Alcohol

[tentacles]

I wanted to post an update on the hop plant (no longer plural :/ ) The magnum plant has gone to mulch, but the Cascade is doing, well, pretty good:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/viewPhoto?u...809646402682706

 

Mumbles: I stripped the garden hose off that copper coil today, gave it a bath in some mild (or possibly not so mild) HClO solution, ran some oxygenated HCl through to etch the inside clean, rinsed and then coiled tighter, put in my pressure cooker for ~45 minutes. Should be pretty sterile now.

[Mumbles]

Ok, I have 2 questions.

 

Firstly, what is the proper way to sanitize a counter flow chiller? It doesn't seem like I can add it to the boiling pot like a normal wort chiller. I'm worried that the one step I use will corrode the inside of it. It looks like it might have corroded my brass fittings on my makeshift lauter tun.

 

Secondly, how long do crushed grains keep? For the Oktoberfest, I am going to be using some crystal 40L. I have just enough left over from my dunkelweizen to brew it(about 8 months old). I took a bit out of the bag today. It smelled fine, not stale or cheesey or anything. I tasted it and it tasted fine too, but it was really hard, like it was completely dehydraded. Normally my crushed stuff is sort of pliable at least. They have a grain club here, and I am pre-purchased for 50lbs of grain so one extra pound wont kill the bank, but it'd be nice to know whether I can use it, or toss it.

[FrankRizzo]

Most guys that use counterflow chillers also have pump systems. The most common way to sanitize them is to pump boiling water through them for a few minutes. Some guys also plug the ends with rubber caps and fill the inside with iodophor between brews. I've always got a slimy film on my equipment if I leave it sitting in iodophor solution for longer than a few days, so I dunno. I've never been able to figure out how to get them fully clean enough and adequately sanitized with gravity feed and gave up on mine.

 

As long as you kept it cool and dry and it doesn't taste noticeably stale, I'd say it's fine to brew with.

[tentacles]

Mumbles, you could just 'convert' it to an immersion chiller by removing the fittings on the ends (a compression fitting holds them on) and bending the ends up to the top, connect some hose and you're good to go.

[Mumbles]

Ok, so I brewed up my oktoberfest ale tonight. Fermented with Safale 04. I followed a recipe I found that people seemed to like. The wort tastes a tad bitter so I am worried I extracted a bit of tannins. Possibly just the hops that are floating around. I guess the only time that it really matters is when it's done fermenting. My eficiency was a tad low, and I think it's because I used my mom's water instead of the water at the house that I normally use. When I added the pH buffer, it seemed to precipitate a lot of the calcium. Oh well, only 5 points below what I was expecting. Probably should have left it before trying to top it off to 5.5 gallons

 

In other news I tried the munich helles. I think it tastes pretty damn good. It still needs to clear and carbonate better, and there is a bit of a green beer taste to it. By October, it should be mighty tasty. My mom, ever the beer critic, still thinks it's "too beery". I'll make her try it again when it's had time to rest and improve, but I'm about ready to just give up and brew some adjunct laden piss water to make her satisfied, and have something for the family to drink.

[asilentbob]

I started about 5 gallons of a sugar mash a few days ago using a very fast yeast, supposed to reach 20+ % in 5 ish days... However somehow I lost track of how much sugar I added... so I either added 7kg or the max of 8kg... Its about finished now, however I wont have time to mess with it until I get back from PGI... so yeah... dunno...

[Mumbles]

Ok, so I am looking into brewing a pilsner to compliment my German beer Oktober event. Anyone who has seen the price of hops and low AA% yields this year will agree that czech pilsners may be a bit hard to make as they will require probably close to $20 in hops if using all saaz. Do you think I could use something strong and noble like Northern Brewer, or magnum for the bittering hops and the saaz for the later aroma and flavor additions? I've seen a few recipes that do this, but I just wanted another opinion if it would throw off the flavor too much. From what I've read, most of the aroma and flavor should be gone after an hour or so boiling.

[tentacles]

I don't think you'd notice any difference by doing so. I'd suggest a noble-derivated high AA hop, though. Something like Cascade might throw it off.

 

On a hops related note, I think they are starting to, or about to bloom - they've been branching for a couple weeks now:

 

[crazyboy25]

We have a giant plum tree with more plums then we can eat and they aren't as good as the other one which already fruited. My dad had been putting the plums in a small trash can and I noticed a strong alcohol smell along with some bubbling.

 

We decided to do it right and looked up a recipe for plum wine. It's sitting in the garage now. It needs time and I will be leaving for Nicaragua soon so I might not be able to finish it but I'll post on progress.

