Recent content by chronlord

Yea, next time I'm definitely taking your advice and using buckets for secondary. Much easier and less hassle/risk. Would have been nice to experiment with the Strawberries in primary VS. secondary, with all variables being equal ... to really get a sense for the different characteristics...

Added pics of racking from 1 gallon jugs to tertiary: http://imgur.com/a/7pZde The mead has been sitting on fruit in secondary for a month. I tasted some a couple days ago and the fruit character is absolutely mouth watering. For some reason, this mead tastes amazing for being so young. It...

Not a bad idea. If I run into any overflow issues, I'll definitely rack it back into the big buckets I have and maybe give it a small shot of CO2 as a precaution. I'll post pics and an update in a couple weeks. Thanks again.

I figured buckets would have been easier, but I was (overly?) concerned about oxidation and figured the jars would be my best option. And, I didn't have any buckets. ha In hindsight, I realize I could have even used carboys, too. But, I think you're right; buckets might be best/easiest...

Pics: http://imgur.com/a/7pZde Recipe: 24 lbs. Orange Blossom Honey 5 gallons water 15 grams Lalvin 71B - Rehydrated with Go-Ferm at 104F Staggered Nutrient additions per Ken Schramm - Yeast Nutrient and Diammonium Phosphate. OG = 1.125 FG = 1.020 2.5 - 3 lbs. Fruit per gallon in...

I used a big ass muslin bag for all the fruit in my Triple Berry mead. The Prickly Pear puree obviously went right into primary w/out a bag. Racking was a little frustrating on the PP mead. Like you, I wrapped the tip of my racking cane with a muslin bag, with mixed results - took a while and...

Thanks, man. I think the cake pan was just handy. Noticed you did a triple berry mead. I just brewed a 5 gal batch w 21lbs honey, 12 lbs rasp, black and blueberry mix, 96oz black currant juice and 8 lbs of strawberries. Just finished fermenting and smells awesome! Do you add fruit to your...

Here's a quick update on this Prickly Pear Mead - Just had a small sample of it tonight. So I realized that I messed up on my recipe. I added 5 gals of water to the honey ... instead of adding water enough to make 5 gallons. So, I decided to add another 8 MORE lbs +/- of mesquite honey to...

Oldsock: Thanks for the advice. I really enjoy reading your blog. Heck of a resource! ICWeiener: Didn't work at any of the big breweries, but one called Ukiah Brewing Company. Family owned organic gastropub (first in the nation). Live music every night. Great place to work. Owners...

Thanks for the link, I've been checking that guy out for a while now. Just curious if you're anywhere near Ukiah in NorCal? I used to work in a small brewery there.

I just read a few more articles and forum posts about primary vs. secondary. You may be right. Next time I'll pitch into primary. Any experience or opinion on sour mashing? My goal for this batch was to brew something similar to Rodenbach - not necessarily as sour as Rodenbach Grand Cru...

Thanks for the feedback. I just pitched the bugs. Regarding pitching bugs in primary. I've read a few different opinions on the matter, most being that you get a more funky horsey character if you pitch bugs into primary vs secondary alone. I'll try it next time and see what happens. I'm...

Anyone? Maybe I should have put it another way. Will the Roselare and Flemish "bugs" have enough to eat (and complete the souring process) with a 1.012 gravity? Thanks

I brewed up 10 gallons of Flemish Red (Jamil's recipe) and used WLP001 for primary. I split up the batches into two five gallon carboys and will be pitching Wyeast's Roselare Blend in one ..... and White Labs Flemish Red Blend in the other. Per Jamil's instruction, I planned on racking to...

Ok, thanks guys. I'm getting ready to brew up 10 gals of Flanders Red and hit it with WLP001 in primary ... then splitting it between two secondaries with Wyeast's Roselare and White Labs new Flemish Ale blend, respectively. I'm getting excited! :)