Beer Feeds

I really love Guinness. I love the idea of quaffing a nice pint of lower alcohol, creamy, bready deliciousness. I want to keep a stash on hand to drink at all times. I am ordering a dry stout kit from Northern Brewer, and I have a few questions:

Will they send me less carbonating sugar, or should I use less in general, in order to get that de-gassed, low carbonation characteristic of Guinness without the special tap/gas mix?

I know that this beer will not taste EXACTLY like Guinness, but I wonder if any Guinness lovers out there have found a good kit that will allow me to get as close as possible.

Do any of you have special techniques, anywhere in the process, that help get you closer to the flavor of the ruby-red liquid gold of the Emerald Isle?

Sincerely,

Conor Patrick O’Leary

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Many thanks to Jimmy CraicHead TV for the segment. Jeez, I am very thirsty right now.

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Does anyone have some recommendations on some good digital thermometers? Maybe used before or currently using… I’m tired of my old fashioned gauge with probe. Also, has anyone had experience with the Wirless IR thermometers?

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a sell out year…

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Posted: by ljkeats (3 hours ago)

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In case the old fashion way of enjoying your favorite Flying Dog out of the bottle just isn’t cutting it for you anymore, we found a solution for you. The Bender Brewer Project combines two of our favorite things, draft beer and cartoon booze hounds. Happy building.

Technorati Tags: Draft Beer, Bender, Flying Dog

[…]

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Ok, I got all of my equipment for Christmas and brewed my first batch on Dec. 31. Last night I racked it into my secondary to sit until this weekend. I had a good yeast cake on the bottom and the beer is quite clear (it is a NB amber ale kit). This weekend I will rack it into one of my corny’s, cold crash for a week, and then force carb it.

Here is my question. After I took my gravity reading last night, I decided to tasted it to check it’s progress. (I say check, but being my first brew, I have no idea what I was tasting for!) To me it tasted like good beer except it was a little hoppy for an amber. I re-read the instructions and saw that since I was doing a full boil, I should have cut the hops in the first 30 minutes by 50%.

So will this mellow out over the next too weeks? I liked the flavor, and I know that is all that matters, but what should I expect. The “hoppiness” is really in your face right now.

I also want to thank everyone on this board. I researched the heck out of the process on this site, which in turn, made the process seem pretty easy.

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This became aware to me, with the help of some of you guys, during my first ferment. I actually thought that my first batch went awry since the air lock wasn’t bubbling. Took some pics and you guys told me it had already finished, and as it turned out, it didn’t bubble because it was escaping through either the lid, or the “seat” between the lid and the body of the container. It has a “gamma” seal if any of you are familiar with it.

Now, I’m not terribly worried about the CO2 escaping through the “seal”, but I would prefer it to be airtight as US plastic said it was. I might be able to get different (bigger) seals, but dunno if that will work. Of course it would be nice if I knew exactly where the leak was.

Anyone ever have this problem? Did you fix it?

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I have noticed in my past few batches I am not getting any hot break (as I have been told it is the floating stuff that looks like hot and sour soup) I am doing all grain batch sparge in a 60qt cooler. My efficiency stinks (about 55-60%).

Is this a conversion issue, boil issue? any ideas?

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This is a link to the extra special malt link. My homebrew store carries it and I was thinking if it would work instead or in complement to special B. I dont know if any of you have experience with it, but Im new to it so i thought i would ask.
thanks a lot.

http://www.breworganic.com/browseproducts/…alt–1-Lb..html

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On my last brew I chilled the wort and then syphoned the clear wort off of the trub and break material in the bottom of the kettle. Unfortunately I ended up leaving 6 litres in the kettle which left me with only 15 litres in the fermenter (I was aiming for 19).

Ideally I’d like that trub much more compacted at the bottom of the kettle. If I chill a bit further down (I only chilled down to about 20C/68F) and leave it to settle longer after chilling (i left it about 20 minutes) would I achieve this? Or do I need to up my volume into the kettle to keep everything in order?

