Recent content by dmbsteve

Yeah I should have known the cheating comment wouldn't go over well. :o I've done it a bunch of times myself. Never really thought of the boil fining agents like whirlfoc and Irish moss in the same regard but that is a good point brew2. You've both just about convinced me to go ahead and add...

Has anyone ever cold crashed an ale with WLP007 yeast? If so, how long did you crash and did you experience any carbonation issues after bottling? I put my blonde ale in the fridge yesterday at 35deg. Planned to leave it there a day or two to clear and then bottle. Looks like it's developed some...

About two cases of 12 oz bottles, and 30 or so bombers. 5 gal lagering, and 10 gal fermenting. I just can't seem to stay ahead.

I did make some recipe adjustments. I did away with the cardamom altogether, and went with 1 oz of juniper. I added the oak to the secondary a few days ago, I'll taste at one week and if the oak flavor is present by then I will go ahead and bottle. The sample I drew off was pretty sprucy, so it...

Spruceontap.com if you're willing to dish out 16 bucks plus shipping for 4oz of spruce tips.

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah I was wondering if 1/2 lb molasses was too much, so I might reduce it to 6oz or so to be safe and up the caramel malt to keep the color/fermentables about where I want them. Northern Brewer and Midwest both sell spruce essence online in 2oz bottles. I'm hoping LHBS...

Planning to brew this winter warmer in a couple of weeks. I didn't want to go with a traditional spiced ale, as I want some resinous/piney character from the spruce and cardamom. Trying to basically build a recipe that will make those two ingredients shine, thought juniper would complement them...

After reading the posts, I went with the CDN quick read..$11 bucks on Amazon! Love it! Quick..accurate, consistent, and durable...I've already dropped the thing twice on the porcelain tile kitchen floor. Each time I was pissed because it had slipped out of my pocket (was wearing gym shorts...

Well, gee guys...thanks for stealing my thunder...jk I was mainly excited about the clean cake because I pitched the next beer right on to it, and didn't have to worry about any leftover trub from the previous beer. I guess it's not big deal. What I failed to mention is that even though the...

My last brew I used whole hops for the first time. I was a little intimidated at first having never used them before and didn't know what to expect. Had read some good and some bad about them. Well I racked over to secondary yesterday and at the bottom of the primary was the cleanest yeast cake...

I'll probably brew this again next week, and I have 1 lb of flaked wheat laying around that I'd like to throw in it. I'm thinking it would be pretty good. Anybody ever added flaked wheat to this and if so how was it? Should I do a protein rest to reduce chill haze?

Cracked open the first of the dry hogged beer tonight. Definitely can taste the bacon. It cuts right through the smoke and comes through even more than I expected. But it's surprisingly very drinkable. I actually prefer it to the non-dry hogged which is also very good. I finished the bottled in...

You're right about the WLP007. To be honest, I thought it was an odd choice at first for this style, but I had never used it before. Now that I have, I can see why you chose it. I don't have lagering capabilities at home, but this yeast is the next best thing. I'm brewing Cream of 3 crops right...

Brewed this a few weeks ago and opened first bottle this weekend. Love it! Good amount of smoke but also very crisp and easy drinking. I think the cherry malt has a sweet smoke character that makes the beer a little smoother than those I've had with just the beech malt. Reminds me a little of...

Drank the first of the smoked beer (non dry hogged version) this weekend. Stellar! Nice robust smokiness but very clean and drinkable, almost lager-like. I'm giving the the dry hogged beer another week to make sure they are fully carbonated. I only ended up with 4 bottles of it. Scruffy1207 -...