Beer Feeds

Posted: by Marcus6679 (15 hours ago)

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Posted: by timtim (19 hours ago)

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I am look for a good digital thermometer to use im my mash cooler. I want a thermometer that will last a long time and be accurate. If you know what I need let me know.

TIA

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I got the below recipe from the brewboard a while ago, my apologies to the brewer I borrowed if from but I can’t recall who you were but if I recall correctly they were going for a scaled down version of Denny’s RYA. I plan on brewing a 10 Gal batch of this on Sunday but don’t have any Mt. Hood. I have the standard run of ale hops though and was hoping someone could make a suggestion on a substitution. Fuggles. EKG, Northern Brewer, Target, Challenger, Columbus and some Cascade. And oddly enough some Hallertauer hops.

I will of course have to bump up the hop count as even for a 6G batch that seems low to me for a Pale Ale.

Rye APA
6.5 Gal / OG 1.054 / 75% / 35.6 IBUs / 8.9 SRM

8.50# Maris Otter
2.50# Rye Malt
1.25# Crystal 40
0.50# Cara-Pils
0.50# Wheat Malt

0.5oz Mt Hood @ FW
0.5oz Columbus @ 60
0.5oz Mt Hood @ 30
1.0oz Mt Hood @ 0
0.5oz Columbus @ Dry

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On the heels of the US hop harvest, Great Divide is releasing its unique “wet hopped” beer, Fresh Hop Pale Ale. Fresh Hop is an American-style ale brewed with freshly picked hops instead of the dried and pelletized hops brewers typically use. It will be released on October 1.
“Wet hops are expensive and difficult […]

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So I built a CFC chiller 6 months ago and have had nothing but problems with it leaking and being large and bulky. It worked great but I don’t want to keep dealing with it all the time. I’ve decided to convert it to a immersion chiller for small batches and when I brew indoors. I am going to pick up a Shirron Plate Chiller.

I like the idea of a plate chiller because of the small size, efficiency, and cleanablity. I have a few questions about the Shirron before I buy it.

1. How much wort is lost during chilling?

2. I plan on building this into my brewstand for convenience. Obviously it’ll be removable for cleaning. If it is positioned upright as shown on the sketch below, will it work correctly? I’ll be moving wort by gravity.

3. Would it be a good idea to get a cheap pump to re-circulate cleaning solution through it after I’m done with it for the day?

Any other thoughts or suggestions would be great. Thanks guys!

Cheers,

Al

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Posted: by ghostmech007 (17 hours ago)

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Who here believes in yeast rousing? Where you stir, shake, swirl. or otherwise supposedly “wake up”, or rouse the yeast, get it back into action in an effort to complete a fermentation. I’ve never seen a bit of hard evidence that you can shake a yeast awake, like it was a little animal or something, but I keep hearing it being recommended here. There’s even a FAQ on the subject on this Board.

Turns out that by pure chance that I have a very sensitive yeast rousing test device. Picture this: I’m fermenting in a ten gallon keg for purposes of collecting CO2, the keg is tilted to one side, the dip tube is also bent to that side so that it sits where the spent yeast collects. When the fermentation is complete, I can blow out the yeast with CO2 pressure through the dip tube, afterwhich I do sort of a “secondary”, and then tilt the keg the keg the other way for some cold conditioning, and then keg the beer.

Now when the fermentation is winding down, I turn off the valve between the keg and the collection tank, and periodically blow off CO2 in the keg to decarbonate the beer down to a more normal level from a high of maybe 30 or 40 psi. But when my blow-off valve is closed, the keg pressure will slowly rise, due to what’s left of the fermentation plus CO2 coming out of solution.

At this point, my yeast rouser is ready to roll. I hook up a line from the storage tank (a hot water heater tank) that might be at say 35 psi, to the keg dip tube, let’s say the keg is at 15 psi, and quickly open and shut a valve that admits higher pressure CO2 through the dip tube to the bottom of the yeast pile in the keg. I can’t see what’s really happening in there, but it’s easy to picture the little yeasties flying everywhere when I hear a big GLUG from the keg. If that doesn’t rouse the little buggers, nothing will!

