Idk how you manage to get a full brew day in a day; my process somehow sucks up an entire day from like, 6 to 7 hours from milling and first light to finishing cleaning. I'll be happy with my speidels for this coming batch, though it'll be odd not seeing the krauzen like I did with my clear PETs.
South Carolina SC midlands area brewers
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TravelingLight
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Thanks dude! Unfortunately I won't be able to make it by this weekend. But keep me posted on the next one!
TravelingLight
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I can knock out a low/no hops batch (stout, saison, porter, etc) in 3.5 hours. My hoppy beers/NEIPAs are usually 5-6 hours (multiple whirlpools/hopstands). But I'm always trying to shave time. Which is one of the reasons I want a new kettle. I want a 15 or 20G kettle, with a big mesh basket so I can essentially do BIAB in one pot. That's what we did on Morrey's system this weekend and holy hell was it a nice change from vorlauf/lauter etc. Just ratchet the basket up, press the grains, start boiling. I loved it.
Morrey
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Yeah, we had an excellent brew day on our collab Brut IPA. IPA's still make for a longer day no matter how you shake it out with time for each hop addition to utilize in the WP. Considering most brewers are now implementing late addition hops for IPA's, double or triple WP's can add up to an hour to your brew day.
Some folks thumb their noses at modifying traditional multi-vessel brewing such I have done with mesh baskets to contain the grains. I think we got 88.9% mash efficiency and only lost 1 gallon of water due to absorption with a 21 lb grain bill. It sure makes for a more relaxed and stress free brew day for me.
Some folks thumb their noses at modifying traditional multi-vessel brewing such I have done with mesh baskets to contain the grains. I think we got 88.9% mash efficiency and only lost 1 gallon of water due to absorption with a 21 lb grain bill. It sure makes for a more relaxed and stress free brew day for me.
I'll let you know next time I'm doing it.
I have a 2 vessel gravity fed K-RIMs. I've been getting ~80% efficiency with my bag with no lauter. I have, however, managed to punch multiple holes in my Bag (stupid autosparge was still in the bag when I pulled it out to drop in a bucket and drain), but I leave minimal wort behind between emptying the bucket and upending the mashtun. I also do a very fine crush, which as of late seems to get stuck, though getting a stuck sparge unstuck when it is in a handy dandy sack is pretty damn easy.
A basket might be pretty handy. I like my step mashes, and bringing 20 pounds of grain up a step takes its sweet time and, with my efficiency being generally much higher than expected, I've had some long boils. I really do need to do a better job of backing out how much strike water I need. I've been doing 2.5 q/lb.
I have a 2 vessel gravity fed K-RIMs. I've been getting ~80% efficiency with my bag with no lauter. I have, however, managed to punch multiple holes in my Bag (stupid autosparge was still in the bag when I pulled it out to drop in a bucket and drain), but I leave minimal wort behind between emptying the bucket and upending the mashtun. I also do a very fine crush, which as of late seems to get stuck, though getting a stuck sparge unstuck when it is in a handy dandy sack is pretty damn easy.
A basket might be pretty handy. I like my step mashes, and bringing 20 pounds of grain up a step takes its sweet time and, with my efficiency being generally much higher than expected, I've had some long boils. I really do need to do a better job of backing out how much strike water I need. I've been doing 2.5 q/lb.
I’m in England on vacation but have sampled three of the Arkell’s cask ales. Wondering if anyone has had a chance to try a cask ale. I’m leaning toward meh. Very low carb and low hopped. Even the IPA wasn’t hoppy. Temp was probably low to mid 50s but not a problem. Drinkable but not what I’m used to drinking.
If you can swing by Koln on your way out, most of the brew pub-type places that do Kolsch serve them out of firkins. They are supposed to be low carb to create a more "creamy" head, and generally are served as one offs or limited releases. Also, American tastes are way out of wack when it comes to hops; we took after the pine tar taste and never looked back about 15 years ago and never really looked back. The rest of the world with mature beer cultures didn't really follow suit.
TravelingLight
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I've had some cask ales here, but not across the pond. I have to be in the right mood for them. Some of the best I had was at a beer dinner Matt Rodgers did a couple years back. He partnered with Conquest and Swamp Cabbage and did some neat stuff in gin barrels and some other ones. They're definitely different.
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SHAIV
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A silver bullet? like a coors? Man i got a rochefort 10 from a guy on my route yesterday. He just started brewing and he got it in germany where its a lot cheaper. Ive been wanting to try it but didnt want to pay 10$ for it. Hes got all kinds of stuff from overseas since he works for the airlines. Oh yeah! Now should i let it age or just go ahead and drink it?
