Any brewers in the Conway Area?

[BowAholic]

Would love to get together on my week off and brew a batch, I'd be happy to bring my tun/pot/burner over and we could each brew or something. I haven't brewed in weeks and I'm "jus startin to get the itch". Also have a guy at work who's started homebrewing and is wanting to watch someone brew.

just let me know when. I'm going to brew day in Fort Smith Saturday... any other time would work. Bring your stuff, and I'll use mine, and we can both brew at the same time.

 

[estricklin]

just let me know when. I'm going to brew day in Fort Smith Saturday... any other time would work. Bring your stuff, and I'll use mine, and we can both brew at the same time.

Heck yeah, I won't be off til starting the 22nd anyway but sounds good.

 

[BowAholic]

Heck yeah, I won't be off til starting the 22nd anyway but sounds good.

I still have some beers for you to try as well...and would appreciate some of your Irish yeast to try on a red.

Just let me know when you're ready...

 

[estricklin]

Nothing like bottling beer while having the morning cup of coffee!

 

[BowAholic]

Nothing like bottling beer while having the morning cup of coffee!

unless it's already having your grain mashing and the brew shed smelling wonderful!

 

[estricklin]

Bob, Randy and I had a pretty successful brew day. We each brewed a batch, Bob did an Irish Red, Randy brewed some sort of "Coffee Creamer" haha, and I made my blueberry ale finally.

Used about 15 pounds of blueberries, should be enough for 10 gallons we'll see.

Seriously considering switching to BIAB for a while.

Bob cannot be caught in a photo, but Randy and I are shown beside my brew pot. I actually think I may have got Bob's crock in a photo so...that counts.

 

[BowAholic]

it was a blast Eric...it's always great to talk about beer as well as hear what others think about beer you've made. I hope your wife likes the Mead. Maybe next time it won't rain all day...

 

[estricklin]

Turns out I did have some more of that Saison, found a whole bucket of it in my fermentation chamber. So I kegged it, along with an oatmeal stout that I am going to add some Vanilla to when I get back from town.

For some strange reason, my fermentation chamber smells like blueberry muffins??

Bob, I ordered 2 of those custom bags from that guy on here, along with a good pulley, hop bag and a dry hop bag, all for 56 bucks out the door. I start back on nights tomorrow so in about 2 weeks I'm going to put the BIAB to the test with the 25 gallon Concord! I'm really out of grain though, just a bit of Maris Otter left and that's about it.

 

[BowAholic]

Bob, I ordered 2 of those custom bags from that guy on here, along with a good pulley, hop bag and a dry hop bag, all for 56 bucks out the door. I start back on nights tomorrow so in about 2 weeks I'm going to put the BIAB to the test with the 25 gallon Concord! I'm really out of grain though, just a bit of Maris Otter left and that's about it.

cool... about the Saison and about the Bags... I sent you a text yesterday. I got a 55# bag of Pale Ale for $42 plus tax... I'm happy with that. BTW- I bought the tablets for chlorine... do I need to worry about pH too?

 

[estricklin]

cool... about the Saison and about the Bags... I sent you a text yesterday. I got a 55# bag of Pale Ale for $42 plus tax... I'm happy with that. BTW- I bought the tablets for chlorine... do I need to worry about pH too?

Ya that's cheap for sure. I may have to pay them a visit soon.

For the pH I'm not sure what effect doing a full volume mash would have on it. I will check mine as I try this method. You can buy pH strips pretty cheap actually. If your beer is fermenting down to where you expect it to, I'd say your pH isn't a problem anyway.

 

[BowAholic]

Ya that's cheap for sure. I may have to pay them a visit soon.

For the pH I'm not sure what effect doing a full volume mash would have on it. I will check mine as I try this method. You can buy pH strips pretty cheap actually. If your beer is fermenting down to where you expect it to, I'd say your pH isn't a problem anyway.

I have a nice LaMotte's water testing set and tested the tap water at 7.0, as expected... but I have never tested mash pH and thought that our water should be similar...and you're the "water guy"... LOL Looking at pH meters and haven't got a clue what I'd get if I needed one.

 

[estricklin]

Well mine seems to work pretty well, hate calibrating it though. There's some kind of "better" strips they have at home brew suppliers, you can buy them and cut them into 3 or 4 pieces and make them last longer. I've tested the pH of my water and it varies from day to day, 7-8.5, but usually around 7.5.

