Everything Brooklyn Brewshop

[ericbw]

Hey guys, my first batch ever was the Everyday IPA. Just drank the last one tonight. I thought it was awesome (though very slightly cidery).
Two weeks in the fermenter and then into the bottles with priming sugar instead of honey.
I'm planning on brewing up the grapefruit ale tomorrow. I was going to zest about half of a rind, does that sound about right?

Bottling the grapefruit today. I just peeled the whole thing and added when it said to. Didn't zest.

It's been 16 days, and it kicked up a little when I brought it upstairs from the cooler basement. We gave it 2 more days than suggested.

There was one mistake: I forgot to add the Victory and C10 to the mash. (Stupid!) Should still be ok, but not quite as expected.

 

[ericbw]

Bottling the grapefruit today. I just peeled the whole thing and added when it said to. Didn't zest.

It's been 16 days, and it kicked up a little when I brought it upstairs from the cooler basement. We gave it 2 more days than suggested.

There was one mistake: I forgot to add the Victory and C10 to the mash. (Stupid!) Should still be ok, but not quite as expected.

Sample tasted great. Light, fruity, a little bitterness. Got 9 bottles from the gallon.

 

[Gunbu]

Bottling the grapefruit today. I just peeled the whole thing and added when it said to. Didn't zest.

It's been 16 days, and it kicked up a little when I brought it upstairs from the cooler basement. We gave it 2 more days than suggested.

There was one mistake: I forgot to add the Victory and C10 to the mash. (Stupid!) Should still be ok, but not quite as expected.

Awesome, thanks. Didnt get to brewing mine today but hopefully tomorrow. Good luck on your brew, I'm sure it'll be good.

 

[hehawbrew]

I'm going to be brewing up a 5 gal batch of their Simcoe IPA on the 5th, but, will be using Citra hops instead. Should be a refreshing beer for the hot month of August.

Has anyone ever made their Well Made Triple?

Just finished the last of my WGD light that I brewed with lime zest....was at the beach with my family....even my mom who does not like beer loved it! It taste like a bud lime, except that it dosnt suck!,

 

[thevonkaiser]

The BBS WGD light has been one of the best beers I have had to date. Also I agree that the Smoked Wheat beer was amazing!
This a pic of my WGD light batch. Cheers!!

The WGD light has been one of my best so far as well. I tweaked a bit and hopped with citra and Amarillo and it's been a nice session pale ale.

I really enjoyed the lavender blonde as well. I used a liquid saison yeast and it was amazing after 3-4 weeks in the bottle.

 

[MedBrewer]

Any one use a dedicated mash tun like a cooler or something while doing bbs recipes or kits? My biggest problem is keeping a steady mash temp. I usually wrap my mash steel pot in a towel,bit that doesn't work too great.

 

[hehawbrew]

Any one use a dedicated mash tun like a cooler or something while doing bbs recipes or kits? My biggest problem is keeping a steady mash temp. I usually wrap my mash steel pot in a towel,bit that doesn't work too great.

I used a sleeping bag to wrap it in before I went to 5 gal

 

[MedBrewer]

I may try that steeping bag. I may even look into making a one gallon mash tun cooler,but honestly not sure if worth the effort of cleaning the tun after. So simple to clean a pot.

 

[ericbw]

I may try that steeping bag. I may even look into making a one gallon mash tun cooler,but honestly not sure if worth the effort of cleaning the tun after. So simple to clean a pot.

You could use a small 2 gallon cooler to mash, and just use a bag inside it. Don't worry about putting a valve in. Look for a cheap cooler. It's much easier to do it that way than turning the heat up and down.

 

[hehawbrew]

You could use a small 2 gallon cooler to mash, and just use a bag inside it. Don't worry about putting a valve in. Look for a cheap cooler. It's much easier to do it that way than turning the heat up and down.

Good idea.

 

[MedBrewer]

You could use a small 2 gallon cooler to mash, and just use a bag inside it. Don't worry about putting a valve in. Look for a cheap cooler. It's much easier to do it that way than turning the heat up and down.

That's brilliant! Perfect idea I will try that on my next brew. What type of bag is recommended,can you reuse it,and how do you clean/sanitize it? Thanks much!

 

[hehawbrew]

That's brilliant! Perfect idea I will try that on my next brew. What type of bag is recommended,can you reuse it,and how do you clean/sanitize it? Thanks much!

Go to lhbs and they should have muslin bags for like 50 cents or something nutz.

 

[ericbw]

Go to lhbs and they should have muslin bags for like 50 cents or something nutz.

I use a 5 gallon paint strainer bag from Home Depot. Really cheap. I use a 5 gallon cooler. I have done up to 4 gallons that way. Next step is to add a bulkhead to make it easier to drain instead of picking up the bag.

 

[ericbw]

Awesome, thanks. Didnt get to brewing mine today but hopefully tomorrow. Good luck on your brew, I'm sure it'll be good.

Finally opened one of these this week. It carbed 14 days then chilled for 2. It's very good! It has a little hint of grapefruit or fruitiness, but definitely not a fruit beer. It's pretty crisp, but I left out some of the crystal and the victory (accident). There's a pretty strong bitter aftertaste that hits you after about 10 seconds.

I will definitely do this one again with all the right grain.

 

[hehawbrew]

I want to try the grapefruit one when my wife pops our baby out since she really wants to try it.

Has anyone tried the Edelweiss? Seems interesting....

