Good eats Beer show

[autoferret]

Anyone see the Good EAts show on beer making?? It was on tonight

 

[Walker]

didn't watch it tonight, but I've seen it before. (There are a few threads about it on here.)

What was your opinion?

-walker

 

[RichBrewer]

Dang I keep missing that show!

 

[autoferret]

I like it. He show'd the important steps like sanitation and brewing prosses. He didnt strain out the grains before he added the hops. And IMO he didn't let the hops boil long enough. But for the guy who's just getting into home brewing or wanting to try home brewing for the first time it was a great show.

I know that this show was the reason that I got into home brewing.

 

[SkewedBrewing]

I started a huge thread on this about a week or two ago, https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=6269&highlight=amber+waves, check it out...

 

[Dude]

Dang I keep missing that show!

It isn't that great, actually. I love Alton and I love the fact he did a brewing show, but it won't give any useful info for an experienced brewer.

He screwed up (badly, IMHO) a few things. He boiled grains and also called aroma hops, dry hops.

I wanted to flog him. :rockin:

 

[Ivan Lendl]

that show makes you wonder who does their research, and/or if they botherd to ask a pro-brewer to do some fact checking...one glance at the recipe and you noticed some weird stuff (boiling crystal malt, 15 min. total boil time, putting ice in the wort...)

its still cool that he did the show, but its kind of arrogent of him to just 'wing' it like that, without checking with at least a homebrewer if not a pro-brewer....

i understand that the process had to be kept pretty simple, but i would have not included the crystal malt without showing a way to remove it before boiling, and im wondering if a 15 minute total boil time is enough to get any decent amount of bitterness out of the low aa hops he used (cascade, ek gold).

i could think of an easier way to make beer that would be better (8 lbs. lme, 1 oz.fuggel hops at the beginning of boil, 1 ounce at the end,60 min. boil, water bath, pitch yeast,bottle in 3 weeks, your done)

 

[autoferret]

I dont think that ths show was ment for the experence home brewer. I saw the show and it got me interested in home brewing. I found a HB store and got a book and read. The ngot my stuff and make really good beer. I think that if joe blow saw the show that his HB store guy would help point him in the right direction!

 

[Hercules Rockefeller]

I liked the show in general, anything that makes HB more popular sounds good to me, but I have only been brewing since Dec and even I noticed some pretty basic errors. It makes me wonder if some of his other shows are just as far off, and I just don't realize it since I don't have specific knowledge in that area. but in his defense homebrewing is a bit more complicated than most types of cooking.

 

[Chairman Cheyco]

Ferret has a good point, he makes it accessible to Johnny Lunchpail, even if he is a bit off on his method. I can't remember, does he recommend reading a book about it? After I began brewing I went back to that show and looked up the recipe and method he used and was a little dissapointed. I will say that it was one of a long chain of events that got me brewing though. His job is done.

 

[autoferret]

When i went into my HB store and said that i wanted to brew my own beer the first thing he said was you should read this book before you do anything. If you like what you read come back and i'll get you everything you need to brew beer.

Cheyco i love your avatar!!

 

[Chairman Cheyco]

Thanks, the kicker is that that's a Dortmunder Export!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=6943

 

[autoferret]

maybe you should switch it to one of these

http://kodawari.cc/engpage/kodawari/html/hitachino.htm

 

[Rhoobarb]

It's a good intro for the uninitiated. And that's a good thing. The more potential homebrewers, the better for us all. I know I spent 4-5 months just reading about homebrewing. If this show had been around back then, I think it would've made me a lot more enthusiastic about getting the lead out and just doing it!

I know a lot of folks complain about the short boil, use of ice, etc. But there are a number of extract brewers who use those methods successfully. The part that made me wince was seeing him cram everything into the plastic fermenter to sanitize. Do that enough times and you're sure to develop scratches that will hold bacteria.

They run it about once every 2-3 months; keep watching.

