Brewing in Los Angeles

[rorymcg]

I've only used my filtered water from my sink and they've turn out great for both extract and all-grain.

 

[Worts_Up]

Tasted the uncarbed APA after taking a hydrometer reading at 11 days into fermentation. Tasted far from toxic farts, so that's good. Unfortunately it's sitting at 1.019FG where the beer math puts it closer to 1.012, which means about 66% attenuation. Planning to bottle this weekend if it's still sitting at 1.019.. I'll chalk up the poor attentuation to poor oxygenation at pitching (didn't shake it violently enough).

 

[zero_gabe]

Just my opinions... 1. Looking for the best water in LA is kinda like looking for the best smelling fart. Our tap water is pretty hard so I almost always cut it with some RO water from a dispenser and add lactic acid and CaSO4 and/or CaCl2. And the tap water in Glendale is treated with chloramines so I also hit it with some potassium metabisulfite (which I always have around for wine making). For something like a pale ale, I might use 50% RO. I might use more for a lighter style and less for a darker style. 2. I'd probably try the shop in Woodland Hills for keg stuff, or make a road trip to MoreBeer in Riverside. 3. On your way there, stop at Star Restaurant Equipment on Sepulveda in Van Nuys for spoons and strainers.

Hey jealker1140. How many grams of which water softener do you use per mash? I want to try softening my water (west LA tap). I want to see what it does to my beers since right now im just using straight from the tap with some campden tablets. Also what happens it i tun my water through a carbon filter?

 

[jwalker1140]

Hey jealker1140. How many grams of which water softener do you use per mash? I want to try softening my water (west LA tap). I want to see what it does to my beers since right now im just using straight from the tap with some campden tablets. Also what happens it i tun my water through a carbon filter?

It depends on the recipe, but for my last American pale ale I used 3 gal RO, 4 gal tap, 2 grams calcium chloride and 2 ml lactic acid. That gave me an estimated pH of 5.5, calcium of 57 ppm, chloride of 95 ppm and sulfate of 100 ppm. I use the EZ water calculator to dial it in. I heard on some podcast that Firestone-Walker shoots for 100 ppm chloride and sulfate, and this seems to work well for most of the styles I make.

Can't answer your question re: filters. I should probably take another look at them, but for whatever reason I decided some time ago that buying RO water from a dispenser at $0.25/gal made more sense for me. YMMV. Separately, you may want to consider buying a small jar of potassium metabisulfite when you use up your campden tablets. Same thing, but cheaper and easier to work with, IMO, especially if you can weigh out grams.

 

[B2Barleywine]

Hey jealker1140. How many grams of which water softener do you use per mash? I want to try softening my water (west LA tap). I want to see what it does to my beers since right now im just using straight from the tap with some campden tablets. Also what happens it i tun my water through a carbon filter?

Cutting with RO water can help deal with our water hardness-alkalinity issues we have here in l.a. A carbon filter won't do much for either of these issues. It is however handy to remove chlorine. If you're doing extract, that's all you really have to worry about. If you're doing all grain, you may want to look into RO.

 

[jwalker1140]

It is however handy to remove chlorine.

But unfortunately most tap water in the LA area contains chloramine rather than chlorine, and run-of-the-mill filters won't get rid of it. Odds are you'll still need to dose your filtered tap water with potassium metabisulfite.

 

[Worts_Up]

APA has bottle conditioned for a week, so I put a bottle in the fridge for 4 hours to carbonate and cracked it yesterday.. Little sweet for an APA (didn't aerate enough and the yeast attenuated a little poorly), but I'm looking forward to sharing it in a swap!

 

[Stubblejumper]

You should be able to find your water report online. I am in Claremont and Golden State Water is my provider. They keep the data online. Google "ez water", there is a free spreadsheet that will do the calcs for you.

I put a Pur charcoal water filter on my faucet and that helps. Campden tablets take care of the chloramine. The water is about ph 8, so darker ales and stouts which use some roasted barley generally perform a little better. A few ounces of acidulated malt will lower the ph. Boil your strike water first will also soften it. Palmers "How to Brew" has a good chapter on it.

 

[Stubblejumper]

Another way to get rid of chloramine is to fill you carboy and set it in a sunny area for a few days. Its a photosensitive chemical.

 

[tshirt4u-usa]

Hey,

Any fellow homebrewers in or around the Culver City area?

Make MONEY selling me your finished grains after brewing INSTEAD of throwing them away. I need them for my chickens. contact me at calenet@yahoo .com. Thanks! Jeff

 

[tshirt4u-usa]

Make MONEY selling me your finished grains after brewing INSTEAD of throwing them away. I need them for my chickens. contact me at calenet@yahoo .com. Thanks! Jeff

 

[zero_gabe]

Is this guy ^ spamming our thread?


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[sunlandwines]

I'm ALL the way out in Sunland.
Total novice looking for any first-timer advice or warnings. I'll probably start with something simple like an apfelwein.

Really glad to find this thread!

 

[ndinh]

Southbay checking in. Been brewing AG ever since we moved into our house (2012). Southbay brewing supply is my go-to shop for ingredients, otherwise it's online. I've been hitting up the SD brewfests as far as I can remember so it was a pleasant surprise to see all these breweries opening up in the southbay in the past year or so.....ESBC, Smog, Strand, Monkish, Absolution.

 

[billmiller007]

I live in culver city and there is a great local shop off of Sepulvida and culver blvd. the guy is great and will help with anything needed. Just got a batch going today. Culver city home brew. Check it out

 

[Onecks787]

I am From the Eagle Rock area and currently living in Monterey Park..anyone else in monterey park?

 

[JDWebb]

Hello? Hello???
Whilst I'm not a brewer of grains and hops, I do get the most enjoyment out of making mead. I do like my craft beer, and I am impressed with the flavors. I tend to think that craft brewers are brewing beer the way its was meant to taste, unlike the "other" much larger breweries. Should I need to drink another craft brew other than my 805 ot Tap Room #21, I shall make my way to your garage or basement, or wherever your wives allow you to have your "mancave" time.

I live in the Sherman Oaks area, am retired, so every day is Saturday, and its always 5 o'clock. Is there anyone else in the area?

 

[angrylu]

Hi all, any newbies and seasoned veterans welcome to check out our brew club. We are called the Yeastside Brewers and we usually meet the first Saturday of the month at various locations around the LA area. Our first meeting this year is Saturday January 10th at Eagle Rock home brew supply at 2PM. Come by and check it out, we have a lot of good and experienced brewers that are always willing to share advice and of course home brew.

 

[JDWebb]

Well, since I'm retired, and every day is Saturday for me, I might drop by. Just started doing cider and meads.

 

[sunlandwines]

Hi all, any newbies and seasoned veterans welcome to check out our brew club. We are called the Yeastside Brewers and we usually meet the first Saturday of the month at various locations around the LA area. Our first meeting this year is Saturday January 10th at Eagle Rock home brew supply at 2PM. Come by and check it out, we have a lot of good and experienced brewers that are always willing to share advice and of course home brew.

Crud. Should have checked back in here earlier. Hope the first meeting went well. Assuming second meeting is 02/07, what's the location?

 

[angrylu]

Next Yeastside meeting is at 55 degrees in Atwater village on February 7th at 2 PM