At this point, the keg pressure gage takes a jump, due to the CO2 I admitted, and then everything settles down again. If yeast rousing works, I should see CO2 pressure in the keg increase at least for a while at a rate higher than before the rouse. If the rouse doesn’t work, there should be a step change in pressure level from the rouse, and then the pressure would increase at about the same rate as before the rouse.

This test is very sensitive — with some backward calculation, seems that I need an increase of keg pressure of about seven psi to correspond to an increase of one point of OG, like measured with a hydrometer. With the batch I have fermenting now, it’s 6.7 psi per point, it depends upon how much headspace I have in the keg.

Anyway, I’ve tried this rousing thing a couple times and have noticed no increase at all of keg pressure that I can attribute to effects of the rouse upon the yeast, not even a tenth of a point. I’ll watch this one even more closely, and take notes (records of pressure readings before and after the rouse).

One reason for questioning the value of yeast rousing is that it might do more harm than good if a fermenter is opened to stir the yeast. Other than that, I guess it’s no problem one way or the other.

Any thoughts or suggestions? OF

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Posted: by brdc (20 hours ago)

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At my favorite beer store, they have a section with 75 or more Russian beers. I always stop and browse, but never buy. Other than Russian Imperial Stoudt, are their other styles that have come out of Russia (or the countries from the former USSR)? Do Russian breweries make a bunch of different styles? What are the top Russian breweries? Are there any who have won contests that are must tries?

I’m admittedly not too much of a hop head and prefer maltier beers. Any Russian beers that fit this that anybody could recommend?

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Fellow brewers,

Please allow me to introduce myself. I will be helping out with the pass for the next few months while Orudis takes a much needed break. If the past beer pass successes are any measure, everything should continue to run smoothly in the coming months. Below are the rules and regulations for the pass. CharlieVMan will act as enforcer, but I’m not anticipating any issues…

The October 2007 Beer Pass drawing (deadline to enter) will be held Friday, October 5. The deadline to ship beers will be two weeks later, Friday, October 19. If you find yourself in a situation in which you signed up but cannot provide for the pass, please contact me and we will work it out. I’ve had A LOT of great beers through the pass and I want everyone to have the same opportunity.

Thanks as always for participating in the beer pass!

The rules for the Pass:

1. Preferably send Homebrew, but if your stocks are low you can send a favorite microbrew. If you are sending a commercial style, check in with the person you are sending it to just to make sure they don’t already have a bunch of that in the fridge already.

2. Drawings will be held on the last Friday of the Month and the deadline to Ship your beers is 2 weeks after the drawing. That allows some people who get paid every other week to wait for the following paycheck if it falls on an odd week for them.

3.Every Month is different. Just sign up during the month you want to participate. If you want in, just post below and say “I’m In”

4. You are responsible for PMing the person you are paired up with for the month.

5. Minimum of 4 bottles to be sent, can be 4 of the same, or a mix and match. Feel free to send more if you wish.

6. If you don’t receive your pass within 2 weeks of the deadline, post the offenders name and they are out of the name exchange for good, unless everyone who is participating votes to give them another chance, or a penalty is paid to the person who did not receive beer. Again, don’t make CharlieVMan get ill and bust out his pimp hand….

7. You must me 21 to participate.

For information on how to ship beer, please see this FAQ that Mach5 put together.

If you have any questions at all, please let me know. Thanks and Cheers!!!!

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Last night I was at a local restaurant with 3 friends and ordered a Sam Adams (I have been on a SA kick lately…not a lot of good beer around here). When the beer came I took one sip and immediately said, “You have to take this beer back”. The waiter asked why and I told him it was bad/sour. The guys I was with thought it was just me so I told the waiter I would try to drink it. I let one of the BMC drinkers try it that drinks a lot of beer and he didn’t taste it (imagine that). Anyway, after taking about 2 more sips to verify I wasn’t losing it I flagged our waiter and told him to take it back that it tasted like vinegar. He took it back and I wasn’t charged for it.

Any of you guys ever have to send a beer back?

