My Driveway Will Never Forgive Me

[mikebiewer]

I brewed up an Imperial Stout today and my driveway will never forgive me.

At the end of the boil I added 2 ounces of hops after burn out. Well, I just tossed them in like I was boss, prolly because I had 4 or 5 beers, plus a hot toddy in me. Anyway, it spit them back at me... Follow the link to see my frowning driveway...

Homebrewing Northern Brewer Imperial Stout

Regardless, I missed my OG by about .01, but fermentation has stared and its only been about 3 hours.

Lesson Learned!

 

[BBKing]

Personally, if I were your driveway I would thank you.

All driveways enjoy Imperial Stouts!

 

[HasstheBoss]

I don't quite understand. You threw in 2 oz hops and they exploded?

 

[superjunior]

better the driveway than the kitchen :cross:

 

[nostalgia]

I don't quite understand. You threw in 2 oz hops and they exploded?

You've never heard of that? They're like little grenades.

-Joe

 

[DylansDad]

That's hilarious! Well... in a "I've done that before" kinda fashion.

 

[businesstime]

You'll never forgive yourself when it's all finished. That kit from NB is my favorite.

 

[mikebiewer]

I'm sure the beer will turn out fine. I was a bit nervous because my outdoor procedure at my own home is different than any other procedure I've done before...I find that when you brew in a new spot, no matter how good you are at brewing, you introduce a factor of unknown. So I was a little nervous, but within 3 hours my fermentation took off and I was good to go!

It may be a little less ABV and maybe a little less flavorful than I hope, but I didn't lose to much....

Thanks for the support guys!

 

[jamesnsw]

The volcano effect is craziness. I've only seen it once or twice- I think it was coming from too vigorous a boil, so I've since adjusted the heat down a bit.

 

[mikebiewer]

Yea. I'm pretty sure my boil was to vigorous. I'm still dialing in this new burner. I had cut the heat, but I must not have let it cool enough before throwing these little guys in!

 

[NuclearRich]

Wow, I would be more sad than the driveway. All the good stuff floats on top of the boil (hops). I would be interested to know how much different this beer tastes than how it normally would (or, if its a first time recipe, how it was intended to taste)

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

Great looking blog Mike.

Bummer bout the volcano... you should look into Fermcap-S.

 

[mikebiewer]

Thanks!

Do a lot of people use that stuff? I'd really like to keep things out of my beer if I don't need them. I made a mistake, plus I was a wee toddied, when I threw those hops in...

I appreciate the kind words about the blog. Feel free to step in and say hi!

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

A lot of people use Fermcap and it completely precipitates out of your beer within minutes. In fact, if you use it in your boil to inhibit boil overs, you must add more back into the fermenter to avoid blow off because it will sink to the bottom of the boil kettle and not transfer to the fermenter (unless you dump everything in of course). I looked up the MSDS sheet on it when I first started using it and the tests show that it does not stay in the beer. Finished beers had zero appreciable Fermcap in the finished beer.

 

[mikebiewer]

To be honest, I'm curious as to why it attributes non-boil overs. What does it do? I love the fact that it doesn't stick with the beer and that it won't affect my final outcome, but what the heck does it do?

 

[Hang Glider]

To be honest, I'm curious as to why it attributes non-boil overs. What does it do? I love the fact that it doesn't stick with the beer and that it won't affect my final outcome, but what the heck does it do?

it WORKS!
I love fermcap-s! A few drops when boiling gets started - no boil-overs!

I believe it's a simethecone product, similar to Gas-X...

 

[Beernip]

It's like it is crying.

 

[mikebiewer]

It was crying...there was nothing I could do but watch...