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Archive for the 'Homebrewing' Category

Munich Extract

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008

After doing some searching around here I kept finding people saying there was Munich LME sold at Northern Brewer. The closest thing I can find there is an amber extract with Munich in it.


QUOTE
Northern Brewer Amber. Northern Brewer Amber is a mix of pale and Munich malt with Caramel 60 for a sweet malt flavor with caramel overtones.

Is this what everyone is talking about or is there some discontinued LME that I’m not able to find anywhere?

I’m looking at making an Oktoberfest extract beer.

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Picture Test

Saturday, November 22nd, 2008

Trying to upload pictures from Photobucket, lets see if I gots it right.
My Wine Cellar (Walk in closet)

http://s477.photobucket.com/albums/rr136/a…G1891Medium.jpg[/img]

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Trouble some beer

Saturday, November 22nd, 2008

I recently (about…1 1/2 months ago?) put this recipe together from KenLenard’s Memory Lapse Pale Ale with a few more hop additions and was so damn excited only to get a crappy beer. Can someone maybe point out where I went wrong? Here’s what I did:

6 lbs Pale LME
1 lb Crystal 60L
3/4 Flaked Wheat
.5 oz Mt Hood 5.3% whole hops (60)
.5 oz Cascade 6% whole hops (60)
.5 oz Cascade 6% whole hops (20)
.5 oz Cascade 6% whole hops (5)
Pitched smack pack of 1056 at 72F

I completely blew off taking a OG which I’m still pissed off about, but fermentation was fine. I left it in the primary for 33 days. The fermentation temperature bumped up and down a little bit, but being it was the beginning of fall it never went over 70… I checked the FG at 33 days and it was at 1.013 so I bottled with 3/4 cup corn sugar and aged for about 2 weeks.

The beer came out tasting ridiculously sweet (kinda extract sweet) with an almost tangy sourness at the end. I’m led to think that the slight sourness at the back is an infection? It’s very subtle though, and I’m generally very good about sanitation. The sweetness on the other hand, I don’t know about. I have 31 IBUs to what was supposed to be a 1.045 beer. There’s what seems to be no hint of hops either. I’m just baffled. The reason I did this beer is that it looked (and was proven by others to be) simply delicious… any advise?

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Doughed in…

Saturday, November 22nd, 2008

Hey, just doughed in on that Murphy’s Style Stout AG recipe from last month’s BYO. Anyone else try this one out? Only change is that I am using 1084 saved from my last stout instead of the nottingham or 1028 they recommend. BREW ON!

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Who’s Brewin’ ?

Saturday, November 22nd, 2008

Mashing a Belgian Golden Strong right now

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I have to be certain!

Saturday, November 22nd, 2008

I guess I had it wrong. But, I am brewing an Oatmeal Stout tomorrow and want to be certain. I had thought I understood that only the ‘instant’ oatmeal was pre-gelantized…

So, I do NOT need to do an adjunct mash with the oats (boil them), I CAN add these oats directly to the mash???

Thanks

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Muddy Beer

Saturday, November 22nd, 2008

Here’s my dilemma…Dry hopped with pellets in secondary…didn’t strain properly when racking into keg…should I be patient & assume the floating hop residue will be gone after a few pints, or should I rack into another keg?
Thanks in advance
CB

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Recent PITA

Saturday, November 22nd, 2008

So, the last 3 or 4 beers I have put in my primary have blown krausen up and out of the bubbler. I have a 6 gallon carboy, fill it just over 5 gallons and have used either 1506 or 1028 without a starter. Just a single smack pack after violently shaking the carboy to oxygenate. Does this just mean I’m pitching at too high of a temperature? I always make sure the beer is down to at least 72F. I’m worried about this because it makes a huge sticky mess that I’m sure attracts everything I don’t want in the beer and it’s even clogged the bubbler a few times so I’ve had to sanitize another one and do a quick swap, which I hate seeing the fermenter open at that point even if just for the quick bubbler swap.. these aren’t big beers either. I’ve have a pumpkin ale pale ale and two porters with OGs at or below 1.060.

any suggestions?

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Considering kegging…

Friday, November 21st, 2008

Two years into this and I’m thinking about kegging. Bunch of questions:

Are those basic kits enough to get me off on the right foot?
How tall is a typical corny keg?
How large of CO2 tank do you need? I’ve got a spare beer fridge in the basement, but how many kegs/tanks will I be able to fit?
Can you setup multiple kegs to the same CO2 source?
Where do you buy your CO2?
Where do you buy your kegs?

What else should I be thinking about?

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Hay-Zues IPA

Friday, November 21st, 2008

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 10.00
Anticipated OG: 1.077 Plato: 18.55
Anticipated SRM: 11.5
Anticipated IBU: 78.6
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
—————————————————————————–
60.0 6.00 lbs. Briess DME- Gold America 1.046 8
20.0 2.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
5.0 0.50 lbs. Crystal 80L 1.033 80
5.0 0.50 lbs. Wheat Malt America 1.038 2
10.0 1.00 lbs. Munich Malt(2-row) America 1.035 6

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.

Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
—————————————————————————–
0.75 oz. Zeus Whole 17.00 25.7 30 min.
0.75 oz. Zeus Whole 17.00 20.3 25 min.
0.50 oz. Zeus Whole 17.00 11.3 20 min.
0.50 oz. Zeus Whole 17.00 9.0 15 min.
0.50 oz. Zeus Whole 17.00 6.7 10 min.
0.50 oz. Zeus Whole 17.00 5.6 5 min.
1.00 oz. Zeus Whole 17.00 0.0 0 min.
1.50 oz. Zeus Whole 17.00 0.0 Dry Hop

please tell me what you would adjust

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Big Starter Question

Friday, November 21st, 2008

I’m brewing a 1.094 beer. According to Jamil’s calculator I need 4.6L of starter wort. My starter vessel is a 1 Gallon Jug. I obviously can’t fit 4.6L of wort in a 1 gallon jug. The largest starters I do in the jug are about 3Q. I’ve got over a week until brewday so I have time to do a couple steps.

How should I step this thing up to get the 333 billion cells I need?

a) Start with a really small (1 pint) starter and then step up to 3+Q
b 1Q, step up to 3Q
c) 2Q, step up to 3Q
d) 3Q, then another 3Q
e) Other, please explain

I don’t have a stirplate. I will be using yeast nutrient, pure O2 at the start and swirling everytime I walk by.

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KC Brewboarders get together

Friday, November 21st, 2008

Everyone please vote!

OK I screwed up I can also make 11/28

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Rye Malt in American Amber

Friday, November 21st, 2008

I am planning on making an All-Grain American Amber Ale. Would it be to off bases to use Rye Malt in it?
Here is my proposed grain bill for a 7.5 gallon batch:
OG 1.059
Alcohol 5.81%

14# 2-row
1.25# Crystal Malt 40l
.5# Crystal Malt 80l
4oz Pale Chocolate
.5# American Victory
.5# Rye Malt

As you can see my recipe making skills could use some help at times banghead.gif

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Dry alt anyone?

Friday, November 21st, 2008

Bad move, filled my EHLT last night and I could tell the thermometer was reading too cold ~58df so I recalibrated it - should have recalibrated at the temps I use - I knew better too. Just mashed in a dark alt at 145df and the EHERMS is taking forever to bring it up to 151df. Alt lite?

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Dry Hop: pellets or whole hops?

Friday, November 21st, 2008

I am sorry I am sure this topic has been discussed many times before. I brewed a reciped that calls for 2oz of Simcoe and 1 oz Amarillo dry hop. In my freezer I have pellets and whole hops of both varieties. Which would you use?

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First mini “All Grain” Batch

Friday, November 21st, 2008

Hello guys,

Like always I got tons of questions. I want to try and brew a small batch of all grain for the fun of it (1.75 gallons of wort) but I am having a little bit of difficulty with the amount of water need.

I am planning to use my 3 gallon Brew Pot & my bottle bucket as my mash tun.

Beer Smith tells me that for a 1.75 gallon batch using a 3 gallon brew pot & a single infusion, medium body (154*F) 2 step procedure, I need:

1) A boil volume of -1.26gal (I had the “Set Boil Volume Base on Equipment Box” checked)
2) Mash In w/ 4.22qt (1.06 gallons) of water at 167.8*F
3) Mash Out w/ 2.36qt (0.56 gallons) of water at 197.5*F

I must be doing something wrong with my input numbers because 4.22qt +2.36qt = 1.62 gallons and there is no way I will end up with a final volume of 1.75gal from a 1.62gal of water for the mash process.

My 3 gal brew pot boil off rate per hour for a gallon of water was 0.6 gallons. So if I assume grains when mashing take 0.12gal per # of grain (3.5# x 0.12gal = 0.42gal/#), then, 0.42gal + 0.6gal + 1.75 Final Vol = 2.77gal Total Volume needed.

I am so confuse! sorry.gif I will Relax… and I will have a homebrew as soon as I get home… If I make it sane crazy.gif

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Bottling bucket fermenter?

Friday, November 21st, 2008

Now that I’m kegging, I was wondering what to do with my bottling bucket. I thought about useing it for a primary fermenter but the hole is centered only 1and 1/2 inches from the bottom of the bucket. Is this far enough away from the trub? Does anyone do this?
Thanks for any ideas.
jml

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20 gallon system

Friday, November 21st, 2008

Hi all,
OK, my last step is to set up a mash tun large enough to handle 40+ lbs of grain, etc.
What is the max amount of grain you have been able to push into your 15 gallon sanke keg MTs? I was thinking of using my old HLT as a MT - just not sure if it will be large enough? I ordered another 25 pot - but I want to brew this week end - what do you think?

