So who's brewing this weekend?

[seatazzz]

Cook the cornmeal first (a cereal mash.) Your flakes have the starch gelatinized already, but the cornmeal will not. (If you get "instant" cornmeal/polenta/grits/whatever then it is also gelatinized.)

Alternately, save the cornmeal for dinner and augment your flakes with straight sugar. You will probably not notice the difference.

Fermenting in kegs is great. I highly recommend a floating dip tube for future batches (and specifically, this one.) Purging that pint or two is fine in theory but in practice that pint or two can gunk up your out post something fierce.

Too late to cook the cornmeal; I just dumped it in with the rest. I did do a longer mash at 152, so I'm hoping for goodness here. I've got 2 months before this beer needs to be dialled in for an upcoming competition, so I can improve (if needed) on the next one; first one tapped less than a week ago is almost gone, it's that good.

 

[seatazzz]

Too late to cook the cornmeal; I just dumped it in with the rest. I did do a longer mash at 152, so I'm hoping for goodness here. I've got 2 months before this beer needs to be dialled in for an upcoming competition, so I can improve (if needed) on the next one; first one tapped less than a week ago is almost gone, it's that good.

Buttoned up in the ferment fridge, from preboil of 1.040 I wound up with 1.075 SG, holy crap. Bit disappointed that I don't get to watch the fermentation (didn't I see somewhere clear kegs for sale???), but I'm looking forward to crisper beer out of it.

 

[BrewMan13]

Brewed a half batch of hefeweizen for a club competition. I'm just so-so on the style, but didn't participate in the last 2 comps, so I figured why not. Fixed an issue with my mill beforehand, so back to my normal efficiencies, which is nice.

 

[Dave77]

A rainy day yesterday, so I brewed two batches. LOL. Long day, but at least I only had to clean up the mess once! LOL. A simple 'Summer Ale' lawnmower beer to stock up for the summer, and a Cholcolate Milk Stout to serve as a nice summer 'desert' beer....

 

[z-bob]

I *just* started a SMaSH beer with Vienna malt and Tradition hops; about 18 IBU. I will ferment it with Munich Classic yeast. If I were using Pilsner malt with a little Munich this would be a Dampfbier (German "steam beer"), although the bitterness for that should be 15 or a little less.

 

[user 338926]

Welcome back to it. Just started again after a 2 year break a few weeks back

I started up in March after a 6-year break. Tomorrow I'm doing my first ever decoction mash. This should be interesting.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Just finished a re-brew of a Scottish Ale. The original one I brewed back in November, but it never came around to anything near decent. I'm pretty sure that one was yeast related. I built a two step starter that volcano'd all over. I'm pretty sure it ended up under-pitched and stressed. Today's should be fine though. (Hopefully).

 

[z-bob]

I *just* started a SMaSH beer with Vienna malt and Tradition hops; about 18 IBU. I will ferment it with Munich Classic yeast. If I were using Pilsner malt with a little Munich this would be a Dampfbier (German "steam beer"), although the bitterness for that should be 15 or a little less.

That was my quickest brew day ever (except for when I do no-boil beers, and it wasn't that much longer than they are) Wife was going to be gone for 3.5 hours and I wanted to be done when she got back because she *hates* the smells of brewing (or pretends to). I got the grain weighed and milled this morning. Found all my equipment, etc. this afternoon. A half hour before she left I got the water ready. I wasted about 20 minutes by overshooting the strike temperature and had to cool the liquor down, then overshot a little on the way down too and had to heat it up again. That was the only gaffe. When she walked in the door, the wort was in the bucket, the kettle was washed and put away, and I had most of the mess cleaned up.
It sounds stressful but it wasn't because I was prepared for a change. I'd still prefer having an extra hour, but I get these 3 or 3.5 hours windows a lot more often than I get a whole day or even a half day.

 

[jcav]

Brewing a English Mild Ale right now. Thought I'd make a recipe I read about in BYO called "Hold The Reins" mild. It won a gold in the GABF awhile back. Supposed to have tons of flavor and not watery for such a light beer and keep the drinkers interest. Good enough for me to try! Have a great weekend everyone!

John

 

[AlexKay]

Wife was going to be gone for 3.5 hours and I wanted to be done when she got back because she *hates* the smells of brewing (or pretends to).

My wife won't touch a drop of beer, but she loves the smell of me brewing in the kitchen. She says it smells like I'm baking bread. Except for rauchbier. "Are you brewing bacon beer?" "Well, sort of..."

The kids, however, complain bitterly when I brew.

 

[kadozen]

If I can make it to the LHBS and get another floating dip tube I'd love to use up some of the classic lager hops I have and the flaked corn I've had and do another FYB under pressure. I'd also have to check if my ferm chamber can hold my 2 Fermonsters and a corny, but I played a fair amount of Tetris as a kid; thinking it'll be fine.

Supposing I can't make it work for whatever reason, I'll do some organizing, cleaning and the like. I can also make an overbuilt 34/70 started, decant and separate into test tubes and stored. Don't want to use the left overs after my pressure ferments and that should set me up on 34/70 for the year.

 

[Malticulous]

My hot pod no longer will stay threaded to it's base.

Tape will do for now but I think it needs a real box. The threads on that pod never held very well.

With that temporarily fixed I'm brewing a CAP. Going to fill my Allrounder to 14 gallons. I have a cake of 2272 from a light lager. I hope it likes it under pressure. It's my fourth of July beer.

I've always done a cereal mashes but this time it's going to be a single infusion with flaked maize. I don't know how well a cereal mash (or a decoction) would work in a E-kettle?

