Alcohol

[Richtee]

The sulfur odor sure beats the time he left a can of sardines open for a week in the living room. I thought he loved an unclean woman for several days until I saw the source.

 

*Chuckle*

[asilentbob]

Started a gallon of hard cider 4 or so days back... when its done fermenting I'll siphon it off... then pour another gallon of cider (minus a bit to account for air space) into the original container and put the airlock back on... Then repeat many times... The fermentations get faster and faster with the higher yeast count. AND the yeast gets slightly more adjusted to the nutrients. AND there is a whole lot of healthy pulp and stuff in the bottom. I used Lalvin EC-1118 I think... I can't remember which yeast i used last time though... so meh.

 

I plan to label the bottles with the "generation" of yeast. IE 1st gen is the original gallon. 2nd gen is next. And so on...

 

Then at some point when I have the big fermenter clear I might pour it into there and add a few gallons of fresh cider for a bigger batch. Dunno.

 

Nothings set in stone.

[Richtee]

Nothings set in stone.

 

Taxes and death? ;{)

[tentacles]

Saturday is a brew day (at least, that's the plan) -

 

RANDOM IPA:

 

11 lbs Maris Otter (Crisp) (4.0 SRM) Grain 81.8 %

2 lbs 3.2 oz Biscuit (Dingemans) (22.5 SRM) Grain 16.4 %

4.0 oz Carafoam (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM) Grain 1.9 %

1.00 oz Chinook [12.00%] (85 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 38.6 IBU

1.00 oz Cascade [7.20%] (30 min) Hops 14.0 IBU

0.50 oz Cascade [7.20%] (10 min) Hops 3.3 IBU

0.50 oz Cascade [7.20%] (5 min) Hops 1.8 IBU

1.00 oz Cascade [7.20%] (10 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops -

2.00 oz Cascade [7.20%] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -

0.50 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 60.0 min) Misc

1 Pkgs Northwest Ale (Wyeast Labs #1332) Yeast-Ale

 

Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 7.1 %

Bitterness: 57.7 IBU

 

I might put in a bit more dextrin malt, and most likely I'll put in as much grains as I can fit in my mash tun. Usually around 14 - 14.5lbs. If it's an IPA, go big or go home!!

 

I picked up some beers at the store today, a couple of English IPAs (in cans?) and some of that Hobgoblin I was raving about. Also grabbed another dunkel weizen. I went to the wrong liquor store, one that has a rather lousy beer selection.

Edited November 28, 2008 by tentacles

[FrankRizzo]

Sounds mighty f'n tasty sir! I can't wait to try it out when you finish.

[tentacles]

I scored a (damn near) brand new mini fridge last night, and the only thing wrong was a bad thermostat.. So I raped it for the compressor etc in the lagering box.. I probably could have used it as is, or made a wooden extension for the door and just used as is... but fuck it, I said. I would have had to flip the evaporator coil (freezer compartment style) upside down, flatten it some, and build a shelf for the brew bucket, and I just wasn't in to that. My lagering box can hold 4 corny kegs no problem, so some day if I ferment in those..

 

Not that I've been using a secondary lately, between my 60 mesh strainer and laziness.

 

Was going to mention, that I have a bag of unknown, probably noble lineage northwesten hop from the neighbors (hereafter known as Neighbor Hops) that I'm going to add an oz or three of for dry hops as well.

 

...and it probably STILL won't be as hoppy as broken halo. Gotta remember to pop the yeast pack tonight. It's very fresh (Nov 17) so it'll only take a few hours to get going.

[FrankRizzo]

The Cay just got a new Widmer Bros. beer in last week called "Brrr". Is a bit more bitter than the Broken Halo, but more grapefruit'y, and sooo damn tasty. I'm working on Rob to order Broken Halo.

[tentacles]

SOB! I gotta get down there soon.. maybe next weekend, or week after? I gotta check the schedule and see which one I'm working. Gotta pick up that air pump and some other random shit too.

 

I brewed today.. It was nearly a fiasco.. ~15lbs of grain in a 5 gallon tun is not a good idea. Somehow I STILL managed to pull off 85+% efficiency. Or perhaps quite a bit more. Sometimes I think the calculator in beersmith must be wrong. Granted, I boiled my wort down to about 5.75 gallons, which is a bit much IMO but it's hard to estimate that kind of thing. I ended up boiling the initial chinook hops for quite a bit longer than I expected, maybe as long as 2 hours.. There was some time there when I was boiling it waiting for sparges, and I had to pick my wife up from work..

 

I hope it's hoppy enough. I made a 1L "hop tea" french press ish style (I used a 4C pyrex cup and a potato masher) with the aroma hop additions.

 

Picture:

 

 

It's more of a barleywine than an IPA! I should have put about 100 IBU worth of bittering hops in there. Oh well, next time! I hope the Northwest Ale yeast is up to this task.

