Homebrewers Association | AHA Forum
General Category => General Homebrew Discussion => Topic started by: dbeechum on May 18, 2011, 10:26:17 PM
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After I announced my little misadventure in speed brewing, I was heartened by the number of forum members who stepped up with their own experiences and experiments.
Well now's our chance to get it into print. I'll be writing up an article for Zymurgy later this year, so I'd love to get everyone's experiences, recipes, etc consolidated here.
What are your thoughts and experiences. I suppose we should say beers that went from grain to glass in 12 or fewer days.
Let's make Denny's teeth grind! :)
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I can do Popcorn Cream from a bottle in 14 days. I'd guess I could push 12 out of a keg.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/popcorn-cream-188132/
That fermentation schedule can kick out beers fast, clean and very clear. Popcorn is neat but I've since converted to cereal mashing grits, cornmeal or rice. It's too much like BMC for most homebrewers but I like to have it around. I lager it but that takes a month.
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The fastest beer that I've brewed has been my stout. But I haven't brewed it since I've started kegging. I wonder how fast I can get it into the glass now...hmmm....
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I have been inspired to try a Bitter from grain to keg in 7 days.
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Five days for a mild. Drinking it on the sixth. Gotta use a large pitch of flocculent yeast though. Ferment in the upper 60's. I think you could even push it into the 1.045 range and get it done in time.
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My last beer was my best so far and received a lot of positive comments (some of which I even believe).
12 days and could probably have been done in 10 if I'd been home for part of it to monitor the temperatures. There's another batch going right now. Maybe I'll name it Dozen Day Cream Ale...
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I've done my house IPA in 10 days. Fourteen is ideal for it, but I was desperate to get something on tap. ;D
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Sorry Drew; no such thing as speed brewing round these parts.
Fish are biting! I'll brew tomorrow...
Surf's up! I'll rack da beer over next Tuesday...
Lava's moving down da pali! I'll keg next Saturday...
Wots da hurry?
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For those that missed it, my most recent quick beer was an Irish stout. I brewed on a Friday, kegged on Wednesday (it had been done for at least 2 days), force carbonated and served on Saturday. Gone in ~3.5 hours, less than 8 days after the yeast was pitched.
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See, I guess I just don't understand what the point is if this is the result.
From the other thread.
I chose not to respond but now I have a chance... :-[
I think that Barry was selling himself short. I think that there are brewers out there that can brew a
fast ferment beer that meets expectations and does not take a "normal" amount of time.
I know that there is a point relating to integrity, but if one takes the time to perfect a recipe that is a good
go-to beer that is known to have an outcome that is done quick, what is the harm. I guess it does defeat
the purpose if one goes through the trouble of finding a beer that can be brewed and served in a short
time span. But who is to say that some experimentation would not lead to that "Beer in my back pocket"
that if in a pinch I need a beer I could do it...
It would be nice to have a beer that could be good to go quick-like...
In the words of Barney Stinson...wait for it...
Challenge accepted! 8)
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In the other thread I mentioned that I've got a Spitfire clone that I put in the fermenter Saturday. I'll accept your 12-day challenge and pull it into a keg for force carbing next Wednesday (I have a party Friday and need the two days for carb). Will let you know how it is....
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So does the 12 days include the total time it takes to get the beer ready or just from brewday to drinking? Or are we including total preparation time, including a starter? As in "Oh, $#!^ I need a beer in 12 days!".
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I did an ESB that was served in exactly 12 days. It was a clone of a brewpub beer that was open fermented with ringwood and crash cooled after 7 days. Came out great!
More info here:
http://csibrewers.org/content/?p=452
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So does the 12 days include the total time it takes to get the beer ready or just from brewday to drinking? Or are we including total preparation time, including a starter? As in "Oh, $#!^ I need a beer in 12 days!".
Better duck! Here come the dry yeast groupies :)
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I guess since my name has been invoked twice that I should try to clarify what I was saying....sure, it's entirely possible to make a beer fast. What I was trying to get at is that sometimes the beer needs more time, no matter what you do to make it go fast, and you need to pay attention to what the beer's telling you. If the beer says "I'm done, drink me!", cool. But if the beer is saying "hold on, bub, I need more time" and you go ahead and drink it anyway you may be doing yourself a disservice. Believe me, I've been on both sides of that fence.
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Shush, you. You're officially the enemy of the "Speedy Brewer Force"! :)
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Shush, you. You're officially the enemy of the "Speedy Brewer Force"! :)
Dude, I ain't nobody's enemy! I'm just a mellow old hippie....;)
FTR, Rye IPA from brewing to keg in 8 days...once.....