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Posted: by Erdinger2003 (14 hours ago)

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Posted: by littleg (17 hours ago)

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Posted: by sarann (21 hours ago)

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So I’ve spent the last few days working on the brew rig. Basically knocked a level off and incorporated a pump. I did have the pump on for a while, but only u
used it to run wort through the chiller. By knocking a level off the stand, I no longer need to stand on a step stool to dough in and stir the mash.

Here’s the rig basically as it was….that’s a bucket of grain ready for a batch;

Here it is today when I was doing a hot water run through checking for leaks, etc. Here I have the mash tun hooked to the pump. I can recirculate wort this way. My “hope” is that will be be able to have my burner on pretty low while recirculating (to avoid scorching) and be able to raise the mash temp when needed. I have a false bottom in the mash tun and also added a bazooka tee under the false bottom to keep husks and such from gumming up the show. I used to use a scrubbie, but grain would still get through.

Here’s the kettle hooked up to the chiller. As it is in the pic it is in “whirpool mode”. When done whirlpooling I can disconnect one hose and transfer to my fermenter.

Here’s the inside of my kettle showing the bazooka tee in there, my whirpool fitting and the thermometer I added today. While whirlpooling, I will have water running through the chiller to start knocking the temp down while I whirplool.

Comments are welcome.

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I’ve been getting a lot of flack from people I know every time I start talking about putting nicotine in beer. People get all edgy and think I’m in cahoots with big tobacco. Bring on your negative comments, I really don’t care.

I have finally figured out how to put nicotine in beer and still make it taste good. There is a new “smoking session” lozenge called Commit that contains 2 or 4mg of nicotine in a delicious cherry or mint flavored form Commit Website. They are designed to dissolve in people’s mouths like a regular ricola or fisherman’s friend style lozenge, so they are totally soluble in liquid.

Warning: I am not a smoker and I sucked on one of the 4mg lozenges for 5 min before I had to spit it out because I felt light headed. These suckers are super strong. I’ve been told that the average cigarette has .2mg of nicotine and these things have 4mg. I guess they are banking on slow release over 30min of sucking on it and not chewing it up to get all the nicotine out at once.

Because these things are so strong I will have to dose each beer individually with 1/8 (or less) of a lozenge, so I don’t make anyone sick. For all those neigh sayers out there that think I am evil and will kill someone the directions say not to exceed 5 lozenges in 6 hours, so people will be passed out drunk before they overdose on my nicotine beer.

If you still think I am evil think about all those “smoke free” bars out there that are in desperate need of this product. All the poor smokers forced to finish their beers then walk outside for a smoke. With this product they get their nicotine fix without having to leave the barstool and without the hazardous smoke filling the air.

For some weird reason every time I talk about this product I want to do an evil genius laugh, so here it goes, mwha mwhaaaahaaa ha ha ha…..

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So after militantly setting aside some time the past few days to drink beer and play with the bandsaw, here are some pics of my rig:

The base and burner holding cross member used to be a 500lb aluminum cargo carrier that I scored at a parking lot sale at Harbor Freight for $12.

I got the shelving pieces for free from a guy who was going out of business, after I told him what I was gonna use it for of course. The top pieces where the keg sits have some nice long bolts poking through the top lip which locates the keg and keeps it from moving around.

The burner holders were just flat stock that I had to hacksaw(band saw was out of commission at the time) and arc welded together.

I got the banjo burners from amazon for $25 w/free shipping plus a $20 regulator.

The casters cost about a buck a piece.

So my total build cost as of right now is about $100. So all I have to do now is put together another keg holder, plumb the propane and I should be good to go. Not too bad for dirt cheap and flying by the seat of my pants.

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Greets All,

I’m a fairly new brewer (working on my fourth batch now, So far I’ve Brewed An IPA, an Irish Red, A Stout and am working on an American Lager now). I have been perusing this board for a few months now and have to say have learnt quite a bit from everyne So I thank you wholeheartedly for that.

I’m living in Nova Scotia, Canada and me and a few friends are planning to drive cross-country next year on a trip to visit as many Craft Breweries we can in a three week period. I was wondering if there are any Canadian Beer aficionados out there that may be able to suggest some of their favorite breweries in the different provinces that we could visit (hell, if anyone wants to meet us for a drink on us that would work to.)