 

OG is right about 1.095

Edited November 30, 2008 by tentacles

[tentacles]

So, then.. While that monster is bubbling away, thoughts turn to springtime, when it'll be drinkable.. And in the meantime, I've gotta consider what to brew next. I'm thinking of doing something quick, and then tying up the fermenter for a while with a fruit beer. I can't decide if I want to buy a couple of the brewferm raspberry kits for $30 each or if I want to make a light wheat ale and add 4-6lbs of fruit (probably pulp) to the secondary. I came across a couple recipes on HBT that sound nice, but the brewferm kit is reputed to taste much like the lindeman's raspberry lambic, which I much like.

 

It's hard to tell, also, if the fruit will end up costing as much as the kit.. Gotta check out what the prices are like, costco had some frozen berry blends that were primarily raspberries recently, for fairly reasonable.

 

Edit: This is actually more for my own future reference than anything else, but here is a place that sells the kit: http://www.annapolishomebrew.com/shopNBKbrewferm.asp

Edited December 4, 2008 by tentacles

[Mumbles]

Well, it appears I will have an extra semester until I graduate, so I can actually let my beers age for a full year. Instead of trying to get fancy and end up with something shitty for a russian imperial stout, I decided a clone would be best. Might as well go with my favorite RIS too, Old Rasputin. In fact, I think I might just have to drink one when I get home tonight. A little too much grain to handle, but a bit of extract won't hurt.

 

9lbs Pale malt

1lb Carastan

1lb Crystal 120L

.5lb Brown Malt

.5lb chocolate malt

.25lb Roasted Barley

4lbs Pale liquid extract

 

2.75oz Cluster for 60

1oz Northern Brewer for 2min

1oz Centenial for 2 min

 

 

I found a few clones that are all pretty similar, but I liked the above one the best. Supposedly comes from the BYO replicator, which supposedly talked directly to North Coast.

 

https://webtrolley.com/~bader/store/product...&bestseller

http://www.beertools.com/html/recipe.php?view=4642

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/old-rasput...e-wanted-31121/

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f37/generic-ol...al-stout-38818/

http://www.beertown.org/pdf/BestBeersAmerica4.pdf

[jadesource]

Having spent a little time a few years enjoying a bit of brewing, it was real nice to run into this thread. It was cool to start out with your 2006 posts and then skip to the end here and see how far you guys have came . i think i will visit the old garage and see how much stuff I have left. Having relatives in north carolina Ive seen a couple real nice stills. they dont have a much on you guys other than mayby sheer size. reading your posts shure gave me a lot of ideas , Damn so many ideas so little time

[FrankRizzo]

Tentacles,

 

How's this for an idea:

 

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f69/bells-two-...hey-come-91488/

[tentacles]

Frank: Done! I'll pick up the ingredients next week maybe. I won't be able to brew it probably until the weekend after that, though. I need to go get some more yeast to pitch in that monster that's going.

 

I just hope my LHBS has centennial, in those kinds of quantities.. I suppose I could substitute cascade or similar?

Edited December 5, 2008 by tentacles

[Mumbles]

I think you guys read my mind. This was the other clone I had in mind. I have the centenial hops and everything.

 

I was looking at this recipe though.

http://www.brew365.com/beer_two_hearted.php

 

A bit different hopping timing, but should do the trick. Ends up at IBU. The higher amount of dry hopping might make up for the lower aroma hops in the boil.

 

 

I was thinking about doing something really excessive for next year. Something along the lines of a stone ruination clone, Pliny the Elder, or Bell's hopslam perhaps. I've had ruination and hopslam, and really want to try pliny the elder. Making it might be the only chance I get at it.

[tentacles]

Mumbles: you *really* need to try the widmer bros IPAs.. They are out of this world.. not in bitterness, which is still pretty high, but the hop flavor and aroma are just outrageous.

 

Have you tried the Sam Adams Imperial Pilsner? It's got crazy hops as well. But those widmer bros brews are like, the new technology or something. It's like having a hop flavor IV drip. You pop the cap, and everyone near you smells hops.

[Mumbles]

Yes, I have actually had the Sam adams imperial pilsner. I have a few left in the fridge actually. Quite good. I actually really enjoyed the Morimoto imperial pilsner from Rogue. The sterling hops really recreate the saaz flavor well. I couldn't tell if it was residual sugars, or the hops themselves, but there was this little extra sweet flavor that I really enjoyed.

 

I'll keep looking for the widmer brothers stuff. I thus far have only seen the hefe though.

[lostfido]

Yes, I have actually had the Sam adams imperial pilsner. I have a few left in the fridge actually. Quite good. I actually really enjoyed the Morimoto imperial pilsner from Rogue. The sterling hops really recreate the saaz flavor well. I couldn't tell if it was residual sugars, or the hops themselves, but there was this little extra sweet flavor that I really enjoyed.

 

I'll keep looking for the widmer brothers stuff. I thus far have only seen the hefe though.

