I like this time at night on HBT

[Leadgolem]

At it again, just had to have a sample of my helles, pils, Octoberfest and cream ale. Next I'm going to the red the the ryepa and the wheat ...but damn can't have the ipa just added the dry hops to the keg.

Getting anxious for the Octoberfest party the 21st. Anyone who wants to drive to central Illinois is welcome. 8 beers on tap.

I've never been to an Octoberfest party, unless you count my birthday. October 13th.

 

[passedpawn]

When I get those vanilla beans I believe I will do a rum as well as a neutral spirit extract. That will consume 20 of the 30 beans. That leaves me 10 to do something else with.

I was thinking of flavoring a couple of bottles of white rice wine with them. Is 1/2 a bean to much for one bottle do you think?

They dry out pretty quickly. I think a vacuum sealer bag is a great way to store them. I have a tall sealed jar I keep them in, but they did dry out in there.

 

[reinstone]

Let the fest begin

View attachment 147439

Nice lookin brew. What ya got there? Here's my Munich festbier ! Made in June. Just right. Isn't she a beauty in my Salvation Army bought mug?

 

[bottlebomber]

They dry out pretty quickly. I think a vacuum sealer bag is a great way to store them. I have a tall sealed jar I keep them in, but they did dry out in there.

I made the same mistake. I put a number of them in a jar with a rubber seal that I felt confident would keep them fresh, and they still turned into crispy critters in a few weeks. Now I just reseal them whenever I use one. It's kind of a pain, it keeps them well.

 

[bottlebomber]

Nice lookin brew. What ya got there? Here's my Munich festbier ! Made in June. Just right. Isn't she a beauty in my Salvation Army bought mug?

Gorgeous! I've got a 1.5L mug just like that that my mom brought me back from Germany this year. I've only had 1 beer, honey.

 

[reinstone]

And another thing, I love mangrove jacks m44 but the workhorse-nah. Had to hit a cream ale with gelatin three times to get it clear. Brew session went well and it's a recipe I've used before but this stuff would not floc. However, although the beer didn't clear well...it did give a good lager taste at ale temps. Taste was great but not a pretty beer till now.

I'm serving this to the American light lager drinkers so I'm not worried about gelatin X 3 stripping flavor:cross:

 

[reinstone]

Gorgeous! I've got a 1.5L mug just like that that my mom brought me back from Germany this year. I've only had 1 beer, honey.

Yeah I got like 30 great mugs from thrift shops over the past week or two. Goodwill has an outlet in my town, five bucks for all you can fit in a bag. I now have about 75 mugs for the party.

If you need some cheap beer glasses hit up the thrift shops.

 

[reinstone]

I considered doing this with whiskey too, but I don't really care for whiskey. I can't see the vanilla changing that.

I'll definitely make some good ice cream. Or rather, frozen dessert. I'm lactose intolerant, so I'll be using coconut milk instead of cream.

I was also thinking about popping a bottle of the sweet banana wine, and doing a banana frozen dessert with some vanilla bean. That may need to wait until the vanilla is gone though. Limited freezer space.

I used to drink too much rum. My favorite is matusalem! Great stuff. Matusalem and Mexican coke. Hell yeah.

 

[reinstone]

Gorgeous! I've got a 1.5L mug just like that that my mom brought me back from Germany this year. I've only had 1 beer, honey.

Thanks. My mug is like 20oz But I just tell my wife I've only had 10. :fro:

 

[Dan]

Reinstone, still up?

 

[bob1852]

I am, Dan.

 

[Dan]

I'm a bit inebreiated.. probably spelled that wrong.. I a bit toasted.

 

[snaps10]

43-343-60

rtb ftb

 

[Varmintman]

I love fried spam

I am a cheap date hehe

 

[beaksnbeer]

Nice lookin brew. What ya got there? Here's my Munich festbier ! Made in June. Just right. Isn't she a beauty in my Salvation Army bought mug?

Same was going to make a Vienna but the Lhbs was out of Vienna so she got Munich.

Mom's coming down from Wis. and bringing curds,brats, and 500lbs of grain for my next fiscal brew year current count for this year is 190 gallons my new year starts after my next 10 gallons

 

[Varmintman]

I guess I should chronicle the last few weeks and what I have done. I smashed a finger under a log to the point that the skin split on both sides hehe. I was kind of proud of that bugger though it still makes typing tough.

