What I did for beer today

wps-hbt
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
wepeeler said:
By far, my favorite extract Neipa was my Mosaic/Galaxy. 7 lbs Pilsner dme (Pils is the lightest and most fermentable dme; stay away from LME). 8 oz White Wheat Malt, 8 oz Flaked Wheat, 8 oz Flaked Oats, 8 oz carapils. Specialty grains steeped at 155 for 30 minutes. 0.75 oz Warrior at 60 min for bittering. Mosaic and Galaxy added at flameout. London 1318. 2 3 oz dry hops. On day 4 and then 3 days before kegging.

I've done roughly 15 batches of extract Neipas, and this one was top notch. I hate to sound cocky at all, but it rivaled the best stuff I could find in the liquor stores and even some of the big boy Neipa producers. I shared with a couple bars I frequent, and they wanted to buy it.
Click to expand...

+1 Thanks man I appreciate the insight, it is very helpful.

The fermentables make a lot of sense to me. I just wanted a kind of standard extract fermentable schedule so once I do one I can try different hop combos. I can't wait to try my first ne ipa out, only issue is I am a bottle baby so I'll have to pound them as fast as possible before they oxidize in the bottles, but hey these are the challenges us homebrewers have to accept. But with most Ne IPA's I like going for 15$ for 4x16oz cans there is no doubt if I like how this turns out I'll be whipping up a bunch more like it sounds like you did.

Only downside is I probably won't undertake this until early July, I am grateful for the insight.
 
Andrew Hodgson said:
+1 Thanks man I appreciate the insight, it is very helpful.

The fermentables make a lot of sense to me. I just wanted a kind of standard extract fermentable schedule so once I do one I can try different hop combos. I can't wait to try my first ne ipa out, only issue is I am a bottle baby so I'll have to pound them as fast as possible before they oxidize in the bottles, but hey these are the challenges us homebrewers have to accept. But with most Ne IPA's I like going for 15$ for 4x16oz cans there is no doubt if I like how this turns out I'll be whipping up a bunch more like it sounds like you did.

Only downside is I probably won't undertake this until early July, I am grateful for the insight.
Click to expand...
All good dude. Only thing is, I would highly recommend you keg it. I don't know your situation, but I haven't had any of my 5 gallons go over 3 weeks in the keg. After week 2 in the keg, the flavor drops. Not significantly, but noticeably. If you bottle, you're looking at at least 14 days of fermentation (I've only ever done 21 days fermentation and will be experimenting with 14 days ASAP) and another 2-3 weeks for carbonation. That puts you in the range of 1 month to 6 weeks. I would imagine flavor would suffer. You want to drink these FRESH.

And a side note, I've read a lot of guys have issues with oxidation. Most people say the fix is doing a closed transfer. I've done all my batches with an auto siphon into the keg (I was even transferring to a carboy for secondary fermentation for the first 10 batches or so) and have had zero issues with oxidation. This is lid off the primary, and just racking straight into keg. Color stays nearly identical from first glass to last glass. I've heard worse feedback from bottling.
 
wepeeler said:
All good dude. Only thing is, I would highly recommend you keg it. I don't know your situation, but I haven't had any of my 5 gallons go over 3 weeks in the keg. After week 2 in the keg, the flavor drops. Not significantly, but noticeably. If you bottle, you're looking at at least 14 days of fermentation (I've only ever done 21 days fermentation and will be experimenting with 14 days ASAP) and another 2-3 weeks for carbonation. That puts you in the range of 1 month to 6 weeks. I would imagine flavor would suffer. You want to drink these FRESH.

And a side note, I've read a lot of guys have issues with oxidation. Most people say the fix is doing a closed transfer. I've done all my batches with an auto siphon into the keg (I was even transferring to a carboy for secondary fermentation for the first 10 batches or so) and have had zero issues with oxidation. This is lid off the primary, and just racking straight into keg. Color stays nearly identical from first glass to last glass. I've heard worse feedback from bottling.
Click to expand...

I wish that I could, haven't gotten into a kegging setup as I really have no way of keeping kegs yet. My solution I think is to really push shaving the fermentation time as you stated. I have only ever done 14 day fermentations and in that time have had beers ferment to bone-dry. I am thinking for a NE IPA I would essentially dry hop #1 at high krausen (day 2-3) then day 5 of ferment dry hop again and really try to get the fermentation done and cleaned up so they can be bottled on day 10 (or earlier, probably would start taking gravity readings on day 5 when the second dry hop goes in), then even if they take the full 2 weeks to carb I would probably pop the first one at day 17 (10 day ferment plus a week in a bottle) and by day 24 be ripping through them. I think if I really overbuild a starter for this I could be within this window. Then I will judge if the lag time caused by the bottling etc. is worth trying the style again or waiting until I can keg. My expectations are tempered by the bottling but I'd still like to see for myself how it goes.
 
