Messages

16

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Low FG, any fix?

« on: September 15, 2014, 10:45:26 AM »

Make sure your hydrometer reads 1.000 in distilled water. If not, adjust up or down accordingly. I find it is rare to find a hydrometer that stays calibrated for long.

Absolutely agree on verifying at 60 degrees, but how might it deviate over time?  There's quite little to fail, except catastrophically.  The paper could shift or the weights could come loose possibly, but I didn't think these were common scenarios.

17

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: first brew fermentation question

« on: September 13, 2014, 12:47:44 PM »

Promise us you'll try a couple more batches before even forming an opinion.  You've learned a lot right now, likely more than you think.  Nature does the heavy lifting, and if you keep things truly clean and sanitary, give the yeast a cool, dark place to work, and allow enough time for everything to finish, you'll surpass your fondest dreams.

And you're already in a position to help others.  You can report back when you've tried it, letting us know how it tastes.  Folks here can help you connect cause with effect, and you'll start to get a feel for what's important and what's not.   And don't even get me started on how much fun you'll have.

This is one of the best bits of condensed wisdom for new brewers I've read.  Captures it perfectly.

18

Equipment and Software / Re: UNI-STAT III vs Ranco ETC-211000

« on: September 05, 2014, 11:26:51 AM »

I just realized that William's Brewing sells the UNI-STAT III badged as their "Controller III".  Seems like a nice deal for $99.

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/mobile/CONTROLLER-III-COOLING-HEATING-CONTROL-P3616.aspx

Anyone have that?

19

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Noobie Slip-ups - How much will this effect my beer?

« on: September 04, 2014, 11:40:05 AM »

First of all, let me say that I am so pleasantly surprised by how many people who are willing to help out a noble, like myself.  Thank you, everyone!

Welcome sir!  While this forum is rich with commoners, we could really use more nobility.

I seriously doubt the scorching you describe will be detectable in the beer.

What really matters is that you're probably already planning for your next beer, and the one after that, and the one after that...

20

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Monitoring freezer fermentation temps

« on: August 28, 2014, 11:38:49 AM »

IR temp gun.  Very handy.

21

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Racking into half-full keg

« on: August 26, 2014, 12:38:04 PM »

In my enthusiasm to answer, I neglected to say, welcome to the forum!!

22

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Racking into half-full keg

« on: August 26, 2014, 12:27:48 PM »

Part of me feels like this idea this is exciting and interesting and could be a new avenue for exploration and flavor complexity and part of me feels like this idea is dumb. I can't decide which part is winning.

Both are true and I think you should let neither notion win!

But seriously, it's a great idea when you want to kill two kegs with one tap--Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang!

If you have a lot of different batches on tap, sometimes you need tap space for some new arrivals, and you happen to have a magical idea.  For me it twas recently, 1 gal of wit into 1.5 gal Belgian blond and add a marble-weighted bag of minced goji berries, and a new ale was born coldside!

Empty 3 gallon keg and tap freed up in no time.  Never looked back.  Not that it would have helped.

23

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: I want to brew bigger batches

« on: August 25, 2014, 10:47:09 AM »

If one doesn't have the time to do multiple small-batch brewdays and enjoys doing side-by-side fermentations of the same wort with different yeasts/additions/conditions, a larger capacity system can be a brew variety and knowledge-boosting godsend.

24

Equipment and Software / Re: UNI-STAT III vs Ranco ETC-211000

« on: August 25, 2014, 10:35:19 AM »

Holy fallow thread Batman!

How about skipping the foregoing specific comparison--does anyone here kindly own/use the UNI-STAT III (or II) or know anyone who does?

25

Ingredients / Re: Substitute for rice hulls

« on: August 23, 2014, 04:03:24 PM »

I started using a voile bag, for brew in a bag, in my mashtun. No more stuck runoffs. You can pull the bag if it starts to get stuck or slow, no need to vorlauf most of the time, and you can pull the bag after you're done sparging, put it in a bucket to clean later, and just spray out the mashtun. It's quite easy.

Very interesting idea indeed!

26

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Trying the new Wyeast seasonal sour blends?

« on: August 23, 2014, 03:20:48 PM »

I have the Oud Bruin going now, about 1.5 months in. It's a fairly uneventful looking strain, no pellicle at all. The Pedio/Brett L next to it that was pitched on the same day has wicked 2" pellicle bubbles on it.

Wyeast states regarding its 3209-PC Oud Bruin Blend, "This new exclusive sour blend is built for dark, malt-accented sour styles – like 3763 Roselaere™ it will create sharp acidity, but unlike 3763 it will leave the malt character intact, creating a balanced and complex end product."

I wonder whether this is mostly something to fill a yeast description, or if 3209 will stand out among sour blends for preserving malt character.

Looking forward to any tasting notes you might share.

27

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Trying the new Wyeast seasonal sour blends?

« on: August 22, 2014, 05:21:05 PM »

Me and a coworker have our own de Bom cooking. Planning to use the Oud bruin soon.

So what are you fermenting with De Bom?  Did you use a starter or pitch directly?  And how much oxygenation did you do, if any?

28

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Trying the new Wyeast seasonal sour blends?

« on: August 22, 2014, 11:24:04 AM »

Anybody using/loving the new Wyeast seasonal sours, particularly the 3203 De Bom or the 3209 Oud Bruin?

Interestingly, they're advertising their sour-making speed, advising no initial aeration, followed later in the fermentation by oxygen addition.

http://www.wyeastlab.com/vssprogram.cfm?website=3

The "periodic dosing with O2 during fermentation to stimulate ethyl acetate production" thing says to me that you're intentionally trying to get some Acetobacter activity. While that's certainly one way to get things to sour quickly, I can't help but be a little leery of that recommendation. I'll withhold judgement for now, but that just seems like a recipe for vinegar to me.

Yeah, I won't be hurrying to adopt that practice myself.  I've got the time, space and patience to let 'em age the old fashioned way.

A friend got me a pack of De Bom yesterday, so I've got my cerebral hamster working overtime on a recipe/fermentation scenario for this release.

29

Yeast and Fermentation / Trying the new Wyeast seasonal sour blends?

« on: August 22, 2014, 10:48:43 AM »

Anybody using/loving the new Wyeast seasonal sours, particularly the 3203 De Bom or the 3209 Oud Bruin?

Interestingly, they're advertising their sour-making speed, advising no initial aeration, followed later in the fermentation by oxygen addition.

http://www.wyeastlab.com/vssprogram.cfm?website=3

30

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Incredibly dumb newbie ? about twistoff bottles

« on: August 20, 2014, 11:29:15 AM »

Twist-offs are a little more likely to come loose or leak, but that can be avoided with carefully capping and inspection.

If you like the convenience of twist-off bottles or have a bunch, no reason not to use 'em.  I just wouldn't reuse caps.

If you have a hand-capper be careful. I've had a couple of twisties get into my bottle collection every now & then. I've crushed the threads during capping on more than one occasion.

True true.  If you ever want to marvel at your own strength, just use an Emily capper to crack a few.