Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I didnt brew this weekend. But I did defrost the kegerator and replaced the beer lines.
I need to get my CO2 filled today then I will be hooking up new kegs of American Rye Ale and a Rum Barrel Stout.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Went with an APA hopped with citra, amarillo, and centennial instead of the wee heavy. Nice to be able to do ten gallons. Going to dry hop half and leave the other alone.

Anyone made hard cider before? Just poured my first one off the keg. It was from a 5 gallon batch, one pound brown sugar, and 32oz of all natural tart cherry juice. It tastes great, but it smells terrible. Is that normal for a cider?

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Bottling the IBA tonight.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Kegged an all-amarillo IPA over the weekend and took the first glass last night. It still needs more time to carb, but tastes nice. I really like the flavor of Amarillo hops. I think I had 8 ounces in this 5-gallon batch, between the boil and dry-hopping.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Holy crap, that's a lot of hops! I agree, I love Amarillo as an IPA hop although it's hard to find at times. I'm really partial to a Centennial/Amarillo/Citra mix, one of my favorites.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I had a bunch of Amarillo I bought in bulk in the freezer, and since they're a relatively low AA, it took quite a bit to get to the bitterness I wanted. Had I been purchasing all of them at once, I would DEFINITELY have used less of a higher AA hop to get the IBUs and used the Amarillo only for the flavor/aroma late in the boil.

But I like it :D

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I just did back to back 10 gal batches of an all citra apa/ipa and love it. was thinking baout moving on to another type of all hop ipa but not sure which one. Sounds like the Amirillo and or Centennial/Amarillo/Citra mix might be a winner. I am assuming that the c/a/c mix is in the order of hop additions kaiser?

Yall done any other all 1 type of hops ipa or apas?

I just kegged yesterday 10 gal of AHS Oatmeal Stout and 10 gal of Kicked up blue moon clone. Have a gas leak in the new keezer i have to get sealed up today....and more co2 in the tank ;o(

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I made an all-centennial IPA which was really good. I think Bell's Two-Hearted is all-centennial too. Can't go wrong with that.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Yes, I would do Centennial as bittering, and then alternate amarillo & citra as late additions, and then dry hop with either all amarillo or all citra. I also like using a burst hop technique with these, but that requires more hops & $$

I have an all-Cascades planned using this year's homegrown crop. It's actually a Single Malt Single Hop recipe using all Marris Otter.

Yes, THA is all Centennial

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Thanks Kaiser....

Update on my air leak....After spraying all 8 fittings on the dist air bar and the regulator on the tank I found nothing...yet I was still leaking gas. So I took all of the gas outlets to the popits on the kegs. Unscrewed the air dist block and took the whole damn thing tank and all upstairs and placed it in a full bathtub. STILL NO LEAKS! I was like wtf? Gave up for a bit and then came back later and reconnected the gas setup. All of a sudden some of the soap solution spray I had used earlier dripped ontop of the corney kegs by the pressure relief valve and was bubbling away....Well I sprayed the other 6 kegs and found yet another faulty pressure relief valve! OMG, So sick of these pos refurbed kegs.

So I went on AHS website and saw that if I wanted to rebuild my kegs it would cost roughly 45$ to replace everything but the shell. A brand new keg is $120. Refurb kegs that we got were 50$ (not on their site anymore). So 95$ for a completely rebuilt 'old' keg....as apposed to $120 for a new one. That 50$ price tag for a refurb sure seems nice at first but it seems like the old adage you get what you pay for in the end.

I'm thinking I should have not bought the 7 kegs I have...but should have slowly bought new units? What are yalls thoughts on this? I don't mind doing the work to make the old kegs 'new'. And can just replace what needs replacing when the time comes as far as parts. Or just replace everything all at once on the kegs as they are emptied. What would you do? What have you done?

Just frustrated.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I have bought 6 refurb. kegs from www.kegconnection.com and they all have worked great for years. Kegconnection replaces all the seals and even sends replacement seals.
All are tested before sent and they run around $35 for the "B" grade kegs.
B grade just means tiny dents and a little loose rubber.
Wait for around Black Friday and they are $25 ea.
I have been very happy will all my purchases from kegconnection

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I just bought (got them Monday) two of the $35 "B" grade kegs from kegconnection. One is missing half of a handle, and the other one has loose rubber all-around, but some gorilla glue should take care of that just fine. They're a little banged up, but I don't care what they look like as long as they hold presure.

They both arrived pressurized and came with replacement O-rings too.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Here is my recently brewed black lager that is 24 hours into fermentation. It will be a while till ready as I intend to fully lager this brew.

