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Archive for October, 2009

Ahhhh I’m back at it

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Just got my mash going of a toned down MLPA after some long months backpacking and then the oppressive heat of the summer. It feels good to be brewing again! Let fermentation begin!

Josh

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Draft magazine?

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Just opened a UPS envelope with two copies of Draft Magazine - no cover letter or explanation, just the two magazines. Anyone else get this?

I’m an AHA member and subscribe to BYO and All About Beer - maybe they used those lists?

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auber syl-2362

Monday, October 19th, 2009

I’m upgrading my old rims system (mashmate 1600). I just received my auber syl-2362, rtd sensor and 25a ssr. The rtd has 3 connections-2 red and 1 blue. What terminal does the blue connect 8,9 or 10? Could some one please show me a simple diagram to wire this unit for a rims system? I would like to use a panel switch to turn on the wort pump then the pid and a house gfi plug to protect the system. I mainly brew ales. So, I’m interested in holding one temperature in the mash tun. How is this programed into this unit? Sorry to sound like such a rock head, but I just want to get everything installed correctly. Thanks for any input.

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Blueberry Pancake Wheat

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Hey guys,

Thought I’d do a little experimenting with this beer. My vision was that when you drank this beer you would get the characteristics/essence of blueberry pancakes. However, I do not want it too sweet or overpowering. So, in my best efforts to create a beer that tasted like blueberry pancakes, here’s what i’ve come up with:

5.5 lbs British two-row
3.5 lbs American wheat
.75 lbs Torrified wheat
.50 lbs Toasted oats (flaked)
1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, boil 15 min
1/2 of a cinnamon stick, boil 15 min

.25 oz Horizon, boil: 50 min
.50 oz Horizon, boil: 30 min
.25 oz Horizon, boil: 5 min

WLP 320

Secondary:
24 oz maple syrup
3 lbs blueberries
3 oz vanilla

What do you guys think? suggestions?

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Posted: by OldSchoolGamer (1 day ago)

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Keggle Conversion 101 in Beer FAQ

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

One of the part numbers is no longer available from McMaster-Carr.


QUOTE
4190K22 1/2″ Brass Ball Valve, Full Port

Would anyone have the new part number, and perhaps the SS rather than brass part number?

Thanks!!!

Chris

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Ginger porter

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

Has anyone ever made a Ginger Porter? I am trying to put a recipe together but I’m not sure of how to use ginger in the brewing process. I would also like feedback on types of malts that would provide a complimentary flavor profile with ginger. FYI, this is for an extract recipe, 5 gal boil. My first thought is that Special B might play nicely, but that is just first thought. ANy help would be appreciated.

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Dunno if this topic has been broached before, but here we go.

I used to have a few aquariums, then travel forced me to sell off everything and move on. Temperature control was quite important, as well as difficult, i.e., lighting, ambient temps etc. On the market were what was called Iceprobe chillers http://www.jbjnanocubes.com/contents/en-us…s-Iceprobe.html that allowed one to control (cool) a small volume of water, they were feasible due to the prohibitive cost of recirculating and coil chillers. I wonder if this would work with a cooler, and water. I currently use this concept to maintain fairly stable temps with my carbouys, using ice packs, the kind you get with lunch boxes. Big lots sells them by the truck load.

Any input would be greatly appriciated!

Cheers!

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Adding Gypsum in a Partial Mash

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

When your doing a partial mash, or extract with steeping grains, where in the process do you add gypsum if being added? at the boil?

with All Grain, I would add it to the mash, or to the sparge water I would think.

Does it really matter either way?

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Italian food and Beer???