[Mumbles]

Yes, that is why I specifically mentioned Northern Brewer and Magnum. Both relatively high AA, around 8% and 12% respectively, and containg a fairly noble arroma. I'm obviously not going to be using Centennial or Simcoe or something not at all suited for german beers. Althought I think I may try a bit of honey malt in the pilsner. People have reported very good recipes with them to mimick the sweetness sometimes associated with the czech variety. I'll be sticking to the Oktoberfest, Maibock(assuming it is left), and Hefeweizen anyway. Whatever the females and others who preference little flavor drink is fine with me.

 

I also found a funny quote today during work from my home town-ish brewery.

 

"People who drink light 'beer' don't like the taste of beer; they just like to pee alot."

[Frozentech]

"People who drink light 'beer' don't like the taste of beer; they just like to pee alot."

 

Hehe... thats been posted at a local micro brewery up here in AK for years now. The whole front of the bar has cards, jokes, comics, etc, about beer. I think it was credited to a brewery in WI though... was that Capitol Brewery ?

[flamingape]

Mackeson's XXX

 

the best dark beer I've ever had. it's so dark it turns your spit brown.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackeson's

[tentacles]

Update on the hops.... They *are* blooming. Seems flowering starts when the day length gets down to about 15 hours. Should be harvest time when the day gets to like ~14 hours, from some posts I read on HBT.

 

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/data/1/thumbs/DCP_2634.JPG

Edited August 3, 2008 by tentacles

[Mumbles]

I was hoping to get a bit of advice on a kegging system. I've been looking around and it seems like there are three main ways you can have multiple kegs. I've see ones with a separate regulator for each keg. I've also seen them with one or two regulators and a Y type of fitting. Then I've seen a few with a manifold of some sort. Which of the three is best?

 

I know the multiple gauges will allow for different pressures on different kegs. How often is this needed though? Is it fairly common to have each beer requiring a separate pressure?

 

I was kind of leaning toward a 2 regulator system. That way I could be carbonating a beer while I am serving another. If separate pressures are not common, this would allow a manifold to easily increase the capacity of the system.

 

Another related question I had. Is it necessary to keep the keg under active pressure while carbonating. What I mean is do I have to keep the gas hooked up at all times, or could I just put it under pressure and set it aside for a week or however long to carbonate, perhaps top off the pressure after a few days.

 

Anything else I might be overlooking that should be brought to my attention? Anything to look for?

[Mumbles]

So I am looking to brew my pilsner tomorrow, and my kolsch the following weekend. Here is what I was leaning toward for the pilsner.

 

9lbs Pilsner

.5lb Carapils

.25lbs Honey Malt

.5oz Magnum @ 60 min

1oz saaz @ 15 min

1oz saaz @ 5min or 1 min

 

Mash at 149-151 for 60 min.

1 tsp irish moss at 15 min

Boil for 90 min.

Ferment with a malt accentuating ale/lager yeast. California Lager has done me well in the past. Perhaps something like nottinhams, as it seems to ferment a bit faster.

[tentacles]

I like the pilsner recipe, sounds like a winner. I've been drinking a local craft brew IPA lately.

 

On the kegging, I wouldn't get a second regulator for carbonating. Just let the beer carbonate at serving pressure for ~8-9 days and it will be fine. You really shouldn't be drinking it too soon anyways, they get *so* much better after a few weeks/month. As to different pressures, it all depends on your tastes. Some folks like to have, say, a stout on tap, which most prefer at a lower carbonation level, so if you're like that, you'd want a seperate regulator. Me, I like my beers a little on the fizzy side (and prefer beers that are typically more carbonated, like Belgians) so one regulator suits me fine. I'd say, start with one, get fancy later.

 

As to manifold vs tee, it's all about the benjamins. Manifolds are nice, but are they worth the cash to you? You don't really *need* cutoff valves for each tap, since you can just unplug the connector and it has a cutoff built in. It is recommended to get at least one check valve, you will try carbonating at high pressure at least once, disconnect for a while, reset the regulator and plug it back in. There's no need to get beer in the regulator when this happens, and the check valve will ensure that.. The beer won't hurt the regulator, but you will want to clean it out.

 

Get a good, big, USA made gauge for the regulator, I really hate trying to guess what mine means when it indicates 10 PSI. If you can find one, 0-30 PSI in say 3".

 

The one place not to skimp on a kegging system is the taps. Buy the ventmatics from Austin homebrew. These cheapshit taps are pissing me off with their leaking, and sticking. edit: the ventmatics are temporarily not available, but the Perlicks are, and similarly priced (check ebay).

