South Carolina SC midlands area brewers

[TravelingLight]

Snow last weekend- hot this one. I’ve got my 7- year olds birthday party tomorrow so no brewing for me. Did a 2 gallon dunkelweissen last weekend that is steady bubbling!

I want some more of that blonde coffee stout y'all did! That was delicious.

 

[TravelingLight]

Got my parts in for my tri clover sanke fermenter setup. Please ignore the janky ass gas post setup on the left side. Bobby was out of the MNPT to MFL flare fitting I needed, so this is just a stand in until he gets that in stock. I'll be adding this to the fermenter when I toss in the first dry hop for the NEIPA I brewed yesterday.

 

[grandetacos]

Got my parts in for my tri clover sanke fermenter setup. Please ignore the janky ass gas post setup on the left side. Bobby was out of the MNPT to MFL flare fitting I needed, so this is just a stand in until he gets that in stock. I'll be adding this to the fermenter when I toss in the first dry hop for the NEIPA I brewed yesterday.

That is beastly!

 

[Poopsmitherson]

Okay guys, I wanted a small sounding board for something. Say there existed a subscription service for craft malt--I'm talking the small craft malt houses that are starting to pop up but you can't really find their stuff outside of their locale. You get X amount of malt per month from a different maltster with a description of said malt and how the maltster suggests using it. Would you be interested in such a thing?

 

[TravelingLight]

Okay guys, I wanted a small sounding board for something. Say there existed a subscription service for craft malt--I'm talking the small craft malt houses that are starting to pop up but you can't really find their stuff outside of their locale. You get X amount of malt per month from a different maltster with a description of said malt and how the maltster suggests using it. Would you be interested in such a thing?

 

[grandetacos]

Okay guys, I wanted a small sounding board for something. Say there existed a subscription service for craft malt--I'm talking the small craft malt houses that are starting to pop up but you can't really find their stuff outside of their locale. You get X amount of malt per month from a different maltster with a description of said malt and how the maltster suggests using it. Would you be interested in such a thing?

I’m a cheapskate on a colossal scale. That being said, if it wasn’t overly expensive, I’d give it a shot. And by overly expensive - if it costs me $65 for a sack of regular 2-row and said service wants $100 for their 2-row- no way. Between 65 and 80 - probably as long as it made something decent.

 

[TravelingLight]

I’m a cheapskate on a colossal scale. That being said, if it wasn’t overly expensive, I’d give it a shot. And by overly expensive - if it costs me $65 for a sack of regular 2-row and said service wants $100 for their 2-row- no way. Between 65 and 80 - probably as long as it made something decent.

That's a good point, and I agree for the most part. But I assumed (maybe wrongly) that this wouldn't be full (50#) sacks, right? They would get murdered in shipping.

 

[Poopsmitherson]

I’m a cheapskate on a colossal scale. That being said, if it wasn’t overly expensive, I’d give it a shot. And by overly expensive - if it costs me $65 for a sack of regular 2-row and said service wants $100 for their 2-row- no way. Between 65 and 80 - probably as long as it made something decent.

So speaking from that side of things (I too am what’s i like to call “frugal”), would you be expecting a full sack of malt or like enough to make one or two beers with (I.e., 1-3 lbs. for specialty malts or accent base malts, or 10ish lbs for base malt that’s something like an heirloom variety)?

 

[Poopsmitherson]

That's a good point, and I agree for the most part. But I assumed (maybe wrongly) that this wouldn't be full (50#) sacks, right? They would get murdered in shipping.

Right. I was thinking more like enough to brew one or two beers with. Maybe 10-12 lbs if it’s a base malt or 1-3 lbs for a specialty or accent malt. Shipping alone for a full sack would skyrocket that price if it were a monthly thing. I dont even want to think about it.

 

[TravelingLight]

Right. I was thinking more like enough to brew one or two beers with. Maybe 10-12 lbs if it’s a base malt or 1-3 lbs for a specialty or accent malt. Shipping alone for a full sack would skyrocket that price if it were a monthly thing. I dont even want to think about it.

Yeah, I would be interested in checking out something like that. I've also realized lately that my knowledge of malts is severely limited, and I'd like to improve that. I considered getting the Malt book. But after being so disappointed with Yeast, and someone confirming they were similarly disappointed with Malt, I'm looking for something else.

