Recent content by J-Drew

Well, to close out the thread, here is what I ultimately did. I brewed it anyway, which was good because I was out of time just as I finished brewing. The shorter version: If I had it to do over again I would have backed off the crystal malt by half and brewed away. The longer version: The...

I had a similar experience (finished where it was supposed to and no off-flavors). I entered this beer in two competitions and shared at a local homebrew club meeting with several members. Nobody mentioned anything about off-flavors from the fermentation.

I agree that the fermentation was probably on the warm side, which creates the potential for ester production. Not everyone (and I'm mostly including myself here, but I would guess there are others) is a fan of fruity esters in an American amber, but that doesn't mean it won't be drinkable or...

+1 to off-gassing. What was your grain bill? 1.010 would be 82% apparent attenuation, which is on the higher end. I'll bet the yeast is done, but if you leave it for another week maybe you'll get lucky and have it drop another point.

When I bought mine, and they were purchased new, I didn't go to the trouble of precleaning them, and I didn't have any problems with them. If I had bought them used (and I'm not sure you did, but just to be clear) I would have definitely precleaned them.

Summer is drawing to a close. Did anyone pick up a cool medal worth sharing?

I fermented an English Mild once with Windsor, and it placed second out of 11 entries in a local competition. I thought it was full of character, but it wasn't for me and I don't plan to ferment with Windsor again. So...I guess it is "good," but it isn't something I personally find appealing...

+1 to that. Thanks for sharing, Gavin C. That stein is impressive, to say the least.

Do you have any interest in a bourbon barrel porter? Those are pretty common. I recently brewed one with a target OG of 1.060. I missed and it came out at 1.056. It's still aging at the moment, but I helped myself to a couple of pints about two months ago and found it downright drinkable.

While not very aesthetically pleasing, I've seen someone use a ratchet strap to tighten a seal on an upright freezer. They just wrapped it around the entire freezer and tightened it up. I'm not sure it is the route you want to go, but it is another option to think about and it doesn't require...

I packaged on day 14. My OG was 1.050 and FG was 1.011 - 1.012ish, which would give me an apparent attenuation around 77%. This is exactly what I was looking for. The beer itself had cleared as expected, and I was really pleased with the way the sample tasted. All in all, I'm very happy with...

The more I think about this post, the more I like it.

I agree with kombat that fermenting it for a month might be a little long. I would watch the fermentation and probably go closer to two-three weeks. Additionally, I like the advice for oxygenating with pure O2 if you can, but I've also brewed a Dortmunder by shaking to oxygenate and it fully...

Add me to the list for having a similar experience. I usually use liquid yeast, but this was a quick brew, and with many of the comparisons I've read among the Safale, Wyeast, and White Labs Chico strain claiming the differences to be slight at best, I decided to use the dry yeast. I ended...

From what you have listed, I would recommend trying to brew something similar to Hobgoblin. Between looking at other clone recipes and the website information http://www.wychwood.co.uk/permanents/, I would think you could come up with something you would like. Hobgoblin looks like it is a...