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ericbw said:
4. Mint and chocolate would be good, but I think it would be best if the stout had a pretty high FG, so it would be as creamy as possible. Sometimes mint (or other herbs) isn't the same after it soaks in alcohol. Go easy on it so you don't get mouthwash. 5. I would go with fresh orange or tangerine peel rather than bitter, since the stout should be plenty bitter. That said, citrus adds an interesting kind of bitter in my experience. Maybe leave out the chocolate flavor on this one, although it sounds like you want a chocolate stout. 2. I think I used one or maybe 2 kind of small beans in a 2.5 gallon dry stout, and it was plenty. Split and scraped the seeds out, then chopped the bean and soaked it in vodka for a week before adding. It had a pretty strong vanilla flavor, but not overbearing. What about an espresso version? Swap out the chocolate for coffee, OR add the coffee to it. Would go well with coconut, vanilla, maybe the cherry or raspberry.
Click to expand...

So about 1 vanilla bean per gallon should be about right? I will do the scrape, chop, and vodka soak prep.

I do want to mix the orange with the chocolate flavor, as someone below your post mentioned, going for that flavor combo specifically.

I added some coffee to a double chocolate stout I did over the summer (similar to Young's), so wasn't going to do that this time.

Thanks for the info!
 
roastquake said:
Oh, and FatSchindee, about #4, On new years eve I have some orange chocolate porter from my local brewpub and it was awesome! It was like one of those chocolate oranges that you smack on the table so it falls into slices before you eat it.
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That's exactly the flavor I'm hoping for! I love those things... SWMBO "makes" me put one in her stocking every Christmas, and I always eat at least half of it.
 
Fastest kick to fermentation ever.

Usually I pitch new yeast for every batch, but I decided to be lazy and put the new (no-chill from the day before) wort onto a cider cake I was racking off for bottling using S04.

Holy crap that took off - all I did was put some spring water in and slosh it a bit to break up the cake, then added the wort, shook for 30sec, and put it on the shelf with an airlock. Went upstairs to bring down some equipment and it was going full bore in less than 4 minutes! I had a krausen in an hour!

Provided I can time out the bottling/brewing schedules correctly, this may be my new favorite way of "pitching" yeast! :ban:
 
Just picked up the Bruxelles Blonde kit from Brooklyn Brew shop to start up my brewing again - had been slacking off for some time and my Mr. Beer keg from last year was showing a bit of wear and the 1-gallon jugs seem to take up less room and can fit in smaller places.

My friend recommended the BBS kit and it has arrived today so I will try to brew it this weekend as we have a 3-day weekend from work. I am going to be doing a BIAB method as my pots are limited, but I am excited to get back into the swing of things.
 
Another new tool for my small batch brewery. A 3.5g bottling bucket. A glass of Stumbling Parrot Pale Ale for size reference.

I have been siphoning from the fermentor and priming each bottle. :smack: Now I can batch prime and attach my bottle filler right to the spigot. :rockin:

bottling-bucket.jpg
 
Nice bucket there. Once you get a bottling wand hooked up to that puppy you'll be in heaven. Of all the things I tried to cheap out on, I'm really glad I took Revvy's info to heart on the bottling bucket. That worked the first time, everytime.

The only thing I'd be curious about is the spiggot - I know I purposely bought the red handled spiggot because it was specifically mentioned in the walk through. It mates up perfectly with the 3/8ths tubing/bottling wand I've got.

Speaking of buckets, after doing some soul searching on going the Better Bucket route vs staying with my current 2gal buckets for 2.5gal batches, I think I'm going to stay with buckets. There's a lot of things I really like about the traditional carboy shape, but man buckets are just so much easier to deal with. I might grab one or two anyway for long term aging.

Now then, I've got a bucket with some S04 getting ready to be bottled this week - kind of want to pitch on this cake too. Anyone got a easy recipe I can toss on? Otherwise I'm going to try and harvest it for the fridge.
 
On the topic of alternatives to buckets/better bottles, I picked up a couple of these a few months back: http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=22692&catid=816

The cap took an airlock hole easily enough and the container is quite rigid, with an extremely useful handle on the top. It's really nice to be able to just pick it up, and it doesn't cause airlock suckback due to deformation like a BB does when you pick it up.

Haven't gotten to the cleaning phase, but so far I'm happy.
 
Zeq - I've been considering those, and the Cambro Camsquare Poly (translucent) series. The Cambro's I can get locally for around $10 in the 12qt size and would fit my shelving system better in the fermenting closet as they're only 9" or so high.

Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001C3YY3I/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I know the Cambro's aren't "air tight", but after dealing with 2gal HD buckets with no seal that's not an issue with me (might be for some though). I like the gradations on the side too...
 
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Those are two really interesting options for small-batch brewing. Going to do my first 1-gallon batch this weekend - are the glass carboys that much of a pain or are these plastic containers / buckets just that much easier.
 
I don't really know if the glass carboys are a pain (though I can tell you my 6.5gal carboy is heavy/awkward and sits in the corner looking lonely), but for small batches buckets are just so easy to deal with - I can toss them in the dishwasher to clean, lots of room for dry hopping, they're cheap (2gal at HD with lid is like $5), etc.

