Ask me anything!

[Psylocide]

I see what's happening here... making me all explain and what not.

It was a phase for me because I met a goth girl. The phase ended when the girl was no more. Err.. when I found a normal girl, I mean.

Don't tell me how to live my life!

Man, can't fault you there brother... some Goth chicks are extremely hot.

Couple that with low self-esteem and you've got a winner. Plus they usually smoke and my Dad always said "If she smokes, she pokes."

 

[TheCADJockey]

That's what it was man... she was crazy. I mean, I know they all are but she had that extra special kind of crazy.

 

[hunter_le five]

girl

That is the most reasonable explanation for going goth I have ever heard.
Guess I can't fault you now.

 

[Psylocide]

That is the most reasonable explanation for going goth I have ever heard.
Guess I can't fault you now.

So what was your excuse for the mohawk?

 

[TheCADJockey]

I had a 20" blue mohawk after that goth phase. It also didn't last long, trying to find a job with it was tough. Believe it or not.

 

[hunter_le five]

So what was your excuse for the mohawk?

Because mohawks are f***ing awesome.
Or at least that was my reasoning at the time.

Didn't last very long anyway. Girlfriend hated it. Made me shave it off. It was her or the mohawk.

Girlfriend is long gone. So in retrospect, I should have chosen the mohawk.

 

[Psylocide]

Because mohawks are f***ing awesome.
Or at least that was my reasoning at the time.

Didn't last very long anyway. Girlfriend hated it. Made me shave it off. It was her or the mohawk.

Girlfriend is long gone. So in retrospect, I should have chosen the mohawk.

Don't worry, I had one too.

Oh, and I also had blue hair CADJockey.

So... let's all get together and get hammered.

 

[ubnserved]

Well... no bombs, but just a ****load of suspended crapola. Haven't had this on my other two brews... anyone seen anything like it? Bottles were clean and sanitary and sucked up zero trub when racking to the bottling bucket.

(all of that white-ish stuff in the pic is just floating around in there)


View attachment 249142

Are you sure that you didn't get to excited when you were bottling? I mean, you are making beer after all!

 

[Psylocide]

When converting extract recipes to all grain, do you mash the specialty grains, or do you steep as usual?

I would think you just mash in with them, but mashing is longer than the standard steep time/temp for most specialty grains in extract recipes.

 

[TheCADJockey]

When converting extract recipes to all grain, do you mash the specialty grains, or do you steep as usual?

I would think you just mash in with them, but mashing is longer than the standard steep time/temp for most specialty grains in extract recipes.

I recently asked someone this same exact question and I'm pretty sure the answer was that it all goes in. No more separate stuff. As far as I was to understand, the steeping was just to avoid boiling those grains.

 

[rmyurick]

Most all-grain recipes assume you are mashing all grains together. One exception i'm aware of is Mitch Steele's recipe for Hop In the dark in his ipa book.

 

[Psylocide]

I recently asked someone this same exact question and I'm pretty sure the answer was that it all goes in. No more separate stuff. As far as I was to understand, the steeping was just to avoid boiling those grains.

Good enough for me... the wife got me a homebrew recipe book with like 200 recipes but they are all extract/partial mash. Would love to be able to use the book but I'm going BIAB on my next batch.

 

[BGBC]

When converting extract recipes to all grain, do you mash the specialty grains, or do you steep as usual?

I would think you just mash in with them, but mashing is longer than the standard steep time/temp for most specialty grains in extract recipes.

You can. One exception might be roasted grains. There have been some experiments around adding them at different times: beginning of mash, end of mash or cold-steeped and added directly to boil. It depends on the beer style and whether you want a more bitter or more smooth roasty character.

 

[Psylocide]

You can. One exception might be roasted grains. There have been some experiments around adding them at different times: beginning of mash, end of mash or cold-steeped and added directly to boil. It depends on the beer style and whether you want a more bitter or more smooth roasty character.

I'll keep that in mind. So, carapils, caramel, crystal, etc. are good to just throw in the mash with the base grains?

 

[BGBC]

I'll keep that in mind. So, carapils, caramel, crystal, etc. are good to just throw in the mash with the base grains?

Yep, good to go.

I recently brewed a porter and cold-steeped the chocolate malt and roasted barley for 24 hrs before adding the liquid to the boil. The end product has a very smooth roasted character, no real acrid bitter bite. For something like a RIS, you might want more of that roasted character, so adding those grains to the main mash might be a better choice.

 

[Psylocide]

Kegging question:

I have a single regulator at the moment, if I wanted to keep two beers at the same carb vol., could I run a T line off the single regulator and one line to each keg?

Would the pressure be the same as if I were carbing 1 keg or would I have to adjust that for 2? Trying to wrap my head around it, total noob here.

 

[The_Glue]

Have you ever considered adding some additives to the beer at bottling time to prevent oxidation? There are a lot of posts around here stating that they have not brewed a really good IPA until they started kegging and the reason for that is probably the limited oxygen exposure thanks to co2 flushing and stuff.