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Rolling Stone has recently released a gallery featuring all 8 of the Gonzo covers Hunter Thompson and Ralph Steadman teamed up to create for the magazine. Hunter wrote for Rolling Stone as a political and social journalist for over 20 years starting in 1970. Click on the image below to see the gallery.

addthis_url […]

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Building my brewstand slowly but surely, (just drafting plans now) and started looking at burners. Out of the blue a salesman from bigway.com came in to see me about my product (diesel vans) while he is vacationing from Loisianna. He manufactures burners! His knowledge and explanation of burners, real btus and pressures blew me away. I showed him some examples of brewstands and talked about direct fired mash tuns and the risk of scorching grains. His suggestion is to submerge the bottom of the mash tun in a seperate water vessel and keep it in a temp controlled bath, keeping constant temp but not scorching, like double burnering chocolate or hollandaise. Is this something already done and I have just never seen it? And is it feesable?

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I’m headed to Madison, WI with the wife this weekend for one of her friends weddings. I think we are over in the Middleton area(west). The wedding is at 2:30 - don’t people check the Badger schedule before the decide they want to get married? Game time is at 2:30???
Just looking for ideas and places to go and not to go…

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After a handfull of partial mash extracts, I brewed my first all grain on Sunday. I batch sparged an American Ale. All went pretty well on all of the new equipment; except I came up a little short on my OG, so I added a pound of DME to get it right on.

Fermentation started as expected and was rather vigorous until I looked at it this morning… now nothing. The airlock is dead, no activity at all. In all of my brews, I have not come across this short of a primary, and for it to die off so quickly. I am going to let it go for a few more days before I lift the lid; but has anyone else experienced this?

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Usually, flat beer going into a keg tastes great to me, and then when sitting on 12 psi for a few weeks, it tastes unbelievably fresh for a few weeks.

However, I’ve started noticing that beers that I don’t drink quickly tend to get a bite of sorts. The bite I’m trying to describe is a fizzy mouthfeel, almost a dry/thin/tart feeling. I know that my tubing is not at fault since this happened before and after I swapped them out, and my kegs/taps are always fully disassembled, soaked in PBW, and sanitized. I always purge the headspace with CO2 and let the kegs pressurize at 12 psi at 38F for at least 2 weeks. Lighter bodied beers tend to show this first, around 4-6 weeks after carbonation has been reached.

Is this a side effect of CO2 itself, or maybe another factor?

(I know the solution “drink it more quickly” will come up, and I am trying that!)

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Paradigm’s Maximus Barleywine Style Ale
19-C American Barleywine

Size: 8.0 gal
Efficiency: 75.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 405.49 per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.120 (1.080 - 1.120)
Terminal Gravity: 1.030 (1.016 - 1.030)
Color: 18.0 (10.0 - 19.0)
Alcohol: 12.03% (8.0% - 12.0%)
Bitterness: 182.55 (50.0 - 120.0)

Ingredients:
29.0 lbs American 2-row
5.5 lbs Munich 10L Malt (Organic)
2.5 lbs Cara 45 - Caramel Malt
1.0 lbs Crystal Malt 60�L
2.5 oz Columbus (15.6%) - added first wort, boiled 120 min
3 oz Simcoe (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
1.5 oz Centennial (8.5%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
1 ea WYeast 1056 American Ale
1.0 tsp Irish Moss - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min

Schedule:
Ambient Air: 70.0 �F
Source Water: 60.0 �F
Elevation: 0.0 m

00:38:37 Mash In - Liquor: 11.87 gal; Strike: 162.3 �F; Target: 150.0 �F
01:38:37 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60.0 min; Final: 145.1 �F
01:49:17 Mash Out - Heat: 10.7 min; Target: 168.0 �F
02:34:17 Sparge - Sparge: 1.67 gal sparge @ 170.0 �F, 9.07 gal collected, 45.0 min; Total Runoff: 9.3 gal

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I’d like to be able to naturally carbonate my beer in my cornie keg, then bottle the carbonated beer directly from the keg. I understand that to use a counterpressure bottle filler I need a co2 tank, but I don’t have one and they are very hard to get hold of in England. Is there another way I can bottle from my keg?