 

[Ivan Lendl]

It's a good intro for the uninitiated. And that's a good thing. The more potential homebrewers, the better for us all. reading doing it!
They run it about once every 2-3 months; keep watching.
[/QUOTE
i was pissed i missed it, ive seen it once a few years ago
everytime i put on foodnetwork, bobby flay is always being an dick, or emeril is wooing the soccer moms with some spices BAM!...

 

[Rhoobarb]

Funny, Bobby is cooking with Emeril on Emeril's show as I type this!

 

[Ivan Lendl]

Funny, Bobby is cooking with Emeril on Emeril's show as I type this!

oh joy i get to watch rachel ray spend her hoar money feeding her fat ass...

 

[autoferret]

Rachel Ray and The chick from EveryDay Itlian rock!!!

Did u ever see her spread in FHM??

 

[beergod35]

Sounds to me that what you guys want is The Beer Network. All Beer all the time. Some of you would have to quit your jobs. That show on Good Eats is at least 4 years old. I saw it when I lived in Hawaii. And I got the idea of using ice directly in the pot to cool down the wort. You have to use clear (RO filtered) ice though, not the crap ice from your ice maker. I got started years ago from reading a couple articles in Mother Earth News and even Bryon Horst called for boiling specialty grains. Stop picking on my boy Alton (Thomas Dolby) Brown.

 

[God Emporer BillyBrew]

The interesting thing about it to me is that when we watched one of his shows that covered something we're sort of "experts" on that we found several mistakes. Makes you wonder if he's making mistakes on all or most of his shows and we just don't know enough about french pastries to catch it.

It's the same thing as when you watch your local or even national news cover something you're an expert on. When I watch them cover gun safety or wildlife topics, I just cringe!!!

 

[Walker]

The part that made me wince was seeing him cram everything into the plastic fermenter to sanitize. Do that enough times and you're sure to develop scratches that will hold bacteria.

I never even thought of this until you mentioned it. I always shove the lid for my bucket into it when I am sanitizing. Sure enough, I have some big scratches running down the inside of the bucket.

I'm not really that worried about it, though, because I only use the bucket for bottling. It gets a good hot, soapy washing, and a 1hour soak in iodophor, and the beer (which usually has 5% abv in it) is only in the bucket for a few minutes.

However, if I was using my bucket as a fermenter, I would be a LOT more concerned. and would probably go buy a new one.

-walker

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I really enjoyed this episode of Good Eats, probably because I enjoy Alton Brown's rather nerdy, scientific explanations in general. I agree that he did a few things here that I'd rather not, and his ice cooling technique DID NOT work for me.

So, I decided to give it a go. I modified the recipe a bit, mostly because my LHBS didn't have the exact ingredients. I added just a touch of chocolate malt and wheat (10% ea. of the total specialty grain bill) for flavor and head retention. It turned out quite nice. Great amber color, pronounced malt flavor, light on the hops, but spicy with almost a root beer quality probably due to the Spalt hops. Here's my version:

6 lbs 9.6 oz Munton's Light Extract (10.0 SRM)

6.4 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM)
0.8 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)
0.8 oz Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM)

1.00 oz Spalter [4.10%] (30 min) Hops 8.5 IBU
0.75 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.10%] (30 min) Hops 6.4 IBU
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.10%] (5 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep)

0.50 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 5.0 min)

1 Pkgs European Ale (White Labs #WLP011) Yeast-Ale

Est Original Gravity: 1.048 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.043 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.015 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.013 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.3 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 3.9 %
Bitterness: 14.8 IBU Calories: 191 cal/pint
Est Color: 10.6 SRM

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Oh no! Not another reply to the Good Eats thread!

The extract recipe from a few months ago turned out so well, I'm planning an AG version for my next brew - here's the recipe. Comments/critiques are more than welcome!

