Home Brew Forums - Blogs http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/ A home brewing beer and wine making civilized discussion community. Also with beer/wine/mead/cider discussion, beer reviews, pub talk, and general chit-chat. en Tue, 22 May 2012 22:15:29 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.homebrewtalk.com/images/misc/rss.jpg Home Brew Forums - Blogs http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/ Upgrade Weekend! http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/rhamilton/upgrade-weekend-1382/ Mon, 21 May 2012 17:16:25 GMT Finally got around to cleaning up some homebrew projects this weekend -- weather is heating up and the A/C is still having issues so suddenly things have shifted from homebrewing to A/C repairs: 1. Fermentation Chamber: I was in the process of building a 7 carboy fermentation chamber which has... Finally got around to cleaning up some homebrew projects this weekend -- weather is heating up and the A/C is still having issues so suddenly things have shifted from homebrewing to A/C repairs:

1. Fermentation Chamber: I was in the process of building a 7 carboy fermentation chamber which has been in the garage for months over the winter since it wasn't needed at the time. Detached the insulated chamber from the fridge and shelved it for now. Reassembled the fridge, attached the Johnson controller and it'll hold a single lonely carboy. Summer is approaching fast - hopefully this will keep me going until A/C repairs are complete.

2. Oxygenation: I found an old dual-outlet aquarium pump in the garage a few weeks ago. Finally got around to buying the HEPA filter and diffusion stone from AHS and it all hooked up nicely. Oxygenated a kolsch for 30 minutes before pitching an existing yeast cake: trub at the bottom was bubbling at four hours, full fermentation an hour later. Quite a strong start! ]]> rhamilton http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/rhamilton/upgrade-weekend-1382/ The Brewcast - Episode 3 - WEIRD BEER http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/modernlifeisandy/brewcast-episode-3-weird-beer-1381/ Thu, 10 May 2012 11:58:50 GMT our page!]]> The newest episode of The Brewcast is up over on our page! ]]> modernlifeisANDY http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/modernlifeisandy/brewcast-episode-3-weird-beer-1381/ Brewing in 2012 YAY http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/skugler/brewing-2012-yay-1380/ Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:46:01 GMT :rockin:

Well, I'm finally confident that spring has arrived in Washington State, we just had the 3rd great weekend in a row. I finished establishing my outdoor man-cave (ie. Brewing area). I will post photo's later. It's not much to look at, but, it's protected from the weather (under my carport) and it's mine. I've determined what my first two batches of the year will be. First, Honey Apricot Ale for my special lady; and the second will be a German Rye for ME. The Honey Apricot Ale recipe I found here on HomeBrewTalk.com and is one by KozHops. The Reggenbier recipe I found in one of my many homebrew books (not sure which one) but will give credit when I brew it.

I'll be brewing my first brew this weekend (April 28th) and my second brew will be the following week.

:tank:

Steve ]]> SKugler http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/skugler/brewing-2012-yay-1380/ MS Excel Brew Timer http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/grossy/ms-excel-brew-timer-1379/ Sat, 07 Apr 2012 21:26:27 GMT I could not find a brew day timer that functioned in a manner that I wanted, so I wrote my own. This is a Microsoft Excel File. This timer will time anything, hops, immersion chiller, Irish moss, ect. The instruction for use are included with the file. It has an audio and visual alarm. ... I could not find a brew day timer that functioned in a manner that I wanted, so I wrote my own.

This is a Microsoft Excel File.

This timer will time anything, hops, immersion chiller, Irish moss, ect. The instruction for use are included with the file.

It has an audio and visual alarm.

Download the two files below. Both files must be stored in the same directory for the sound to work.

Boil Timer Excel file:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/24zar2

Alarm Clock sound file:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/0z2ipm