 

[Malticulous]

2272 CAP is happily fermenting at 18psi. 14.5 gallons total volume with the yeast cake. 15 gallons might fit?

 

[deuc224]

Have no grain mill so nothing, might do a sparkling wine.

 

[kadozen]

Well, this week was a bust for brewing.

Meh, I'm going to the LHBS to get stuff for the D-Alt and x-mas beers from BCS. That's my plan for next week. Got a bunch of maintenance done and managed to bottle my Philly Sour experiment and my... I guess JABM (had no oranges, so I opted for blueberries)

Have an unfilled, and therfore, unloved keg not earmarked for beer though. Thinking I'll hit a liquor store after work tomorrow, get some lemon vodka, some ginger root from the adjoining grocery store and make a lemon ginger hard cider. It would be my first attempt in that space, and it sounds like a refreshing summer seltzer

 

[deuc224]

Damn is this week all bad for brewers?!!!!! My mill came in and my starter was sitting in a fridge for 2 motnhs and it was bad. Not enough time to make another starter.

 

[AlexKay]

Packaging day:

Smoked Doppelbock, Baltic Porter, ginger Maibock, Dunnbier, 2 gruits, and a Kentucky Common.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Not sure I'll get to brew this weekend but I will get everything ready. Mill grain today and fill the HLT.

Finishing coffee right now and the sun is peeking out so I'm going to try to finish getting some mulch down. Too much spring time work!

 

[T Murph]

@OakIslandBrewery your situation sounds much like mine. I originally wanted to brew Saturday buuut, turns out I have graduations to attend and family events that Trump my desires.

Yesterday I got a fresh keg ready to recieve an APA that I need to get out of the fermenter. I will get that transfer done today before bed time and get the conical cleaned up and ready to recieve the up coming Red Ale I will make next. And due to the constant spring rain storms I'm way behind on garden and yard work.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

I'm with ya, nice out this morning and off to a great start with mulching, but I ran out of landscape fabric with only eight feet to go. I guess it's plan B now. There's always something else to do around here. Brewing seems to be pushed down the list.

After some weed spraying I got my grain ready to mill, now it's beer:30.

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

Going to brew the Mad Fermentationist"s New Zealan’ Saison, using the Bootleg Biology The Mad Fermentationist Saison Blend. Sensing a theme here.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

New Zealan' Saison, I'll have to look that up. That's what I like about this site, so much to learn!

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

New Zealan' Saison, I'll have to look that up. That's what I like about this site, so much to learn!

https://www.themadfermentationist.com/2014/08/new-zealand-saison-and-glycosides.html

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Going to brew the Mad Fermentationist"s New Zealan’ Saison, using the Bootleg Biology The Mad Fermentationist Saison Blend. Sensing a theme here.

Interesting looking recipe. My first thought were "wow! those are big IPA level hopping and grain bill!!" but it looks like his "5 gallon" recipe was actually used to produce over 12 gallons of wort. I could not quite figure out how the hops were used across the 2 batches with a quick read. I do think that modern citrus and tropical fruit type hops work well in a Saison. I have only tried Citra, Amarillo, and Lemondrop myself.

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

Interesting looking recipe. My first thought were "wow! those are big IPA level hopping and grain bill!!" but it looks like his "5 gallon" recipe was actually used to produce over 12 gallons of wort. I could not quite figure out how the hops were used across the 2 batches with a quick read. I do think that modern citrus and tropical fruit type hops work well in a Saison. I have only tried Citra, Amarillo, and Lemondrop myself.

Wow, good catch on the batch size! I'll need to cut the hop additions in half Also, I couldn't find anyone selling Motueka @ 12.00% AA so I assumed that was an error.

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

Wow, good catch on the batch size! I'll need to cut the hop additions in half Also, I couldn't find anyone selling Motueka @ 12.00% AA so I assumed that was an error.

Ok, I reread the recipe to make sure I was doing the right thing. In the intro, Tonsmire says: "The idea immediately struck me to add the wine's citrusy flavors to a hoppy/tart/funky saison". His 5 gallon recipe, entered into the calculator that I use, does come pretty close to his target IBU of 38 for the listed hops. So I am going to assume that the recipe is for 5 gallons. Later on, he writes: "Parti-gyle batch sparge. Swapped wort back and forth to achieve 7.25 gallons @ 1.052, and 5.5 gallons at 1.034". I have to admit that is very confusing. I wrote to him to see what he says. If he doesn't answer by tomorrow then I'm just going to go for it.

 

[leedspointbrew]

Was given this Saeco Vienna Superautomatico awhile back; finally got it working. Not beer, but some damn good coffee.

 

[kadozen]

Have my overbuilt starter going late due to scheduling issues of 34/70 because every penny saved is a penny earned. I'll use that to pressure ferment a light adjunct lager with some of this Saaz I have laying around. When my grain order comes in, I'm toying with either doing the Alt from BCS, or the X-mas spice beer recipe for the wife. Once my current adjunct lager kicks, I'll reuse it for a Korbinian clone, but that my switch spots depending on when that keg kicks. I have coins to flip.

So, I'm doing 2 batches of something on my weekend.

 

[Graham H]

Made a new recipe yesterday—5 gal BIAB SMaSH Blonde Ale. First time trying a SMaSH and first time using brewing salts. Using a repurposed wine fridge for temp control (we’re in the low 90s during the day in my part of CA).

If I can find a good place to keep them cool during fermentation, I might also start a few gallons of cider.

 

[AlexKay]

Piwo Grodziskie. My daughter came downstairs and asked "are you making ribs?"