Random Brewing Thoughts

[LouisvilleBrian]

Yep, I read that site and also skimmed most of a lengthy thread on homebrewtalk. Just wondering if anyone here has had any luck doing this.

I've done this a couple times now in central KY. All were 10 gallon batches of 65% Pilsner and 35% Wheat at about 8 ibu's. I run the wort off into 5 gallon buckets and placed the buckets into an orchard on my dad's farm to cool overnight (One bucket fermented with a lab prepared strain). I covered bucket with cheese cloth to prevent bugs/leaves/other debris from entering my bucket. Normally took four or five days for fermentation to get going and another 6 to 8 months to finish. Some batches have been better than others, but all have been interesting in their own right. Need to do some plating to see what's actually in our Duncan Valley Funky Yeast blend. Have a hoppy saison sitting on the third generation of the second batch of microbes that we captured.

I say do it.

 

[mixed_master7]

Hey, FTowne.

You should make a wild fermented acorn ale and show those oaks who is boss!

 

[quirkzoo1]

Hey, FTowne.

You should make a wild fermented acorn ale and show those oaks who is boss!

Watch out for the wild fermentation, might end up with some mouse taint.

 

[FTowne1]

Hey, FTowne.

You should make a wild fermented acorn ale and show those oaks who is boss!

Acorns were used as a staple food source by most of the American Indian tribes and are a traditional food stuff in Korea, where active food science research is conducted on how to best use acorn starch.

The acorn is cheap and easy to obtain in the wild during fall, and it can be purchased, already processed, in many Asian food stores. If you buy the processed acorns, you do not have to worry about eliminating their tannins (astringent compounds).

If you decide to collect the acorns, you should invest some time in cleaning them properly. When collecting, take only the freshly fallen green ones or pick them off the tree. Put them in a dehumidifier or heat them in the oven for about two hours at 200° F. This will dry them and also kill any worms living in them.

Once the acorns are dried, get rid of the shell and then coarsely grind the acorns. To remove tannins put the crushed acorns into a leg of a nylon stocking and run water through the mush for about two hours. The flow rate does not have to be high but should be continuous. After this the acorn mush can either be mashed with the method used for rice or dried to use at a later date.

The acorn itself is very similar in content to barley. It is 72 to 80 percent starch, 8 to 12 percent protein, and has a low oil content. One of its major drawbacks is that, like the potato, it contains high concentrations of the enzyme polyphenol oxidase. Therefore, the beers made with acorns will not be of the lighter variety. In test mashes the color comes out to be a brown shade along the line of a Vienna or Oktoberfest-style beer. This is a good adjunct with which to make your Thanksgiving and Christmas beers.


Interesting....

 

[FTowne1]

I've done this a couple times now in central KY. All were 10 gallon batches of 65% Pilsner and 35% Wheat at about 8 ibu's. I run the wort off into 5 gallon buckets and placed the buckets into an orchard on my dad's farm to cool overnight (One bucket fermented with a lab prepared strain). I covered bucket with cheese cloth to prevent bugs/leaves/other debris from entering my bucket. Normally took four or five days for fermentation to get going and another 6 to 8 months to finish. Some batches have been better than others, but all have been interesting in their own right. Need to do some plating to see what's actually in our Duncan Valley Funky Yeast blend. Have a hoppy saison sitting on the third generation of the second batch of microbes that we captured.

I say do it.

I was thinking about making a low gravity, lightly hopped 8-10 oz starter and letting it sit outside. I'd be afraid to make an entire batch and let it sit outside.

 

[LouisvilleBrian]

FTowne, I'd say do that to avoid the expense. Make several if you can and place them in various places. You might get several viable options and some that don't work. I was just curious when I first did it. I might have had more money than sense at the time.

 

[FTowne1]

FTowne, I'd say do that to avoid the expense. Make several if you can and place them in various places. You might get several viable options and some that don't work. I was just curious when I first did it. I might have had more money than sense at the time.

My wife is heading to a local winery tomorrow. I almost asked her to take a mason jar of wort with her...but she would just laugh in my face.

 

[LouisvilleBrian]

Have her snatch a few grapes and toss ten in some wort.

 

[FTowne1]

Have her snatch a few grapes and toss ten in some wort.

Good idea.









I doubt she'll do it for me, though.

 

[Snarf1]

My wife is heading to a local winery tomorrow. I almost asked her to take a mason jar of wort with her...but she would just laugh in my face.

What about if you ask her to bring home a barrel?

 

[FTowne1]

What about if you ask her to bring home a barrel?

She's taking a party bus up there, so I guess this is logistically possible. How long would it take to fill a barrel when I only brew 2 gallon batches?

 

[Snarf1]

She's taking a party bus up there, so I guess this is logistically possible. How long would it take to fill a barrel when I only brew 2 gallon batches?

Better question. How long would it take the shipping king to send me a barrel, me to fill it, and then send him back a case of beer?

 

[FTowne1]

Better question. How long would it take the shipping king to send me a barrel, me to fill it, and then send him back a case of beer?

