tentacles Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 I like the sound of that lagering box. For the time being all my lagering will be done with clean yeast and ale temperatures. Have any lagers in mind? Sorry to take so long to actually post this reply, mumbles.. It's been sitting here for days.. I was thinking of starting simple, the LHBS has a "stupidly simple lager" he makes, it's just 10lbs of 2 row and some hops. I picked up 5oz of Cascade hops last night. I'm sticking to my plan of buying hops *every* time I go there. Took samples of my dunkel and the AG wit, and they are both getting quite tasty now. Got to taste an APA and an IPA he had there.
Mumbles Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 Methanol - CH3-OH 1 carbonEthanol - CH3CH2-OH 2 carbonsPropanol - CH3CH2CH2-OH 3 Carbons, alcohol group on one of the ends.Isopropanol CH3CH(OH)CH3 3 Carbons, alcohol group on the middle carbon The longer the carbon chain, the less polar and thus less miscible with water. Let us know how the lager turns out, it sounds like a pretty cool setup. I think I will actually get around to brewing my Maibock this weekend. At this rate, it might turn into more of a junibock.
tentacles Posted March 14, 2008 Posted March 14, 2008 I may pick up some lumber tommorow to build that lagering box. I have NO idea where I'm going to put it, though! Maybe I can squeeze it under my workbench, or somewhere. The keg fridge at the LHBS stopped working a few days ago, I went by earlier today and fixed it for him, hopefully it will keep working, we're going to see how that goes. The defrost timer seems to have died or nearly died. The owner gave me a couple of those 2 liter bottle kits (slightly out of date, but still good) and comp'd my visit-ly bag of hops. I picked up some Goldings today. I'm considering an mild IPA... with a lager twist, for the first lager. The other day I sampled a clone of the keith IPA and it was delicious. I'll have to think on this, and maybe buy some beers to try. I'm going to edit this post again, dammit! Just wanted to put: Frank, I will try and down a Guinness on saturday with you. That dunkel weizen has really been growing on me. Which is good, because I have like 3.5-4 gallons of it still. Did I ever mention scoring 4 doz Grolsch/Ez-cap bottles for $4/doz?
FrankRizzo Posted March 14, 2008 Posted March 14, 2008 Wat a friggin' score man! $4/doz for those bottles is an awesome deal. Did get 'em from G'n'G? I'd really like to taste that Dunkel if you can bottle up a few.
tentacles Posted March 15, 2008 Posted March 15, 2008 Will do! No, there was a guy up here selling them on usedwinnipeg (think craigslist for canadians). He said he had "a lot more", but I turned the G'n'G guy onto it. I may be able to pick up more if you want a few.
FrankRizzo Posted March 15, 2008 Posted March 15, 2008 I'd love to have a few dozen for those times when I want to bring beer over to parties and whatnot, but I really don't know where I'd put 'em.
Mumbles Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 I took a few of the Wits down to my family this weekend. The reviews were very positive. I personally thought the coriander was still a bit strong, and it was a bit uncarbonated, but they seemed to really like it and said it tasted exactly like blue moon. I then told them it was over 6% ABV, and they liked it even more Might take a few more to the rest of my family for easter.
psyco_1322 Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 Can you ferment anything that has sugar in it or does it have to be an organic type of drink? Say I wanted to make alcoholic Pepsi.
TheSidewinder Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 Now that's a good question! Intuitively, I want to say yes, as long as it has some form of "real sugar" (fructose, sucrose, and maybe lactose?) you can ferment it. What the result would TASTE like, is another matter. I'll let the resident "Brew Crew" answer that for sure, though. M
NightHawkInLight Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 No doubt you could. Several summers ago I remember filling 2 liter bottles with beet sugar water and a spoon full of yeast attempting to make a big boom with a couple day time delay (don't know what was going through my head) I ended up shooting them with a pellet gun about half a week in. The mist left hanging in the air certainly contained alcohol. I believe any sugar could ferment, but as Sidewinder said, how it tastes is another matter. For example in a Pepsi, the fermentation would break down much of the sugars. More would need to be added after fermentation to maintain a Pepsi taste. Keep in mind that I am yet to make my own alcohol, so all of what I just said is purely my (probably twisted) concept of of how I think it would work.
