Before the Next Brew!!

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Hey!! Hey!! Hey!!
Greetings!!

We just brewed my first Bock last Monday. We have one more week in fermentation before we bottle. We used a Munton's Bock Brew Kit the first time. The hubby is already excited about the first & next brew & I think we want to get a little deeper!! The hubby says he doesn't want to use another malt/hops blend in a can again. We want to use our own grains & hops... But we are interested in brewing a Belgian next time. I am excited to further my brewing experiences!! What do you guys suggest that we include for our next brew!!??!! :rockin: I know it's soon, but it's not too early to start thinking about the next brew!! So, what do you guys think! A Bock was our first - we want a Belgian next!!



Peace. Love. & Beer!
CHEERS!!

 

[Chris1272]

Sounds like a plan to me. Belgians are great and actually very forgiving to beginners since the esters and other yeast products that are some times a flaw in some beers are intended to shine. I'm not sure where you shop for kits but I had a friends extract fat tire clone from midwest the other day and it was very good. There are a lot of places that will sell good belgian beer kits my one suggestion is read up on belgian yeast strains and be picky about the one you use the right yeast can make or break a Belgian beer.

 

[mikeysab]

Saison is great for summer, and you don't need to get crazy with temp control. Just be careful with some saison yeast strains. Some tend to need a little coaxing to finish. IME, 3711 from wyeast is a great strain. You can ferment warm to bring out more character, and no need to worry about attenuation problems. Let us know how it goes.

 

[bottlebomber]

A lot of the online vendors offer customer reviews of their kits. Just find one with good ratings, buy it, and brew! Also you get high marks for enthusiasm

 

[46binder]

My brother in law and I finished our first, a brewers best red ale. We have all the equipment for all grain and are really looking forward to it. Thinking of doing Northern brewers Chinook IPA, lots of positive reviews. Picked up some 5 gal buckets and gamma lids for grain, that Farmhouse brewing supply is next county over.

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Sounds like a plan to me. Belgians are great and actually very forgiving to beginners since the esters and other yeast products that are some times a flaw in some beers are intended to shine. I'm not sure where you shop for kits but I had a friends extract fat tire clone from midwest the other day and it was very good. There are a lot of places that will sell good belgian beer kits my one suggestion is read up on belgian yeast strains and be picky about the one you use the right yeast can make or break a Belgian beer.

Ha! Awesome!! :rockin: A Belgian it is!! I don't want to get too crazy yet!! But I would like to get further than just a can full of some ingredients. I want more!! I plan on making that trip on Thursday to my LHBS. Better star looking and researching some kits...

.... & we like us a good Fat Tire... The clone definitely would be something to look into!! It's one of our favorite brews!!



Peace. Love. & Beer.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I always have to laugh when Fat Tire gets brought up in convo's about Belgian beer. It's gotta be the brewery name and the fact that they do brew some Belgians (Triple, Belgo, etc). Fat Tire's just an American Amber, albeit a very good one. S'pose it could be a Belgian, since most clone recipes use Belgian 2-row as a base, but you'd need a Belgian yeast strain to make it a Belgian. Just my $.02.

As far as a good second brew that is Belgian, I have to second the idea of a saison. Those are really nice drinkers for the hot weather, the recipes can be quite simple (or not if you choose) and the yeast is very forgiving. I'd also recommend the 3711 strain, as it doesn't need the coaxing that most saison yeasts do.

 

[beerkrump]

Holy emoticons, Batman!

Easy there. Before going all crazy and buying all the equipment to do all grain brewing, do a couple of kits that have unhopped extract, steeping grains, and hops. There are a lot of things to learn and parameters to control to ensure that you can consistently make great beer. However, it sounds like you are well on your way.

Good luck and good beer.

 

[jtkratzer]

This thread made me chuckle. Due to all the smileys and everything else sprinkled about, it's almost as difficult to read as texting and l33t speak.