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/...Blacklager.jpg

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Cold crashing a Belgian Pale Ale that was brewed at my clubs last brewday. Hopefully I'll get it on gas in a couple days. Next weekend (time permitting) I will brew an all centennial IPA.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

unfortunately, nothing at the moment. Last brew was a pumpkin ale. Next up an Imperial stout.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I did an all Columbus APA this year that I really liked. Simple grain bill of marris otter and little C60 to back it up.

I did two batches of a marris otter/simcoe SMASH that was good, but it took a big flavor leap for me when I added some chinook to the hop schedule.

Kegging my Citra/Amarillo/Centennial APA today. Did 20, 5, and dry hop additions, each addition was 0.5oz Citra, 0.5oz Amarillo, and 0.25oz Centennial.

Brewing a black lager from a friends recipe today. It took second at a local home brew contest so I guess it's my fault if it winds up tasting like hell.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I brewed a couple recipes from homebrewtalk.com. A belgian wit and a cream ale with corn and rice adjuncts.

I'm preparing for a party my girlfriend and I are planning and want plenty of beer on tap the crowd will like. I thought the light cream ale and Belgian wit (Blue Moon-ish) would work well. I plan to have a cream stout and a hoppy IPA on tap, too. Along with the contents of the liquor cabinet, hopefully I'll have everyone covered!

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I plan on brewing up a batch of brown ale this saturday.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Did you brew the cream of three crops? I just kicked a keg of it and it was fantastic. My efficiency was a lot higher than I plan and I had great attenuation. Therefore, it had a pretty high ABV. :chr

My two keg brewing system is almost complete. I'm still acquiring all the fittings for the HLT (i.e. sight glass, ball valve, center pickup, thermometer) but the BK is compete. Next I have to figure out if I'm going full blown with the single tier double burner stand with pump or two individual burners and heavy lifting.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Finally got around to brewing this up on Sunday. Got about 80% efficiency out of the Marris Otter mash, and I was pleased to use my entire crop of Cascades to put the IBU's right around 45. Split into two fermenters, one with Burton Ale yeast and the other with California V--both bubbling away happily at about 68⁰. My fermentation closet is kinda smelly, not sure which one of those yeasts is throwing off the sulphur.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Yep. It's the cream of three crops. It's my first time using corn and rice, but it sounds like a tasty one!

The co2 tank on my keezer kicked last night, so it's off to Northern Brewer on my lunch break today for an exchange. I really need to get a second tank to have on hand.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I recently bought a spare that I keep full. I bought it at a fire protection store. They were able to take replace the valve on a fire extinguisher with a beverage valve, hydro test, and fill for under $50.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

so I hate bottleing. what other options are there? I am thinking just bigger bottles would be ok because then it would be less bottleing and that's ok. SUGGESTIONS?


BTW I have a dunkelwiezen and a brown ale in the fermenter.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Kegging.


<---- 1,000th post

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I have nothing useful to add to this thread expect to say, Congrats on 1k :tu

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Kegging is good choice but not very portable, plus it would require extra gear, correct?

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I strictly bottled using 22oz bottles until I went to kegging.
Kegging your beer is the best thing you will ever do when brewing!!!!!!!!

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I ordered some Falconer's Flight hops today for a future pale ale or IPA. Never tried them before. Anyone used them or know of a commercial beer that uses them I may be able to find? The descriptions I've found make them sound really tasty.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Brewed once years ago, hoping to try again sometime in the next year.

How useful is a built in spigot and thermometer on the brew pot? Seems like it would definitely be nice but I'm guessing far from essential?

How important is a wort chiller?

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Wort chiller... I wouldn't say it is important.. but VERY VERY HANDY.

I still do not own one, and every time I brew, I kick myself in the ass saying, next time I am buying one... Cuts the time WAY down.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

It's a pelletized blend of American NW hops, that includes Citra, Simcoe, Sorachi Ace, Columbus & Cascades, iirc. The only commercial use I've found is from Maui Brewing, they did a limited release IPA earlier this year.

Do it! :tu

A spigot & thermometer are very useful for your hot liquor tank if you are doing an all-grain batch--in that process, you have to heat the mash/sparge water to a certain temperature and then add it to the grains. Since many homebrewers use a gravity-fed system, where the HLT sits higher than the mash tun, the spigot comes in handy. On the other hand, I've been brewing for 20 years and don't have a spigot on my brewpot, so you can definitely do without. Once I get old & weak, lifting 5-6 gallons of liquid to dump it into the fermenter might be a challenge, but until then I get by.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/2011/02...grain-brewing/

On the other hand, I love my wortchiller. All of my brew sessions are full 6 or 7 gallon boils, so getting that volume of liquid to cool down quickly to avoid contamination would be impossible without the wortchiller. If you are only doing a partial boil with an extract batch, you can probably get by with using an ice bath or adding cold water to the fermenter before dumping in the wort. A full boil gives you better hop utilization, meaning you won't need as much in the boil so your ingredients are cheaper, too. I would definitely spring for a wortchilller! :2

Good luck!