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

Posted: by Timmush (18 hours ago)

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Help me salvage this delicious beer

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

I made a lager with one smack pack of yeast, fermented it for 4 days at 45deg F, and then racked it to the secondary at 35deg F. There was no fermentation whatsoever, but I did it anyways. Why? Because I’ve never made a lager and that’s what the recipe in “Homebrewing for Dummies” told me to do. I posted that problem and people told me a lot of reasons why that was a really bad way to do it, (not enough yeast, too cold for primary, to short in primary, etc.) plus a few others that I (and, apparently, “Homebrewing for Dummies”) had never even heard of. From now on I intend to take any advice from “Homebrewing for Dummies” with a grain of salt.
But here I am with a carboy full of sugar water in my fridge, and it’s slowly but surely starting to ferment. I’d like to know if it’s worth continuing, or if I’ve damaged the beer beyond repair with unnecessary racking, too little yeast, and poor temperature control, etc. And if I do continue, should I rack it again to get it off of the yeast dregs? And if so, at what specific gravity? Would I have a new target gravity? I sure would like to drink that beer…hmmm.

Here are the specifics, if it helps:
5.5 lbs light DME
1/2 oz hallertau (60min)
1/2 oz hallertau (30min)
1 oz saaz (2min)
Irish moss
Initial Gravity 1.052
4 days at 45F (then I racked it, even though it was still at 1.051)
28 days at 35F (it’s been about 14 days, and the current specific gravity is 1.042)
Target Gravity: 1.012 ?

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I’d like to introduce myself to everyone.

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

Hello all. This is my first post to the board, so go easy!

I have been brewing for less than a year. It all began when I went to (insert big brand drug store here), and noticed the giant display of Mr. Beer kits. I’d only stopped in for some asprin, and wound up spending a little more than I had anticipated. So far, I am completely engrossed! Ergo my direction, in a previously undirected life, has taken a path never imagined. and without further adieu.

I got home from work and low and behold, there was some pommegranet (sp?) juice in the fridge. The thought occured to me, Has anyone brewed a pomm brew? So I thought I’d post the question to you all. If this ingredient has been broached, please feel free to let me know.

I welcome all questions concerns and comments.

Felix

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A real bummer

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Today I threw out about 40 cases of clean and delabeled brown glass beer bottles. They were all the same bottle shape/style. No manufaturers identity. 12 oz bottles.

I’m depressed.!!

In the truckload going to the recycle center, there was about 10 additional cases of imported Grolish (1/2 liter) brown glass bottles with ceramic flip tops. Clean, no lables, new gaskets and new condition. (I had carried them back from Germany when I came home in 1982 from a 4 year assignment there.) I posted a few times “Free bottles” over the past few years and got one taker.

BTW: a case by my measure is 24 per.

Bummer…..!!!!

I was also heavily into wine making. So in the truck there was also about 40 cases (12 per case) of wine bottles.

I’m depressed.!!

Wait.. Wait.. I already said that.

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What to use for this beer beef stew recipe

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Posted: by KeefD (20 hours ago)

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Tritip Marinades

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Posted: by bargerking (21 hours ago)

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Chicken Enchiladas pairing

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Posted: by KJGAGNE (17 minutes ago)

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WHEAT BEER

Friday, October 16th, 2009

I’ve got
1 oz. willamette
1 cascade
2 perle
1 amarillo.
I’ll be using 4#’s of white wheat , 4#’s of 2 row and 1# of flaked wheat.

I was thinking of going with the amarillo and the perle.

any suggestions?

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What to do with Vegemite

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Posted: by rhoadsrage (18 hours ago)

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Beer with wings

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Posted: by Hopato (19 hours ago)

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Best style beer for beer brats?

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Posted: by aaronxsubaru (21 hours ago)

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Plans for a Grain Mill

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

I have a machinist friend who said he’d build me a small portable grain mill if I could get him some plans.

Anybody have a good set of plans or a link?? I’ve done some checking around the net and have found pics of home made mills, but haven’t found much in the way of plans.

I’d appreciate it.

kdbrewing

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Really strong coffee flavor

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

So I put together a new recipe - aiming for a high gravity Southern English Brown and instead of testing out new ingredients one by one, I threw 3 grains in there that I had never tried before.

So now I have this good tasting beer but with an overwhelming coffee flavor and I don’t know what is causing it. I’d like to tone it down in the next batch, but I’m not sure what’s doing it.