I also had bought a new chain sharpener during the first part of summer. After sharpening perhaps 20 chains it died on me. I figured I would go through the company that made it and get a new thermal switch and fix it but they refused to admit that anything was wrong. Sigh I am glad that Cal stores went ahead and switched it out for me. I do not know how long this one will last but I will say I will never buy a Timber Tuff product again simply because of the way they treated me.

Starting three years ago I began to say I was done cutting wood. Yet every year I find that I end up cutting tons of wood I need to decide for sure what I am going to do now since I need to buy another 20 inch chain saw. I am thinking buying a high end saw but having a hard time justifying 1300 bucks for a small saw if I am not going to cut much wood anymore. Sigh I think I will buy it anyway since for some reason I enjoy cutting wood.

I am going to a new spot in a few weeks to cut some wood as a matter of fact. I am really looking forward to seeing some new country and spending some time in the woods...hehe maybe with a new saw in hand

 

[Stauffbier]

Good to have you back Vman. I hope that finger is healing up!

So, since I'm planning on making some of BB's vanilla soda I'm wondering.... Do you all think that my 12ft liquid lines will be long enough for soda? I really don't want to buy more tubing right now...

 

[bottlebomber]

Good to have you back Vman. I hope that finger is healing up!

So, since I'm planning on making some of BB's vanilla soda I'm wondering.... Do you all think that my 12ft liquid lines will be long enough for soda? I really don't want to buy more tubing right now...

I have no idea about such things, being a keg noob. But I can tell you that it pours nicely from a 3' long 5/16" poly line hooked up to a cobra tap as long as you open it full throttle at 25psi

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

OK, I've decided to start my sour using lacto from grain. I got 2.5 gallons of 1.035 wheat LME wort together, heated it up to about 130F, let it cool to 115F, and threw in 2 cups of crushed 2-row in a sanitized nylon bag. I sealed up the pot with tape and wrapped it in a towel and put it in my shed (which is over 95F now with the heat spell that we have been having).

I am going to start the remaining 2.5 gallons on the Brett. tomorrow. I'll let both batches finish out, then blend them, then let the gravity settle again. I'm not sure about hops at this point; I kinda am interested to check out a) straight lacto beer b) straight Brett beer c) the blend. Maybe a dry hop of something in the blend after it is all said and done?

 

[TNGabe]

OK, I've decided to start my sour using lacto from grain. I got 2.5 gallons of 1.035 wheat LME wort together, heated it up to about 130F, let it cool to 115F, and threw in 2 cups of crushed 2-row in a sanitized nylon bag. I sealed up the pot with tape and wrapped it in a towel and put it in my shed (which is over 95F now with the heat spell that we have been having).

I am going to start the remaining 2.5 gallons on the Brett. tomorrow. I'll let both batches finish out, then blend them, then let the gravity settle again. I'm not sure about hops at this point; I kinda am interested to check out a) straight lacto beer b) straight Brett beer c) the blend. Maybe a dry hop of something in the blend after it is all said and done?

Grain won't be straight lacto. It's lacto and who knows what else. I think the newer fruity hops go well with soured beers. Nelson, mosaic, and galaxy have all been tasty for me. I think cascade could be good with the right beer though. Crystal is another good one that is largely ignored.

 

[Stauffbier]

I have no idea about such things, being a keg noob. But I can tell you that it pours nicely from a 3' long 5/16" poly line hooked up to a cobra tap as long as you open it full throttle at 25psi

So, you actually serve at that high of pressure? I was thinking I'd carb like I do with beer (40lbs for about 36 hours), then drop down to about 15lbs to serve.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

Grain won't be straight lacto. It's lacto and who knows what else. I think the newer fruity hops go well with soured beers. Nelson, mosaic, and galaxy have all been tasty for me. I think cascade could be good with the right beer though. Crystal is another good one that is largely ignored.

Yep, I know the grain is a mess of stuff. Too interesting of an experiment to pass up. Will the "good" bugs beat the "bad" bugs out eventually, or will I have to boil the resulting product? Once you get a "good" batch, can you just keep repitching on it (like sourdough starter)?

I have a friend who grows cascade, but I really want to sample the straight beers first, fermented on the grain and fermented with the Brett. I was also thinking of bottling a 6-pack of each before I blend.

 

[Stauffbier]

All you lambic, sour brewers would call me a cheating wanna-be for sure. I don't ever use bugs when I brew something sour. I just do sour mashes. I don't really want to dedicate the time and space to the "true" process.... Plus, I'm just not a huge fan of sours. I get all I want out of a short sour mash. I don't necessarily brew anything exactly to style, with that said.