 

[grandetacos]

Right. I was thinking more like enough to brew one or two beers with. Maybe 10-12 lbs if it’s a base malt or 1-3 lbs for a specialty or accent malt. Shipping alone for a full sack would skyrocket that price if it were a monthly thing. I dont even want to think about it.

Gotcha. Yeah shipping on 55lb bags sucks. Small bags makes sense. Doesn’t sound bad!

 

[Lifer59]

Kevin sells a bag of grain for less than what you will pay online if you include the PSB discount. You can also order 5 - ten lb bags of grain from NB or Morebeer and still get flat rate shipping.

 

[grandetacos]

Kevin sells a bag of grain for less than what you will pay online if you include the PSB discount. You can also order 5 - ten lb bags of grain from NB or Morebeer and still get flat rate shipping.

Kevin definitely has the best prices. I think last time I did the math, the 10 lb bags at NB were costing the same per pound as the 50 shipped. That was about a year ago though.

 

[TravelingLight]

Kevin definitely has the best prices. I think last time I did the math, the 10 lb bags at NB were costing the same per pound as the 50 shipped. That was about a year ago though.

No doubt. And I always get hot dogs from Jimmy's when I go to DIY. I'm hoping Kevin can help me out with the 20 pounds of extract I need for my Piatz beer for my initial barrel fill. I've done maybe two extract beers ever. But brewing three or four back to back AG beers to fill the barrel gave me nightmares. So I'm doing a simple 50/50 pale/wheat extract beer for my initial fill. Then I'll let the yeast and bugs do some work. Damn that's gonna be expensive!

 

[SHAIV]

So guys i think im finally gonna have some time to brew a beer this weekend. I know its been a while and you already critiqued my recipe travelinglight, but i made a few more changes to it and just wondered what you think?

Thats all the mosaic i have and its my first time using mosaic and lupulin powder. I have more simcoe and more chinook i could add but i dont want to drown out the mosaic not that thats easy to do from what i read about it

 

[TravelingLight]

So guys i think im finally gonna have some time to brew a beer this weekend. I know its been a while and you already critiqued my recipe travelinglight, but i made a few more changes to it and just wondered what you think?

View attachment 555650

Thats all the mosaic i have and its my first time using mosaic and lupulin powder. I have more simcoe and more chinook i could add but i dont want to drown out the mosaic not that thats easy to do from what i read about it

Are you going for haze, or just a good west coaster with some fruity hops? I'll assume you're not going for haze...

First thoughts, I would move that chinook at five minutes either to the 30m bittering addition, or just drop it out right. Personally, I would drop it out right, but the more I get into NEIPAs, the less bittering I like in my IPAs. But that's personal preference. If you want some heavier bittering, just do 1 oz. chinook at 30. If you want softer bittering, just do 0.5 oz. at 30.

I also would not do any chinook in the dry hop. Granted, I haven't used it a ton, but I still feel it's better as just a bittering hop and I would leave it out of the dry hop. I also think it would muddy and possibly overpower the simcoe/mosaic in the dry hop.

Where are you using the mosaic lupulin? Unless I missed it, the recipe didn't state it. I'd just advise to use it in the whirlpool and/or dry hop. I don't even like using lupulin at flameout. Speaking of whirlpools, I'd drop that temp down to 175 at most. I prefer to do mine at 170, but as long as it's at least at 175, that's usually good. I get much better aroma and flavor extraction at below 180. 180 and above I still pull too much bittering.

 

[SHAIV]

Oh man chinook is a good all around citrus hop. Try a smash or a single hop chinook. Yes you are right im not going for haze just a light colored hop bomb. Im actually going to use whirlflock and fermcap also. Im testing out the fermcap so i can judge how much krausen is formed while using it so i can judge how much space i need when i ferment in a keg next time

 

[SHAIV]

Also the powder is in the whirlpool. Its the ones with the AA in the 20’s

 

[TravelingLight]

Oh man chinook is a good all around citrus hop. Try a smash or a single hop chinook. Yes you are right im not going for haze just a light colored hop bomb. Im actually going to use whirlflock and fermcap also. Im testing out the fermcap so i can judge how much krausen is formed while using it so i can judge how much space i need when i ferment in a keg next time

Interesting. I seem to get more piney/spicy from chinook. To each their own! You'll love the fermcap if you've never used it before. I don't use it all the time, but definitely a fair amount, depending on the beer and the fermenter I'm using. It's magical stuff. I definitely use it more often for starters!