Here’s the grain bill:
10 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 76.92 %
1 lbs Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM) Grain 7.69 %
1 lbs Brown Malt (65.0 SRM) Grain 7.69 %
8.0 oz Carapils (Briess) (1.5 SRM) Grain 3.85 %
8.0 oz Chocolate, Pale Malt (200.0 SRM) Grain 3.85 %

The obvious answer is the pale chocolate, but I’d be surprised if only 8 oz could really have that much of an impact on the flavor.

Thoughts?

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Palo Santo Braised Pork Shoulder

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Posted: by mullenite (22 hours ago)

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Recipes that use A LOT of beer

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Posted: by mdwalsh (22 hours ago)

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Posted: by LunaChick (23 hours ago)

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Free hops!

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Recently I learned that the neighborhood I live in has hops growing all over the place; you just have to look for them.

So can someone tell me - if I were to harvest some of these hops, how would I go about actually using them in a batch?

Is this the proper time to harvest?
What do I look for in terms of aroma?
Do they need to be dried out first? Hang them upside down?

Any thoughts, oh veteran hopmeisters?

Thanks.

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CounterFlow Chiller

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

A question to those CFC brewers out there. I need some opinions from experiance. I need to build a replacement CFC (don’t ask). The old one is 50′ of copper and I was happy with it although sometimes it over cooled and i would have to trun off the H2O to compensate. So to save money and space I was thinking of building the new one with 25′ of copper. Has anyone out there made a 25′ CFC and had ANY problems with it?

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Forward Seal Faucets & Warm Beer?

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

I was talking to Micromatic about forward seal faucets and the rep said that because they store beer “outside of the kegerator” the beer inside the faucet gets warm and sour. Is this true or just a smokescreen b/c they don’t carry them? They seem very popular and I’ve never heard of this before.

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Culturing yeast

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Hi,

How thick layer of flocculated yeast you get in your starters and cultures meant for yeast production?

Some weeks back we started brewing our own IPA using Wyeast American Ale yeast. Before pitching I took about 4ml of yeast slurry from the pack with the sterilized syringe. After that syringe layed in the fridge about half a week. I made a starter with a recomended ratio of water and DME, 100g of DME to 1 liter of water. After sterilazing the media I aerated it by shaking around 30 to 60 seconds. I pitched yeast using 1:10 ratio. So I got about 50ml of starter.

I let that sit for a day or two in a room temp (22C) -> Put in the fridge to flocculate for a one day. -> Most of the cleared media decanted off and remaining yeast pitched to 200ml starter.

I pitched only to 200ml because first 50ml yelded so little amount of yeast, at least I think so. Now I have ” 3rd generation” flocculating in the fridge wich is in the volume of 500ml. It has cleared out quite well but sill there is solid sediment under 1/100 of the volume of the media at the bottom of the bottle..

I have understood that succesful culture is almost like cream in thickness. Mine starded quite quickly producing CO2. So I am wondering if there is a lack of oxygen? Most of the yeast budding occurs during the aerobic stage, am I right? Thats why its good to have stir plates. I have understood that with decent shaking you can still get good results. Another thing that I have doubted is the lacking of right nutrients.

Luckily yeast worked great in the brewing. There was about 6 hours onset before bubbling started. Bubbling slowed down after 4-5 days. There was about inch thick yeast cake at the bottom of the fermenter when we moved it to secondary. So there should not be anything wrong with the yeast.

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TORONTO, Canada November 7th

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Teach a Friend to Homebrew

November 7th is “Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day”.

The SOBs are planning a public Big Brew at the Amsterdam Brewing Company in downtown Toronto.

We have determined that there is space for about 12-15 “Are you an SOB?” homebrewers. We’re hoping that everyone else will come out, not only to meet each other, but maybe “brew-bitch”, and also to educate the public about our hobby.

The Amsterdam Brewery will also be open, with public tours of the brewery, and Amsterdam beers will be available to sample. Better yet, buy a case to take home!

Other items available for purchase include “Are You an SOB?” T-shirts, items from Craft brewers Recycled Art Project, and brewing kits and other supplies from homebrewersretail.com

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