Edited August 8, 2008 by tentacles

[Mumbles]

I am getting ready to move in a few days here. One of the downsides of going to college and having douche bag roomates. I was packing my car up tonight to take another load home tomorrow, and I have waaaaaaaaaay more beer stuff than I realized. The entire back of my truck is filled with beer bottles. All my fermenting and mashing stuff is already home, just the bottling stuff. An entire trunk of full and empty beer bottles. I almost hope I get pulled over just to see the look on the cops' face.

 

There is also a dehumidifier that the landlord forgot was here. I am just helping him forget. He said take as much crap from the basement as I wanted, so drying box it is. No idea if it works, but you can't beat the price.

[Mumbles]

So the pilsner is boiling away. If the finished beer tastes anything like the wort, I am going to be in some trouble. This beer will be gone in a matter of hours. That honey malt really adds a nice touch. Time will tell what it contributes.

 

I ended up having to up the hops a bit. I wish I could have gotten more flavoring hops, but the LHBS didn't have much in the way of saaz last time I was there. It should turn out something like a toned down czech pilsner.

 

9lbs Pilsner

.5lb Carapils

.25lbs Honey Malt

.5oz Magnum(13.1% AA) @ 60 min

.5oz Northern Brewer* (5.7% AA) @ 60 min

1oz US saaz (2.9% AA) @ 15 min

1oz saaz(2.3% AA) @ 5min

 

Mashed at 150F for 75 min**

Mashed out and rested at 170F for 20 minutes.

Boil for 90 minutes

1 tsp irish moss at 15 min

 

Fermented with calfornia lager yeast

 

 

* - The AA is an approximation. They're older hops and a calculator was used to estimate the AA. Still smell just fine though, were kept tightly bagged in the freezer. I also have other plans for the other .5oz of magnum.

 

** - Was planning on 60 minutes, but I took a nap and it was hard to get up and going again.

[tentacles]

Mumbles: Sounds like a good recipe.. What fermentation schedule will you be going with, and did you measure the gravity? From the recipe, it sounds a bit on the session beer side to me, but I might try something like this soon. I WILL be brewing again soon! Need to make like 4 batches of beer and a batch of wine.

 

I sent the chiller by the way, it should be there soon. Mailed it off thursday afternoon.

[Mumbles]

I am waiting for it to cool right now before pitching the yeast and measuring the gravity. I am hoping for around 1.055 to 1.060. I tried out a new lautering technique and used buffer in my sparge water, so I am hoping for a little higher efficiency.

 

As far as fermentation, I am putting it in a backroom at my mom's house that averages around 62F. It's right next to the AC unit, and the room gets freezing, even in the summer. Lucky me. I will let it ferment for probably about 2 weeks, and transfer to the secondary for another two weeks to fully clear.

 

Edit: So I just realized that I forgot to change the hops from whole leaf to pellets when doing my calculations. This beer might be leaning toward the higher end of hoppy.

[Frozentech]

Edit: So I just realized that I forgot to change the hops from whole leaf to pellets when doing my calculations. This beer might be leaning toward the higher end of hoppy.

 

It keeps random weenies from drinking up your homebrew.

[Mumbles]

That is a very good point. It didn't taste too hoppy when I took a little sample, so maybe it will turn out.

 

I started out at 1.053 OG by the way. This was after adding in a rather large amount of ice in an effort to get it cooled down. From what I've read it's important to get the wort cooled down below 140 as quickly as possible when using pilsner malt to avoid any DMS. I don't know how valid or founded that requirement is, but I figured what the heck.

 

That recipe has an incredible amount of protein. When I was pouring the cooled wort into the fermenter, it looked as if I was transfering to a secondary with the amount of trub at the bottom. It was probably less than it seemed because it was suspended in some liquid, but it was very clearly visible during the boil.

[Mumbles]

I gave TheSidewinder and lostfido each a maibock and a munich helles. We'll see how they like them, and if lostfido can keep the maibock away from the wife. The munich helles is getting close to being fully carbonated, it's cleared nicely and has a very good taste. Reminds me somewhat of the "full strength" american lagers, like MGD, but definately less watery.

 

In other news, I'll be bottling the Oktoberfest later this week. Had a little taste a few days ago and it is going to be good. I'm brewing the kolsch soon too.

[Mumbles]

Dammit. Oktoberfest got a mold infection. I think the Pilsner got the same one. I am going to let the pilsner sit a while longer just in case, but it tasted terrible and was real cloudy. The oktoberfest smelled really solventy and harsh.

 

There is a very good chance this is the end of my brewing at my mom's house. I've never had this happen before, and I've been sanitizing like crazy. I think she has something bad growing in the basement. Two separate batches at two separate points in time getting the same thing is not acceptable.

[TheSidewinder]

One bad batch and possibly another.... that REALLY sucks. All that work literally down the drain.

 

I agree with your theory about the environment in Mom's basement. Time to find a new brewhaus.