 

[GorillaBrew]

My brother in law and I finished our first, a brewers best red ale. We have all the equipment for all grain and are really looking forward to it. Thinking of doing Northern brewers Chinook IPA, lots of positive reviews. Picked up some 5 gal buckets and gamma lids for grain, that Farmhouse brewing supply is next county over.

I brewed the Chinook IPA as a "starter" for the Lord Fatbottom as suggested by Northern and the Chinook turned out great. Still waiting for the Lord Fatbottom to finish.

 

[midlo-brewer]

It all depends on your personal tastes, but I would suggest a Witbier...along the lines of Hoegaarden or Blue Moon...Happy Brewing!

 

[DeafSmith]

The next step up would be extract with steeping grains and hops, or if you wanted to get a little more ambitious, a mini-mash. I'd recommend one of those before tackling all-grain. I've had good luck with kits from Austin Homebrew Supply (AHS). Typically their kits have three options: Extract (with hops and steeping grains), Mini-mash, and All-grain. For example, here's a list of their summer seasonals:

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php?cPath=178_452_611

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

The next step up would be extract with steeping grains and hops, or if you wanted to get a little more ambitious, a mini-mash. I'd recommend one of those before tackling all-grain. I've had good luck with kits from Austin Homebrew Supply (AHS). Typically their kits have three options: Extract (with hops and steeping grains), Mini-mash, and All-grain. For example, here's a list of their summer seasonals:

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php?cPath=178_452_611

^Good source there. And yeah, definitely do a couple kits that aren't just hopped extract. Extract kits from AHS, Midwest and Northern Brewer all make stellar beer. I'm brewing a Midwest extract kit (Liberty Cream Ale), albeit with a couple minor tweaks, as I peruse HBT today. :rockin:

 

[midlo-brewer]

^Good source there. And yeah, definitely do a couple kits that aren't just hopped extract. Extract kits from AHS, Midwest and Northern Brewer all make stellar beer. I'm brewing a Midwest extract kit (Liberty Cream Ale), albeit with a couple minor tweaks, as I peruse HBT today. :rockin:

Liberty Cream Ale is a great kit! What are the tweaks...if you don't mind sharing?

 

[jkendal]

Holy emoticons, Batman!

Easy there. Before going all crazy and buying all the equipment to do all grain brewing, do a couple of kits that have unhopped extract, steeping grains, and hops. There are a lot of things to learn and parameters to control to ensure that you can consistently make great beer. However, it sounds like you are well on your way.

Good luck and good beer.

I guess if you end up not liking all-grain brewing and then you're stuck with all of the equipment I can understand. But if I could go back in time I would have gone straight to learning how to brew all-grain. I went from grains + extract to Chris Colby's countertop partial mash because I already had a cooler just like the one in his article in BYO - and I was doing my 2nd or 3rd batch (I made a KILLER pale rye ale with that little cooler) and thought "it's just a jump from here to all-grain - I'm gonna do it!" I did a LOT of research and got a Gott 5 gallon cooler and converted it to a mash tun and did maybe 3 or 4 batches in that before deciding to get even bigger and got the equipment to do 10 gallons. That was back in 2006 and I can't tell you how many times I wish I had just started out doing all-grain - I could have saved a lot of time and money.

Bottom line, if you think you're ready for all-grain brewing and you've done all the research and you're willing to shell out the bucks for the equipment, then why not?

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Liberty Cream Ale is a great kit! What are the tweaks...if you don't mind sharing?

It is a great kit. What I did was add .25 lb of Briess Munich 10 to the steep, and .25 lb dextrose to help it dry out a tad. Went with .5 oz Cascade 7.3% @ 60 and the other 1.5 oz at 2. All the LME at knockout. And I'll dry hop this with ~.5oz of whole cascades for a few days. Nothing big, but it upped the OG to 1.046 (from 1.044) according to BeerSmith.

 

[BuddyWeiser]

I like belgian white with some coriander seed and orange zest. If you have a fridge or freezer setup for fermentation, then you could brew a wit without weather worries.

You could checkout the recipes on this site to read over, and you can always tweak, combine, or build your own upon those.