Flew to Detroit....got me a GB Marzen.
20180614_190730.jpeg
 
Andrew Hodgson said:
I wish that I could, haven't gotten into a kegging setup as I really have no way of keeping kegs yet. My solution I think is to really push shaving the fermentation time as you stated. I have only ever done 14 day fermentations and in that time have had beers ferment to bone-dry. I am thinking for a NE IPA I would essentially dry hop #1 at high krausen (day 2-3) then day 5 of ferment dry hop again and really try to get the fermentation done and cleaned up so they can be bottled on day 10 (or earlier, probably would start taking gravity readings on day 5 when the second dry hop goes in), then even if they take the full 2 weeks to carb I would probably pop the first one at day 17 (10 day ferment plus a week in a bottle) and by day 24 be ripping through them. I think if I really overbuild a starter for this I could be within this window. Then I will judge if the lag time caused by the bottling etc. is worth trying the style again or waiting until I can keg. My expectations are tempered by the bottling but I'd still like to see for myself how it goes.
Click to expand...

Sounds good. I guess it can't hurt to give it a whirl. You won't know until you try it. I just know that most of the issues with this style revolve around oxygen and bottling. Just brewed up an all grain citra neipa last night. I'll post a pic when it's done.
 
I bought myself a cheap Farter's Day present and possibly denied another person from giving it to their father. Sounds bad I know.

I was at Best Buy returning a my wife's mother's day gift she didn't want. A set of wireless headphones.

I'm walking through the appliance section checking on prices for instant pots, low and behold this sucker is by itself on the bottom shelf. A big ole shipping sticker was plastered over the growler picture on the front of the box. I believe that's why it's still there the day before Farter's Day.

Listed at $65.00 I thought it was a good deal. Contemplated getting it, then thought no, yes, no. Thought it won't be here much longer if somebody needs a last minute farter's day gift. I grab it and check out. After looking at the receipt I see it's been reduced from $129 down to $65.

Glad I got it...

This sucker will take a stout faucet and cartridge with CO2 and CO2/Nitro. Holds 2L, and comes with a regulator that has a gauge. It SS and has a screw-on cap. The SS will keep cold for 24.

Feeling kinda lucky. Think I need to buy a lottery ticket.
20180616_152349.jpeg
20180616_152437.jpeg
20180616_152453.jpeg
 
Discovered another angle to my "new" fermentation fridge today. Yesterday I brewed up an emergency batch of the House IPA since the one I brewed last weekend tanked due to stressed yeast (yes my fault). Instead of immediately dumping the bad batch, I stuck it in the freezer side of the fridge, figuring it will be okay there. Lo and behold, it's a perfect cold-crasher as the fermometer is down to 45 and it's not frozen. Perfectly clear beer and the yeast cake is nice and compressed. Beer is still gross so it will be dumped out, but this solves several issues. Was wondering how I would cold crash if I had another beer on the fridge side, and now I can without jeopardizing anything. Can also brew a real lager while I have an ale going at the same time. Some of you are probably thinking "DUH!!" but I don't care.
 
Just filled a 12oz bottle with my APA to take to my dad today. He has Alzheimer's and doesn't get a beer unless one of us takes him out to lunch or dinner, and he does love it. Will be the first one of mine he's gotten to try. Looking forward to his opinion although he was a Bud drinker all his life. Hug your dads today if you can. My greatest wish with this hobby is that I could have shared it with him before this horrible disease took hold, he would have loved it.
 
Yesterday got supplies for my next 2 brews, then supported my local brewery by having a couple pints. Sticking with homebrew today to help clear a tap line for the next one up[emoji481]
 
Pitched yeast on the wort I made yesterday. This the first time I have waited overnight to let the wort cool in the fridge before pitching the yeast. I hope sanitation is good enough.
 
Bottled. I’ve bottled 7.5 gallons of beer in two days (76 bottles in total). 5 gallons of a Pineapple Blonde and 2.5 gallons of Amarillo IPA (sourced from the HBT ale recipes). July is gonna be a good month.
 
Waiting at the doctors office with my wife for her appointment. Formulating my recipes to brew next (a blonde ale and a pale ale), after my two this week (an Irish red and a dark mild).
 
