Messages

4261

Yeast and Fermentation / Weihenstephan yeast problem??

« on: March 24, 2013, 03:23:01 PM »

If sulfur is a huge problem try racking the beer through a bit if copper, or add copper directly to fermentor/bright. You might find adding some copper to your kettle helps clear up future problems. Fwiw this strain does better at cooler temps, like 62-64. I pitch my yeast as low is 58 degrees.

4262

General Homebrew Discussion / Favorite beer you've ever brewed?

« on: March 23, 2013, 06:20:41 AM »

This like asking me which is my favorite kid....

That said, on two sides of the spectrum, there were a couple all FWH kolches I brewed that were so outstanding I was sorry it was only 10 gallons. And my IIPA recipe is a favorite of mine as well.

There was also a cherry, cinnamon dubble I made for Christmas aged on toasted cherry wood several years ago that was really amazing to me and it was one beer that really aged out nicely 2 years later. It all went into champagne bottles and I was really sorry when I opened the last one that is was the last one. One thing I had done with that batch was make my own cinnamon candy sugar. I'm not sure how much pf the cinnamon remained in the beer but it was fun and tasted really good before going in beer.

4263

The Pub / Any Lord of the Rings fans here?

« on: March 22, 2013, 08:56:40 PM »

Huge fan of the books. Medium fan of the movies.

4264

The Pub / Any Lord of the Rings fans here?

« on: March 22, 2013, 06:14:03 PM »

Some dumb parts (radaghast) but worth a watch I guess .... Assuming you have enough beer.

4265

Going Pro / Re: Filtering

« on: March 22, 2013, 11:09:21 AM »

I should add, a slight haze. Not a yeast haze. You are better off dropping the yeast before dry hopping as yeast will pull the hop tannins down with then as is drops. In that case it may be better to rough polish filter first and then dry hop. But that's not possible for us.

4266

Going Pro / Re: Filtering

« on: March 22, 2013, 10:56:33 AM »

It's not theroretical at all. Hop compounds are resins that are in the beer. When you filter the yeast you strips some of those compounds. If you ever have a IIPA on tap and drink it fresh and young it should have a haze to it. Over time that haze drops out and the beer turns clear and you lose hop aroma and flavor. The haze is your hop tannins suspended in the beer.

I was at a pub a few nights ago drinking a IIPA from Terrapin brewery out of Atlanta and the beer was very hazy and delicious. I stopped on the way home and picked up a sixer of 2XIPA from Southern Tier and it was OK, but crystal clear and lacked the aroma and flavor of the hazy Terrapin beer.

Like I said, I don't trust brilliantly clear ipaS.

4267

The Pub / Safety feed at work

« on: March 22, 2013, 10:18:07 AM »

It's times when I eat too much to drink beer that I gladly turn to bourbon.

4268

Yeast and Fermentation / Belle Saison Dry Yeast

« on: March 22, 2013, 10:15:50 AM »

Thanks, never used horizon before but will keep that in mind.

As far as Belgian brewers practices and homebrewers I will remind y'all we ain't Belgian brewers. what may work for them and their techniques are vastly different from ours. We can try to mimic their practices but only to a certain degree. After much experimentation I have found that a relatively cool to works best for my Belgians/saison a. I usually ferment in the low to mid 60s for most Belgian/saison strains. The only one I found that really does work better at a warmer temp is 565 but even that I am starting in the 60s and ramping slowly into the 70s and low 80s.

4269

Going Pro / Filtering

« on: March 22, 2013, 09:16:23 AM »

Btw if you do filter on the way over to bbt and get the beer clear you can carbonate it and have it packaged in 24 hours or less. If the beer is cold I can have it carbonated really quick. Hours with the diffusion stone. I have never been in such a hurry as to need to carb and keg the same day and don't filter anyway. But for me I keep any beer I want clear in bbt for at least 48 hours. That's why filtering is so cool, you can turn it around a lot faster.

I still think unfiltered beer tastes better though, in many cases. But for lagers like Leos is doing I think filtering actually improves those beers. Ipas .... Not so much. In fact I distrust clear iPas.

4270

Going Pro / Filtering

« on: March 22, 2013, 09:06:05 AM »

It depends for me. Sometime I can get the beer fairly bright in the fermentor and fine it in the bbt and have in ready in 48 hours or so. On beers that clarity is not an issue I can rack over to bbt, carbonate in as little as 8 hours and be kegging the next morning. Which is why if you are a production facility it's good to have wheat beer in the mix. dark beers are more haze tolerant as well.

But, the same strain I use for my wit I also use for my higher gravity Belgians and that strain is a b1tch to clear and sometimes it takes me a week or longer in bbt and several finings. Have a dubble that's giving me fits right now.

I really want to move toward filtering my higher gravity Belgians but have avoided it thus far. Only a matter of time though. I also have an extra 30 bbl bbt on order and that will take care of some of the log jams due to beer clarity and tank time. Plus, if it really becomes a problem ( like the dubble I have sitting now) I can filter from one bbt to the other. I'm thinking this will alleviate some of the headaches involved with filtering from fermentor to bbt. Sean may correct me if I'm wrong since I'm a filtering noob. But ime you always get a plug of yeast from the fermentor no matter how much you fine and dump.

4271

Yeast and Fermentation / Belle Saison Dry Yeast

« on: March 22, 2013, 08:27:23 AM »

IMO if you are using low alpha hops for buttering you are wasting hops and wort. There's not going to be much flavor left after a 60 minute boil and the amount of wort absorption becomes significant.

IMO American high alpha hops do not work well in European beers.  I have used Magnum in the past for bittering and I think it works really well, but I just don't make enough beer over the year to justify a pound of it.  My American styles will use Columbus and Chinook for bittering and that's fine for an American ale style.  Now that you're pro Keith, you will look at things differently than I do and that's OK.  Money's not a big driver for me as far as brewing is concerned, so I tend to stick more to tradition.

I've actually never tried a high alpha American hop in European style beers so I can't comment but I've used magnum for a long, long time and for those styles I think it works best. Less hop and vegal matter in bk. but that's just me.


Errr ... sorry for the hijack boys and thanks for the feedback on the strain. Looking forward to using it soon.

4272

Yeast and Fermentation / Belle Saison Dry Yeast

« on: March 22, 2013, 04:34:56 AM »

IMO if you are using low alpha hops for buttering you are wasting hops and wort. There's not going to be much flavor left after a 60 minute boil and the amount of wort absorption becomes significant.

4273

Going Pro / Filtering

« on: March 21, 2013, 02:07:38 PM »

I just fine once in the conical after dumping and once in BBT, twice if needed. But yeah, Sean's method is mostly what I do. I go higher dosage on the bio fine.

4274

Going Pro / Filtering

« on: March 21, 2013, 10:47:26 AM »

I personally think you lose a good bit of flavor when you filter. It's just a fast way to condition beer IMO.certain beers like Kolsch may be better for it but others like pales and iPas suffer.

4275

General Homebrew Discussion / Irish Moss vs. Whirlfloc

« on: March 21, 2013, 04:42:08 AM »

I used to use both, but haven't for a while because I'm not sure it really matters for me since I lift and dump my wort into the carboy instead of draining from a valve. And also, I agitate my chiller when it gets to about 70-80F to mix the wort more and chill faster. So I'm not sure it even helps to use the stuff for me. But maaaaaybe it does...hmmm.

I had run out for several months and recently bought some more and was reminded how well it works when I saw the clarity in the hydrometer flasks.