TravelingLight
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I've always preferred to drink it immediately if I only get one of something. If I get two, I'll drink one fresh and sit on one. Just personal preference I suppose.
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SHAIV
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I probably will be drinking it soon. If i really like it ill go buy one. I know a place that has them and if they are the same age as the ipas they sell, itll already have aged some! Lol! stupid people selling ipas a year old. OMG!
Anyway this is what i found on the beer...
And similar to the brewery of St Bernardus, the water that's used for brewing Rochefort 10 is drawn from the grounds of the abbey. A long time ago there were attempts to mine minerals from the surrounding area and while digging a little stream became exposed, which was called the Tridaine. This little spring provides the water used in brewing Rochefort 10 and is said to contribute significantly to the taste of the beer. Like most quad Trappists, it's possible to store Rochefort 10 for a significant amount of time whereby the tastes only become more complex.
Rochefort 10 has an alcohol content of 11.3%ABV and is characterised by the blue bottle cap and blue "10" logo on the label. It pours a smooth dark brown colour and has a white / beige head that's not too big. Rochefort 10 has a sweet and deep aroma and there are noticeable flavours of dark fruits, molasses, apple and gentle hop spices. The alcohol is well hidden, despite its high alcoholic content. Nevertheless it has a nice warming effect on the body. Having a Rochefort 10 is the perfect ending to an active day spent outside in the cold.
That was a bomber for 10... right? I don't think I've paid more than $4 or $5 a bottle ever for rochefort.
Edits: I'm not remembering seeing much evidence from Brew Like a Monk that bottle conditioned quads do much better after 6 to 9 months, with that being the estimated maximum survival time of the yeast. However, that isn't the only chemical change that would happen over longer times, so do whatever for aging. It's already plenty good.
Brew Like a Monk also does a long segment on Rochefort's abbey. Can't recommend that book enough, even if you don't make much in the way of Belgians.
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SHAIV
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Yeah Idk i havent looked at it in a while. It may have been 7$ i guess you pay more if its aged... lol anyway ive had westvleteren 12 and tried to brew a clone of that but it didnt turn out anything like it. I think all the color comes from the candy syrup or something and i substituted that for something similar that was at betmar
Gotta love the stupid early shift!
Westie says their grain bill is Belgian Pale, Belgian Pilsner, and an unspecified dark malt for stability (I'd guess black prinz or midnight wheat). You are correct: all the color, and a good chunk of the dark fruit flavor, comes from syrups; the Belgians don't tend to use crystal candy sugar.
I was at Betmar yesterday; they had two crystal sugars, one that was basically clear rock candy (i.e. no color addition), and Brun foncé at 22 SRM as their "dark." While that will impart some flavor, the real dark Belgian syrup for a quad (like Simplicity) start at, like, 180 SRM. I'm throwing in a bag of 240 SRM sugar into mine with a bunch of 180.
I think the Brun foncé would be good for a brown ale or in conjunction with a darker one (like the D-45) for a dubbel.
Edit: I really like Belgians and their brew processes, and read Brew Like a Monk faster than most of my actual leisure reading, and retained it like I was cramming for the test
Westie says their grain bill is Belgian Pale, Belgian Pilsner, and an unspecified dark malt for stability (I'd guess black prinz or midnight wheat). You are correct: all the color, and a good chunk of the dark fruit flavor, comes from syrups; the Belgians don't tend to use crystal candy sugar.
I was at Betmar yesterday; they had two crystal sugars, one that was basically clear rock candy (i.e. no color addition), and Brun foncé at 22 SRM as their "dark." While that will impart some flavor, the real dark Belgian syrup for a quad (like Simplicity) start at, like, 180 SRM. I'm throwing in a bag of 240 SRM sugar into mine with a bunch of 180.
I think the Brun foncé would be good for a brown ale or in conjunction with a darker one (like the D-45) for a dubbel.
Edit: I really like Belgians and their brew processes, and read Brew Like a Monk faster than most of my actual leisure reading, and retained it like I was cramming for the test
TravelingLight
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Brewing my imperial stout for the winter this weekend. A big, thick and viscous, velvety mouthfeel stout is something I've had trouble with in the past. Although, I've never really attempted one this big. Friend in the club let me borrow his 5L flask to do a massive WLP002 starter (egg drop soup). And I'm borrowing Kevin's keggle mash tun to do a full volume no sparge mash. Confident I can knock this batch out in 3 hours if I have everything setup prior. Planning to ferment at 68* the whole time with a nice long ferment. Then bulk age in a corny keg for a few months to round out some of the edges. Very excited for this massive beer.
Hey, am I going to be the only one posting detailed half-page long recipes in here? How big are we calling big?
