Hello from Lexington, KY. Home of Kentucky Basketball, beautiful horses and fast women, and some pretty dang good nano breweries. I guess they're nano? So if you're ever in town, please make sure to check out Blue Stallion (my brewery hang out of choice; and tell them that I said hi), Country Boy Brewing, West Six, Ethereal, and possibly more soon.
I began brewing kits a couple of years ago thinking that it would be just as good as one of these local brewery beers. I was wrong, unfortunately. I got back into brewing the 2nd day of this year and decided to try a kit but add some White Labs yeast. Let me tell you, the extra $9 was totally worth the money. The flavors truly come out with good yeast. I have since started venturing out doing partials and been loving it ever since. I tend to think about and research beer making all week and generally brew something on Saturday or Sunday. It has been great. I have also ventured out and gotten into kegging. Buying 4 pin locks from an online store and then converting them to ball locks has been wonderful. I now have plenty of room for a lot of beer!
The 2 best beers that I have made this year has been a bourbon barrel-type Irish Red. I used an irish red kit and while in secondary, added roasted (in the skillet) oak chips that were later soaked in Evan Williams bourbon (about 2 cups). It was wonderful. It is now gone. The second was a great recipe that I found on beerrecipes.org for a Red IIPA called Redhead Redemption Red Double IPA. Since I'm married to a redhead and I love IPAs, I had to try. This is/was the best beer that I have ever made. I have about 2 gallons left.
I recently got into using gelatin for clearing beer. This has been an incredible find. To contrary to what I've read, I actually use a bit more gelatin and water. I use 2 TBS of gelatin in 2 cups of water. I let it bloom for a while and then microwave for :30 at a time until I get the water up to around 150f. Give it about 2-3 days and you're set. Love it.
Well sorry for the long post! I have been looking on here for many kinds of information and I appreciate everyone that has posted ideas and problem solving solutions. I hope to post more soon.
I began brewing kits a couple of years ago thinking that it would be just as good as one of these local brewery beers. I was wrong, unfortunately. I got back into brewing the 2nd day of this year and decided to try a kit but add some White Labs yeast. Let me tell you, the extra $9 was totally worth the money. The flavors truly come out with good yeast. I have since started venturing out doing partials and been loving it ever since. I tend to think about and research beer making all week and generally brew something on Saturday or Sunday. It has been great. I have also ventured out and gotten into kegging. Buying 4 pin locks from an online store and then converting them to ball locks has been wonderful. I now have plenty of room for a lot of beer!
The 2 best beers that I have made this year has been a bourbon barrel-type Irish Red. I used an irish red kit and while in secondary, added roasted (in the skillet) oak chips that were later soaked in Evan Williams bourbon (about 2 cups). It was wonderful. It is now gone. The second was a great recipe that I found on beerrecipes.org for a Red IIPA called Redhead Redemption Red Double IPA. Since I'm married to a redhead and I love IPAs, I had to try. This is/was the best beer that I have ever made. I have about 2 gallons left.
I recently got into using gelatin for clearing beer. This has been an incredible find. To contrary to what I've read, I actually use a bit more gelatin and water. I use 2 TBS of gelatin in 2 cups of water. I let it bloom for a while and then microwave for :30 at a time until I get the water up to around 150f. Give it about 2-3 days and you're set. Love it.
Well sorry for the long post! I have been looking on here for many kinds of information and I appreciate everyone that has posted ideas and problem solving solutions. I hope to post more soon.