Popped my first test bottle of Experiment 626 at 7 days under bottlecap. This is the lightest, clearest ale I've brewed yet, with very light grain and plenty of hop character in the aroma and at the back. Not sweet, not sour, carbonating nicely, with good head and lace on the glass. Passed samples to the offspring, and they said they liked it. And they don't have to, since they can buy their own if they want.

I think I'll keep it (and open test bottle number 2 in a week)...
 
I am 15 minutes into the boil on my Irish red. Hope to have the wort in the fermenter by 2pm. Already have the mashtun clean because it will be needed Saturday for my dark mild!
 
I cleaned and sanitized two kegs that I will fill Friday with a Azacca/Amarillo NEIPA.
 
Bottled an Irish Extra Stout on Monday.
Bought grains, hops and yeast for a Red IPA yesterday which I plan on brewing this weekend.
Today I'm receiving some supplies in the mail to help make my mash process easier.
Busy busy! :yes:
 
Haven't done it yet today, but I'm stopping in the Salvation Army store looking for a cheap old machine of some sort, to use as a project box for my STC-1000 fermentation fridge. Stupid Radio Shacks all closed up around these parts.
 
Moved my lager to the "cold" side of the fermentation fridge to start crashing, and dropped the dry hops in the emergency brewed IPA from last weekend. Lager is a bit more malty since it's only come down to 1.020, hoping the crash will wake up the S-23 and maybe bring it down another point or two. IPA has none of the nasty off-flavor that the dumped one did, just nice fresh peach & citrus. Yeast still a bit in suspension but the krausen is down. So consensus is: pitched into too warm wort, and yeast slurry didn't get enough time to get to room temp so probably killed a bunch of it off in the first one that got dumped.

I want to brew a stout this weekend, since that one is last on my list of "bogey" beers that I've never been able to do well...but acquisition by a huge company at work has changed pay week and that will have to wait. Oh well, will be a good weekend to change the line on one of the taps that is too short and do some work in the woman cave.
 
seatazzz said:
I want to brew a stout this weekend, since that one is last on my list of "bogey" beers that I've never been able to do well...
Click to expand...
What style of stout? Just curious, I've brewed a pretty decent dry Irish stout, and a high gravity sweet stout, and chocolate milk stout. I see a roasty imperial stout in my future.
 
Last edited:
Just added Motueka hop pellets to dry hop my motueka pale ale. Should be able to cold crash sunday and keg late sunday evening or monday after work.

Tomorrows sort of brewing related activity is hopefully getting more cortisone injected in my knee that should make brewing and other things easier and less painful for a couple of months.
I really hate needles (phobia) but the way my knee has been this week i will have to tollerate them just... its never fun.

A couple of months virtually pain free is worth it though.

If i didn't have work afterwards i would have a couple of good homebrews before going to the doctor.
 
Today I apprehensively tasted the emergency IPA that got dry hopped yesterday (yes I take my samples with every sanitary precaution), mainly to assure myself it didn't go south like the last one did. Tastes great and should be keggable by Sunday. Sipping on a Captain morgan & cherry Dr pepper right now, found the Capn in the bottom of the pantry where the husband thought I wouldn't find it...silly man.
 
Kegged a Neipa today, kegged hopped with 2 oz each amarillo/azacca. Hydrometer samples tasted delightful.
 
I wax the car today like hell today and then poured myself a homebrew and thought to myself, wow that was worth it.

Adding some hops to my saison sour beer (primary) tis evening, that should be interesting.
 
Finally got around to installing a longer beer line on one of the kegerator taps. The beer is still coming out with way too much foam, although a bit less than before, so I'm thinking it's the tap itself. The keg isn't overcarbed either. Yet another item to add to the shopping list....
 
seatazzz said:
Finally got around to installing a longer beer line on one of the kegerator taps. The beer is still coming out with way too much foam, although a bit less than before, so I'm thinking it's the tap itself. The keg isn't overcarbed either. Yet another item to add to the shopping list....
Click to expand...
I love my Intertap faucets...
 

Similar threads

Romex2121
Starting over again
Replies
6
Views
408
corncob
corncob
Clint Yeastwood
Asymptomatic Covid and Beer Taste
Replies
21
Views
940
Clint Yeastwood
Clint Yeastwood
N
Underrated Beer List
Replies
28
Views
1K
mashdar
mashdar
?
Advice on how to enjoy homebrewing over the years without becoming an alcoholic.
2 3 4
Replies
136
Views
6K
sibelman
sibelman
YaleH
Accidentally watered down my wort!!!
Replies
4
Views
424
YaleH
YaleH
wps-hbt2

Latest posts

Back
Top