'1,000 bottle' update, an observation and a question.

Gentlemen,

Back on 1/3/07 I posted:
I have a 'goal' of brewing 1,000 bottles of beer-ale.
To qualify:
I have brewed 1,000 bottles before, {thats only 100 gallons,}
but the 'goal' is to have 1,000 'full' bottles on hand,
all at the same place and at the same time.
To be able to take a picture of the 'homebrew hoard' and frame it and hang it on the wall here in my office. Next to the 'zerox copy' of the $44,600 check I got for the biggest roof we ever did. And the picture of my old hounds, Cotton Joe and his sister Suemae and $186.00 worth of fur we got in one night, a long time ago. {A bobcat and 6 coon}
Great moments in my life you know.

1,000 bottles of ale is my yearly challange.

Now, I only have 175 'full' bottles in the brewery now,
as I have drunk, 'half' of the 315 I had in there at one time.
But three {3} primarys are full and three {3} secondarys are full,
ie. {300 bottles, when bottled + the 175}
and actually a couple of days late on being bottled.
I still have enough DME for 3-4 batches. and my check comes today.
55 Lbs more of DME and 2-3 months left before hot weather!
South Carolina 'Brewhead' was almost there already.
And Craig Alaska 'One scaler guy' had more than I did.
{Howdy yawl}
But at the time of this update:
175 bottles on the shelf in the brewery,
270 in carbouys,
and DME enough {tomorrow $$$} to cook up 500 more,
minus what I will drink.
Hmmmm anyway...

Now, Hop bags!
I was in the Dallas 'Homebrew Headquarters',
{1/4 mile north of Beltline on Coit.}
I was complaining of slight off flavors in my homebrew,
Gary, the guy who used to work there said:
"Knife! you never buy hop bags, how old are your hop bags?
Oh, 10-12 years I guess.
"I use new bags every time I brew" he said.
But they don't have holes in them yet.
"Throw them away and get new ones."
So I, at least, started using the newer whiter ones and getting rid of the older worst ones, and yawl know what?
He was right. it helped the flavor of my brew!
Then Andy the new guy told me about the draw string nylon bags which can be boiled or idophored! They are great and I don't have to throw them away ever! More economical than trashing .50 bags after one brew,
thats $1.50 a batch! So feel better about not being wasteful.

I use Idophor rather than bleach,
and bottled water rather than boiling tap water on the stove,
{cheaper and easier with my kitchen running on propane.}
Threw out all !!! of the old hop bags,
my homebrew is getting better and better.
1,000 bottles of this new stuff will surely, 'make me see God'!

I was going to ask:
Would using 'DME' for bottling rather than 'priming sugar' make it taste even better still?

Welp, suns almost up,
recon I'll have a homebrew.


jacksknifeshop.tripod.com

Hey Knifey!
How ya doin?I've had some setbacks in my quest.3 batches in a row got infected and ended up tasting like band-aids or something.What a fuc%ing drag,18gals gone bad!I was so devastated that i was "Mad at Beer"and turned my back on the whole business for two weeks.So the brewing frenzy ground to a halt( .Yesterday we got back on the horse that throwed us and SWMBO and i bottled two batches.I hope to hell they turn out ok.I've still got 18 gals of lager in cold secondary(garage)that need to be bottled or kegged in the coming week.So
anyways,during my brewing timeout i drank....alot.....just homebrew but the stuff still hammers me.So back to the topic,between drinking lots and pouring lots down the drive way my count was down but after bottling 120 yesterday i think i'm back up to near 500.Here's a question for ya..for anybody!....how come the beer tasted ok when bottled but went bad during conditioning?21 batches without a hitch and all of a sudden 3 in a row gone to ****!!!!What's up with that?
If the next few go bad i might just throw in the towel and go back to store bought.
Waaa,waaa....i know i sound like a whiny ***** but it does feel good to tell someone about it .
Cheers

I want to see that bobcat and those coon. Well, at least the dogs. I used to coonhunt, but I do not have dogs anymore, (For some reason I dont think the neighbores would like me to have coondogs}

To your question, The only problem with DME for carbing is that it will leave a ring around your bottles. I have tryed DME but have not been happy with it.

About those hop bags, dont use them, just whirlpool and siphon off the side and you will be good to go.

I prime in my kegs with DME & the bottles when I bottle, I have to say as personal preference i like DME better then corn sugar. I think that it keeps the flavors in line with the brew, I understand that corn sugar doesn't impart any flavors. Also i feel that it gives a tighter longer lasting head, and gives a little more mouthfeel to the brew, due to the unfermentables in it.

Cheers

Hey Biggenius,

Check out my website, there is a picture of me 25 years ago with Cottonjoe and Suemae {his sister} under 'storys.'
All my dogs were poisioned and died horribly,
poisioned by three cowards {brothers and white trash}
who all died in prison two years ago.
And not by the prison but by the inmates,
they were that evil.
I didn't even know them.
It broke my heart and it will never heal.
But there is a recent picture on page 4 of me and my new hound Sandymae.
Check it out and thanks for asking.
Lets git ignert and go coon hunting.

[email protected]
jacksknifeshop.tripod.com
J. Knife