Carboy's have a lot going for them also, but in my limited experience I'm finding bucket style containers make for less stress in my brew day.

YMMV.
 
The PET carboys More Beer sells don't have the ribs that Better Bottles have and don't suffer from 'suck-back'. They're much easier to clean, too.
 
sumbrewindude said:
Zeq - I've been considering those, and the Cambro Camsquare Poly (translucent) series. The Cambro's I can get locally for around $10 in the 12qt size and would fit my shelving system better in the fermenting closet as they're only 9" or so high.
Click to expand...

Those look like similar to some food storage containers we had at my living group in college. I can imagine they'd work.

Personally, I prefer brewing in containers with narrow openings. It does complicate cleaning a little bit, but with the layout of my house, I often have to transport carboys from one end of the living area (where I have a closet with space to store things long term) to the garage at the extreme other end. I feel much more secure doing that with a small opening. Plus, most of my brewing is 5-6 gallon batches, so moving is a lot more awkward than with the small containers.

Re: plastic, for anything above a gallon, I would stick with plastic. For me, it's just about the safety in case of drops. The weight savings is a welcome bonus (see above about carrying carboys across the house...). I do use glass containers for volumes below a gallon, especially for starters.
 
Decision made - thanks KindofBlues71, I've got two of those PET carboys coming in now. If I like 'em I'll likely grab another two so I can keep 3 in rotation for beer and one for ciders.

Future willing, maybe grab another for sours - though that might be a glass 3gal just to keep evil munchy things at bay for the long haul. I think a BrewStrong episode mentioning keeping all plastics separate for sours/lambics...

Also ordered up the grain for a variation of Biermuncher's CentBlond, and the BBD Brown from the recipe section. Can't wait!
 
I have bought a few 5l (~1.3gal) plastic fermenters in a wine shop.

They have spigots. Do i still need to use a bottling bucket or i can connect the bottling wand directly to the fermenter's spigot? I guess it depends on the amount of trub.
 
Really excited to get back into brewing my Brooklyn Brew Shop kit this weekend - BIAB method of the Bruxelles Blonde.

Just need to pick up an auto-siphon from the LHBS on Saturday before I brew.
 
The_Glue said:
I have bought a few 5l (~1.3gal) plastic fermenters in a wine shop.

They have spigots. Do i still need to use a bottling bucket or i can connect the bottling wand directly to the fermenter's spigot? I guess it depends on the amount of trub.
Click to expand...

The thing that I'd worry more about is fully sanitizing the spigot when it came to bottling time. I strongly prefer to run sanitizer through the full beer path immediately before use. If you try it, I would suggest running sanitizer through the spigot just before filling the fermenter, then covering it securely with a sanitized plastic bag. Before bottling, remove the bag and squirt/immerse as much of the spigot with fresh sanitizer as you can.
 
zeg said:
The thing that I'd worry more about is fully sanitizing the spigot when it came to bottling time. I strongly prefer to run sanitizer through the full beer path immediately before use. If you try it, I would suggest running sanitizer through the spigot just before filling the fermenter, then covering it securely with a sanitized plastic bag. Before bottling, remove the bag and squirt/immerse as much of the spigot with fresh sanitizer as you can.
Click to expand...

Yeah the spigot seems like the weak point. What is worse is that i planned to immerse these fermenters into swamp coolers but i am not sure if i can do it with spigots even if i am not planning to use the spigot after fermentation.
So i would just syphon the beer out of the fermenter with an auto-syphon. But what if the water can leak from the swamp into the bucket? Maybe i should put star-san into the cooling water.
 
Stigy said:
Really excited to get back into brewing my Brooklyn Brew Shop kit this weekend - BIAB method of the Bruxelles Blonde.

Just need to pick up an auto-siphon from the LHBS on Saturday before I brew.
Click to expand...

Did you just say that this weekend, you're brewing a Brooklyn Brew Shop Bruxelles Blonde using Brew in a Bag? Bravo, Buddy! Brewing beer breeds a bundle of benefits.

Sorry, I couldn't stop myself.
 
Stigy said:
Really excited to get back into brewing my Brooklyn Brew Shop kit this weekend - BIAB method of the Bruxelles Blonde.

Just need to pick up an auto-siphon from the LHBS on Saturday before I brew.
Click to expand...

I bought an auto-siphon before bottling my first batch. Best money I ever spent!

I bottled my first batch yesterday, the BBS Everyday IPA. Up next is Caribou Slobber from Northern. Can't wait. Maybe brew it tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

VG:drunk:
 
I have a Bruxelles Blonde waiting in the wings to be brewed.. maybe Sunday morning...or even during one of the football games...


My first two brews are between a week and two weeks from bottling.
 
Stigy said:
Really excited to get back into brewing my Brooklyn Brew Shop kit this weekend - BIAB method of the Bruxelles Blonde.

Just need to pick up an auto-siphon from the LHBS on Saturday before I brew.
Click to expand...