Screen shot below:
Name: Boil Screen Shot.jpg Views: 100 Size: 50.4 KB

______________________________________
Northfarthing Brewery
Primary 1: Milk Stout
Primary 2: Northfarthing Pale Ale
Conditioning: Northfarthing Pale Ale
Drinking: Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA (Store Bought)
"That was proper 1420, that was."
- Old Gaffer at the Bywater Inn
 ]]> Grossy http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/grossy/ms-excel-brew-timer-1379/ First All Grain http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/waynep005/first-all-grain-1378/ Tue, 06 Mar 2012 02:55:36 GMT Saturday Night I did my first all grain brew. I used the cooler I just retrofited with a ball vaulve and did a batch sparge. Since this was my first all grain and my first lager. I had made a 2 litre starter on wednesday and put in the fridge friday morning. The brew session went great with no... Saturday Night I did my first all grain brew. I used the cooler I just retrofited with a ball vaulve and did a batch sparge. Since this was my first all grain and my first lager. I had made a 2 litre starter on wednesday and put in the fridge friday morning. The brew session went great with no major problems. I did looses a bit more temp in my mash tun than I would have liked but not to bad. I had hoped to end up with about 5.5 gallons in the fermenter and had 5 gallons so not bad for a first try. the og was supposed to be 1.049 and I came in at 1.045 so I was low but not by much. I pithed the yeast Sat night at about 10:15 when I got up Sunday morning there was allready a nice carausen in the fermenter. Things are goping great so far. ]]> Waynep005 http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/waynep005/first-all-grain-1378/ Percents and Alcohol http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/justibone/percents-alcohol-1377/ Sun, 04 Mar 2012 16:46:39 GMT Sugar's volume relates to the space it takes up, not to how many molecules it has. Sugar's volume in aqueous solution is nearly zero.

The fermentation reaction is this:
C12H22O11 +H2O + invertase →2 C6H12O6
C6H12O6 + Zymase → 2C2H5OH + 2CO2
[Wikipedia]

Which is to say, for every equivalent molecular number of glucose molecules, yeast create two molecules of ethanol and two molecules of CO2. That is only the approximate conversion rate - in reality it's not a perfectly efficient process.

Instead of using %-sugar, we tend to speak in terms of "specific gravity". Remember I said above that sugar has nearly no volume in water? That's because when you add it, the sugar dissolves and the molecules intercalate with the hydronium ions of water. It's like dumping sand in a box of marbles -- the sand fills in the cracks, so the box isn't any more full. The box *is* heavier, however, because although the volume is the same, the mass contained in that volume is not. The "specific gravity" of the box of marbles (now sandy marbles) has changed by adding the sand.

We call the density of water without solutes to be value 1.000

Adding sugar pours sand in the box of marbles, so the more sand, the higher the gravity. A gravity of 1.050, for instance, is a good starting point for beer or cider, whereas a gravity of 1.090 would be better for wine.

As to percentages... I don't use them, so I don't know them. I do know this: 1 lb. of sugar into 1 gallon (~8 lbs.) of water, fermented, makes about 5% alcohol.

lb:gal ~5%ABV. That's all you really need to know.

But you should be using a hydrometer to check your gravity. ]]> Justibone http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/justibone/percents-alcohol-1377/ BBR Podcast Summary: February 23, 2012 - Trub Experiment Results http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/rhamilton/bbr-podcast-summary-february-23-2012-trub-experiment-results-1376/ Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:41:01 GMT great podcast, summary below. Wort stability / integrity testing: basically take your wort, jar it at room temps, and see how long it takes to show...]]> Just a great podcast, summary below.

Wort stability / integrity testing: basically take your wort, jar it at room temps, and see how long it takes to show spontaneous fermentation. If it lasts 2-3 days, it's fairly stable. Make it 4 days and you know you are doing well. Under 2 days and you have too much contamination. Also a great way to troubleshoot suspected infections from equipment.

To Trub Or Not To Trub Results:

19 brewers reporting on 20 beers

Fermentation: 10 reported better fermentation with trub vs 3 without
Visually: 4 liked trub, 3 liked trub-less
Nose: 3 liked trub, 3 liked trub-less
Taste: 6 liked trub, 7 liked trub-less


Conclusion: No conclusive evidence of trub-less beers being better, but trub fermentations are stronger. Host also noted trub beers got clearer more quickly than no-trub brews. ]]> rhamilton http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/rhamilton/bbr-podcast-summary-february-23-2012-trub-experiment-results-1376/ Burton Ale! http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/nordeastbrewer77/burton-ale-1375/ Mon, 27 Feb 2012 18:29:02 GMT ok, this is a style of beer that i can really get excited about, mainly because it involves three of my favorite things in life; history, research and of course, BEER! in this case, a really tasty, historical beer. few things could be cooler, IMO.

i've been really intrigued by the style since reading Martyn Cornell's article in last Jan/Feb's issue of Zymurgy. so, fast forward several months and one of my favorite breweries, Schell's, comes out with a limited release, Stag Series No. 4 Burton Ale. delicious!! i realized then that i needed to brew a beer like this, and when i did, i was going to brew it right.