Also the powder is in the whirlpool. Its the ones with the AA in the 20’s

Ahh yeah that makes sense, duh! I wasn't even paying attention to the AAs.

 

[SHAIV]

Interesting. I seem to get more piney/spicy from chinook. To each their own! You'll love the fermcap if you've never used it before. I don't use it all the time, but definitely a fair amount, depending on the beer and the fermenter I'm using. It's magical stuff. I definitely use it more often for starters!


Ahh yeah that makes sense, duh! I wasn't even paying attention to the AAs.

Yeah? Well maybe thats what i like about chinook. But its always used in grapefruit ipas... idk well anyway i just got an email today from brewers friend saying they updated their software to include powder pellets. So im about to check that out. Yeah ive never used fermcap. I had some a long time ago when i first started brewing but never used it. I guess i was a newb and didnt know anything about it at the time really it just came in a kit I bought from NB then it expired? So i threw it out. It said keep refrigerated on it and it had an expiration date on it. This bottle says neither of those... hmmm

 

[SHAIV]

Ok they do now have lupulin powder pellets on brewers friend recipe builder. I took some of your advice and updated the recipe again.

 

[TravelingLight]

Ok they do now have lupulin powder pellets on brewers friend recipe builder. I took some of your advice and updated the recipe again.
View attachment 555820

Yeah dude, that looks great. I think you'll dig that. One note: when you say "5 each" for the fermcap, you're talking about drops, right? I think the bottle says 5 drops per 5 gallons. Piece of advice I learned with fermcap - 5 drops is absolutely not enough for 5 gallons. The first time I used it I did 5 drops and still almost had a boil over. So I started searching around and found that most people say you need much more than that. I usually do about 10 drops for a 5 gallon batch. Hell, I put 5 drops in my 2L starters.

 

[SHAIV]

Really? I think the bottle says 2 drops per gallon but it doesnt say for boil or fermentation. Most people ive seen say they use one drop per gallon is enough and one drop in starter. I was thinking id see how one drop per gallon in boil and maybe one drop per gallon in fermenter

 

[TravelingLight]

Really? I think the bottle says 2 drops per gallon but it doesnt say for boil or fermentation. Most people ive seen say they use one drop per gallon is enough and one drop in starter. I was thinking id see how one drop per gallon in boil and maybe one drop per gallon in fermenter

If you add it to the boil, no need to add it directly to the fermenter. It certainly wouldn't hurt anything, but it's just a waste IMO, and this stuff (at least mine) never goes bad, so it should last a long time.

 

[SHAIV]

Yeah i was wondering that. Ive been reading about it but everyone only says weather or not they add it to the boil or fermenter and havent figured out weather it works for fermentation too if you add it to the boil.

 

[TravelingLight]

Yeah i was wondering that. Ive been reading about it but everyone only says weather or not they add it to the boil or fermenter and havent figured out weather it works for fermentation too if you add it to the boil.

Case in point: I add it to the "boil" for my starters and it keeps it from overflowing my 2L flask, i.e., adding it to the boil will definitely carryover through fermentation.

 

[SHAIV]

Yeah if i have time im gonna make a starter with s04 yeast and put it in that

 

[TravelingLight]

Yeah if i have time im gonna make a starter with s04 yeast and put it in that

S04 is dry yeast, right? Do you often do starters for dry yeast?

 

[SHAIV]

I dont but i feel like its still better than not doing it right?
Maybe im wrong but i feel like itll get the yeast going and ready to eat. Might not even need to aerate the batch even though i would still

 

[TravelingLight]

I dont but i feel like its still better than not doing it right?
Maybe im wrong but i feel like itll get the yeast going and ready to eat. Might not even need to aerate the batch even though i would still

It definitely won't hurt anything. If anything, you'll be over-pitching a little. Which doesn't bother me. I probably over-pitch more often than I under-pitch. FWIW, this is from a sticky in the fermentation and yeast subforum:

It is generally not recommended to make a starter with dry yeast, for a few reasons. The yeast comes packaged with a cell count and nutrient reserves sufficient for most 5 gallon batches. The cost of a packet of yeast is generally less than the cost of making a proper starter. To be large enough for optimal cell growth based purely on the number of yeast cells inoculating the starter wort, the starter would need to be roughly 3L on a stir plate and this is impractical for most and would yield far more cells (380+ billion) than you would need for most 5 gallon ales. Making a traditional 1L to 2L starter would not allow for healthy growth of the yeast cells.