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Okay.... So, I wasn't thinking of going crazy for the next brew... Just wanted to do something different besides a can mixture...

I don't want to go buying all of this equipment either.. The only 3 things I want to buy for the next brew is a new kit, maybe a 6.5 gallon & hydrometer... Maybe I should have cleared that up here... We have only gotten through one kit - & one that doesn't even steep grains & hops yet..

I just want to do a Belgian next... Something that I can brew here in Tejas.. Maybe Siason might be the way to go since its so freaking hot!! Eeeeek!!

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Maybe Siason might be the way to go since its so freaking hot!! Eeeeek!!

Saison's are great. Perfect for the weather you guys get down there. You could get a saison extract kit or look around at the recipes on the recipe forum. You can do so many different things with saison.

 

[CBelli]

+1 on the Holy emoticons!!!

I think a saison is a good choice... but honestly there are dozens of simple easy recipes...
I found that the first 5-6 batches I brewed were more about getting my 'process' correct.
I belong to a brew club with about 50 members and we all brew slightly differently.
I suggest rather than experimenting with beerstyles, worry about your 'process'... once that is set then play with styles. that's my 2¢

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

The next step up would be extract with steeping grains and hops, or if you wanted to get a little more ambitious, a mini-mash. I'd recommend one of those before tackling all-grain. I've had good luck with kits from Austin Homebrew Supply (AHS). Typically their kits have three options: Extract (with hops and steeping grains), Mini-mash, and All-grain. For example, here's a list of their summer seasonals:

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php?cPath=178_452_611

Thank you for the great advice!

I don't know if I want to go into mashing grains yet... Just a little something more than just adding liquid from a can & sugar together added with a little bit of malt. Ya know what I mean? If I don't challenge myself, I will never learn how to do it. & my first brew turned out - so far... I think I might need to go check out the recipes board for this one! (Thanks for that tip!! :rockin I am gonna go look around on the AHS web site, also. Just do some browsing.



Peace. Love. & Beer.
CHEERS!

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Saison's are great. Perfect for the weather you guys get down there. You could get a saison extract kit or look around at the recipes on the recipe forum. You can do so many different things with saison.

Maybe we should brew our second brew as a Saison... Seriously, it's like 110 today. Too hot to mess with anything trying to stay cool around here.. But what I am wondering is.. We are planning on buying a bigger carboy this weekend... If I use one of my carboys for the Saison & then I could use my other for something else in the fridge that I have have turned into my fermentation cooler.

I plan on scoping the recipe forum out soon!!


Peace. Love. & Beer.
CHEERS!

 

[DeafSmith]

Using steeping grains is really easy because you don't have to maintain the tight temperature control that you do for mashing grain, and the steeping grains can add significantly to the flavor. With steeping grains you are just dissolving sugars and flavor compounds from the grain into your wort, but not trying to convert starches to sugars, as you do in mashing.

 

[bottlebomber]

Maybe we should brew our second brew as a Saison... Seriously, it's like 110 today. Too hot to mess with anything trying to stay cool around here.. But what I am wondering is.. We are planning on buying a bigger carboy this weekend... If I use one of my carboys for the Saison & then I could use my other for something else in the fridge that I have have turned into my fermentation cooler.

I plan on scoping the recipe forum out soon!!

Peace. Love. & Beer.
CHEERS!

Why not pick up TWO bigger carboys. I mean, let's be realistic here

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

I gotta hand it to you, Bomber... That looks Amazing!! I wish I had the storage capacity to store all of that.. I live in a 1000 sq. ft. home with 3 fridges already... I don't have room... & quickly running out of room with all of in-home hobbies... I swear my home seriously looks like a museum.. As we are huge collectors of... Life!! I now have a Museum Brewery in my home.. We will see how much we can handle... As for now, I gotta stick with the 1 fermenter, 1 carboy & a second one is on her way!!


Peace. Love. & Beer.
CHEERS!!

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Why not pick up TWO bigger carboys. I mean, let's be realistic here

Nice haul dude!!

