Recent content by beersk

It's $5.99 for a 4 pack at my local ALDI as well. I'm in Iowa City, Iowa. Love this beer. Oh I know you guys are paying almost nothing for those beers. Friends of mine have travelled to that region and told me about it. I'm jealous!

Well, of any good Irish Red Ale, I would NOT choose Smithwick's! 😅 🤢 Wexford Cream Ale is really the way to go, though it is a bit sweeter and less roasty than I would prefer. Not sure if that sweetness is a function of C malts or low bittering hops and yeast character. The yeast character is...

What others have said is good advice: more roasted barley less adjuncts. Personally, an Irish Red Ale to me should be simple. No caramel malts, good base malts like Golden Promise or Maris Otter, maybe a biscuit malt like Victory or another roasted malt like Special roast, at about 7% and about...

No offense taken, amigo. I appreciate the tips. pH is probably something I don't monitor as much as I should. I basically use Bru'n water and trust that it's getting me to where I need to be. Not ideal, but has never let me down. With lower abv, I am aware that there isn't as much yeast activity...

Looks like a fine recipe to me. You could probably even up the amount of C40 to 5% or even 7%. Or up the Munich from 12 to 20% to give it more oomph. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't change much to get more body. Mashing at 160F should do the trick. You probably don't need to mash for 60 minutes...

Man, I feel you there. I feel like I go through so many of these phases. I've gone through the NA phase, discarded it because NA beer tastes BAD. We all try to fool ourselves into thinking it tastes "like" beer. One of my favorite things that comes to mind from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the...

It definitely works. I had one batch take much longer than I expected to begin fermenting after cold crashing a beer fermented in the keg for like 2 months. Personally, I wouldn't go longer than about 6-8 weeks if I'm reusing the yeast from a ferment and serve. I won't be cold crashing for that...

I am beginning to believe that is really just isn't possible. The alcohol makes up a huge flavor component of the style/beer even if we don't "perceive" it. As mentioned above, without it, the beer tends to become grainy tasting. I'm noticing this more and more as I brew these low abv beers...

I wouldn't see a point in brewing if I barely drank anymore. Giving beer away is harder than it used to be with friends/family scattered and not everyone wants what you have to offer either. It's just not worth the effort as much anymore. I brew for me and me alone. My consumption depends on...

This is what I'm experiencing, the grainy flavors. Normally I'd be all for that, but they aren't good grainy flavors. It's just like in NA beers, weird, almost not quite, but not entirely unlike beer. Kind of like when I did the cold mash beers. Just not a fan. NA beer is a waste of time and...

Yes and I mistakenly forgot that it was alcohol by weight and not percent. But I've brewed a few now, some have finished under 3% and they're a bit light. They almost remind of some NA beers where you really miss the sweetness that alcohol provides. I'm thinking to bump my original gravity up to...

Boy, that is a shame. But you can't go wrong with 34/70. Just an all around great and versatile yeast.

I think another notable change is the fact that you don't need to boil beers made with pilsner malt for 90 minutes, 60 minutes is plenty, even 45 minutes. DMS just isn't an issue with boil times anymore. I've shortened my brew session by mashing for 45 minutes and boiling for 45 minutes. It's...

My input is that, yes, 2633 is fantastic in basically any Bavarian lager style. A friend of mine uses 2633 almost exclusively in his German lagers and it's a wonderful strain; rich, malty, smooth. So, absolutely, yes, use it for your Festbier.

I'm also glad that I haven't lost my thread-killing abilities. I should become a badass professional sewer and call myself The Thread Killa! But, welcome back to homebrewing, OP. We're still here and enjoying it at much as we can.