Recent content by VTDuffman

Brewed a WeeHeavy yesterday. 1.081SG - added O2 for 90sec. Pitched last night at 60F. 2 packs of WY1728 in a 2L stir plate starter. I had read and was planning on oxygenating again after 24 hours, but in 18 it's already in vigorous active fermentation and the krausen completely inhabits all...

Isn't the Beer/Ale thing rooted in some states with really stupid and antiquated ABC laws? That was always my (possibly mis-)perception. For some reason, I thought like in Texas anything over a certain ABV was legally required to be labeled an "Ale" even if it was a lager.

If it's any consolation, my experience with getting a Belgian Pale Ale judged in competition have been the most inconsistent of any styles I've tried. The scoresheets I got back from several competitions are just all over the place. I'm convinced your averaged judge just has no idea what he's...

It's always been my impression that a "hot break" is less important in extract brewing because the wort has already undergone a hot break as part of the extract manufacture process.

This is the metric I use as well. While I appreciate the sentiment, I usually disregard comments/compliments about my beer as anything other than politeness. The true measure of what someone thinks of your beer is if they go get a second glass. The true measure of how good your beer was overall...

For me "balanced" is one of the most unhelpful descriptors for a beer. Not all beers are supposed to be "balanced." We have the whole concept of BU:GU for a reason. Stouts aren't "balanced," they're just imbalanced in the other direction. I don't think IPAs are supposed to be "balanced."

I just had the worst one in recent memory the other night... Saranac Red IPA. It's "Red" and that's about it, there's no bitterness, hop flavor, or aroma. It's just a sweet, estery mess. Seriously, my reaction was "this tastes like a bad homebrew" - you know, like the second extract kit you...

Thanks for sharing this. I missed it the first time around. This is...just amazing. I am equal parts amused and horrified by this psychopath.

I got my score sheets back from the MCAF yesterday. I entered 4 beers, three of which scored in various ranges in the 20s, so meh - but that's about where they have been scoring in several competitions. A lot of the feedback was pretty good. One problem I'm having is when I read notes that...

Everything at my lhbs comes prepackaged in 1 or 10 lb bags. You can't just buy 1/4 of a specialty malt, but you also don't get charged for any product you don't actually receive.

My old chilling method was using an IC straight from the hose to get down to around ~100F, then using an immersion pump with an icewater bucket to the IC for another 20 minutes. Combined with stirring the wort periodically. I could reliably get down to the low 60s in 30 minutes with this method...

My iPhone is my brewing partner. I listen to podcasts the whole time. If anyone's looking for Recommendations: Brewing-Related: -Brew Strong -CYBI/The Jamil Show -Basic Brewing Radio Comedy: -The Mike O'Meara Show -The Big O and Dukes Show -Doug Loves Movies -Comedy Bang-Bang...

Starr Hill and I see someone already mentioned Devil's Backbone.

I bought a 6-Pack of Starr Hill (Charlottesville, VA) Double Platinum that looked just like that, and the biggest problem with the beer wasn't the yeast per se, it was the fact that it was oxidized like I couldn't believe. I contacted the brewery through their website to let them know and got a...

I'm confused, isn't the State of Illinois doing the correct thing here? All they did was codify into law the original intent of the three-tier system (creating the layer of separation between the manufacturer and the retailers). The Three-Tier system gets mucked and corrupt once you start...