I’m loving the Craft and am enjoying the board.

Cheers, and Happy brewing

Jim.

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I am attending a conference in St Louis the 1st week of April and they are going to sponsor a homebrew contest for attendees. I need to know what styles do well in the Midwest, I am not sure the big San Diego IPAs will go over with the judges. It looks like the judges are going to be selected by Schlafly brewery.

Any suggestions. I would normally enter an IPA and a Dusseldorf Altbier.

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I know this topic has been thrown around a little– but after some research I ordered these burners for my Brutus Ten type set up

http://shopperschoice.com/item_name_Cajun-…_item_7312.html

will these burners be overkill, and does anyone have experience with high pressure jet burners? everything I have read has been about low pressure jet burners. Any info or opinions would be greatly appreciated Thanks CB

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So i’m slowly acquiring parts to make my long awaited brew stand and i would like to be able to use QD’s on all the tubing…

Does anybody know any good online retailers where i can buy them for relatively inexpensive and/or a large quantity of them?

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This is a great chance to get out and try some extreme beers that will change your perception on what beer should taste like. Flying Dog will be sampling our Canis Major Series of beers and joining about 15 other breweries as we enjoy winter in Vail, CO. Click on the flyer below for complete […]

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The last few batched made have had FG’s higher that normal. Not rediculously high, 1020, 1022 (starting gravities 1076-1084), but higher than the anticipated 1016-1018. The only thing I’ve been doing different is fermenting in the low 60’s. Is it you experience that lower temps effect attenuation? I made a Foreign Export stout that attenuated about 61% (from 1.084 to 1.030. I do realize the panoply of reasons this might happen, but seriously, the only thing that has changed is ferm temp. Mash temp 152, everything normal, no suprises, 2 lbs roasted barley, 1lb chocolat malt, 28 lbs of base malt (10 gal).
I guess maybe I just need to raise my thermostat to 66*f…

Whatcha think?

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I am considering the purchase of a sack of Marris Otter because I have to brew a couple of English Ales, but I mostly brew American Ales. Does anyone use this English malt in their American IPAs, Ambers, Browns, etc?

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Someone gave me a BB 5G Oktoberfest kit for christmas and I would like to make it hoppier.

I have 1oz of Tettnang (AA 4.3%) and 1oz of Fuggle (AA 4.5%).

Which would you use? When would you add? How much would you add, besides the other hops that come with the kit?

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Posted: by Mark (14 hours ago)

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I have been trying to brew honey lagers and ales but the honey flavor seems to get lost in the fermentation. Is there anything I can do to get a mild honey flavor in my 5 gal. batches. Any help would be much appreciated.

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Posted: by rotorshawn (19 hours ago)

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I recently kegged an Old Ale - 6 weeks in the primary and straight to a corny. I pressurized the corny and have had it aging at room temp for 1 week now.

Question - I can cold condition this beer, but was curious as to the pros/cons of aging at room temp in the keg. I’ve checked pressurization and added CO2 when appropriate to maintain a good seal on the keg.

So, should I age at room temp, or cold condition?

Thanks.

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After chilling I usually stir up the whirlpool and let it sit for 10-20 minutes, depending up quickly I’m moving on clean up and fermenter prep. Today I took a break for lunch and just let things sit. I really don’t remember how long, but I would guess 45-50 minutes. This batch was chilled down below 50-degrees, so there was copious amounts of cold break. With the diverter, I keep lots in the kettle, but I’m usually too impatient to wait for the cold break to settle out.

I’m doing some half gal fermentation experiments, so here are picks of the first gallon (first two jugs) and last gallon (last two) out of the kettle. Between, there was about 5.25 gallons for a Belgian pale that were as clear as the first three. The last jug I let the kettle run dry as the cone broke down and glugged some into the container.

Anyway… for those looking to keep break in the kettle, time is the secret. I foresee a split batch light lager in the near future — one cold break free, the other gets the last glugs.

After about 15 mintues

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