Yuri's Better Brew

9 lbs Pale Malt (3.0 SRM)
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L
4.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)
4.0 oz Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM)
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.10%] (60 min) 14.5 IBU
1.00 oz Spalter [4.10%] (30 min) 11.1 IBU
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.10%] (5 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep)
0.50 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 5.0 min)
1 Pkgs European Ale (White Labs #WLP011) Yeast-Ale

Mash:
30 mins at 122
30 mins at 154
10 mins at 168
Batch sparge

Est OG: 1.054
Est FG: 1.017
25.6 IBU

For those familiar with the show and Mr. Brown's faux pas:
I won't be boiling grains and using bagged ice for cooling.
I will be making a yeast starter.

EDIT: Here's my 15 gallon version for this weekend (20 Oct 06). It's hopped just a touch more to meet the style guidelines (6B American Amber Ale), and I added a touch more grain to max out the OG for the style:

28 lbs Pale Malt (3.0 SRM)
1lb 8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L
12.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)
12.0 oz Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM)
3.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00%] (60 min) 14.5 IBU
3.00 oz Tettnang [4.00%] (30 min) 11.1 IBU
3.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00%] (5 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep)
1.00 Tbsp Irish Moss (Boil 5.0 min)
1 Pkgs European Ale (White Labs #WLP011) Yeast-Ale (BIG starter)

 

[Cheesefood]

I like the ice cooling technique.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I like the ice cooling technique.

Didn't work for me...and now I have my Rube Goldberg-ish counterflow chiller.

 

[God Emporer BillyBrew]

I really enjoyed this episode of Good Eats, probably because I enjoy Alton Brown's rather nerdy, scientific explanations in general. I agree that he did a few things here that I'd rather not, and his ice cooling technique DID NOT work for me.

So, I decided to give it a go. I modified the recipe a bit, mostly because my LHBS didn't have the exact ingredients. I added just a touch of chocolate malt and wheat (10% ea. of the total specialty grain bill) for flavor and head retention. It turned out quite nice. Great amber color, pronounced malt flavor, light on the hops, but spicy with almost a root beer quality probably due to the Spalt hops. Here's my version:

6 lbs 9.6 oz Munton's Light Extract (10.0 SRM)

6.4 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM)
0.8 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)
0.8 oz Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM)

1.00 oz Spalter [4.10%] (30 min) Hops 8.5 IBU
0.75 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.10%] (30 min) Hops 6.4 IBU
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.10%] (5 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep)

0.50 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 5.0 min)

1 Pkgs European Ale (White Labs #WLP011) Yeast-Ale

Est Original Gravity: 1.048 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.043 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.015 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.013 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.3 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 3.9 %
Bitterness: 14.8 IBU Calories: 191 cal/pint
Est Color: 10.6 SRM

hmmm, an Alton Brown beer recipe??? since he's my hero I guess I better try it.

 

[Walker]

hmmm, an Alton Brown beer recipe??? since he's my hero I guess I better try it.

If you watch the episode, he might fall from grace in your eyes. He did in mine.

-walker

 

[Lightwave]

The part that made me wince was seeing him cram everything into the plastic fermenter to sanitize. Do that enough times and you're sure to develop scratches that will hold bacteria.

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, but I read this and was curious: how would you recommend that I sanitize the lid to my fermenter without cramming it into the actual bucket? I can't think of any other methods that would ensure contact to all of the nooks, crannies, and surfaces of the lid as effectively...

 

[Monk]

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, but I read this and was curious: how would you recommend that I sanitize the lid to my fermenter without cramming it into the actual bucket? I can't think of any other methods that would ensure contact to all of the nooks, crannies, and surfaces of the lid as effectively...

I put mine on a cookie sheet and pour some of the sanatizing solution over it until it's submerged. Cookie sheet works well for other long items like the beer thief, etc., also. Cheers,

monk

 

[God Emporer BillyBrew]

If you watch the episode, he might fall from grace in your eyes. He did in mine.

-walker

Well, he did tumble a bit, but he's still the man. Still, it makes you wonder, if he got something that we are in the know about that wrong, what else does he get wrong?