oberon567
Well-Known Member
Hi everyone, from Cambridge Mass! I am a grad student in Cambridge, and have been brewing for about 4-5 years. Unfortunately I have been busy and in that time only found the time for about 12-15 brews or so, something I hope to remedy soon. My last apartment had a temperature controlled bathroom so I could brew all year without having to heat the whole place, but that isn't possible where I live now, so I need to make use of the next few months to get a few batches rolling!
I don't have the space or equipment for full-mash brewing, so I do extract brewing with occasional partial mashes and with specialty grains. Even those I am a little trepidation with in my current set up, because my gas likes to fluctuate, so just when you think you have got the temperature settled it starts to wander...
I love me some IPA and could drink it all day, every day, and I am always looking for new IPA and IIPA recipes. With hops as they are right now it isn't the best time for experimentation, but sometimes sacrifices need to be made... However my newest goal is to force myself to brew a wider variety of styles, and work on subtle flavor distinctions and layers. It is easy to have a heavy hand with IPAs and get away with it, I am trying to add a little more complexity to me repertoire.
I know there is a homebrew club around here, and I actually know some of my fellow classmates are members, but I remember neither the name or where and when they meet... Which is just as well, as I am ridiculously busy anyway.
While I don't understand completely the intricacies of the science behind a full-mash I understand most of it, and I would love any hints, tricks and tips anyone has accumulated over the years as for making a small budget and meager equipment in a mediocre kitchen go as far as possible. And I am confident this forum is already overloaded with such secrets! (I have a nice 5 gallon brewpot, but I only have one plastic 6.5 gallon fermenting bucket (which I use for my primary) and one 5 gallon glass carboy (which I use for my secondary), and of course a plastic bucket with a spigot for bottling).
One thing I am sure y'all can advise me on is this: I never seem to get readings from my hydrometer that make sense. Whether I draw off a sample and measure that or what have you, they always seem a little off, even when I make sure it is taken at 60 degrees. It came to a point where I didn't even bother measuring it for a number of batches, because I didn't trust what it said anyway...
My next batch, this upcoming weekend, for which I am buying ingredients today, is going to (hopefully) be a light, crisp summer ale, something thirst quenching and excessively drinkable. I am thinking about throwing some orange zest into the brew and into the secondary, to give it a hint of citrus, which I imagine will taste quite nice come August when I crack a few bottles open...
So, again, Hello!
-Tsultrim (Oberon567)
I don't have the space or equipment for full-mash brewing, so I do extract brewing with occasional partial mashes and with specialty grains. Even those I am a little trepidation with in my current set up, because my gas likes to fluctuate, so just when you think you have got the temperature settled it starts to wander...
I love me some IPA and could drink it all day, every day, and I am always looking for new IPA and IIPA recipes. With hops as they are right now it isn't the best time for experimentation, but sometimes sacrifices need to be made... However my newest goal is to force myself to brew a wider variety of styles, and work on subtle flavor distinctions and layers. It is easy to have a heavy hand with IPAs and get away with it, I am trying to add a little more complexity to me repertoire.
I know there is a homebrew club around here, and I actually know some of my fellow classmates are members, but I remember neither the name or where and when they meet... Which is just as well, as I am ridiculously busy anyway.
While I don't understand completely the intricacies of the science behind a full-mash I understand most of it, and I would love any hints, tricks and tips anyone has accumulated over the years as for making a small budget and meager equipment in a mediocre kitchen go as far as possible. And I am confident this forum is already overloaded with such secrets! (I have a nice 5 gallon brewpot, but I only have one plastic 6.5 gallon fermenting bucket (which I use for my primary) and one 5 gallon glass carboy (which I use for my secondary), and of course a plastic bucket with a spigot for bottling).
One thing I am sure y'all can advise me on is this: I never seem to get readings from my hydrometer that make sense. Whether I draw off a sample and measure that or what have you, they always seem a little off, even when I make sure it is taken at 60 degrees. It came to a point where I didn't even bother measuring it for a number of batches, because I didn't trust what it said anyway...
My next batch, this upcoming weekend, for which I am buying ingredients today, is going to (hopefully) be a light, crisp summer ale, something thirst quenching and excessively drinkable. I am thinking about throwing some orange zest into the brew and into the secondary, to give it a hint of citrus, which I imagine will taste quite nice come August when I crack a few bottles open...
So, again, Hello!
-Tsultrim (Oberon567)