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I'm just a mellow old hippie....;)
Knowing that in a few more weeks I'm going to be locked in a room with you, I respectfully disagree with your characterization as "mellow" instead of "ripe"! :)
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My last best bitter went from pitch to pint in 9 days, but the Maris Otter flavors didn't shine fully until about day 14. I attribute that to yeast bite in the fresh brew, although it never did clear up completely and I didn't take measures to quick-clear (cold crash or gelatin).
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If the beer says "I'm done, drink me!", cool. But if the beer is saying "hold on, bub, I need more time" and you go ahead and drink it anyway you may be doing yourself a disservice. Believe me, I've been on both sides of that fence.
Is that where you found the mushrooms that make the beer talk? ;D
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I brewed my dad a breakfast stout that we were drinking from the bottle in 16 days. (This past Thanksgiving)
1.045 OG, 2 packs of rehydrated nottingham. within 36 hours, gravity was down to 1.013. crashed it in the lager fridge after a total of 3 days and bottled it 4 days later.
It turned out pretty darn tasty actually. Quite clear. Nutty, roasty, coffee-y. Real creamy from over a pound of flaked oats and some malted wheat.
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If the beer says "I'm done, drink me!", cool. But if the beer is saying "hold on, bub, I need more time" and you go ahead and drink it anyway you may be doing yourself a disservice. Believe me, I've been on both sides of that fence.
Is that where you found the mushrooms that make the beer talk? ;D
Those were in the woods behind the house, man...
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If the beer says "I'm done, drink me!", cool. But if the beer is saying "hold on, bub, I need more time" and you go ahead and drink it anyway you may be doing yourself a disservice. Believe me, I've been on both sides of that fence.
Is that where you found the mushrooms that make the beer talk? ;D
Bret squeegees beer off computer screen...
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Shush, you. You're officially the enemy of the "Speedy Brewer Force"! :)
Dude, I ain't nobody's enemy! I'm just a mellow old hippie....;)
FTR, Rye IPA from brewing to keg in 8 days...once.....
OH SNAP!
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I am a day late, but I am brewing a red ale to make a run for it. I have a huge beer meeting on the 4th of June. Let's see how it goes. Mashing now. Nailed my mash temp...
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I had an ordinary bitter that was done fermenting in 4 days. If I had the time I would have bottled it up then and had it ready to drink within another week or so. I ended up leaving it in the primary for 9 days then bottling it. It turned out very well.
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2 years ago for Oktoberfest I got ready to brew my hefe and realized I had no hefe yeast. Since I have to mail order everything and didn't have time(it was Wednesday 10 days before the party. My daughter and I bought a bunch of different American and German bottle conditioned hefes and commenced to drinking. As we poured each bottle into a glass we pour the bottle dregs into my starter flask. By Friday I had a great looking starter going so I brewed. Wednesday it was down to around 1.015 so I kegged it and cold crashed it for 2 days. Friday I racked it into clean kegs and force carbonated it. The first keg was tapped at noon and lasted an hour. The second keg was tapped that evening and lasted until the next day.
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2 years ago for Oktoberfest I got ready to brew my hefe and realized I had no hefe yeast. Since I have to mail order everything and didn't have time(it was Wednesday 10 days before the party. My daughter and I bought a bunch of different American and German bottle conditioned hefes and commenced to drinking. As we poured each bottle into a glass we pour the bottle dregs into my starter flask. By Friday I had a great looking starter going so I brewed. Wednesday it was down to around 1.015 so I kegged it and cold crashed it for 2 days. Friday I racked it into clean kegs and force carbonated it. The first keg was tapped at noon and lasted an hour. The second keg was tapped that evening and lasted until the next day.
It's always been said that they don't use the original wheat beer yeast to bottle condition, so I must ask if the beer you made had the clove/banana characteristics of a wheat beer.
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I am a day late, but I am brewing a red ale to make a run for it. I have a huge beer meeting on the 4th of June. Let's see how it goes. Mashing now. Nailed my mash temp...
Fermenting like a madman! I must add that I used a yeast cake off a finished beer. Racked the old off, and new on.
6 hours and had full activity. 9 hours and the white cap blew off the center port on my fermenter cap...Thankfully
there was serious positive pressure. The hose was not bubbling, it was hissing... :o
Right on track, I think... ;D
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2 years ago for Oktoberfest I got ready to brew my hefe and realized I had no hefe yeast. Since I have to mail order everything and didn't have time(it was Wednesday 10 days before the party. My daughter and I bought a bunch of different American and German bottle conditioned hefes and commenced to drinking. As we poured each bottle into a glass we pour the bottle dregs into my starter flask. By Friday I had a great looking starter going so I brewed. Wednesday it was down to around 1.015 so I kegged it and cold crashed it for 2 days. Friday I racked it into clean kegs and force carbonated it. The first keg was tapped at noon and lasted an hour. The second keg was tapped that evening and lasted until the next day.