Frozentech Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 Can you ferment anything that has sugar in it or does it have to be an organic type of drink? Say I wanted to make alcoholic Pepsi. You can ferment most sugars with yeast. I am not sure about Pepsi, as the acid content may be way too high to begin with, and poison most brewers yeasts. Mumbles - I just started following this thread, when I realized there are beer brewers here ! Did you make that Maibock yet ? My favorite beer in a long time is Ambrosia Maibock, from a little brewery in Seattle. I have 5 gal of a Czech Pils lagering, and 5 gals of generic pale ale that I am gonna "fruitify" with raspberry in secondary, for the wife ( OK, I like them too, at least the Framboise Lambics, but who can wait a year to taste it! ) Anyone here on any of the Brew forums ?
Mumbles Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 I can't speak for all yeasts, but I do believe that the yeast generally used for beer and wine brewing can't metabolize lactose. It's add to "cream" beers to give a bit of a dairy flavor and improve mouth feel(makes it feel a bit thicker). This makes me think that it's unfermentable. You're in luck though, and no soda manufacturer in their right mind would put lactose in their product(except maybe cream soda). It would be a bit hit to their sales for all the lactoseintolerant people to not be able to drink their beverages. Dextrose, sucrose, glucose and fructose should all be fine though. I do not know how the preservatives will treat the yeast though. I suppose all it tastes is some yeast and a few cans of soda and you're good to go, so no big loss.
asilentbob Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 The benzoates usually present in soda will likely inhibit fermentation.
Mumbles Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 I was thinking I was going to be brewing tonight. I smacked the smack-pack this morning with those intentions. However the lab job I got went quite a bit longer than I had expected. In fact I am going back yet tonight. I put the pack back in the fridge to try to slow it down. Would I be in any danger of it exploding and thus spraying my precious yeast all over the place?
Bonny Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 The old lady isn't cool with me boiling beer mixes in the house so I've made my first batch of wine. It's a merlot (red wine for the completely unrefined folk) It's in the primary right now in the dining room (old lady pissed about that too, but basement is too cold)...anybody else here make wine??
Frozentech Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 The old lady isn't cool with me boiling beer mixes in the house so I've made my first batch of wine. It's a merlot (red wine for the completely unrefined folk) It's in the primary right now in the dining room (old lady pissed about that too, but basement is too cold)...anybody else here make wine??Did you tell her Wort won't give her warts ? I know what you mean though. Mine now barricades herself in another room. Don't know what's wrong with the smell, I like it just fine, Wait till I try extracting my own KNO3 from "organic materials" [edit] That's won't be inside the house though ! Hey, maybe I can get her to buy me a turkey fryer type burner, and promise to brew outdoors, it could double as a real nice charcoal kiln heat source.
FrankRizzo Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 I was thinking I was going to be brewing tonight. I smacked the smack-pack this morning with those intentions. However the lab job I got went quite a bit longer than I had expected. In fact I am going back yet tonight. I put the pack back in the fridge to try to slow it down. Would I be in any danger of it exploding and thus spraying my precious yeast all over the place?You've got nothing to worry about. I've had fully inflated smack packs sitting at room temp in the cupboard for 4 days without any problems because of the same time problem. The package is very robust and likely only has enough sugar/nutrient solution to inflate it to predetermined pressure (within a few PSI).
tentacles Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 My LHBS has a couple old activator packs that have been in his fridge for months (at least) fully inflated. I don't think you have anything to worry about. Those packs are also quite old, over a year for sure. I picked up some specialty grains today, some more honey malt, some biscuit, munich (type 1) and flaked wheat. I may try making that sunshine wheat lager, but using an ale yeast and then lagering it. I don't forsee getting too far on that lagering box in the next couple weeks, but you never know. Hops o the day: Centennial. They smell great by the way, I can really detect the citrusy smell. Maybe I'll just make the same Wit as before - use some of the washed yeast, only make it like 30-40 IBU. What do you think, Frank?
FrankRizzo Posted March 20, 2008 Posted March 20, 2008 mmm...centennial hops....so resiny and citrusy. They're my 3rd favorite behind fuggles and cascade. I think you should make a Belgian Dubbel or an IPA.
Mumbles Posted March 20, 2008 Posted March 20, 2008 Well, last night's brewing could have gone better, but it seems to turn out pretty good. Playing around with a calculator I got about 75% efficiency. Not bad for a first mash and a bottling bucket and SS toliet supply hose. I hit 1.074 OG. I also got my first boil over. That will sure be fun to clean up later today. Despite having to rush a bit, it seems to have turned out quite well. I had to leave a bit early so I had my roomate finish everything up. I forgot to tell him to skim off the cold break, so I'm going to have a hell of a lot of trub when I rack in the coming weeks. Shame I have been so busy. Mumbles' Junibock just doesn't have the same ring to it.