so, as i normally do when i set myself to a task, i began researching the style on the inter webs. which brought me to one of the best blogs on all things English beer, Shut Up About Barclay Perkins. amazing site, worlds of information for brewers! between that, and Martyn Cornell's Zythophile, i gathered a lot of information... really, too much information, but that's never a bad thing, in my book.

what i gathered is that the Burton's of old were brewed with mainly pale malt, sometimes only pale malt. they were mashed at relatively high temps for a fairly long time, followed by a very long boil in some cases. mainly to help caramelize some of the sugars and create a sweeter end product. hops rates varied, but were generally on the high side. the yeast was generally lower attenuating, again to produce a sweeter beer. the ale was then aged for several months before drinking, being 'dry hopped' for a couple weeks before serving.

i could go into detail about how this style progressed as time went on, but all of that is covered pretty thoroughly in those two blog sites, and i'd just be regurgitating what i read there.

so let's get back to Martyn's recipe in that year old issue of Zymurgy. after a lot of thinking and drinking, i was well off course for KISS and thinking all sorts of things like caramel malt for sweetness and color, brewing sugars for a higher gravity, multiple hops additions for big hops character, etc. had a big, complex recipe idea in my head that would produce a good beer, but something far from what i was hoping to drink. apparently, left to my own devices, i like to make things difficult on myself. not gonna work here, the way these ales were brewed involved simple grain bills, simple procedure and a simple hopping schedule.

so after rereading, and rethinking my idea, i decided to go with something very similar to the recipe in Martyn's article. albeit that i want a slightly bigger beer and a higher FG, i'm definitely planning to KISS with this brew. i'm not set on an exact recipe yet, but my idea is ~97% Optic or Maris Otter malt, 3% pale chocolate. OG in the mid 1.08 range. that's it. mashed at 152-154 for 60 mins, followed by a 90 minute boil. one addition of EKG at 90 minutes to get 150+ IBU (180 as it currently sits in my software). a big pitch of 1318 London Ale III and temps in the mid 60s. followed by an extended aging period, 6+ months before getting a healthy dry hop of EKG for a couple weeks before bottling.

that's about as far as i've gotten with this one as of today. i'm hoping to get a final recipe together soon and brew this in the next couple of weeks. when i get to that point, i'll update my blog and post the recipe. i'm guessing it'll be along the lines of what i posted here in the 'recipes & ingredients' forum. :mug: ]]> NordeastBrewer77 http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/nordeastbrewer77/burton-ale-1375/ Missouri Peach Wheat (extract) http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/vballguy35/missouri-peach-wheat-extract-1374/ Sun, 26 Feb 2012 18:36:26 GMT _Ingredients_ Fermentables: * 6.6 lb Briess CCBW Bavarian Wheat LME Hops * 1 oz Mt.Hood Bittering Hops * .5 oz Mt.Hood Aroma Hops Yeast * 1 Sachet Dry Ale Yeast Total Boil time 60 minutes Ingredients
Fermentables:
* 6.6 lb Briess CCBW Bavarian Wheat LME
Hops
* 1 oz Mt.Hood Bittering Hops
* .5 oz Mt.Hood Aroma Hops
Yeast
* 1 Sachet Dry Ale Yeast

Total Boil time 60 minutes

Second Fermentation add 3 to 4 ounces of Peache extract flavoring. I am thinking about adding 2 lbs of peach puree, tasting it, adding a couple ounces of Peach flavor, tasting again and stoping when it gets to desired taste. ]]> Vballguy35 http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/vballguy35/missouri-peach-wheat-extract-1374/ Warrior IPA 2-24-12 http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/jester5120/warrior-ipa-2-24-12-1373/ Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:08:45 GMT Dry hopped Warrior IPA with 2oz of Falconer's Flight. The hops dropped right to the bottom of the carboy. I've never seen that happen before, usually they float but i'm wondering if the high alcohol content had something to do with it. I plan to dry hop for 2 weeks then transfer half the beer to a keg and oak the other half for a week. ]]> jester5120 http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/jester5120/warrior-ipa-2-24-12-1373/ First! http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/raudhbjorn/first-1372/ Fri, 24 Feb 2012 10:24:21 GMT Been planning a brew day for a couple of weeks now. Come Saturday I'll be the proud owner of 10 gallons of blessed beer; 5 gallons of Porter and 5 gallons of Irish Red.