It's always been said that they don't use the original wheat beer yeast to bottle condition, so I must ask if the beer you made had the clove/banana characteristics of a wheat beer.
It had a slight banana flavor because it fermented a little too warm. Sine it was muted I figured that most of the dregs were not hefe yeast but at least one must have had some hefe.
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Challenge Accepted.
I saw this challenge last week and decided to give it a try. I have a Ordinary Bitters recipe that i developed to give this a go. It was perfect timing because this weekend we are having a family get together and I'll debut it there along with the red ale I made weeks before.
Cooley's 7 day Ale (makes 11 gallons)
Brew house Efficiency 68%
Mash 154F
60 minute boil
OG 1.036
FG 1.010
13 lbs 2 row
3 lbs crystal 40
2 oz Fuggles 60 minutes
1 oz Kent Goldings 15 minutes left
1 oz Kent Goldings 5 minutes left
4 pkgs Safale SO-4
Here is a picture of what it looks like
(http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w62/kscooley/Brewing/2011-06-02_17-03-19_434.jpg)
My week went like this.
Friday 2pm Pitch yeast
Sunday Evening when fermentation was complete put fermenting bucket in fridge.
Tuesday Evening siphon to keg and force carbonate at 30 psi
Thursday Morning move Keg to serving fridge.
Thursday Evening partake in beer.
Findings
The fermentation took off and because of that and the unusually warm weather this time of year this beer fermented on the higher end of its accepted range and a bit over. I normally try to keep the beer on the colder end of it's excepted temperature range, but with trying to knock a beer out quick, fermenting on the higher end of its excepted temperature range might be required to keep the yeasts at fully active. Keeping a close eye on temperatures is what i would do next time. The beer does taste a bit young, it may not win any competitions but if I needed beer in a pinch this would work nicely.
There was not a lot of time to take gravity readings so when I hit my Target Gravity i just said it was done and began chilling it. Normally i let a beer sit for another few days to confirm fermentation was complete. Considering I'm a few days under the limit I would add that into my schedule next time.
Conclusion
This was the first time I've ever brewed a beer below 1.050, I normally stick with Denny's mantra of "Life starts at 60... 1.060 that is" it was a nice experiment for me and will give me something nice and light to drink on those hot summer days.
I hope this gives everyone a decent view into my brewing week if you have any question I'll try and answer them the best i can.
Regards,
Michael
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This is My first AG beer from 8 years ago that I pulled off in 9 days. I'm actually going to be brewing this beer for the 3rd time trying to recreate it in a few weeks. I'm missing the alpha acid percentages from the original batch. The ones listed are just the ones given by Beersmith. Rookie Mistakes...lol. I credit the Burton Ale yeast for the wonderful fruity flavors in this beer. I just recently noticed that this yeast works pretty well at higher ale temps which may have been my downfall on the last attempt. Initially I used a t-shirt and water bath to try to keep the temps stable but I bet I was pushing into the mid-70's. I think I'm going to give it a go at 70-72 this go around.
-J.K.L.
1st Timer's Pale Ale
American Pale Ale
Type: All Grain
Date: 11/23/2003
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Brewer: JKLEE
Boil Size: 6.30 gal Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min Equipment: My Equipment
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0 Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU
10.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 83.33 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 8.33 %
1.00 lb Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 8.33 %
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (60 min) Hops 18.1 IBU
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (45 min) Hops 7.5 IBU
0.50 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] (45 min) Hops 6.8 IBU
1.00 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] (30 min) Hops 11.4 IBU
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (30 min) Hops 6.3 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (15 min) Hops 9.0 IBU
1 Pkgs Burton Ale (White Labs #WLP023) Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.051 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.051 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.011 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.84 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 5.21 %
Bitterness: 59.1 IBU Calories: 225 cal/pint
Est Color: 9.8 SRM Color: Color
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge Total Grain Weight: 12.00 lb
Sparge Water: 3.99 gal Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge Step Time Name Description Step Temp
90 min Mash In Add 15.00 qt of water at 163.7 F 152.0 F
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*bumpity bump bump* - I'm writing this article right here and now.. so if you've got some things to say - say em.
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Got a great "English Summer Ale" Recipe that goes from grain to glass in 10 days (including gelatin finings).
Day 1: Brew day. Nice easy beer that you can knock out in 4 hours.
Day 6: Cold crash to 35
Day 7: Gelatin Finings
Day 9: Rack to kegs and carbonate by shaking 5 minutes at 25 PSI
Day 10: Enjoy!
The base recipe was gathered from a great talk on real ales last year at NHC in the twin cities. Here is the modified recipe:
BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Bastage Summer Ale 3
Brewer: Bastage!
Asst Brewer: Danielle!