Man, get that auto-siphon. I fought for 3 batches without a autosiphon and made far too many messes. SWMBO was glad I picked one up, it greatly reduced bottling day stress. :D

Anyone else excited to brew this weekend? My two new carboy's showed up - those 3gal PET carboys are LIGHT!! Gonna get them scrubbed up and ready for some wort!

:mug:
 
Hey VG! I'm actually about to start brewing my Everyday IPA in the next few days . You wouldn't by any chance know what the OG and FG are for this brew. I'm gonna get an auto siphon too in addition to a hydrometer.
 
Hey one gallon brewers! I love it. I started last November and have brewed 15 batches of beer since then. I love to experiment and all grain is the only thing I have ever done. Looking forward to a Golden promise northern Brewer smash tomorrow

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Home Brew mobile app
 
I know small batches, especially gallon batches, can have a faster turnaround time than big batches.

This is also true for certain recipes. With some ales finishing in just days. (pending gravity readings).
So what would be your vote for a Turbo Ale Recipe?

  • Fast finisher that is ready to drink quickly. :rockin:
  • What are the faster yeasts?
  • Careful accurate pitching rates vs over/under pitching?
  • What about bumping temps early in the fermentation then dropping?
  • Bottling vs kegging? Is kegging faster?
  • Other ideas?
 
Phoenix7801 said:
Hey VG! I'm actually about to start brewing my Everyday IPA in the next few days . You wouldn't by any chance know what the OG and FG are for this brew. I'm gonna get an auto siphon too in addition to a hydrometer.
Click to expand...


Here is an email BBS sent me when I asked them for the numbers of Everyday IPA:

"So glad to hear that you are loving our book! If you want to let us know which beers you are planning to make, we can provide you with original and target final gravities. You mentioned our Everyday IPA, here are target gravities:
original gravity 1.066 and terminal gravity 1.017.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Happy Brewing!

Erica & Stephen
Brooklyn Brew Shop"
 
The_Glue said:
Yeah the spigot seems like the weak point. What is worse is that i planned to immerse these fermenters into swamp coolers but i am not sure if i can do it with spigots even if i am not planning to use the spigot after fermentation.
So i would just syphon the beer out of the fermenter with an auto-syphon. But what if the water can leak from the swamp into the bucket? Maybe i should put star-san into the cooling water.
Click to expand...

For some reason, a swamp cooler full of star-san just doesn't seem right to me. It's a creative solution, but I don't think I'd try it.

You might be ok, though---if the spigot doesn't let beer leak out, it probably doesn't let water leak in. That's easy enough to test: fill it full of water and put it in a container of water with a heavy dose of food coloring. Leave it for a while and see if any color gets in.

Alternatively, you could wrap the fermenter in a plastic bag to keep it from actually contacting the water. You'd want to make sure it was tight to the sides so that you don't reduce your cooling effect, but I think it ought to be workable.
 
sammy33 said:
I know small batches, especially gallon batches, can have a faster turnaround time than big batches.

This is also true for certain recipes. With some ales finishing in just days. (pending gravity readings).
So what would be your vote for a Turbo Ale Recipe?

  • Fast finisher that is ready to drink quickly. :rockin:
  • What are the faster yeasts?
  • Careful accurate pitching rates vs over/under pitching?
  • What about bumping temps early in the fermentation then dropping?
  • Bottling vs kegging? Is kegging faster?
  • Other ideas?
Click to expand...

I have only done 4 batches and the have come from northern brewer. The fastest one I've done was the american wheat. Brewed on Sunday and kegged the following Sunday. Put the gallon batch into a 5 gallon pin lock keg at 10psi and was ready to drink by Friday. It was a bit cloudy on the first pour but a couples days later it was clear.

I've kegged 2 of the 4 batches and kegging is faster than bottling but you may drink it faster than bottling though.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Home Brew mobile app
 
Sooo... Doing a 1 gallon stout now and got a little over ambitious and dumped the whole 1.0oz hop bag before realizing I only needed .2 oz.? Am I screwed? It's still boiling with 50 minutes left. Is there anything I can do to salvage if so....? Crap. Thanks guys.
 
Depending on the ABV you could age it which would mellow it out a bit. I'm sure it'll be fine anyway, but if not you could always blend it with a different beer.
 
Jimbutler21 said:
Sooo... Doing a 1 gallon stout now and got a little over ambitious and dumped the whole 1.0oz hop bag before realizing I only needed .2 oz.? Am I screwed? It's still boiling with 50 minutes left. Is there anything I can do to salvage if so....? Crap. Thanks guys.
Click to expand...

You could brew another one gallon stout and then mix them?
 
Jimbutler21 said:
Sooo... Doing a 1 gallon stout now and got a little over ambitious and dumped the whole 1.0oz hop bag before realizing I only needed .2 oz.? Am I screwed? It's still boiling with 50 minutes left. Is there anything I can do to salvage if so....? Crap. Thanks guys.
Click to expand...

I have used 1 oz. per gallon before, and it turned out fine. I do like a lot of hops though..
 

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