And Sassy, you may wanna listen to that guy. Most of us get there at some point.

 

[jakegreen58]

Holy emoticons, Batman!

Easy there. Before going all crazy and buying all the equipment to do all grain brewing, do a couple of kits that have unhopped extract, steeping grains, and hops. There are a lot of things to learn and parameters to control to ensure that you can consistently make great beer. However, it sounds like you are well on your way.

I disagree! I got into homebrewing by a friend that gave me a book that only discussed all-grain brewing. At the time I had no idea there was something called extract brewing. I was so excited to get started and and read as much as possible about brewing. I have made 5 batches of beer so far and only one of them was an extract brew, also happens to be my least favorite. I say dive in head first, especially if your so motivated (like I was). All of my beers have turned out well and I am still just as excited about brewing. It takes a lot longer of course to AG brew, but all the extra knowledge required really helped me understand the process and I loved the sense of crafting my own beer from beginning to end. I say go for it! You'll love the process of learning how it's really done.

 

[jtkratzer]

My parents commented the other day they had no idea a little homebrew kit with a bucket, carboy, and Brewer's Best kit would turn into a 10 gallon electric HERMS system, homemade stirplate and yeast starters, yeast washing, baking bread from the spent grain, side-by-side fridge/freezer with dual stage temp control, kegging, and a 1940s fridge for kegging. I have enough bottles and kegs right now to store close to 130-150 gallons of beer.

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

I disagree! I got into homebrewing by a friend that gave me a book that only discussed all-grain brewing. At the time I had no idea there was something called extract brewing. I was so excited to get started and and read as much as possible about brewing. I have made 5 batches of beer so far and only one of them was an extract brew, also happens to be my least favorite. I say dive in head first, especially if your so motivated (like I was). All of my beers have turned out well and I am still just as excited about brewing. It takes a lot longer of course to AG brew, but all the extra knowledge required really helped me understand the process and I loved the sense of crafting my own beer from beginning to end. I say go for it! You'll love the process of learning how it's really done.

Okay..... So, the Hubby has really put in the interest for an all grain brew... He even wants to step it up.. I want to find a recipe for a Belgian, for he really wants to brew with a Belgian... What other beer could I ferment in the same temps. for a Belgian? I don't think he is too interested in a Saison.. Makes me sad... Might just have to buy my own carboy, bucket & kit to try it out... See if he likes it.. Prove to him that we can do something outside of the fermenter during these hot months!!

I guess we will shall see!!




Peace. Love. & Beer!
Cheers!

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Hey! Hey! Hey!


The hubby & I are looking for an AG BIAB Belgian brew... Is there such a thing? Anyone know where I can find something or have a good recipe!?

Happy Saturday!!




Peace. Love. & Beer!
CHEERS!!

 

[bottlebomber]

Hey! Hey! Hey!


The hubby & I are looking for an AG BIAB Belgian brew... Is there such a thing? Anyone know where I can find something or have a good recipe!?

Happy Saturday!!

Peace. Love. & Beer!
CHEERS!!

Hey hey!! Hey hey!!


Any of the AG recipes on here will work via BIAB as long as the grain bill isn't too large, I wouldn't try anything much above 12 lbs or so of grain. Some people would argue with me on that but the grain sack gets awfully heavy around there and efficiency starts to drop. If I remember correctly the SWMBO Slayer is a Belgian blonde that is very popular

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Hey hey!! Hey hey!!


Any of the AG recipes on here will work via BIAB as long as the grain bill isn't too large, I wouldn't try anything much above 12 lbs or so of grain. Some people would argue with me on that but the grain sack gets awfully heavy around there and efficiency starts to drop. If I remember correctly the SWMBO Slayer is a Belgian blonde that is very popular

Ooooooo!! I like the sounds of a Belgian Blonde... Might be interested in that recipe!! 12 lbs. to start off with. Cool. Got it!

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Hey! Hey! Hey!
Cheers!!