Style: Standard/Ordinary Bitter
TYPE: All Grain
Recipe Specifications
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Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.70 gal
Estimated OG: 1.035 SG
Estimated Color: 4.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 25.9 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 78.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
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Amount Item Type % or IBU
5 lbs 2.1 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 78.56 %
14.1 oz Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 13.48 %
5.3 oz White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 5.05 %
3.0 oz Simpsons Caramalt 30 - 37L (33.5 SRM) Grain 2.91 %
0.56 oz Magnum [12.50 %] (60 min) Hops 25.9 IBU
1.85 ml Phos 75% (Mash 5.0 min) Misc
3.00 gm Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
5.00 gm Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
9.00 gal RO Water Water
1 Pkgs London Ale Yeast (Wyeast) Yeast-Ale
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 6.53 lb
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Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
50 min Mash In Add 10.01 qt of water at 166.7 F 151.0 F
15 min Mash Out Add 6.01 qt of water at 203.1 F 168.0 F
Here is my "American Bitter", a scaled down session version of my "Vienna Pale Ale." Grain to glass in 12 days. Here is the schedule
Day 1: Brew day
Day 5: Transfer to secondary and dry hop for 3 days with 2.5 oz of hops per 5 gallons
Day 8: Cold Crash to 35F
Day 9: Add Gelatin
Day 11: Keg and force carbonate by shaking for 5 minutes at 25 PSI
Day 12: Drink and enjoy!
Here is the recipe:
BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Bastage Small PA
Brewer: Bastage!
Asst Brewer: Danielle!
Style: American Pale Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Recipe Specifications
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Batch Size: 11.00 gal
Boil Size: 12.99 gal
Estimated OG: 1.035 SG
Estimated Color: 6.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 30.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 79.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
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Amount Item Type % or IBU
10 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 74.31 %
1 lbs British Crystal 30-37 (37.0 SRM) Grain 7.43 %
1 lbs Munich Type II (9.0 SRM) Grain 7.43 %
12.5 oz Munich Malt (12.0 SRM) Grain 5.80 %
10.8 oz White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 5.03 %
1.38 oz Citra [13.00 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
1.38 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (Dry Hop 3 Hops -
0.52 oz Magnum [12.50 %] (60 min) Hops 12.1 IBU
0.44 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (30 min) Hops 5.3 IBU
0.33 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (20 min) Hops 3.7 IBU
0.58 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (15 min) Hops 5.4 IBU
0.58 oz Centennial [10.00 %] (10 min) Hops 3.9 IBU
1.38 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
0.92 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Primary 3.0 days) Misc
2.02 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
2.40 ml Phosphoric Acid - 75% (Mash 0.0 min) Misc
9.17 gm Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
16.50 gm Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) Yeast-Ale
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 13.46 lb
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Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 17.91 qt of water at 169.1 F 153.0 F
5 min Step Add 8.87 qt of water at 206.1 F 168.0 F
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I had done a standard bitter that was start-to-finish (drinking from the keg) in one week. It's definitely possible, and will taste like beer, but even something as simple as that beer really needed a few extra weeks to come into its own. Tell you what I did, though - I hooked it up to my hop rocket. Giving something a metric crapton of aroma hops on dispense does a lot to make things fade into the background, especially stuff that would normally fade over time.
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I served a robust porter at a outdoor get together saturday night the 16th. I brewed it on July 4th. It was pretty good. No special tricks except force carbing and finnings. Finning really makes a differnce.
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I served a robust porter at a outdoor get together saturday night the 16th. I brewed it on July 4th. It was pretty good. No special tricks except force carbing and finnings. Finning really makes a differnce.
yeah but it's really mean to the sharks
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mmmmm.... Shark fin beer..... ;D
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I served a robust porter at a outdoor get together saturday night the 16th. I brewed it on July 4th. It was pretty good. No special tricks except force carbing and finnings. Finning really makes a differnce.
yeah but it's really mean to the sharks
Japanese beer?
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I feel like I'm back in the third grade. Yeah spelling was never my strong suite.
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Although I realize the bright glow of a clarified beer is attractive to most beer drinkers, to me the aesthetics of a brew comes second to having my homebrew include only 4 ingredients; water, malt, hops and yeast..
There's nothing wrong with adding finnings to clarify a beer, but just not in mine.
It's still possible to speed brew and create a beer worthy of serving, that will hold up to any commercial finned brew.
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Do you leave the fins attached? I would think that a live shark would be reusable for multiple batches, though perhaps it may get a bit pickled?
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Do you leave the fins attached? I would think that a live shark would be reusable for multiple batches, though perhaps it may get a bit pickled?
Two words: Dogfish Head... :D
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I've always wanted a thermostatically controlled, electric hot liquor tank. I would be able to turn it on before making coffee on brew day and the water would be hot and ready to go when I was.
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I feel like I'm back in the third grade. Yeah spelling was never my strong suite.
As in bridal suite? Sorry, couldn't resist. I'll go punish myself now.