I've got 20 pounds of Dutch Pale and Belgian Pilsner (I think that's what I picked up...) sitting in the bucket with 3 pounds of D-160 and 1 pound of D-240 candi sugar sitting in the garage waiting to get mashed first thing tomorrow!
Y'all should be going with us on the PSB Beerventure bus to Greenville this weekend.
My tiny toddler that was running around the last meeting would not like going around while mommy and daddy drink beer all day, nor would the wife like me popping smoke for a day to go drink all day either. I'm also in the midst of the low carb diet, so my beer consumption is near rock bottom for at least a bit more. We'll probably make it to one of them one of these days though!
TravelingLight
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Ha! Good point. Fair warning, this is a convoluted grain bill. But I'm kind of a convoluted brewer, so what the hell? Also, I got this recipe from a fellow club member who (IMO) brews fantastic stouts, and I've tried this one and it's exactly what I'm looking for. Allegedly this recipe was originally created by some guys who are Hunapuh fanatics and brewed this over and over again until they got close enough to the base stout (Marshall Zukov, IIRC). And Huna is one of my all time favorites anyway.
27% 2-Row
23% Maris Otter (*Note: Original recipe is all MO for the base, but since I recently got a 50# sack of two row, I'm working it in to save some money)
10% Munich Light (8L)
10% Flaked Oats
10% Pale Chocolate
10% Roasted Barley
5% C60
3% Special B
2% Black Patent
Bitter @FWH to ~80 IBUs
WLP002 (4.5L starter)
Mash @ 152*
OG: 1.130
I'm doing a full volume no sparge mash on this beer per the recipe owner's advice. He said he always has to do a full volume no sparge on this beer because the second runnings come out super low ph with all the roasted/dark grains and really throws off the ph big time. Oddly enough, this is the first time Bru'n Water has me adding pickling lime. He said the first runnings off the mash are like motor oil, sounds awesome to me!
I'm going to aerate the absolute piss out of this beer before pitching the big ass starter. I'll probably ferment it in my spigoted Fermonster since it'll give me plenty of head space and an easy way to sample during fermentation. He said he does a long ass fermentation, so not sure how long that'll go. Regardless, I'll bulk age it in the keg at room temp for a few months and probably won't put it in the keezer until December. And me being me, I'll probably end up racking half the batch onto coffee as well because I just love coffee stouts. Any thoughts? Criticism?
I considered it, but I've got too much crap to do around here, and house shopping as well which sucks. But also, I'm kind of weird about scheduled brewery visits. I guess I just like more control? Anyway, y'all have fun.
Pffft, that ain't complicated. If He~brew can do 10 malts and 10 hops for the Jewbuillation 20 and have it not suck, i'm confident 9 is doable! That looks like a nice blend of roasty malts in the old rasputin sense. The extra hops also are firmly in the OR realm as well. Looks good!
I'm about 75% of the way through the mash; working on ramping up to 160 at the moment. I should probably start figuring out my hop schedule...
TravelingLight
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I definitely want to come check out your setup one brew day. Hate I couldn’t make it today. We spent most of the day looking at houses. Insert FML.gif.
No worries; it was another hot garage day. I need to do a better job figuring out how to collect an accurate pre-boil volume while maintaining good efficiencies. I harvested something stupid like 10.5 gallons to boil down to get ~7 to hit close to my numbers (had more boiloff than expected, but that means it's a 1.099 instead of a 1.093, based on a 5 point rise from another pound of dark candi). I'd probably have a 6 hour brew day, including cleaning if I didn't need a 2 hour boil at the end of everyone. But the beer is good, so I guess I can't complain!
TravelingLight
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Do you keep dark candi syrup/sugar on hand? I had a massive brain fart this weekend and missed my OG on my imperial stout by about 36 points. Now I'm trying to decide what to do: just roll with it and learn from the fuhck up, or add something to the fermenter to boost the gravity. I was considering candi syrup or sugar. But I've never worked with those before. And I didn't want it to dry the beer out too much, ya know? Thoughts? I just pitched last night. So if I am adding anything to the fermenter I'd like to do it tonight or tomorrow, but all the LHBSs are closed today.
You're in luck, Kevin ordered some D-240 for me, so he should have that. I bought out all his 160.
It looks like a 5 gallon batch will go up by 6 points for each pound of D-180. The Belgians use up to 20% of the total weight with Sugar. I can't imagine that 15% will dry out a heavy beer too terribly, as you aren't shooting for the 90% attenuation you'd expect to get with Belgian yeast. I think you were on the Mexican Cake Stout clone from ages back; they use a fair amount of D-2/D-160 (different manufacturer, roughly same SRM) in their stout. You could always counter balance with lactose if you wanted it to be a bit heavier.
