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Author Topic: Dumping Beer  (Read 7346 times)

Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Dumping Beer
« Reply #30 on: April 08, 2011, 02:54:26 pm »
I once made a spruce beer that had it not been for my gin loving friend Gino, would have been dumped. The only batch I've made that I didn't really enjoy. 
Worst.
Beer.
Ever.

Been there, dumped that!
You're doing it wrong :)  I made a spruce beer that won BOS in a local competition and got a 45 in the first round of the nationals.  The only place that got dumped was down people's throats. ;)

I've made my share of dumpers though, invariably it is something that sits too long and goes bad.  Other than the batch I made with a garden hose, which was dumped really quickly.
Tom Schmidlin

Offline Bret

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Re: Dumping Beer
« Reply #31 on: April 08, 2011, 03:04:06 pm »
No doubt, Tom.  Don't like it enough to try again though.  Maybe I can sample yours sometime.
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Offline Pinski

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Re: Dumping Beer
« Reply #32 on: April 08, 2011, 03:11:45 pm »
No doubt, Tom.  Don't like it enough to try again though.  Maybe I can sample yours sometime.
+1,  same here...the scar is too deep.  ;)
Steve Carper
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Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Dumping Beer
« Reply #33 on: April 08, 2011, 03:14:05 pm »
No doubt, Tom.  Don't like it enough to try again though.  Maybe I can sample yours sometime.
+1,  same here...the scar is too deep.  ;)
What did you use for your spruce flavor, and how much?   Have you tried Alaskan's Winter Ale?  If you don't like the flavor of that then there's not much I can say, but it should definitely not taste like pinesol.
Tom Schmidlin

Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: Dumping Beer
« Reply #34 on: April 08, 2011, 03:19:42 pm »
My recollection is it was something called "spruce essence" or something similar.  It was the early 90's.

I had a cold, couldn't smell anything, and said "I can't smell anything!  Put more of that in the pot!"

BIG mistake.  I am not kidding when I say pine sol.  It smelled like pine scented cleaner and no one, not even the desperate, would drink it.

I have no interest in brewing it again, although I'm sure I could do it better.  I knows what I likes and it ain't spruce beer.
It's all in the reflexes. - Jack Burton

Offline Pinski

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Re: Dumping Beer
« Reply #35 on: April 08, 2011, 03:27:44 pm »
No doubt, Tom.  Don't like it enough to try again though.  Maybe I can sample yours sometime.
+1,  same here...the scar is too deep.  ;)
What did you use for your spruce flavor, and how much?   Have you tried Alaskan's Winter Ale?  If you don't like the flavor of that then there's not much I can say, but it should definitely not taste like pinesol.
Like Joe, I used "spruce essence" and it was the early 90's....maybe I had a cold too? I'm sure I just over did it. 
Steve Carper
Green Dragon Brewers
Clubs: Oregon Brew Crew & Strange Brew
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Offline EHall

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Re: Dumping Beer
« Reply #36 on: April 08, 2011, 03:27:52 pm »
Tom, I've attempted the spruce beer once, didn't use enough... I'd like to see your 'schedule' and amounts for the spruce if you don't mind, I've got a few different methods I've thought about using, but definately want to attempt this again.

As for dumping... I got an infection in the brewery a couple years ago... ended up dumping 9gal... I almost cried... I played taps in my head...
Phoenix, AZ

Offline Bret

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Re: Dumping Beer
« Reply #37 on: April 08, 2011, 03:43:59 pm »
It tasted like chewing a Christmas tree.  Really don't remember the specifics.  Don't want to.
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Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Dumping Beer
« Reply #38 on: April 08, 2011, 03:56:01 pm »
No wonder, I wouldn't use spruce essence for anything you want to drink :)

The spruce addition is easy enough - a quart of fresh or frozen Sitka spruce tips at 60 minutes.  I went to a talk on spruce beers at the NHC in Vegas, it was awesome.  Pete Devaris is from the Great Northern Brewers, he knows a lot about them.  Some things I remember:

Spruce tips should be fruity and somewhat citrusy, not piney

You want to use only the bright green tips of the tree, and taste them before you use them.  One tree can taste great while one right next to it can be nasty.

Once you find good trees you can go back to them year after year to harvest, and there will be even more tips in their place.

Sitka spruce tastes the best, and the further North it is growing the better it tastes.

Measure by volume, not weight - they are more or less the same size, but the water content varies too much.

If you want, you can boil the tips by themselves and either add that to the pot or use it as mash water.  I found it easy enough to just throw them in the boil.

I'm sure there are other ways of making spruce beers, but I found that following these guidelines from Pete made an excellent, excellent beer - if you like spruce tips.  Oh, I should also mention that the tips that I used for that batch are ones that he mailed me.  Well worth the price, I haven't gone looking for local tips.
Tom Schmidlin

Offline majorvices

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Re: Dumping Beer
« Reply #39 on: April 08, 2011, 04:39:00 pm »
Spruce ... maybe. I've had some decent commercial examples though never had a successful homebrewed version. Peated malt though, that's a dumper. No matter what percentage you use. Nasty stuff.

Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: Dumping Beer
« Reply #40 on: April 08, 2011, 04:54:10 pm »
Peated Spruce Ale?  Maybe?
It's all in the reflexes. - Jack Burton

Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Dumping Beer
« Reply #41 on: April 08, 2011, 05:17:23 pm »
Peated Spruce Ale?  Maybe?
No.  No peated anything in a beer.
Tom Schmidlin

Offline EHall

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Re: Dumping Beer
« Reply #42 on: April 08, 2011, 05:36:59 pm »
so when you say 'quart' you talking basically filling up a quart sized bag or jar? loosely fill or pack it in or something inbetween?
Phoenix, AZ

jaybeerman

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Re: Dumping Beer
« Reply #43 on: April 08, 2011, 08:24:36 pm »
Spruce ... maybe. I've had some decent commercial examples though never had a successful homebrewed version. Peated malt though, that's a dumper. No matter what percentage you use. Nasty stuff.

Do you remember bert grant's porter? Did you like it?  I did, but not enough to ever try peated malt in a homebrew.

Offline bluesman

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Re: Dumping Beer
« Reply #44 on: April 08, 2011, 09:10:42 pm »
Peated Spruce Ale?  Maybe?
No.  No peated anything in a beer.

+1

...but if you do just add about .0001 oz.  :P
Ron Price