 

[Yooper]

Kegging question:

I have a single regulator at the moment, if I wanted to keep two beers at the same carb vol., could I run a T line off the single regulator and one line to each keg?

Would the pressure be the same as if I were carbing 1 keg or would I have to adjust that for 2? Trying to wrap my head around it, total noob here.

Yep, a simple T or Y will do just fine. One thing is that you may want to have a shut off valve after the T, just in case you have a leaky keg or something, or to prevent back flow between kegs, but you certainly don't need it and mine doesn't have it and it's fine.

 

[Psylocide]

Yep, a simple T or Y will do just fine. One thing is that you may want to have a shut off valve after the T, just in case you have a leaky keg or something, or to prevent back flow between kegs, but you certainly don't need it and mine doesn't have it and it's fine.

Cool, thanks Yooper.

I'll just check for leaks, hopefully my crimping skills are on point, haha.

How about the pressure? Do you use the same pressure for 2 as you would for 1, or does it need to be doubled?

I don't think it works that way, but I'm not sure.

 

[hunter_le five]

Kegging question:

I have a single regulator at the moment, if I wanted to keep two beers at the same carb vol., could I run a T line off the single regulator and one line to each keg?

Would the pressure be the same as if I were carbing 1 keg or would I have to adjust that for 2? Trying to wrap my head around it, total noob here.

I use one of these guys (except mine has three splits):

I like the ability to flip a switch and shut off gas flow when a line is not being used or when I'm disconnecting/connecting/purging kegs. But as Yooper said, it's not at all mandatory. A T splitter is a much cheaper option if you're on a budget and will do the trick.

Force carbing is exactly the same with one keg as two on a splitter, no adjustment necessary.

 

[Psylocide]

I use one of these guys (except mine has three splits):

I like the ability to flip a switch and shut off gas flow when a line is not being used or when I'm disconnecting/connecting/purging kegs. But as Yooper said, it's not at all mandatory. A T splitter is a much cheaper option if you're on a budget and will do the trick.

Force carbing is exactly the same with one keg as two on a splitter, no adjustment necessary.

Not looking to force carb, just set and forget.

I can make that easily enough... I work for a hydraulics distributor, I can get any fittings/valves/orings/you name it at cost + 5%.

 

[hunter_le five]

Not looking to force carb, just set and forget.

Set-and-forget is force carbing, albeit the slow way. That is also how I do it, incidentally. "Force carbing" just means using a CO2 tank instead of priming sugar (natural carb/bottle conditioning).

I think you're thinking of quick carb methods such as crank-and-shake, burst carb, etc. Some people have good luck with those, but I'd never recommend it for a variety of reasons.

 

[Yooper]

Not looking to force carb, just set and forget.

"Force carb" means using c02 to carb the beer- that is, the pressure 'forces' carbonation into the beer via a regulator. Unless you are using priming sugar and holding the keg at room temperature, like with bottling, you are force carbing. Set it and forget it is one method of force carbing.

 

[Psylocide]

Set-and-forget is force carbing, albeit the slow way. That is also how I do it, incidentally. "Force carbing" just means using a CO2 tank instead of priming sugar (natural carb/bottle conditioning).

I think you're thinking of quick carb methods such as crank-and-shake, burst carb, etc. Some people have good luck with those, but I'd never recommend it for a variety of reasons.

Yep, don't know the lingo yet, obviously... thanks for the heads-up.

But yeah, I don't want to quick carb because the beer has to condition, I just can't see trying to forgo that step.

 

[Psylocide]

Are we in the worst part of the year for hop availability?

What are the "dry" seasons here in the US so I can stock up next time?

Looking a little scarce out there.

 

[TheCADJockey]

Are we in the worst part of the year for hop availability?

What are the "dry" seasons here in the US so I can stock up next time?

Looking a little scarce out there.

You need to find a 20' wall to grow your own on, then you can fill a freezer with hops so there is no room for ice cream. That's what I did

 

[BGBC]

Different regions have different growing seasons, but US hops are harvested in the fall. I know preorders for some of the sought-after US varieties from 2014 are just getting out.

I did hear recently from my LHBS owner that a lot of varieties have spiked in price recently, some up to 60%.

What are you looking for?

 

[Psylocide]

You need to find a 20' wall to grow your own on, then you can fill a freezer with hops so there is no room for ice cream. That's what I did

That's in the cards for 2016... I'm just going to do my salsa/sauce garden again this year.

 

[TheCADJockey]

That's in the cards for 2016... I'm just going to do my salsa/sauce garden again this year.

Trade you hops for salsa

 

[BierGut]

I hate my job and want to work as a brewer. I have no commercial experience and no engineering degree. The craft beer industry is exploding right now and I want in on it. There's a new microbrewery popping up every month it seems. Is this a dream that will never be a reality for me? I'll scrub tanks, mop floors, hell I'll even work at a LHBS, just anything but this job.

Sincerely,

BierGut