 

[BowAholic]

Well mine seems to work pretty well, hate calibrating it though. There's some kind of "better" strips they have at home brew suppliers, you can buy them and cut them into 3 or 4 pieces and make them last longer. I've tested the pH of my water and it varies from day to day, 7-8.5, but usually around 7.5.

what kind of pH meter are you using?

 

[estricklin]

what kind of pH meter are you using?

I chose this one:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003IKNJIE/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Was scared of getting a crappy one because of the horror stories I read. Having automatic temperature correction is nice too though. You really should put some distilled water in the cap when you store the meter to help protect the probe, that's what our chemist at work has us do.

 

[estricklin]

I was just on Amazon ordering some 05, I noticed they had some Saflager S-23 for $1.65 a pack! They had 5 in stock so I bought all 5, shipping and handling was 5 bucks but that still seems like a good deal, normally 6 dollars on NB I think, and I just got 5 packs for around 13 dollars. I'm sure it's out of date but dry yeast really never goes bad anyway.

I took a vacation day Saturday so hoping my bags will be in by then. Going to take another shot at cloning the Ruby Redbird.

 

[BowAholic]

I was just on Amazon ordering some 05, I noticed they had some Saflager S-23 for $1.65 a pack! They had 5 in stock so I bought all 5, shipping and handling was 5 bucks but that still seems like a good deal, normally 6 dollars on NB I think, and I just got 5 packs for around 13 dollars. I'm sure it's out of date but dry yeast really never goes bad anyway.

I took a vacation day Saturday so hoping my bags will be in by then. Going to take another shot at cloning the Ruby Redbird.

sounds like a great deal to me...

I'm still looking at pH meters and thinking I need a crash course in water management...then a trip to the brew supply store to get the additions I need. I may just buy paper test strips until I get a meter...but I'm thinking our calcium is low and that I may need more acid as well since I use a full water volume mash...thinking my lighter colored beers would be better if the wort was more acidic...?

 

[estricklin]

I'm not sure our calcium is very low at all, in fact I suspect it's the opposite. I've always wanted to send a sample off to Ward or somewhere else but haven't got around to it. I like the taste of our water, I think it's good. I just make mash additions strictly to control pH, that way I know I'm maximizing my chances of getting good conversion.

I know I kinda said this before but, basically with our water I've found that all mashes, except ones that are heavy in darker roasted grains such as stouts and porters, end up with a pH that's a little too high. 1/4 -1/2 tsp of lactic acid almost always does the trick, I really don't even measure it about half the time because I've done it so many times, I just know. The darker beers will actually have a mash pH that's TOO low. Calcium carbonate will fix that, but it's a mother to dissolve if you just throw it in the mash. My rule is if I think I'm going to need it, I add it as soon as I start heating up my strike water, and stir it pretty often just to be on the safe side. For me 1/2 tsp usually does the trick, but depending on the recipe may take a little more. Baking soda actually works better, and faster at raising the pH, but use it with an even lighter hand. 1/8 tsp to start out with I'd say. Think of it as "pH blaster".

I'm curious as to how the BIAB full volume mash is going to effect pH. The grain itself is what contains the things that help drive the pH where we want it, with more water, those minerals/salts/acids will be diluted more, thus having a smaller effect on the mash pH. How much smaller I don't know. I will let you know what I find out though. I think the answer is going to be just adding a little more lactic acid, but never adding enough where it could actually be tasted or anything. As long as the pH is in the ball park anyway. We're pretty lucky with our tap water. I've read on here about others who, without adding brewing salts or acid, have crazy mash pHs. With ours even if you don't do anything, it's usually damn close to where it needs to be anyway. Your beers tasted like they finished plenty dry enough, and you didn't even do anything to mash pH I'm guessing. More proof that barley wants to become beer!

 

[BowAholic]

I'm not sure our calcium is very low at all, in fact I suspect it's the opposite. I've always wanted to send a sample off to Ward or somewhere else but haven't got around to it. I like the taste of our water, I think it's good. I just make mash additions strictly to control pH, that way I know I'm maximizing my chances of getting good conversion.

I know I kinda said this before but, basically with our water I've found that all mashes, except ones that are heavy in darker roasted grains such as stouts and porters, end up with a pH that's a little too high. 1/4 -1/2 tsp of lactic acid almost always does the trick, I really don't even measure it about half the time because I've done it so many times, I just know. The darker beers will actually have a mash pH that's TOO low. Calcium carbonate will fix that, but it's a mother to dissolve if you just throw it in the mash. My rule is if I think I'm going to need it, I add it as soon as I start heating up my strike water, and stir it pretty often just to be on the safe side. For me 1/2 tsp usually does the trick, but depending on the recipe may take a little more. Baking soda actually works better, and faster at raising the pH, but use it with an even lighter hand. 1/8 tsp to start out with I'd say. Think of it as "pH blaster".