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US-05 vs. White Labs 01…

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

I really like the profile (or lack of profile?) that I get from White Labs 01. The problem is that I cannot get it locally and have to order it. The last time I ordered it I also got some US-05 dry yeast because a couple of the local brewers have used it and like it. I have a few recipes that call for White Labs 01 but I don’t have any at the moment. How will I like the profile of US-05 compared to that of White Labs 01? Also, I remember people saying that 1056 and White Labs 01 are the same strain, but I notice a difference in the two. I haven’t used dry yeast in 8 years, I would guess. And… can I reuse it without ill-effects? Thanks.

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keeping kegerator from freezing

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

Hello
Anyone have a suggestion on what size bulb I need to keep my under construction kegerator from freezing in the winter?
I’m thinking about using this “Exo Terra Heat Wave bulb”. It’s a ceramic bulb but not sure of the correct size.
THANKS sorry.gif sorry.gif

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Do you give your HomeBrews as a Christmas gift?

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

The past few years I have on occassion given a homebrew or 2 as a gift- a few friends really enjoyed it when I gave a 6 pack. A few friends that have come over didn’t seem to know I even homebrewed and I would send a 2 pack or so..Of course, the beer loving friends will take a look at my 6 pack and say “is this all”? Just out of curiousity, how do you share your beer? I thought it was fun to send a few different at a time. And for the record, I really only have about 7 friends..so plenty of beer left for me!

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I know I am going to get flamed for this

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

I have way too much flaked corn laying around and since it is lager season for me here in PA, I figure I would give a Pils a shot using the flaked corn. Anyone have any recipes, experiences , advice on how to use a lot fo flaked corn in the grain bill. I was thinking using 6-row and the corn.

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it will hold 20 gallons or so. i cannot get it to seal on the lid correctly if I use silicone every batch will this be a problem? I will rack the beer in then use the gasket i have then use a bead of food grade to try and seal I also have a ring to tighten over the lid and body similar to the blichmann. I will do a dry run first. But will the wet silcone be bad around the beer if it does not come in to contact?

also if I brew 5 gallons at a time will I have to worry about head space after primary?

please give me some insight I have been really psyched to use this thing and plan to on friday if I can get the answers I need.
also there is no way to seal with the gasket I have tried 5 different custom and no luck .The silcone was the last option. I am worrying about not holding the co2 after fermentation is complete. if head space is an issue and oxygen is also I can use a carboy I guess but that defeats the point of the conical.
any thoughts.

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yeast vial looks funky

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

So I’m brewing up a hefe and I just pulled the vile of 3068 weihenstephan wheat out of the fridge and it has white are the size of a quarter that looks like congealed bacon fat and the top of the yeast is covered with the same. I’m guessing its bad but I’ve never used a hefe yeast. thoughts? I have some back up dry yeast in the fridge for just such an occasion from the last lesson learned. thanks

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Stout recipe calls for

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

If I use 80l crystal will there be a dramatic difference in color or taste??

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Theory behind range hood

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

When we all brew and lose somewhere north of a gallon of water in the brew kettle, it’s obviously going up and out. For those of you who brew indoors, what has your theory been with the use of a range hood? Are you finding that the majority of the evaporated water is channeled through the hood? Do you use a fan or just rely on heat rising? Do you have a way to collect condensate and route it away from the kettle?

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question about co2 purging

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

I’ve read and heard many things that say you should purge you vessels with co2. Makes sense, but how do you know when you’ve filled the carboy, or whatever with co2? I don’t want to waste any co2, but I want to make sure that I don’t leave oxygen in there.

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First the Original Shiznit Now the Swagnit

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

Even back in the Hotrod days of the fifty’s no two cars where the same. Even today with Street Rods just a little different..

My hats off to guy that came up with shiznit here is my humble offering

May be serving a Wee Heavy so needed tire print

Two three gallons sitting level, remote tank and regulator, gas manifold and a catch can if heavy forbid if there is a spill

The towers are removable for loading into a trunk and are made from keg dip tubes. The shanks turn down on the lathe

The liquid lines and drip tray drain are quick connects

Dominus Vobiscum

Swagman cool.gif

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Conditioning a wheat?

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

I’m planning a Raspberry Wheat Ale brew this weekend. I’m looking at doing a recipe that calls for a week in the primary, two weeks in a secondary, and another two weeks in the bottles.

Everything I’ve ever read is that hefe’s and wheats are better “young”. Any insight from the board?

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keg question

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

I used my keg system for the first time. I set the co2 pressure at 12 lbs at 40 degrees and waited 10 days. I tried to pour a glass last night and it was foam city. The only way I could get a decent glass of beer was to disconect the gas and burp the keg. My quedtion is can I set the gas at 2-3 pounds and leave it or will the beer go flat? It seems like a lot of waisted co2 if I have to burp the keg every time I pour a beer. My picnic tap’s line is only 24 inches with 1/4 inch ID tubing which I know is a problem but for now its all I got.
Thanks for any help.
jml.

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