tentacles Posted April 7, 2008 Posted April 7, 2008 Frozen: The Pacman yeast was availible some time ago from wyeast - they do a "Very Special Strains" thing that runs for 3 months, every 3 months... A lot of folks over on HBT seem to like the pacman yeast a lot. Personally, it sounds like a variation of Nottingham to me. Mumbles: I considered roasted, but the burned flavor is too strong for me.. I like the flavor the chocolate imparted to my dunkel, which I'm still enjoying. I was planning on brewing next saturday, and racking off that IPA.... but there's been a bit of a problem :/ You see, I reconnected my pop machine gear, and when I went to bed at 2AM there weren't any more leaks... Woke up at 8am sunday to knocking, saw the kegs floating in the keezer and knew what was up.. So anyways, today the property manager (a real bitch) came over, and saw the birds so we're gonna have to move pretty soon. Better not start another beer yet I suppose.
Mumbles Posted April 8, 2008 Posted April 8, 2008 I was looking around for coolers and found this. Any critiques? http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7999982 Price is pretty reasonable, especially with free shipping to the store. The design seems pretty squat, which should in theory reduce heat loss.
tentacles Posted April 8, 2008 Posted April 8, 2008 Nice! I wish my Walmart had had that unit. 7gal would be perfect for making big beers in a 5 gal batch. You would be able to put around 19 pounds of grain in there if you're careful stirring. It would get you close to 1.100 SG at 80% efficiency.
FrankRizzo Posted April 8, 2008 Posted April 8, 2008 Nice! I wish my Walmart had had that unit. 7gal would be perfect for making big beers in a 5 gal batch. You would be able to put around 19 pounds of grain in there if you're careful stirring. It would get you close to 1.100 SG at 80% efficiency. I concur! It's the perfect size for 5gal batches of any beer you might want to brew. That cooler looks to be *made* for mashing You see, I reconnected my pop machine gear, and when I went to bed at 2AM there weren't any more leaks... Woke up at 8am sunday to knocking, saw the kegs floating in the keezer and knew what was up.. So anyways, today the property manager (a real bitch) came over, and saw the birds so we're gonna have to move pretty soon. Better not start another beer yet I suppose. Edit: OMG! What happened with the soda pump Tentacles? Did you have a flood? Nevermind. I see you answered that in the other thread. What a bitch.
Mumbles Posted April 8, 2008 Posted April 8, 2008 Yeah, that seems to be about the best of all worlds in what I was looking for. Big enough to do bigger beers, but small enough not to have significant heat loss. This Maibock I've been making is tasting pretty good. I'd at least like to be able to make it all grain. It corresponds to about 16lbs of grain if I converted the extract to pilsner. The fact that it's easily converted for about $20 is just another bonus. Theres a good chance there will be one headed my way in the near future. I could probably even manage more moderate 10 gallon batches.
tentacles Posted April 9, 2008 Posted April 9, 2008 Sounds like you just need to get your paws on some kegging gear, mumbles! I can see where a 10 gallon batch of a moderate strength would be useful for a party or something. Of course, if you have the kettle to boil a batch that big. Went by the LHBS today, tasted the pilsner he just finished, it was great. Lots of good noble hop flavor. I managed to score a pack of the VSS Hella-Bock yeast. It sounded perfect for that red lager I'm going to be making after all, and a great candidate of yeast to preserve for future use. We're going to be staying in the current apartment for a couple months, at least until we can find a place that would be an upgrade. EDIT: I've been reading up on mashing, seems my protein rest at 129-130 on the IPA may not have been such a mistake after all... "Calculate your strike water to aim for a protein rest between 129 - 133 *F at a mash consistency of about 1.2 qts/lb. This will put emphasis on the protein degrading enzymes that produce the medium chained proteins which are good for head retention and mouth feel. The well-modified modern malts already have enough short proteins (amino acids) and a rest closer to 122 *F is not necessary."
Mumbles Posted April 10, 2008 Posted April 10, 2008 The problem with the kegging gear is that my roomates are kind of pieces of shit, and would just drink all my beer. They also try to claim they don't drink my purchased stuff even though it's missing from the fridge and sitting on the coffee table empty. Space is also limited. Kegs are also not quite as portable, though I had thought about getting a cheap-o cooler and filling it with ice to keep the keg cold. On a somewhat related note, I am going to try to talk my cousin into growing hops for me. I know he has experience with.... ehem, a related plant. On an even less related note, I've decided I need to bitch about beer more often. Everytime I do, it seems that the beer I wanted that I could never find magically shows up. It just happened with some Dogfish Head 120min IPA. So, here's bitching for some Three Floyds beer.
