Homebrew thread

[elpollodiablo]

Get an axe

[Nick Ink]

A post fit to start any page.

[elpollodiablo]

Man jim have you had many blow-offs during fermentation? My last three have all shot beer out the ferm locks! Obviously I'm doing something right in terms of the starters/aeration. The one from yesterday started in under five hours.

[YojimboMonkey]

I use 6 or 6.5 gallon carboys for primary so that usually isn't a problem these days, though it's happened in the past.  Think about using a blow-off hose rather than an airlock for primary--feed a piece of hose into the carboy cork and run the other end of the hose into a bucket of water. Of couse if rowdy kids and/or inquisitive cats are an issue this might not be an option

[elpollodiablo]

I have no fucking clue what is going on with this beer. It's still krausening out the airlock after five days in primary. I have to take the lock off, dump out the beer & trub and wash the thing out every six hours or so, or I get beer all over the lid. It's only a 1.060 beer! Can I assume it's going to over-attenuate?

[YojimboMonkey]

That does seem like kind of a long time for such an active fermentation but just chill and see what happens man.  There's only so much sugar in the beer that can be fermented right?  And also, consider my comment about larger carboys for primary or using a blow-off tube for future batches.

Whatever happens, you know that when all is said and done you are going to have 5 gallons worth of beer there.  This is the happy thought that has kept me going through many a brewing challenge.  I've only ever had to dump one batch, and now I kind of wish I hadn't (it was sour, and at the time I was not into sour beers but I wish I'd been able to taste it with the knowledge I have now, might have come to a better understanding of what happened to cause the sourness and might have even liked it ) 

So, will it overattenuate?  Maybe.  Dunno.  If it does, that 5 gallons of beer will just be a little lighter-bodied and higher in alcohol.  Is that really so bad?

[elpollodiablo]

Sage words, man. Absolutely wouldn't throw it out unless some nasty beastie made its way in there during one of the dozen cleanouts of the lock I've had to do. This was meant to be a pretty chewy beer, but with a few pounds of wheat & rye in there, a little lightening of the body/upping of the ABV isn't going to hurt anything.

You're gonna get to taste it, regardless.

[coldforge]

I am currently manning a custom built B3 brewing sculpture

[elpollodiablo]

Nice! Whatcha mean by manning, though?

[coldforge]

Turning a burner on and off when I'm told to.

[elpollodiablo]

Sounds about right. Those rigs are awesome. This is the one I want: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9YaEY5K3fU

I went to the homebrew store today and got the makings for a saison, plus a 2000ml Erlenmeyer flask for making yeast starters.


Also, what're you guys brewing?

[coldforge]

Altbier.

[elpollodiablo]

jim: I was going to brew today, but plans changed and we're going out. This starter I made on Sunday afternoon: I can just stash it in the fridge, take it out tomorrow before I mash, shake it well and pitch it in, right? That seems to be the general consensus on Homebrew Talk.

[YojimboMonkey]

some methods recommend refrigerating it overnight so that the yeast settles ("flocculates") & then pouring off the liquid & just pitching the slurry.  So yeah probably will be just fine.

[Greg Nog]

Had to pick up a big carboy brush the other day from the homebrew store, and got a vague "well, I might as well, I mean I'll be right there" feeling about picking up some ingredients at the same time.  So I flipped through the Joy of Homebrewing, saw an interesting recipe for a spruce beer, and thought I'd give it a go.

Alas!  No spruce essence at the store.  The idea still intrigues me, though.  You guys ever brewed with spruce?

[elpollodiablo]

No, that's wild. The only thing I've ever had that I'd imagine would be even close to that might be the Juniper Pale from Rogue?

Are you still going to Brooklyn Kitchen for brewing supplies? Having visited a bunch of different homebrew shops now, the selection there seems kinda small. Do you know of any other NYC homebrew shops?

[Greg Nog]

That is indeed where I usually go.  There's also East Coast Hydroponics and Homebrew in Queens (where I used to go before everyone started carrying brewing supplies in publically-accessible areas) and the Whole Foods on the Bowery, which also has a smallish selection, but you can buy grain a la carte by weight, rather than having to get a bag of X pounds.  I feel like Park Slope recently got a couple places, too.

The only thing I've ever had that I'd imagine would be even close to that might be the Juniper Pale from Rogue?

I've used juniper berries once before in a hopped cider, but I think not enough of 'em, as the taste got lost among the hop flavors.

[YojimboMonkey]

The only familiarity I have is having seen that same recipe in that same book I believe.  What in hell would that taste like


well hell I have a big old white spruce in my front yard, could find out I guess

[YojimboMonkey]

yeah I think maybe I'll brew up a small golden ale, with a single hop addition at the beginning of the boil & use spruce branch tips, needles, & buds in place of flavor and aroma hops.  Why not?

[elpollodiablo]

There are actually two spruce recipes in Complete Joy! Crazy. One's a lager.

This recipe is all-extract, I see. Have you tried mashing, Greg?

[Greg Nog]

NOPE

I was actually thinking about doing that as my next big project, but decided to wait a little while longer, as I already have several largeish projects taking up a fair amount of space in my living room.  So still doing extract-based brews for now, which means that the next batch will be based on my request to the Lady: "Think of what I should brew next!  I encourage you to be imaginative-bordering-on-unwise!"

[elpollodiablo]

I think you'd dig it! It's fun, and definitely easy once you know what you're doing. You could even do a little counter top mash with a small (2~3gal) cooler and a nylon mesh bag. Simple as anything. There's also this method: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-partial-mash-brewing-pics-75231/
which I posted upthread and seems like a good compromise for stovetop brewing.

Today I am brewing a fairly traditional saison, clocking in at about 5%. Mostly Pilsner and Munich malt, with no adjuncts. I was considering throwing in some acidulated malt for tartness, but since this is my first outing with the style I think I might just keep it simple.

[Greg Nog]

Oh wait, I guess I have done partial-mash brewing; I used roughly that technique using a small amount of grains in my last batch, the stuff I made with my dad's hops. 

Which! is still fermenting.  Whenever shall it be finished?  WHO KNOWS

[coldforge]

When you say you haven't mashed yet, do you mean you haven't brewed with grain?

[Greg Nog]

I have brewed with grain, it turns out!  However, I haven't yet done a batch that's all-grain, rather than mostly extract from a can or powder.