Brewing / Re: composting spent grain

« on: August 23, 2012, 10:19:05 AM »

I have a large enough yard that I can simply spread the spent grain on the lawn.  I basically put it in a homer bucket, use a large spoon and broadcast spread it as if I were planting wheat in the days before modern equipment.  The squirrels love it and it decomposes without any issues.


The only time it has ever gotten a little ripe was a year or two ago in the spring.  I had brewed quite a bit over the winter.  When the snow melted I had a lot of grain on the ground and it was all wet.  A little sun and a couple passes of the lawn mower got rid of it though.

Paul

+1 I do the same thing.  The squirrels and birds go nuts for it, especially in the Winter, and it is usually gone within 24 hours. But when spring hit, and they actually had something else to eat...that's when it started to get a little ripe.

I spread it way in the back, so I don't ever actually smell it.

75

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What was your last change in your procedure that you feel was beneficial?

« on: August 20, 2012, 07:15:32 PM »

I have also started using less crystal malt, and have been boiling the first gallon of run-off to half a gallon. I feel this has been improve the malt profile significantly.

You don't feel like they give you different results?

Ha, I posted that, and thought I should have elaborated, or at the very least rewritten it into two sentences.

Oh, I am looking for different things from both of them. Using less crystal/specialty malt has meant that I spend more time justifying the presence of each ingredient. This I believe has given me a better malt profile, as it doesn't taste so muddied, and it is also giving me a better idea of what each malt is bringing. Boiling the first gallon down gives me a darker color (which is something that I personally like), and also helps get a boil quicker on my fairly weak stovetop. Otherwise, I suppose I should do two batches and gauge how it affects my tastebuds, as I recall a thread where this topic was being discussed, and the results seemed dependent on the individual's taste. Perhaps in the near future: same recipe, one where I don't boil down the runnings, and the other where I do.