Recent content by jmarkus

Pick me! Pick me! LackBeard Brew Co.

I did the same thing with some grapefruit zest/pith, and I am having a very similar taste (tannic, astringent, bitter, etc.). Did those flavors in your beer ever mellow out? I'm trying to RDWHAHB, but this is my first crap beer, and it's disheartening. Onward and upward!

...palate wrecked.

Fermentation is probably still going on, but the part that produces the krauzen is done and over with. It won't return. I'd agree with you that you should let it sit in the primary. I usually just keep it in there 2-4 weeks.

Seems like normal fermentation to me - the foam on the top that appeared and disappeared is known as krauzen and is produced normally by the yeast during fermentation. I would agree that a SG reading needs to be taken in order to make sure fermentation is complete.

Palmer has an American Wheat beer in his book/on his website, which uses 6 lbs of Wheat Malt extract only. I know it's not the hefe you were looking for, but it's something. I'd say if you used 7#, it wouldn't be too big of a difference (just an up in OG and ABV probably). Thoughts on this...

+1 to blizzard

Typically the longer you wait with an IPA, the more the hop aroma and flavor will disappear. If it's really hoppy, sometimes it's nice to allow the malt & hop characters to balance out; however, if you really like hoppy beers, drinking them "young" will allow you to taste those flavors better.

Chickypad, I wasn't quite sure to which forum to post. Thanks for the help. I'll make sure she drinks it early. What do you think about steeping some grapefruit zest in the last 10 minutes of the boil as well?

Thanks for the help, you two. I might try to add the zest in with the boil and throw some in with the dry hops. Centennial is my best bet for grapefruity goodness, it sounds like. Thanks, again. I hope MLSO is pleased. :)

Thanks for the help.

First off, I'm making this for my SO. She loves Abita's Grapefruit IPA, so to keep my obsess... hobby going, I figured I'd try to make her something similar. Recipe type: Extract w/ Speciality Grain Steep Yeast: Dry s-04 or s-05? (first question - which would be better) Batch Size: 3...

First off, I'm making this for my SO. She loves Abita's Grapefruit IPA, so to keep my obsess... hobby going, I figured I'd try to make her something similar. Recipe type: Extract w/ Speciality Grain Steep Yeast: Dry s-04 or s-05? (first question - which would be better) Batch Size: 3...

Thanks for the help, guys. I assumed the heat/steam from the wort would do the trick. And, yes, I did pitch healthy yeast - the airlock is going nuts. Thanks again for putting me at ease. Is it normal to lose sleep over brewing? HAH!

I ridiculously forgot to sanitize my brew pot lid after the boil and placed it back on the pot during the wort chill. It was kept on the counter face up during boil, and then I just threw it back on the pot during the entire 30-minute chill. Obviously there is nothing I can do but learn from...