Recent content by grafvonbarnez

I finally got to taste this beer today, (did two weeks primary, one week dry hopping in secondary, and 4 weeks in the bottles) and damn! My best beer yet, head and shoulders above my extract brews. I know some people get great results from extract, but I'm so glad I decided to go all grain...

If you're a little handy and live in a cooler region, or have access to an area of your house that stays pretty cool year-round, you could try building a Son of Fermentation Chiller http://home.roadrunner.com/~brewbeer/chiller/chiller.PDF I live in New England so my basement stays under 80...

You're probably dead on. Seems like it's got a lot of yeast and protein still floating. Whenever I draw off any there's a lot of sediment caked in the bottom of the beer line after an hour or so.

All grain. Grain bill was: 4.5lb Belgian 2-row malt 4.5lb flaked wheat 4 oz acidulated malt 60 minutes at 152°, 15 minute mash out at 168° Missed the conversion rest the first time and had to add more water until I got it right, held pretty well in the cooler after that, 150° after an hour...

My latest brew has been a Belgian wit that I kegged 4 days ago. It's my first time kegging a beer, so I was very careful to follow what instructions I could find, set my keg pressure to the recommended psi for the temperature and desired carbonation, and waited. After 4 days of waiting I figured...

Thanks, I couldn't remember if it was restricted to grains or not. But still, you're making my point. Adjuncts are not bad.

I do love a mint julep on a nice hot summer day as well. 3 ounces smooth bourbon whisky .5-1.5 oz simple syrup to taste 5 - 10 fresh mint leaves Muddle the mint and simple together vigorously in a tall glass, but do not shred the mint, top with bourbon and add 2/3rds a glass of ice crushed...

Strictly speaking, an adjunct is just an unmalted grain(?) used in the mash. A wheat beer made with malted wheat doesn't contain any adjuncts. As far as "anti-adjunct" goes, I'd imagine the reason behind that thinking would be a matter of confusing taste with process. The big producers of...

I was big into cocktails long before I knew that non-BMC beers existed. Some old favorites: The Last Word: 1 part gin 1 part lime juice 1 part maraschino liqueur 1 part green chartreuse Wet Martini: 3 parts gin 1 part sweet vermouth 2 dashes orange bitters Spray of lemon oil Garnish with a...

Another aspect of banning gruit in favor of hops would have been actual purity reasons. The law was enacted before Germ Theory was developed. We didn't even know what yeast was, and certainly didn't have rigorous sanitation. The fact that hops have anti-bacterial properties would have made...

I absolutely agree. But at the time, in a pre-industrial society, bread was more important than beer. After all, beer can be made from this barley stuff that makes *%!tty bread. As far as its longevity, and given the many German beers that are advertised as "conforming to the Reinheitsgebot"...

Its basis was more politico-economic than pro-good-beer. As I understand it, it was more about stopping brewers from using wheat people needed for bread than "ensuring good beer". This was the 16th century after all.

Oh god, I'm drinking a Narragansett. I only come to this bar for the bands! I swear!

Beersmith has one I know, and there's a 21 day free trial available at their website. It's a great program to have for all grain brewing regardless. However, before you rush off to tinker with your water, you should have a look through this thread if you haven't already...

Well, I feel rather embarrassed now. Just over 96 hours into fermentation and its already noticeably clearer as the yeast is starting to fall. I thought I had managed to move past the "oh god what's it doing is my beer ruined" phase of being a beginner homebrewer. Thanks for the advice guys...