BrewnWKopperKat
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"Each person tastes beer differently" may be one of the keys to understanding this.I know lots of people claim that they get good results without taking the steps I did. And maybe that's true, but ...
"Each person tastes beer differently" may be one of the keys to understanding this.I know lots of people claim that they get good results without taking the steps I did. And maybe that's true, but ...
When I've popped the yellow beers open, even after a month, I don't usually see any darkening. I will look more closely the next time I open a bottle. But the color seems to be stable.
I did notice something disturbing when I did a flame out addition the other day. I weighed out the mosaic hops and they smelled great. Fresh, pungent, fruity. I tossed them into the wort. Twenty minutes later the wort did not smell nearly as pungent as the hops did before I put them in. That might mean nothing.
Water is so fundamental as a beer component, that my bet is on this source being your root cause despite all the other things you’ve improved.
Are you hitting your gravity reasonably well? I ask because that water source, while sounding good on paper, might have high residual alkalinity (RA). This can not only cause a high mash pH which reduces efficiency, it can also produce insipid tasting pale beers.
I would prep this water differently next time. Create a profile with 100-150 ppm sulfate, roughly half that amount of chloride, wherever calcium falls (should be well north of 50 ppm), and no sodium or magnesium. Then, acidify your mash with either 2% acidulated malt based on the grain bill weight, or 0.2 mL of lactic acid per gallon of water in the mash.
Since we don't know the RA of the Glacier water, these acid additions are enough to make a difference, even if not the optimal amount, yet should not be too much to ruin it completely if the RA is indeed reasonable.
Another option would be to buy distilled water for the next batch to remove any uncertainty about the water.Since we don't know the RA of the Glacier water,
I agree in principle, I just am not trusting that machine to be maintained and/or to do exactly what it purports to do. I use RO water produced from my well water at home. It performs well given the source, which is extremely hard water. The resulting RA in my RO water is 24 ppm and it retains sodium from the water softener of about 16 ppm. So I do need to acidify a little bit, certainly more than if I assumed my water was as pure as distilled.
It's an easy try to make these changes and see if there's any improvement.
Do you have some bottles left from a recent batch? Do you have a way to measure 100ml of water reasonably accurately?As for water profile: I almost always use the "yellow/amber/brown/black balanced" profile in Bru N' Water for whatever color the spreadsheet estimates the color is. Typically I have been using recipes with a two row, vienna, and a little victory malt. I basically copy Brulosophy's Hop Chronicles recipes.
Do you have some bottles left from a recent batch? Do you have a way to measure 100ml of water reasonably accurately?
Yes, I have plenty of bottles left from four or five batches.
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I can easily measure 100ml ...
Yes, I have plenty of bottles left from four or five batches.
[...]
I can easily measure 100ml ...
A question on flameout additions: I was told somewhere on this forum (maybe this thread or another, I can't recall) that you don't want to add the flameout additions until the wort has dropped below around 160F. Otherwise the hops will just isomerize into alpha acids and give bitterness without flavor.
One suggestion I have is to use a lot of hops I know that sounds stupid but most websites say to use a lot less than I use. Also I started skipping the flame out addition and doubling up the whirlpool that really helped. But for my 5 gallon batches I typically use 10oz minimum to 1 pound of hops total.
I was looking at the Zombie Dust Clone recipe in Zymurgy. The instructions said to use two grams of gypsum per gallon of reverse osmosis water. Is that just the mash water or also the sparge water? So I need to put in chloride and magnesium and sodium as well? Or just the gypsum?
This will be helpful! Please post the water profile for the spring water.Going to the store to get distilled water. And to pick up some Kroger Spring Water, which they publish a water profile for.
What I would do if I was you is look into commonly used ipa water profiles. Then use ez water it’s a free website it will gives you your additions for mash and sparge water. I use ez water with all distilled water because my well water isn’t suitable for brewing. Whirlpool hops are once the wort has been cooled i usually add the hops at 190. Flameout hops are added right when you cute the heat from your kettle.This very question will reveal my ignorance but.... what is the difference between a flameout and a whirlpool addition?
I'll double check but I'm pretty sure the only metal my beer touches in stainless steel. The buckets and spigots and such are all food grade plastic.
I was looking at the Zombie Dust Clone recipe in Zymurgy. The instructions said to use two grams of gypsum per gallon of reverse osmosis water. Is that just the mash water or also the sparge water? So I need to put in chloride and magnesium and sodium as well? Or just the gypsum?
Going to the store to get distilled water. And to pick up some Kroger Spring Water, which they publish a water profile for.
Any word on Brewtan B?
Are you referring to this recipe?
Three Floyds Brewing Zombie Dust IPA Clone | Beer Recipe | American Homebrewers Association ?
This will be helpful! Please post the water profile for the spring water.
Pellets. I use pellets for most everything. Though I actually find it easier to strain out whole hops after a boil.