Oh, man. Don't make me do dis.

 

[Skittle34]

Anyone have a preference of music to listen to when brewing, if you listen to music at all?

 

[SirDickButts]

YES! this compilation right here...

 

[Skittle34]

Killer! I usually bump some stoner metal, metal core, and psychedelic rock, speed and some smattering of punk. Wolfmother, The Sword, Elder, Killswitch, Times of Grace, The first 4 Metallica albums, and then I'll throw in some Misfits and Bad Brains

 

[SirDickButts]

just kegged and dry hopped (citra) my IPA on ringwood. smells amazing!

 

[FTowne1]

Currently have 3 gallons of RIS fermenting. Thinking about splitting the batch and dropping some Buffalo Trace soaked oak cubes in half of the batch. Anyone have any success (or horror) stories about using oak cubes?

 

[abawol01]

Currently have 3 gallons of RIS fermenting. Thinking about splitting the batch and dropping some Buffalo Trace soaked oak cubes in half of the batch. Anyone have any success (or horror) stories about using oak cubes?

What I do is boil the cubes for 10 minutes to extract any tannins. Put those cubes in a mason jar and soak them in bourbon for months. Like, forget they are there months. I just dropped 3 oz. into a RIS. The sample from the jar was huge on vanilla flavor. Hopefully it helps with the bitterness of the stout.

Medium toast american oak BTW.

Go for it. Worst case you lose a gallon.

 

[FTowne1]

What I do is boil the cubes for 10 minutes to extract any tannins. Put those cubes in a mason jar and soak them in bourbon for months. Like, forget they are there months. I just dropped 3 oz. into a RIS. The sample from the jar was huge on vanilla flavor. Hopefully it helps with the bitterness of the stout.

Medium toast american oak BTW.

Go for it. Worst case you lose a gallon.

I guess I'll give it a shot next go round. I've already got this batch about 6 days in to fermentation. I'll get some oak soaking right away.

 

[Snarf1]

Anyone have experience reusing fruit? I've got a bottle of the JK that used that technique, but haven't tried it and have heard good things from a friend who's a great brewer. I've got a framboise I think I'll be lucky to get 3.5 gallons out of the 5.5 I put on the fruit and want to get a little more bang for my buck on it.

 

[Five28 hz]

Just one ******** opinion, but la vie en rose was the most one dimensional beer I have ever had from Jester king. I ended up making a cuvee out of the second half of the bottle with a vanilla noir squirter.

 

[Snarf1]

Just one ******** opinion, but la vie en rose was the most one dimensional beer I have ever had from Jester king. I ended up making a cuvee out of the second half of the bottle with a vanilla noir squirter.

I didn't realize they had multiple 2nd fruiting beers. I've got Detritivore. I'm not a big fan of the brewery. I haven't had any of the other 500 ml bottle, but atrial is the only JK beer I've liked.

 

[Five28 hz]

I love JK, LVER just wasn't that impressive of an offering compared to the rest of their portfolio. Reusing the fruit sounds like a good idea with a tamer yeast/bugs profile so the fruit doesn't get lost.

 

[doobiegoobie]

Anyone have experience reusing fruit? I've got a bottle of the JK that used that technique, but haven't tried it and have heard good things from a friend who's a great brewer. I've got a framboise I think I'll be lucky to get 3.5 gallons out of the 5.5 I put on the fruit and want to get a little more bang for my buck on it.

I'm reusing the nectarines and mangos from my last fruit beer in a cider. Basically just poured some pasteurized apple juice on the fruit, pitched a little sacc along with the bugs in the carboy already and let it ride. Took a sample yesterday and it's got a lot of fruit character. Pretty tasty so far. Haven't done it with a beer yet, so YMMV.

 

[Beerontwowheels]

I've got Detritivore.

I thought JK's Detritivore was pretty good. Definitely a more mild fruit character and I agree with Five28 hz in that you woulnd't want the yeast to overpower the delicate fruit flavors that are still lingering. Just spit balling (hate this phrase), but it's probably similar to using 5-10% of the original fruit volume.

 

[drgarage1]

I'm aging a saison on cherries from a berliner. We'll see how it goes.

 

[StoutSeth1]

I'm reusing the black cherries from a mead in a low abv sour table beer

 

[FTowne1]

Recommendations for a decent bottle capper? I bought a cheap, $12 capper that worked great for the first 30 bottles or so and then it sheared two bottles off right at the top of the neck. I got through the last of the batch but I had to recap a few bottles because it wasn't crimping properly. I definitely need to upgrade before I bottle my next batch.

 

[Snarf1]

Recommendations for a decent bottle capper? I bought a cheap, $12 capper that worked great for the first 30 bottles or so and then it sheared two bottles off right at the top of the neck. I got through the last of the batch but I had to recap a few bottles because it wasn't crimping properly. I definitely need to upgrade before I bottle my next batch.

I've got the super agata which is the standard bench capper. You can swap out bells for 29mm bottles, too.