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Author Topic: What's the product that upon purchase you've been most disappointed with...  (Read 13286 times)

fistfullofhops

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Re: What's the product that upon purchase you've been most disappointed with...
« Reply #30 on: December 28, 2013, 01:56:29 pm »
O2 setup. I never noticed a difference in the finished product; it was just one more piece of equipment to maintain and one more opportunity for infection.

coastsidemike

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Re: What's the product that upon purchase you've been most disappointed with...
« Reply #31 on: December 28, 2013, 09:04:17 pm »
Refractometer - Only works accurately if I have a uniform wort sample, which takes 3-4 tries.  Feel like I'm making guesstaments instead of measurements.

CaraRed - passing on this in favor of British Crystal malt, it just smells/tastes better to me.

Cheers!

Offline majorvices

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Re: What's the product that upon purchase you've been most disappointed with...
« Reply #32 on: December 29, 2013, 07:55:01 am »


CaraRed - passing on this in favor of British Crystal malt, it just smells/tastes better to me.

Cheers!

OK, but again, cara-red is not a crystal malt so if you expect it to act like a crystal malt - yeah, you'll be disappointed. It's like saying "I like CaraMunich better than Munich I" - of course you would if you were expecting the performance of a crystal malt.

You need to use a good percentage of cara-red to get the noticeable color and flavor contributions. Start with at least 10%-15% total grist. I wouldn't recommend using 10-15% of crystal in many beers, so you can see where the difference is starting to lie.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2013, 08:47:32 am by majorvices »

Offline kgs

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Re: What's the product that upon purchase you've been most disappointed with...
« Reply #33 on: December 29, 2013, 11:32:24 am »
...  The other is carboys.  Seriously, who thought that design up?  I love the Speidel fermenter I have now.

I have often wondered that myself. Based on a reasonably sound Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carboy ), it appears that carboys evolved from jugs. There's also a hint about why 5 gallons became the standard batch size: "In Britain, demijohn refers to a 4.5 litre (imperial gallon) glass brewing vessel."

It hadn't occurred to me until your comment that carboys could easily go on my "regrets" list. I started with a bucket in a "starter" kit, moved to plastic carboys, then a couple years ago moved to food-grade buckets bought from an emergency-preparedness supply store (I drill the lids for gaskets and airlocks). They are inexpensive, easy to clean, easy to sanitize, and hold a good seal.
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Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: What's the product that upon purchase you've been most disappointed with...
« Reply #34 on: December 29, 2013, 12:35:15 pm »
...  The other is carboys.  Seriously, who thought that design up?  I love the Speidel fermenter I have now.

I have often wondered that myself. Based on a reasonably sound Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carboy ), it appears that carboys evolved from jugs. There's also a hint about why 5 gallons became the standard batch size: "In Britain, demijohn refers to a 4.5 litre (imperial gallon) glass brewing vessel."

It hadn't occurred to me until your comment that carboys could easily go on my "regrets" list. I started with a bucket in a "starter" kit, moved to plastic carboys, then a couple years ago moved to food-grade buckets bought from an emergency-preparedness supply store (I drill the lids for gaskets and airlocks). They are inexpensive, easy to clean, easy to sanitize, and hold a good seal.

Big +1.  Buckets for me.
Jon H.

Offline quattlebaum

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Re: What's the product that upon purchase you've been most disappointed with...
« Reply #35 on: December 29, 2013, 12:46:07 pm »
Refractometer - Only works accurately if I have a uniform wort sample, which takes 3-4 tries.  Feel like I'm making guesstaments instead of measurements.

1+

coastsidemike

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Re: What's the product that upon purchase you've been most disappointed with...
« Reply #36 on: December 29, 2013, 06:55:11 pm »
OK, but again, cara-red is not a crystal malt so if you expect it to act like a crystal malt - yeah, you'll be disappointed. It's like saying "I like CaraMunich better than Munich I" - of course you would if you were expecting the performance of a crystal malt.

You need to use a good percentage of cara-red to get the noticeable color and flavor contributions. Start with at least 10%-15% total grist. I wouldn't recommend using 10-15% of crystal in many beers, so you can see where the difference is starting to lie.

Keith, that is a rather nuanced comment; thank you.  The only reference I can find on the web is here (http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Homebrewing/FAQs.htm#a). 

I look to keep my crystal usage below 5% to be distant from "brown" and "grainy".  That said, I'm curious if you could comment on what happens when hitting the upper limits on caramel usage in recipes.  For example, Weyermann has CaraRed at 25%, and would you formulate something like Briess' C40 usage in a different manner from crystal C40.

Again, thanks.

Offline hopfenundmalz

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Re: What's the product that upon purchase you've been most disappointed with...
« Reply #37 on: December 29, 2013, 07:07:48 pm »
There was an article in the Nov. 2013 BYO on the differences in a crystal and cara malt that might help. I can't remember if the topic of cara-red came up.
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Offline klickitat jim

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Re: What's the product that upon purchase you've been most disappointed with...
« Reply #38 on: December 29, 2013, 07:18:43 pm »
Isn't the difference between the two just location and maltster?
Cara being caramel malt, synonymous with crystal malt, but for the area it comes from? Carared is supposed to be about 20L. So closer to C20 than 40, regional flavor not compared, color only.

Offline hopfenundmalz

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Re: What's the product that upon purchase you've been most disappointed with...
« Reply #39 on: December 29, 2013, 07:26:57 pm »
Isn't the difference between the two just location and maltster?
Cara being caramel malt, synonymous with crystal malt, but for the area it comes from? Carared is supposed to be about 20L. So closer to C20 than 40, regional flavor not compared, color only.
That is what most say. It comes down to technique used in making them, crystal malts are all crystallized sugar, the cara malts are not and have some starch (?) left. The article says you can tell by the crush. It is not available online, I might have to find th tissue and re-read it.
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Offline hopfenundmalz

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Re: What's the product that upon purchase you've been most disappointed with...
« Reply #40 on: December 29, 2013, 07:46:36 pm »
Crystal mats are drum roasted. Cara-malts are killed. There is mealy starch left in cara-malts.

"All crystal malts are caramel malts, but not all caramel malts are crystal malts" to quote the article.
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Offline klickitat jim

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Re: What's the product that upon purchase you've been most disappointed with...
« Reply #41 on: December 29, 2013, 08:33:12 pm »
Ah ha moment. Thanks

Offline tommymorris

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What's the product that upon purchase you've been most disappointed with...
« Reply #42 on: December 29, 2013, 08:47:41 pm »
I might have to find th tissue and re-read it.

Tissue. I hear you there!

Offline hopfenundmalz

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Re: What's the product that upon purchase you've been most disappointed with...
« Reply #43 on: December 29, 2013, 10:27:06 pm »
I might have to find th tissue and re-read it.

Tissue. I hear you there!
Must proof read more in 2014.
Jeff Rankert
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Offline waynebotha

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Re: What's the product that upon purchase you've been most disappointed with...
« Reply #44 on: December 30, 2013, 05:52:17 am »
Home Brew Beer Label Sleeves, no adhesive sleeves. These are heat-shrink sleeves that supposedly allow you to apply labels without having to deal with the pain of removing adhesive when you reuse the bottles. The instructions look simple. In practise, they are impossible to use. The labels slide around while you try to apply them. And after trying to shrink wrap a few beers with the directions, I realized that this amount of heat is detrimental to beer. They sat in my brewing closet for months before I accepted my loss and threw them in the trash.
« Last Edit: December 30, 2013, 08:46:23 am by waynebotha »