Well... The hubby & I just bottled our first Munton's Bock Brew Kit a couple of weeks ago... The bottles are waiting patiently while they carb!! We have bought the second brew kit.. Ha. Or is it!? I will begin a new thread shortly in the Beginners Beer Brewing Forum soon... As for now, the anticipation for this new brewer & what we moved onto next... Watch for my new thread on our next brew!!



Peace. Love. & Beer!
Cheers!

 

[homebrewdad]

Ooooooo!! I like the sounds of a Belgian Blonde... Might be interested in that recipe!! 12 lbs. to start off with. Cool. Got it!

You might also consider Revvy's Leffe Blonde clone recipe. His original recipe is extremely well received, and the grain bill comes in at just under 11 pounds.

I have brewed a partial mash version of it, and cannot express how much I love this beer. Light in color, easy to drink, but with a nice, complex flavor.

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Sugars:
Amount Type
8 lbs. Light Malt Extract
1 lb. Light Belgian Candi Sugar
3/4 cup Corn Sugar (priming)

Grains:
Amount Type
2 lb. Pilsner Malt
1/2 lb. Carmel-Pils Malt

Hops:
Amount Type
1 oz. German Tradition
1 oz. Fuggles (flavoring)
1/2 oz. Czech Saaz (finishing)

Yeast: Safbrew T-58 Dry Brewing Yeast

Starting Gravity: 1.074
Ending Gravity: 1.016

Directions: Make any water adjustments first. It is best boil as much (up to 5 gallons) as your brew-pot will hold. Be careful not to overfill or cover your brew-pot when boiling, this will cause a boil over.

The use of a grain baf is highly recommended,. Place grains in grain bag, and put into 160 degree water. Cover, turn fire off, let steep for 30 minutes. Remove grain bag and bring water to a boil. Turn off the heat (to prevent scorching), and mix in the malt extracts and any other adjuncts. When fully dissolved, turn the heat back on and return the wort to a rolling boil. Add the bittering hops, continue to boil for 50 minutes. Add the flavoring hops, continue to boil for 5 minutes. Add the finishing hops and continue to boil for 5 more minutes. The use of hop socks makes the addition and removal of hops much easier.

After you have boiled your wort for a full 60 minutes, remove all hops and add water to reach 5 gallons. Cool to 75 degrees and add yeast. Shale your fermenter vigorously for 5 minutes to aerate the wort. Remember, your yeast needs oxygen to live and grow. Attach the blow-off hose to the fermenter and place the end into a container of water to form an air-lock. Rack into secondary fermenter after kreusen has begun to subside.




The only thing the hubby & I are trying to figure out is how long to leave the beer in the primary before moving it to the secondary?? I am guessing a week, but becayse this is the Belgian... Also, looking for a precise temp. to ferment the beer in the fridge!

thanks, everyone!!



Peace. Love. & Beer.
CHEERS!

 

[evrose]

The only thing the hubby & I are trying to figure out is how long to leave the beer in the primary before moving it to the secondary?? I am guessing a week, but becayse this is the Belgian...

A lot of people here will tell you not to even bother with a secondary, unless you plan to let it sit for several months (and maybe not even then). A week seems short by any standard though.

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

You guys need to know... We went with the Belgian Triple... We followed the recipe... & added the grains & hops & flavoring (extract)... It smells pretty yummy!!

Update coming soon!!
Stay posted!!

PS ... We are chefs... A little bit of info. you didn't know.. That's why we went with this..
Here's to Good Beer!!



Peace. Love. & Beer!

 

[ASassyBeerChick83]

Hey, guys!!

I know a lot of people have been following this thread, too! No, the Bock isn't ready! Nor will it be for another 3 to 4 weeks! But! The hubby & I did brew our next beer & you guys should go check it out!! It's titled A Couple of Noobs 2nd Brew - Belgian Triple Nipple If you have already wandered upon that one, Welcome! i am excited to share the journey!!

Here is a glimpse of our Belgian Triple Nipple looks like! Come check out our brew!

PS - Beer Tasting Party for the Bock is already in the mix of conversation at our home!! Updates on the Bock in a couple of weeks!!!