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Can you guys recommend a good IPA/Double IPA kit? Mini Mash would be great as I am not ready to make the jump to full grain (yet). I am considering the Furious IPA from Midwest.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

It is THIS kit. One question for you guys. One of the options is 'Crush Grains?'. What does this mean? Is this to have them crush the grains before they ship to me?

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Yes, that option is to have the grains crushed at the store prior to shipping. If you don't have a mill then you will need the grains to be crushed.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Decided to go with a Stone Arrogant Bastard clone from Austin Homebrew. Hoping to fire it up Friday.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I am getting set up to do my first (solo) homebrew, and then into a corny keg for the kegerator.
While I have brewed with friends about 6 or 8 times, this will be a good experiment.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/s...tract-kit.html

Maritime Pacific here in Seattle uses those hops a lot and they make a fall beer that exclusively. Uses them.
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Good luck with it. I will be starting my 2nd brew. A few more under my belt and I will start kegging it.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I find bottling a pain in the butt. Sanitation is key, and when you figure that with kegging you have (besides all the common elements) ONE container vs. 45-50 to sanitize.. no brainer for me.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I picked up some Falconers Flight and Zythos. Haven't formulated a recipe yet but I'm excited to sample them.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I had to grab a pound of amber spraymalt that wasn't in the kit I got the other day and decided to pick this up to get going as a 6 week beer while the first one is finished and consumed.
From the descriptions, it looks to be pretty far up my tastebud alley.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/b...tract-kit.html

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Made a dark IPA that was ready in time for halloween. Grain bill looked similar, but my hops were entirely different. Love the style as a winter IPA. Mine's almost gone, I could do a similar hop lineup but I'd have to substitute the cascades.

My wee heavy's been pushing through the blowoff tube for 5 days now. Kind of unreal, but i screwed up the water volumes and wound up with a lot more in the carboy than I'd typically like to see. At least I planned for it...

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Well, 15 hours after the boil, I have a nice foamy cap in the fermenter on the Single Hop Best Bitter. The fermenter is in my utility room, and it is just a bit above 60-62 in there, but the yeast looks happy enough, as I was ready to move it to a slightly warmer location if it got a slow start. The Fuggle hops smell pretty damn amazing.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Sounds good!!!!! I am stoked to get my brew on this Friday. Ended up with the Surly Furious clone afterall.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Furious is one of my favorite beers. Huge grapefruit finish on it, which sounds odd, but I find delicious.
Northern Brewer has some "Pro Kits" (mfr. supplied and blessed recipes) which I may play with some day. I have a buddy who loves the Smoke, as I do, and it may be a great way to surprise him with a few growlers.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/b...rly-brewing-co
I noticed they were out of stock on the Furious kit.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Mine is called Furious IPA. It is from Midwest brewing and was developed with the folks at Surly. I agree on the big grapefruit finish. The Lagunitas Holiday Ale is the same way. Like biting into a grapefruit. I'd like to add something to sweeten this one up a little. Any ideas?

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Double the crystal malt, and split the Warrior infusion into 1/2oz for 60, 1/2oz for 45. That will cut down on the overall IBUs without affecting the hop flavor/aroma, and the crystal will give you additional sweetness. If you're really looking to change it up, you can also substitute the dry yeast that comes with the kit for something that's a bit less attenuative, which is going to leave more maltiness in the beer. Maybe White Labs #002 English Ale, instead of the #007 Dry English Ale it suggests.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Ive been lurking around this tread for awhile. Ive been wanting to delve into home brewing and just found out by accident mind you that my wife bought me a start up home brewing kit for Christmas. Freakin sweet. love that woman!! I may be on here asking a few questions as im a newb to this. Looks like theres alot of pros on here to gain info from.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Awesome! It's really a lot of fun.

I accidentally stumbled across the wort chiller my girlfriend got for me for Christmas. So now I want to wait to brew any more until after Christmas and I can use it!

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

lol i was alerted to it when my wife got a letter from Mr.Beer. i dont think its a super fancy set up but that fine she went out on her own and got it which is awesome. Plus it seems pretty good to just get my feet wet and see if i want to slide farther down another slope.