 

[TNGabe]

I've had good luck grain souring, I think the key is to create and maintain an anaerobic environment. You'd said 'all lact so I wasn't sure you knew what youd get from grain. You can certainly repitch trub, rinsed trub, or a portion of the beer in future batches if you like what you get. Waiting to taste before dry hopping is the best bet for sure. Have you used his hops before?

 

[TNGabe]

All you lambic, sour brewers would call me a cheating wanna-be for sure. I don't ever use bugs when I brew something sour. I just do sour mashes. I don't really want to dedicate the time and space to the "true" process.... Plus, I'm just not a huge fan of sours. I get all I want out of a short sour mash. I don't necessarily brew anything exactly to style, with that said.

What is this style you speak of? I pretty much hate the bjcp. I also love sour mash beers. Gives me something to drink while I'm waiting on the long term wilds. Brett does a nice job of cleaning up any off flavors from the sour mash.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

This sour is an experiment. When blended my dream is that it will come out like a slightly high gravity fruity Berliner weisse, but I'm not sure how everything is going to play together. It really is just a chance to isolate and taste the different contributions separately. I think splitting the batch between the souring and the Brett is a good idea, as if one or the other is horrible I might be able to do something with the remaining half to recover something nice.

I might also walk into my shed tomorrow and get smacked by the smell of freshly-baked dog puke and diaper casserole. I have a composter, just in case.

 

[Leadgolem]

They dry out pretty quickly. I think a vacuum sealer bag is a great way to store them. I have a tall sealed jar I keep them in, but they did dry out in there.

I made the same mistake. I put a number of them in a jar with a rubber seal that I felt confident would keep them fresh, and they still turned into crispy critters in a few weeks. Now I just reseal them whenever I use one. It's kind of a pain, it keeps them well.

That's what I'm afraid of. That's why I'm planning on getting them in the alcohol pretty quickly. The ones that aren't going into an extract I will want to use relatively quickly.

They came today, and so did my stir bar.

I used to drink too much rum. My favorite is matusalem! Great stuff. Matusalem and Mexican coke. Hell yeah.

Have you ever had a Panamanian rum and coke.

Good to have you back Vman. I hope that finger is healing up!

So, since I'm planning on making some of BB's vanilla soda I'm wondering.... Do you all think that my 12ft liquid lines will be long enough for soda? I really don't want to buy more tubing right now...

So, you actually serve at that high of pressure? I was thinking I'd carb like I do with beer (40lbs for about 36 hours), then drop down to about 15lbs to serve.

The reading I've been doing says, yes you serve at 25-30 psi for soda. If you don't maintain that pressure your soda will slowly go flat in the keg.

To keep the soda from foaming to much when it's poured, most people recommended 18-20' of 3/16th ID line. If it foams a lot you lose a lot of the co2 and it's a little flat in the glass.

If you wanted to turn down the pressure just before serving for an event or something, that would work fine. You just can't maintain it at the lower psi. If you want it ready all the time, then you kinda have to maintain the pressure.

This is from the northern brewer forum.

The proper carbonation level of soda at 40˚F would be obtained with a pressure between 25-30 psi. You also need to balance the system with the proper length of 3/16" ID beverage tubing to get a proper pour. Just reducing the pressure to serve will work to some degree, but is a PITA, and if the pressure is not turned back up after each session, the volume of CO2 in solution will reach equilibrium with the new lower pressure in the head space and the soda will have less carbonation.

I always have a keg of root beer on tap for my boys. I have it at 28 psi and serve it through 20' of 3/16" ID beverage line, coiled in the back of my kegerator, to a perlick faucet. This set up achieves a perfect pour, no foam and a perfect carbonation level.

With regard to carbonating sugary soda, I have read, and found in my experience that sugary sodas are more resistant to accepting the CO2 into solution than beer is at the same pressure and temperature. My solution to this is to chill and carbonate the majority of the water first for a day or two. Plain water readily accepts CO2 into solution. I then heat up the remaining water to dissolve the sugars and extract in, cool it down overnight in the fridge, add it to the already carbonated water in the keg, mix it thoroughly and put it back on the gas at my serving pressure of 28 psi.