My fellows and I also desided to make a batch of hobo cider, brewstone style. If you're familiar with the story of the soupstone then yoiu get the idea. If you aren't, where the bloody hell have you been for the last 30 years? Go google it. So I'll also be 1/5th owner of a 5 gallon batch of Hobo Cider (only ingredients are storebought apple juice and brown sugar). Should be just this side of toxic. :drunk:

I'll try to get images up from brew day.

Oh, and FIRST! ]]> Raudhbjorn http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/raudhbjorn/first-1372/ new equipment http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/waynep005/new-equipment-1371/ Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:54:40 GMT Just built my equipment to all grain yesterday. Modified a cooler and will do all grain with batch sparging. My first all grain will be a helles. ope to brew next weekend. My Irish red is now ready to drinl and I will bottle the CA common this weekend. Just built my equipment to all grain yesterday. Modified a cooler and will do all grain with batch sparging. My first all grain will be a helles. ope to brew next weekend. My Irish red is now ready to drinl and I will bottle the CA common this weekend. ]]> Waynep005 http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/waynep005/new-equipment-1371/ Banana chocolate stout brew day http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/skuirrell/banana-chocolate-stout-brew-day-1370/ Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:46:45 GMT A run down on the brew day, just for the logs.

This was an extract brew with steeped grains to keep things simple and quick.

First off, I'm relatively certain I steeped the grains at too high a temperature - I really need to get a more accurate thermometer. Not the end of the world, but it's a mistake.

After that, everything went smoothly. I had to stop one boil over, but that was it.

Dumped all the extract in over a period of time to reduce boil over chances, same with the hops (though there wasn't much to cause a boil over with).

After doing the hour boil and then cooling down with the wort chiller, I got a reading of 1.083 OG (target was 1.088, so I wasn't far off).

Dumped into primary, filtering what particulate I could out. This brew had a lot, A LOT, of particulate in it from the steeped grains and hops.

Pitched first of three yeasts, hefeweizen IV, to get it's flavoring and start the process. Will pitch abbey ale yeast soon to reap the benefits of it's attenuation and then, soon after that, english ale yeast to reap the benefits of it's flocculation.

Doing three yeasts is overboard, but I wanted to experiment with it.

Overall, the fermentation took off right away and has been incredibly active. Looks like it may be a successful brew, I'll let you know how it goes. ]]> skuirrell http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/skuirrell/banana-chocolate-stout-brew-day-1370/ taking stock... http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/unionrdr/taking-stock-1369/ Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:42:07 GMT Well,yesterday was my 1 year anniversary here on HBT. There've been some good discussions,& some out-n-out hair pullers. But overall,it's been fun learning & sharing experiences on here. It seems like I've come pretty far for a noob in one years' time.
Looking back,I've made 9,174 posts,made 11 buddies,posted 4 recipes,got 67 thumbs up,3 thumbs up from Gary at Home Brewer TV for my 2nd brew,& brewing our 12th batch as we speak.
Not bad for an old man! It's felt good helping other folks on here. Getting props once in a while gives me to know that at least I'm doing something right in my life.
And my recipe formulations for all extract can be best described as a zen thing. I do some research,& the back of my mind &/or God do the rest. I just write it down. The best instance of this is my Buckeye Burton ale. Turned out really good,even looks like the old #3 Burton that was said to die out as a style about 1890. That was a winner.
It's been a rewarding year over all,& I'm looking forward to bigger & better things with you folks.
Even going to try partial mash to see where that may lead me. But for now,gotta get to the batch we're brewing currently. One more tweak on her Summer Shandy,& the balance should be great. It was pretty close already from what others have said. Who says Cooper's stuff can't make great beers? It's all in whatelse you combine them with to make them what you want them to be. I look at what color I need to get,& that'll also tell me what flavors that combo will give. Depending on what I'm looking for. Then hops to style/amount. Just goes to show you can do a lot with extracts when you put your mind to it. You're only limited by your imagineering skills. Peace. ]]> unionrdr http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/unionrdr/taking-stock-1369/ Warrior IPA 2/17/12 http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/jester5120/warrior-ipa-2-17-12-1368/ Sat, 18 Feb 2012 03:28:12 GMT Transferred the Warrior IIPA to secondary today. I checked it's gravity about 2 days ago and it was down to 1.009. That puts it at a little over 17%. I put in an order with rebel brewer for some future brews and ordered 2 oz. of falconers flight to dry hop this monster with. ]]> jester5120 http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/jester5120/warrior-ipa-2-17-12-1368/