TheSidewinder Posted April 10, 2008 Posted April 10, 2008 Ya know, besides making me thirsty, all this talk got me to thinking, too (run while you have the chance).... Why don't all of you pool a buck or so each, buy a domain name for $6 at Moniker, and open a home-brew website? As it happens, I have just the place to park it for a year or two, and cheap too. (i.e free.) You'd be the hit of the Net. RS
tentacles Posted April 13, 2008 Posted April 13, 2008 Well I racked the IPA off into my new keg. I should have taken pictures of it, the keg really is beautiful... At any rate. The beer is a tad darker than I wanted, but with the higher strength... etc. It ended up at 1.017, or 7.9% ABV. It is very hoppy, a bit rough while it's so green, but still tasty. There's an alcoholic edge but it's not pronounced even with such a high ABV. I can't wait to try it carbonated, and in a few weeks or a month or two. This is definitely not a session beer for the faint of heart! Sidewinder: Nice sentiment, but there are some really great homebrew websites out there already.
TheSidewinder Posted April 13, 2008 Posted April 13, 2008 Oh, I know. I was just thinking if you all wanted a place of your own to put recipes, notes, gather and chew the fat, etc. You can have a free phpBB install on the space too, if you wanted. I just have way more web space than I can possibly use (600 GB), and it's paid through for 2 years.
Mumbles Posted April 24, 2008 Posted April 24, 2008 So, all this lab work is significantly getting in the way of my beer brewing. All my good brewing and bottling days are currently being taken up by porphyrin, chloroform, and a cute Chinese graduate student. (Note that I am not complaining about all). I think I will finally get my mai(juni)bock bottled saturday. In other news, I got 8oz of centenial hops, so I am thinking an IPA is in order. I was thinking about a bell's clone. I was also thinking about one of these for around 4th of July. Looks pretty tasty, and might even be light enough for my mom to drink. I tried to give her a few samples of IPAs, and a maibock last weekend, and she was having none of it. Though was the least not receptive to the maibock, so that might be a sign. She said it tasted very "beery", though didn't say it was bad. She actually cringed from one of the IPA's (dogfish head). How she drinkings unsweetened iced tea, but not IPA's I have no idea. http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=42841 Pretty cheap and easy recipe. Should be be a nice test for my theoretical new mashtun.
tentacles Posted April 24, 2008 Posted April 24, 2008 An update on the IPA - it's very tasty now! But damn, that 7.9% has a real kick. Planning on doing up the red lager this weekend. I should probably smack the yeast tommorow, I guess.
psyco_1322 Posted April 27, 2008 Posted April 27, 2008 If you put boric acid in ethanol would it be safe to drink?
TheSidewinder Posted April 27, 2008 Posted April 27, 2008 Why in the world do you want to know that? I don't remember off the top of my head whether, or to what degree, it's toxic, but I wouldn't drink any. I *DO* remember, as a very young child, that a small tin of Boric Acid crystals was kept in Mom and Dad's "Medicine Cabinet", though I've long-ago forgotten why. It was once used as a passable disinfectant, so perhaps that's why they had it. ISTR that it was also used as a pesticide for certain insects, but that may be way off.
asilentbob Posted April 27, 2008 Posted April 27, 2008 Yes, i vaugely remember it to be used with feet medicinally... And of course cockroach killer. You gotta remember that with boric acid and ethanol... you would also be dealing with ethyl borates... and anything formed from side reactions with any of those things in your body... I'm going to go out on a limb and say its toxic. Though lighting a shot of ethanol/boric acid on fire amazing some people, then blowing it out and downing it would be pretty cool... IF the toxicity isn't an issue... but i wouldn't risk it anyways... I think you would be limited to very small amounts of sodium and calcium salts that are pure and non-toxic for coloring...
tentacles Posted April 28, 2008 Posted April 28, 2008 I made that red lager today. Or maybe it's more of a bock? 5lbs 2 row2lbs munich I2lbs munich II8oz Crystal 120L3oz Chocolate ... etc. Came out 1.059, right about 5.5 gallons. 85% efficiency, not bad! It's at 58F in the lagering box now, and bubbling away about 6 hours after pitching. No idea if it started earlier, as I was not home. Tommorow I'll turn the temp down another 5F or so. edit: Oh, I bumped up the hops too. 1.00 oz Cascade [7.80%] (60 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 27.0 IBU 0.15 oz Tettnang [4.20%] (60 min) Hops 2.0 IBU 0.50 oz Hallertauer [4.80%] (15 min) Hops 3.7 IBU 0.25 oz Tettnang [4.20%] (10 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops - Should be a bit over 30 IBU, if my hops are actually still at their rated AAU %. Probably will end up around 30 IBU, which is right where I wanted it. Right in the balanced/ever so slightly hoppy region.