 

Mumbles, my wife told me to let you know about two beer's she bought for the holidays. She thought these may be to your liking, but I can't see through them so their to dark for me.

 

Goose Island Mild Winter and Bell's Christmas brew.

 

Happy Holidays

[tentacles]

Mumbles (and perhaps also everyone else): We recently found Widmer Bros' "Brrr" seasonal ale at the liquor store - you might go check yours out. It's rather like a hoppy EPA or a mild (IBU-wise) IPA. Fantastic hop flavor!!

 

In other news, I checked the gravity of "the big one" on thursday night, and it was at 1.055 (ish), down from 1.096. I had pitched in a packet of Lalvin EC-1118 wine yeast a day or two before, and in the time since pitching the new yeast, a new krausen had formed, which is a damn good sign. I'll check the gravity and activity again soon. I have another packet of yeast I can pitch - maybe I'll proof this time before pitching. Hopefully the wine yeast will get it finished on it's own - shouldn't have much of a problem with 10-12% ABV.

 

Then comes hop tea for big flavor!

Edited December 16, 2008 by tentacles

[Mumbles]

I'll keep a look out for it and the broken halo. There is one place that might have it. I usually shop at Woodman's which has a good selection of imports and some of the more major microbrewers. Lots of local ones, and some of the bigger national microbrewers. I just got Three Floyd's Dreadnaught for instance. I thought I saw an Alpha King, but it turned out to be the seasonal, Alpha Klaus, which just didn't sound as tasty. There's a store in town that has more of the smaller brewers and specialties beers. Lots of cool stuff in there that I want to buy. If anywhere has it it'd be them.

 

In related brewing news, I've been giving some batches of wine and mead some thoughts. A blackberry melomel sounds mighty tasty right now. I still haven't gotten around to bottling my Hefe, and it's probably gone bad sitting on the lees for so long.

[FrankRizzo]

I'll keep a look out for it and the broken halo. There is one place that might have it. I usually shop at Woodman's which has a good selection of imports and some of the more major microbrewers. Lots of local ones, and some of the bigger national microbrewers. I just got Three Floyd's Dreadnaught for instance. I thought I saw an Alpha King, but it turned out to be the seasonal, Alpha Klaus, which just didn't sound as tasty. There's a store in town that has more of the smaller brewers and specialties beers. Lots of cool stuff in there that I want to buy. If anywhere has it it'd be them.

 

In related brewing news, I've been giving some batches of wine and mead some thoughts. A blackberry melomel sounds mighty tasty right now. I still haven't gotten around to bottling my Hefe, and it's probably gone bad sitting on the lees for so long.

 

 

If you're thinking about a mead, just do it now while you've got the motivation and it will be ready to drink in July.

[Mumbles]

That would be the plan for the mead. I've heard some say that some fruit wines take a while to balance out, but we shall see. A little longer won't hurt.

 

Also, I picked up a bottle of Old Crustacean Barley Wine for some end of the semester celebrating. I thought you'd be happy to hear that.

[Mumbles]

So I'm still no closer to brewing anything of any sort, or bottling my hefe.

 

However, I just wanted to report that my munich helles turned out excellently. So excellently, it's now gone. I lagered it for a few months on the porch. By lager I of course mean forgot about it until they started to freeze and explode. Nice golden color with just a touch of orange at the top of the pint glass. It will be brewed again, this time with appropriate bitterness. I forgot to adjust for pellet hops last time, so they ended up a bit high. After lagering the bitterness was masked, but not as malty as desired.

[TheSidewinder]

BTW, Mumbles, I gave that bottle of Munich Helles to my Dad for a Christmas present at the Nursing Home. He belched enthusiastically, which I took as a sign of approval. He also wonders if you need adopting, as that would give him a good source of free beer...

[FrankRizzo]

Just did a partial-mash oatmeal last night with the following recipe:

 

4.30 lb Dark Liquid Extract

2.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter

1.00 lb Oats, Flaked

0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L

0.50 lb Chocolate Malt

0.50 lb Roasted Barley

1oz Fuggles (4% AA) - 60min

 

Wyeast 1084 - Irish Ale

 

 

Grains mini-mashed @ 1.25qt/lb @155 for 1hr. Extraction efficiency was 78%. Final batch volume was 5.8gal @ 1.048.

 

Was planning to boil-down to a higher-gravity 5gal, but maintaining the boil on my deck @ -17F was a PITA.

 

Hydrometer Reading - 1.048

Refractometer - 11.8% Brix

[tentacles]

Sounds delicious! That huge one was still fermenting last week, there was still a tiny krausen and active yeast - I've hearrd the lalvin 1118 is slow on beers but almost always finishes, so... I'll check on it later today I guess. Finally picked up a thief.. well, an automatic siphon, but I can use it as a thief. The sample I tasted (it was at 8.7% ABV, 1.035 or something) was delicious.. All it needed was the yeasty flavor to settle out and some hop flavor/aroma. It's going to be a very ass kicking beer..