TheSidewinder Posted March 20, 2008 Posted March 20, 2008 While I've enjoyed this discussion to no end (and drooled far too much in the process), I have to laugh out loud at how far over my head it's gotten. But I'm sure glad to see that detailed Craftwork like this isn't going to die anytime soon. Yeah...... not quite the same ring to it as "Mumbles' Maibock". But I'll bet it tastes just as good. M
Frozentech Posted March 20, 2008 Posted March 20, 2008 Well, last night's brewing could have gone better, but it seems to turn out pretty good. Playing around with a calculator I got about 75% efficiency. Not bad for a first mash and a bottling bucket and SS toliet supply hose. I hit 1.074 OG. I also got my first boil over. That will sure be fun to clean up later today. 1.074 ! Wow. What yeast are you using ? You could potentially end up with a 9 or 10% ABV brew there. Be interesting to see what the F.G. ends up. Boil over - have fun cleaning that, especially that high gravity of a wort. Stuff turns to a coating resembling polyurethane in no time.
FrankRizzo Posted March 20, 2008 Posted March 20, 2008 Boil over - have fun cleaning that, especially that high gravity of a wort. Stuff turns to a coating resembling polyurethane in no time. LOL..so true, especially if it happens early in the boil and the wort bakes onto your kettle. I had a boil over in January while it was still below zero temperatures. I had a "hump of wort" stuck to my deck for the last few months that's just now starting to melt.
tentacles Posted March 20, 2008 Posted March 20, 2008 Mumbles: Congrats on your first AG! That's a pretty big beer, hope to sample one at PGI maybe? I've been thinking hard on my next keg o malty goodness... Frank:I'm thinking something "like" an IPA, but using what I got. I picked up some irish moss too, I figured IPAs are supposed to be clear-ish..... So here's what I was thinking:0.50 lb Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 3.82 % 5.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 41.98 % 2.20 lb Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 16.79 % 2.20 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 16.79 % 2.20 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 16.79 % 0.50 lb Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM) Grain 3.82 % 1.10 oz Centennial [12.00 %] (60 min) (First Wort) Hops 45.3 IBU 1.00 oz Cascade [5.80 %] (60 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops 0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Est Original Gravity: 1.070 SGEst Final Gravity: 1.018 SG Estimated ABV: 6.77 % Bitterness: 45.3 IBU Est Color: 11.8 SRM BeerSmith says... could be beer. I recently had a 50IBU craft brew that was good, but a tad hoppy for me, so I want to shoot a little lower. What kind of yeast should I use for this? I have 3638 in jars, and the 3944(or 3942?) in the fridge. Also, Bonny - there are some no-boil beer kits, they're a bit pricier than DIY (not by much really). Look for the "BrewHaus" kits, it's just like the wine kits, a 5 gallon bag in box sort of deal. Sanitize, pour in, add yeast, wait.
Mumbles Posted March 21, 2008 Posted March 21, 2008 To be fair it was a partial mash. 7 1/2lbs of grain, and 6lbs of Pilsen LME. I also mis-spoke earlier, it was 1.072, but it doesn't make much of a difference. I used California Lager yeast. I am trying for a maibock without the need to lager. It was stated to give a good clean fermentation at ale temperatures and leave a good malt profile, so I think I am good. Assuming 75% attenuation that should give 7% ABV. I am thinking I really should have made a starter. I sure had enough time to do so. The only way this is making it to PGI is if someone swings by and takes it out there for me. I doubt I will be making it this year. I may have a nice internship lined up this summer. Last time I went to PGI I quit my job to do so. I don't think I will be doing that with this one. I had the interview this morning, and I think I absolutely killed it. Cleaning actually wasn't too bad. The hops on the inside of the kettle were actually worse. Some scalding hot water from the tap, and a scouring pad took care of the boil over in no time. Now the completely carbonized sugar in the center of my burner may be a completely different story. That may be left to burn off in the future. Well, I obviously proved that all grain brewing no longer scares me. Might give a dogfish head 60min IPA clone a try next. The drafty house that was great for brewing ales in the winter may no longer be so great in the summer when it's 85 degrees indoors. I may need to make more frequent trips to my mom's house where her basement hovers around 60 degrees year round. Maybe I can even convert her into my continual hopping machine for the DFH
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