Recent content by DrVertebrae

Over grinding.

To be honest, I have found that it is difficult to ruin a beer made at home outside of too high of a fermentation temperature. The alcohol is produced so fast that the beer is difficult to contaminate not to mention that pathogens like 98,6, not 66. That being said, be sure to clean up really...

Sculpin is a great one. I've been picking up one of those a week at Albertsons for well over a year now. GREAT IPA! I wonder if their brewmaster is restricted from brewing by contract of the sale?

The plan is to bottle it in quart sized bottles, those dark plastic covered bottles one gets at the brewing storage houses. You're right I need to taste it. If it brewed correctly it should be around 9% and hopefully it has aged well. It is also fairly dark so that should help as well. I...

What beer styles age best for a long period like a year?

Oh I want to drink it for sure. I'd just leave it in the keg to drink but don't have refrigeration at present. At least not big enough for a keg. It fermented completely but never carbed up in the keg. I just sealed it in and never put co2 on it. I let them condition in the keg on occasion...

I have one I brewed on Jan31, 2015. Its been in the keg since then, but it never really carbed up much more than a puff when tested. Its a fairly heavy clone of a local brew called the Velvet Hammer. The basic malt content was: 14lb of lt malt extract, 2lb American Caramel Crystal 60L, 1 lb...

Throw my name in the pot please.

I got that from extract brewing. When using crystal grains/etc, we steep them prior to the boil with the extract. I figured that if I was going to use any grains that I wold need to do the same thing prior to mashing in the highly modified malt grains since from what I have read you don't do a...

I'm gearing up for another all grain and have a question about protein rest. Apparently it is not needed for well modified malt. My question is about the grains like crystal and others which we "steep" at 130 or so prior to mashing. Is that essentially a protein rest for those grains?

So in general, what is the difference between a Wee Heavy English ale and a Barley wine?

That's right, I had forgotten about that. The beer finishes fermenting in record time and goes totally clear really fast. I did a wee heavy with it and it took off so fast that it kept blowing off the overflow hose. the first blow off before I set up the hose, it blew the entire "bubbler"...

I have a hops plant that came up in a container from last year (Total fail last year growing them. I thought it was just too hot.) I put them next to my kids old wooden playset that I had grown some peas on. I trained the new vines up onto the lattice and they have taken off, growing clear to...

I tried some straw bale gardening this year. Planted okra and cantaloup. Both are doing exceedingly good but must be watered daily in the summer heat. I "mulched" over the top with a layer of Moonure (cow manure - a great slow release fertilizer) prior to planting and also kept the bales wet...

I really like the SA-04. The smell is nice. It might be esters or a bit of sulfur, I'm not sure but I find the beers brewed with 04 to be more flavorful. I have also found that if fermented at too high a temp, then the banana smell is present but with longer aging it too, disappears. I use...