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Posted: by beersabound (12 hours ago)

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Posted: by BenConnery (16 hours ago)

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This is most likely a stupid question however I have to ask. I brewed a ale on Sunday and there is no signs of life today. I pitched a tube of California ale yeast the catch is in the brew water, I used half tape water and half Ro water. I let the water sit uncovered for a night hoping that some of the chlorine would evaporate but I am starting to feel I was wrong to assume this. Do you think this might have caused this batch to go south on me?

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I did some searches and have established that the Sanyo 4912 will fit a carboy. However, finding a Sanyo 4912 has proven pretty darn difficult. Can anyone recommend any other models that will fit a carboy? I’m looking for a small (i.e not tall) fridge that will fit a carboy for fermentation. Thanks for any advice.

Tom

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I recently purchached a 6 pack of Sam Adams summer ale. I am always curious to see what the commercial breweries are doing right that get’s them where they are. I enjoy taste testing what is available and, if it’s good, making something similar. My first impression of the Sam Adams summer ale was not good. I always pour the new brew into a glass and inspect color and clairity. As advertised on the 6 pack container this brew suffers from “chill haze”. A slightly undesirable trait from a good brew. As I was pouring the brew into my pint glass I noticed something in the bottom emitting some unusual levels of carbonation. Long story short it was infact the head of a insect, I appeared to be a honey bee or wasp. Needless to say this did not deter my taste test. More on that later.
After careful examination of the rest of the 6 pack I noticed that all the bottles had some sort of sediment in the bottom. It wasn’t anything like what you would typically see like dead yeast it was dark in color and was definately particals of something. I have to say that I did finish the 6 pack but It was all poured into a glass tring to leave as much as the dark sediment behind as possible. Not sure about the sediment after finding the reminents of a bee in the first glass.

In Sam Adams defence, the summer ale has a definate honey flavor about it. Probally too much. I assume that most major breweries filter their final product. In this case I’d have to say that filtering was not used, Or perhaps the bottle staging up area was not protected from insects. In either case It would be something to be slightly concerned about. Nobody wants to drink a insect in their beer. Granted that after it ferments it’s harmless. It’s just not part of beer.

Any similar experience’s with commercial beer?

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My lhbs is over 300 miles away and is always really busy. anyone here ever opened a homebrew shop?

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I’m thinking of getting a refractometer. I know it takes smaller amounts to take gravity readings, but are there things I will miss about my hydrometer? Will the refractometer tell me all the same things my hydrometer will. Are they really worth the cost?

Thanks everyone!

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Finally have my MT ready. Built a 3/4 PVC manifold, I also had a spare washing maching braided hose so I made that an option. Used garden hose type connectors and quick dissconnects.

If I want to try fly sparging some day can I attach the PVC manifold to the cooler lid and use the braid in the cooler, or did I read braid not so good for fly sparging?

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The water line I bought is not Stainless Steal. Its like a hard nylon or something, can I still us this? How would I close off the other end? Has anyone seen one of these before?

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Beer lovers be warned: The price of a pint is probably going to go up in the months ahead. The price of brewing barley has skyrocketed. Blame it on ethanol. And believe it or not, the situation with malted barley is very similar to what’s going on in the petro industry.
The […]

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Well, after a couple of years of procrastination I finally did it. I now have a beautiful way to dispense my stouts and cream ales. Had I known how cheap this would be, I would have done it years ago, actually. First, I found a nitrogen regulator on Craigslist for $20. Second, I dug through my garage and found the guinness tap that I got a hell of a deal on a few years back. Third, I discovered that I could trade one of my 20 lb CO2 tanks for a tank of beer gas of the same size. All I had to do was pay for the beer gas refill, which surprised me a bit. Anyway, it all came together so nicely that I figured I would take a video. Unfortunately, I don’t have a proper video camera and the kegerator I have in the house doesn’t have a lot of light around. As a result, the video quality isn’t great, but it gets the idea across.

After many requests from friends I recently started a blog to chronicle some of my brewing activities, www.wortup.com. I haven’t put too many things on there yet, but if you want to see a video of my pouring a nice pint of my chocolate rye imperial stout, pop on over for a look. I’ve been brewing for almost 15 years and I still find things to get excited about. I love it.

-Cheers

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