Recent content by eyebrau

+1 on both of the above. For my BJCP classes when I was studying to get certified, we used Bud Light as the base beer. Not just because it was a common lager, but specifically a lager with very little flavor of its own. Side by side, even crappy macro lagers have their own flavors, and corn is a...

I have 2 but rarely use them... haven't had a problem with foaming or going flat too quick. It's an esthetic thing I think. I've been conditioned to view nucleation sites as a dirty glass, so it throws me.

As a judge, I'd tell you to enter it into whatever it looks, tastes, and smells like. Judges don't see the ingredients list or any of the numbers (except for SRM which can identified visually, obviously), and if it looks, smells, and tastes like the style you enter it under, you'll do well.

An old friend of mine that I really only keep in contact with over Facebook started homebrewing I think in the winter sometime this past year. Like many others, he wants to open his own brewery now. Which is fine. His setup is still simple (like I said, he's new), and he bottles. He, to date...

Alright, that makes sense. I'll stir up the lees today then. Thanks again for your help!

It definitely tastes young, and it certainly needs some more time, I was just concerned that there may be diminishing returns, or even straight up negatives, in keeping it in primary. If two more weeks isn't going to end the world, I'm probably just going to wait it out and rack then. Thanks for...

Bernardsmith - quick question, asking you not just because of all your previous help, but your specific noting of doing lower ABV meads. I'm not sure how long is ok to leave a hydromel like this on the lees. This has been in primary for 14 days today. I pulled a sample and got a hydrometer...

I made a lower gravity mead with Nottingham recently, going to move it to secondary this weekend. Can't speak for how it tastes yet though. Chewed through it really fast - yeast was harvested from a low ABV beer I made (no dry hops or anything), let it refrigerate for a day, decanted the liquid...

I'm doing a small experiment. I made 3 gallons of a relatively low ABV mead (around 7% if memory serves) that I fermented dry. I plan on splitting it into three different 1 gallon batches, and I'm infusing each one with a different tea (or "tea" as the case may be), in an effort to find the...

I've had bacon infused vodka before. Similar process to what AntonioMartins said above, minus the mixer. Soak the bacon in the vodka the same way you would soak vanilla beans or anything else to make a flavor extract. After it's done soaking, remove the bacon, put it in the freezer for a while...

Transferring a 1gal batch of cider to secondary, and transferring a 3gal batch of mead to 3 different 1gal fermenters, each with a different flavor addition (Earl Gray, chamomile, and spruce).

Agreed you could enter it in either. If the competition does not put smoke and wood aged together, you'll probably get less competition in smoked beers. But I personally think it would fair better in specialty wood aged. Personal opinion, of course, which isn't worth much.

Me too... see you there! (Sorry for the hijack)

+1 on joining a club, you'll be able to get good feedback there. And also +1 on other competitions instead of the NHC. I'm a BJCP judge, and I'll tell you, the forms for the NHC are NOT designed for giving feedback. It's mostly just checking boxes. The standard form, which is used for most other...

Very solid score. I'm a BJCP judge, and the number of 40+ scores given is slim - I could probably count on my hands the number I've given (and I tend to be a fairly generous judge). Be proud of that 40, nice job!