psyco_1322 Posted April 28, 2008 Posted April 28, 2008 Yep, thats exactly what I wanted to do.......Green flaming shots! Its used in eye washes, like saline solution. I got mine from the pharmacy section so it should be USP grade, even though it doesnt say it on the bottle. Oddly it has a green label I think a bit of sodium chloride or calium carbonate may do the trick for yellow/orange. So do all the working colring agents form a ethyl something? That is if you are using ethyl.
Mumbles Posted April 28, 2008 Posted April 28, 2008 Boric acid is the only "normal" coloring agent that forms a complex. Most of the others are mono-ions (Sr+, Ca+, Ba+, Cu+, etc), or excited atomic species (Na). The alcohol provides the energy for excitement, without contributing too much to the flame. As an aside, perhaps you should first see if normal vodka concentrations (80 proof) can support proper flame color and burning duration. Shots of overproof rum or everclear, burning or not, are not very pleasant and will probably end in projectile vomiting. I would personally advise against it. However I looked up the msds of the material, and it is listed as toxic. However the LD50 would require EXTREME amounts of it. You'd be dead of alcohol poisoning, passed out, or throwing up before you even got to 1% of a lethal dose. That is not to say that it doesn't have adverse reactions. Though I am sure that the water is your stomach and system would convert any ethyl borate into ethanol and boric acid, which are both somewhat benign, at least if you're already drinking alcohol. [EDIT] Scratch the above statements. It seems that boric acid is actually significantly more toxic than ethyl borate. Lethal doses listed as low as 5g. There are also potential reproductive effects.
tentacles Posted April 28, 2008 Posted April 28, 2008 Keep in mind that calcium chloride tastes horrible. A 1/2g or 1g dissolved in a shot will probably make you blow chunks, too. And is there any novelty in a flaming shot with an ordinary yellow flame?
FrankRizzo Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Flaming shots also usually have the effect of tasting absolutely horrible enough without extra crap dissolved. Trust us psyco, once you get to drinking age, the novelty of that type of stuff dies pretty quickly. On another note, I tasted a US-legal absinthe the other night which was very tasty. The stuff is called "Lucid". Here's a set of reviews:http://www.feeverte.net/guide/country/fran...uperieure/#more
tentacles Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 My friend has a bottle of absinthe he brought back from the UK when he was there a year or two ago. I'm not sure if he ever opened it, or if it was empty. What sort of flavor does it have?
FrankRizzo Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 The best way to describe it is an alcoholic black jelly bean flavor with hints of fennel and pepper. It's amazingly tasty. If you don't like anise, you'll hate it though.
Mumbles Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 I've been meaning to pick up some of it, but it is sooooo expensive. Perhaps for an end of the school year type of thing. Along with some dog fish head 120 minute IPA, and probably some belgian goodies. Glad to hear you find it delicious. Everyone I live with would probably hate it, and for the price, that is probably for the best. As an aside, during parties we used to give out mystery shots. When ever someone was being an ass, or trying to hit on our girlfriends, etc. I had a special shot for them. It wasn't anything terrible, but it was bad enough most people got the drift. I kept about 1/2 liter of anisette in a glass mason jar. Now, I love black licorice, so it was fine with me. I found a liquer making site a while ago that was pretty good. Basically just a mix of vodka, sugar, and anise extract. I wouldn't let them smell it first, and the reactions were priceless. Flaming shots, and other sorts of novelty drinks wore off well before I turned 21. I did the first one in about 4 years last weekend. Basically, I only did it to try to burn off some of the alcohol(bacardi 151). I did it a little too well, and heated the glass up pretty hot and burnt my lips. I also was very close to having a heart to heart with the bushes out front.
psyco_1322 Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 lol. Yah its my idea. Im not going to drink that falming green shit! I think it would be more for the pleasure of others. I did try torching some 80 proof the other day and it didnt burn to well. But then I have torch some others that burned better. Why do they mix alcohol by volume anyway?
FrankRizzo Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Yeah, you'll find that anything below 100 proof will not ignite reliably without some heating. Read up on the proof scale.
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