 

[MedBrewer]

I want to brew another batch of WGD light with a little less hops,to let the malty flavors shine a bit more.

 

[hehawbrew]

Add more grain! Get an ABV boost!

I usually end up adding more hops and have recently started to dry hop.

I just bottled five gal of the Simcoe IPA but used Citra hops instead and dry hopped an extra oz!

 

[MedBrewer]

The Simco IPA was good right?

 

[hehawbrew]

Yes! I seriously think it was one of the best ipas I've ever had.

 

[hehawbrew]

Has anyone ever made the Well Made Triple?

I was thinking of making it this weekend, but, wanted to see what everyone thought.

 

[ericbw]

I brewed the Pumpkin Dubbel this weekend. Everything went very smoothly, and the roasted pumpkin is amazing even by itself!

The only problem is that my gravity was only 1.058, which won't be enough to get 7.5% ABV. Maybe my pumpkin wasn't sugary enough?

I should have checked the Pre-boil gravity and added sugar if necessary. In fact, shouldn't a dubbel have some sugar in it? Next time I might just add another quarter cup of brown sugar to the boil to get it there.

Unless I am surprised by the S-33 yeast and it attenuates down much lower than expected.

 

[unionrdr]

Higher attenuation is always possible. But using BS2,I was a little below the mark for an American IPA gravity-wise. I had all the grains,hops,extract,etc where they should be. So I added 1lb of demerara sugar (raw cane sugar). It has the added bonus of a light brown sugar laced with honey flavor. It brought my gravity up to where it should be,added to the color & flavor complexity a bit,& didn't dry out the beer.
With a grain change from 3.2oz chocolate malt to 8oz melanoiden malt,the OG for my Maori IPA went up to 1.061 with 5.6lbs grains & 3lbs plain DME. Did the same with my new Cougar Country IPA recipe,& efficiency went through the roof @ OG 1.074! They're both past initial fermentation atm,so we'll se where they both end up. If the CCIPA gets down to FG1.012,that's 8.81%ABV by Cooper's formula.
So a little sugar can work wonders,too much can ruin you. It's like an old Arabic saying I heard years ago "Kiff is like fire. A little warms,a lot burns.".

 

[hehawbrew]

Did the everyday IPA for the third time on Sunday. I used Amarillo hops and nugget hops instead of what the original recipe called for. Also added 1/2 lb of sun dried apricots this morning. Hoping to get something between a Nugget Nectar and a #9!

 

[ericbw]

Did the everyday IPA for the third time on Sunday. I used Amarillo hops and nugget hops instead of what the original recipe called for. Also added 1/2 lb of sun dried apricots this morning. Hoping to get something between a Nugget Nectar and a #9!

How long will you leave it on the apricots?

 

[ericbw]

I brewed the Pumpkin Dubbel this weekend. Everything went very smoothly, and the roasted pumpkin is amazing even by itself!

The only problem is that my gravity was only 1.058, which won't be enough to get 7.5% ABV. Maybe my pumpkin wasn't sugary enough?

I should have checked the Pre-boil gravity and added sugar if necessary. In fact, shouldn't a dubbel have some sugar in it? Next time I might just add another quarter cup of brown sugar to the boil to get it there.

Unless I am surprised by the S-33 yeast and it attenuates down much lower than expected.

This went through a strange cycle. It slowed down to nothing after about 3 days. It had a little bit of foam on top, and it wasn't starting to clear at all, so I let it sit. After about 18 days, it started up again, not full force, but enough to leave a new high water mark on the neck of the jug. It is still going now. Still not clear. This might take a month to finish.

When it started back up, it was cooler than when it started, so I don't think the temperature roused it.

 

[hehawbrew]

That is odd..... Are there pumpkin chunks in the bucket or were they added during boil?

I'll keep the apricots in there until I bottle..... So, mid November .

 

[ericbw]

That is odd..... Are there pumpkin chunks in the bucket or were they added during boil?

I'll keep the apricots in there until I bottle..... So, mid November .

Some goes in the mash and some goes in the boil. I think pumpkin might be starchy and need the mash to convert to sugar. The boil adds flavor. It was roasted with brown sugar.

None in the fermentation, but that would possibly add some additional aroma.

You're letting this ferment for ~6 weeks?

 

[hehawbrew]

Some goes in the mash and some goes in the boil. I think pumpkin might be starchy and need the mash to convert to sugar. The boil adds flavor. It was roasted with brown sugar. None in the fermentation, but that would possibly add some additional aroma. You're letting this ferment for ~6 weeks?

Yeah- I don't transfer to secondary, so, it gives it time to clear a bit, plus, I know it will most likely be fermented out...... Plus I hate botteling!!!

 

[MedBrewer]

I may be trying that Pumpkin brew soon! I wanted to make it last fall and just did not have the time....hate it when that happens! Ill have to be using canned pumpkin, and suggestions?

 

[ericbw]

I may be trying that Pumpkin brew soon! I wanted to make it last fall and just did not have the time....hate it when that happens! Ill have to be using canned pumpkin, and suggestions?

I don't know how well canned pumpkin roasts, so you might not get the browning that you do on chunks. I would also be ready to strain from the boil to the fermenter. The pumpkin will be close to liquid at that point.

I have heard that butternut squash gives pumpkin flavor, so you might be able to find it frozen in chunks.

Next time I make a dubbel, I will either culture yeast from a Trappist bottle OR buy liquid yeast.