I'm curious as to how the BIAB full volume mash is going to effect pH. The grain itself is what contains the things that help drive the pH where we want it, with more water, those minerals/salts/acids will be diluted more, thus having a smaller effect on the mash pH. How much smaller I don't know. I will let you know what I find out though. I think the answer is going to be just adding a little more lactic acid, but never adding enough where it could actually be tasted or anything. As long as the pH is in the ball park anyway. We're pretty lucky with our tap water. I've read on here about others who, without adding brewing salts or acid, have crazy mash pHs. With ours even if you don't do anything, it's usually damn close to where it needs to be anyway. Your beers tasted like they finished plenty dry enough, and you didn't even do anything to mash pH I'm guessing. More proof that barley wants to become beer!

-Looking forward to your report! I ordered pH test strips, but will wait to hear what chemicals I need to get. I guess I could go ahead and get some lactic acid while I'm waiting... I do suspect pH adjustments will be needed with a full water volume mash... but what do I know.

 

[estricklin]

-Looking forward to your report! I ordered pH test strips, but will wait to hear what chemicals I need to get. I guess I could go ahead and get some lactic acid while I'm waiting... I do suspect pH adjustments will be needed with a full water volume mash... but what do I know.

Oh yeah you'll want some lactic around, one of those small bottles, think they are 4 oz, will last for years too.

I was just thinking that with the full volume mash, IF lowering the pH with lactic acid becomes problematic, a person could always replace a gallon of the tap water with a gallon of distilled to amplify the effect of the lactic acid a bit.

Oh and some time in the next day or 2 when i get time, I will test our chloride level. I forgot that I could do that haha.

 

[BowAholic]

the 2 sets of numbers I found online were from Conway/CCWD 2013.
Calcium 17/18
Magnesium 8/12
Alkalinity 60/62
pH 8/8.4
Na+ 35
Cl 2
SO4 60

 

[estricklin]

Interesting. I wasn't able to find any last time I looked so glad you were able to.

i just sacrificed some ice water from my travel mug and the chlorides were about 13. I think I'm just going to break down and send a sample off to a lab, really just because I'm so curious.

 

[Jcbassman]

Hey guys I'm a little late to the thread but I just moved to Greenbrier and would love to meet up with some local brewers.

I have a 26 gallon all grain system and would love to start splitting batches with someone.

 

[BowAholic]

Hey guys I'm a little late to the thread but I just moved to Greenbrier and would love to meet up with some local brewers.

I have a 26 gallon all grain system and would love to start splitting batches with someone.

Welcome!
It would be fun to all get together some time. I always like to find new recipes and learn things about making better beer.
Bob

 

[Jcbassman]

Awesome. I live in the springhill area. Where does everyone get their supplies from around here?

 

[BowAholic]

The closest places are in LR and NLR...both good. Fermentables and the Water Buffalo. I just picked up a 55# bag of German pale ale for $42 plus tax at Fermentables last week.

 

[Jcbassman]

Nobody carries whole leaf hops that I've found. I have a bro in law that is going to ship me some down from Oregon. It's good to know that grain isn't outrageous in bulk at least.

 

[estricklin]

Hey guys I'm a little late to the thread but I just moved to Greenbrier and would love to meet up with some local brewers.

I have a 26 gallon all grain system and would love to start splitting batches with someone.

I would love to split some batches with you. Kinda beer do you like to brew?

Nobody carries whole leaf hops that I've found. I have a bro in law that is going to ship me some down from Oregon. It's good to know that grain isn't outrageous in bulk at least.

Yeah whole leaf hops keep losing popularity. NB and Midwest still carry a good supply of them though....

 

[Jcbassman]

I brew mostly pale ales and ipas. I run the gambit thought. I think I'm going to try my hand at a Pilsner next time. I just got a freezer to ferment inside of that I can use for lagering.

 

[estricklin]

I brew mostly pale ales and ipas. I run the gambit thought. I think I'm going to try my hand at a Pilsner next time. I just got a freezer to ferment inside of that I can use for lagering.

Oh that's awesome yeah I love doing lagers actually.

I'm on vacation next time I go on my 7 days off, going to be off for about 10 actually. Headed to St. Louis to watch the Cards play then I've got a lot of brewing planned!

 

[Jcbassman]

How big of a starter do you normally pitch?