 

[TNGabe]

I know I eat better than most people just by looking at what's in other carts at the grocery store, but I've been on a 'real food' kick lately. I didn't realize how much crap I was eating until I tried to stop. Not that I was eating much frozen or canned that I didn't freeze or can myself, but trying not to buy things with ingredients is really cutting back on my snacking. Good news is I lost 5 lbs the first week. Bad news is I really want some dag jimmit chips right now.

 

[Stauffbier]

Thanks for doing my homework for me LG. That's all good info. I'm going to try it with my 12' line and see how it works. I actually wouldn't mind serving at around 20lbs and also staying a tiny bit low on volumes of co2. I had an apple cider in the keg that was very fizzy like a soda, and it was at 20lbs. If I can duplicate that with my soda I'll be happy with it.

 

[Leadgolem]

Thanks for doing my homework for me LG. That's all good info. I'm going to try it with my 12' line and see how it works. I actually wouldn't mind serving at around 20lbs and also staying a tiny bit low on volumes of co2. I had an apple cider in the keg that was very fizzy like a soda, and it was at 20lbs. If I can duplicate that with my soda I'll be happy with it.

That's the thing though. Sugary soda liquid doesn't take co2 very easily. That's why you need so much pressure. You just aren't going to get the volumes of co2 in soda that you would with beer or wine at the same pressure. If you're happy with the carbonation you get at 20 psi, that's fine. It's just going to be kinda low for soda.

 

[beaksnbeer]

The wife was talking about adding soda to my little keezer just don't know where to add a 13th tap

 

[Stauffbier]

That's the thing though. Sugary soda liquid doesn't take co2 very easily. That's why you need so much pressure. You just aren't going to get the volumes of co2 in soda that you would with beer or wine at the same pressure. If you're happy with the carbonation you get at 20 psi, that's fine. It's just going to be kinda low for soda.

I do agree with what you're saying. The only reason I'm coming to this conclusion is the fact that my apple cider was heavily back sweetened and was only 6% ABV. As a matter of fact a lot of people said it tasted more like an apple soda than it did apple cider, so I'm hoping there will be some similarity there with soda.

 

[Leadgolem]

I do agree with what you're saying. The only reason I'm coming to this conclusion is the fact that my apple cider was heavily back sweetened and was only 6% ABV. As a matter of fact a lot of people said it tasted more like an apple soda than it did apple cider, so I'm hoping there will be some similarity there with soda.

Oooh, apple soda sounds good. I can't stand the apple "flavored" soda, but some sparking apple juice sounds nice...

 

[Stauffbier]

Oooh, apple soda sounds good. I can't stand the apple "flavored" soda, but some sparking apple juice sounds nice...

It's funny. A lot of people (including myself) said that my cider tasted a lot like a very popular Mexican apple soda that is commonly consumed here. Being on the border we get a lot of imported goods that you just don't see in other parts of the country. There's nothing like a good Mexican apple soda with an authentic chile relleno burrito!

 

[TNGabe]

Chile relleno burrito? Is that just a couple of chile relleno wrapped in a tortilla for easy consumption?

 

[Stauffbier]

Chile relleno burrito? Is that just a couple of chile relleno wrapped in a tortilla for easy consumption?

Pretty much, yes, but they will usually have a thin layer of refried beans slathered on the tortilla before adding the chile relleno. Not to mention that a true chile relleno made in Mexico will likely have been fried in lard. The lard is definitely a very important flavor component if you're looking for authenticity.

 

[TNGabe]

Pretty much, yes, but they will usually have a thin layer of refried beans slathered on the tortilla before adding the chile relleno. Not to mention that a true chile relleno made in Mexico will likely have been fried in lard. The lard is definitely a very important flavor component if you're looking for authenticity.

You can fry in oil other than lard?

 

[Varmintman]

I think I must be slacking when it comes to brewing after listening to you guys. During the summer I make one style of beer a low alcohol yellow fizzy beer and during the winter I might make three styles of a darker beer yet again low alcohol.

I did bottle my mead though and taste it....I really hope it gets better with age

 

[Leadgolem]

You can fry in oil other than lard?

Apparently one can also fry in peanut oil, or even canola oil...

 

[Leadgolem]

I think I must be slacking when it comes to brewing after listening to you guys. During the summer I make one style of beer a low alcohol yellow fizzy beer and during the winter I might make three styles of a darker beer yet again low alcohol.

I did bottle my mead though and taste it....I really hope it gets better with age

If it makes you feel better, every mead I've tasted was some degree of nasty when it was less then six months old. Most aren't good till around a year or more.