You're also good with waiting; too much sugar too quick will make the yeast burn out. I mixed 3 pounds in at flame out, and i'm keeping the last pound to help eek my quad along when it hits ~75* in the fermenter.
It looks like a 5 gallon batch will go up by 6 points for each pound of D-180. The Belgians use up to 20% of the total weight with Sugar. I can't imagine that 15% will dry out a heavy beer too terribly, as you aren't shooting for the 90% attenuation you'd expect to get with Belgian yeast. I think you were on the Mexican Cake Stout clone from ages back; they use a fair amount of D-2/D-160 (different manufacturer, roughly same SRM) in their stout. You could always counter balance with lactose if you wanted it to be a bit heavier.
You're also good with waiting; too much sugar too quick will make the yeast burn out. I mixed 3 pounds in at flame out, and i'm keeping the last pound to help eek my quad along when it hits ~75* in the fermenter.
TravelingLight
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Thanks dude, great advice here. I think I've decided to just leave this one alone and let it ride. But I'm still pissed, and strongly considering rebrewing this in the next week or two. Flipside is that I need to brew as much as possible right now, because I think we found a house and will be packing and moving with any free time I have. Flipside to that is the house I think/hope we got doesn't have a backyard shed, so I get to build one woohoo! Already got my rough plans in my head, once we close I can get the concrete poured and start building. I am SO freaking excited to have a new shed with a level, even concrete floor and no carpenter ants and spiders getting all over my shiit.
TravelingLight
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Oh, I know exactly what happened. I was using Kevin's keggle mash tun so I could do a full volume no sparge mash. And I had a brain fart and did not account for the drop in efficiency. Ergo, my recipe was calculated at 69% efficiency, but in actuality I was only about 50%.
Odd; what was your liquor to grist ratio? I do no sparge and with my last few batches hit around 80% efficiency (though a bit less with the last one from some extra trub loss). I shoot for 2.5 q/lb (though, again, that's required a lot of boil off) with a fine mesh bag and a good, hard bag squeeze.
Could be the ph was off, mill was too coarse, or insufficient mash length (i.e. conversion not complete)?
Could be the ph was off, mill was too coarse, or insufficient mash length (i.e. conversion not complete)?
TravelingLight
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Per BS3, 1.57 qt/lb. I kept my gap setting the same because I was still using a false bottom. I'm also sure the high amount of roast grains affected the efficiency some too.
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SHAIV
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Hey guys im in the process of building my keg and carboy washer. I got a few things for it and prepared my bucket. My question is how do you attach the pvc to the pump? I think travelinglight has the same pump i got. I got a stainless 1/2” adapter at lowes yesterday but it actually wouldnt screw into my pump. Maybe it was a different style. I have a brass hose barb that fits fine and its a 1/2” but thats for recirculating ice water for chiling. I saw a video online of a guy who attached the pvc directly to a hose barb it looked like. I guess if it works it works but i dunno how much i like that idea. I guess i just need to go back and look but im also still trying to figure out how to attach my keg connections. I got a pvc cross to attach to it and figured i could put one keg connection out each side of the cross but still got to figure out how to get that hooked up too
TravelingLight
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I got a brass fitting from Lowes for mine. It wasn't the exact size (because I think the pump uses metric thread sizes), but it was close enough that it gives me a nice tight seal with teflon tape on the threads. 1/2" threaded to 3/4" garden hose adapter, IIRC. Then I used a 3/4" threaded PVC coupler to connect the PVC "spray wand" to the pump. You're right, pretty sure we have the exact same pump. So that fitting should work for yours. I just used some pliers to crank it down in there. I won't ever remove that fitting, I'll just connect whatever I need to it.
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SHAIV
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So i went back to lowes today. I got a brass nipple this time and it still doesnt fit. The brass fitting with a hose barb fits great! Why doesnt this fit? Its the same size! It does seem a bit smaller than that stainless piece i had yesterday also the same size. Like what are these manufacturers measuring with? Lol
Edit. Its so weird that three pieces all the same size could be so different. One piece wont even get to touch threads. One piece will kind of thread barely and one will thread all the way by hand
Edit. Its so weird that three pieces all the same size could be so different. One piece wont even get to touch threads. One piece will kind of thread barely and one will thread all the way by hand
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Whats this do that an oxy or PBW soak doesn't? I get that sankes need this because of beerstone build up and that no one can manually clean build up through the narrow opening (or even see it), but for clear or wideouthed vessels, what is the main benefit?
I’m back from vacation and have changed my mind on cask ales. I tried not to repeat any of the beers I found on the trail. My perception is that the ales in the villages and towns may not have been the best examples or handled correctly. Once we got into the larger towns and then London, the ales were definitely worthy of a second pint. Fullers London Pride from the cask is great and completely different from the bottles I find here.
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