Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I had no idea that Nov 6th is "Teach a Friend to Brew" day, but cooincidentally I'm having a couple guys over to make a nut brown ale and sample various beers. Sort of a "guy's day."

Last night I added 3 lbs of raspberries to my Belgian Blonde, and tomorrow or Sunday I'll bottle my Imperial Vanilla Bourbon Porter.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Just got the IPA in the fermenter. It was a train wreck. It'll still probably be good, but not exactly what I wanted.

IPA - Primary
American Lager - Secondary (Lagering)

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I need to start brewing again

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

+1 here as well, NEVER ever fear the foam and don't rinse, I read somewhere, probably homebrewtalk that the president of the company that makes star san stated the foam actually becomes yeast food when the beer is racked on to it. Also rinsing could possibly bring in more bugs than you might have just cleaned. Something to think about anyway. Go with the foam, let it be.

Anyhow, I got northern brewer's bourbon barrel porter in the secondary with 2 oz. of toasted American Oak soaking in a pint of Evan Williams Single Barrel that will go in on Tues and sit for another few weeks, then bottling.

After tomorrow, Northern Brewer's Three Hearted Ale kit will be in the fermentor waiting for a dry hop of 1oz. each of Centennial, Amarillo, and Citra.... I'm hoping it comes off really West Coast.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Holy Crap Tim! What have you turned into? :banger

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

just put a Two Hearted ale clone (NB's Three Hearted) in the primary an hour ago, dry hopping on day 5 of primary fermentation. Whole house smells of Centennial hops and pale malt. :chr

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Just my :2. You might want to wait to dry hop until primary fermentation is totally complete. I'd rack to a secondary and then dry hop; while raising the temp slightly. c02 will carry most of the aroma from dry hopping while fermentation is still active. Yeast are the enemy of aroma! I've tried dry hopping in the primary and didn't have good luck with that method.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

:tpd:

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I had a pretty big brewing day today. I had a couple buddies over and we brewed a nut brown ale, and we bottled my Bourbon Vanilla Porter. It finished with a gravity of 1.020, so it's 8.5% abv. Tasted really nice. I added about 8 oz of bourbon that had been infused with 2 vanilla beans.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I'm going to give this recipe a shot this week Warren. Thanks!

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Fermenters are all empty now!
Bottled a Lager Saturday and an AIPA tonight.
Both tasted great un-carbonated. It's always a good sign when flat beer tastes good!

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I had a great mentor!:r

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Just placed my order for this: http://www.groupon.com/deals/midwest-homebrewing for $42.


Figure it will be a better way to test the beer-brewing waters than some of the other options I've seen for similar prices (Mr Beer, etc ...)

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Dang, that looks like a purdy good deal right thur.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I couldn't see what equipment was included in that kit, Chris?

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Didn't momma tell ya that you'd go blind from that? ;)

Brewing Basics Equipment List:

• Instructional Homebrewing DVD
• 71 page instructional book
• 6.5 Gallon Fermenter and Lid
• 6.5 Gallon Bottling Bucket with Spigot
• 8 Oz. of Easy Clean No-Rinse Cleanser
• Airlock (Keeps air out of the fermenter)
• Hydrometer (Determines alcohol content)
• Bottle Brush
• Twin Lever Red Baron Bottle Capper
• Bottle Caps
• Liquid Crystal Thermometer
• Bottle Filler
• Racking Tube with Bucket Clip
• Siphon Tubing
• Recipe kit (included). Choose between Irish Red Ale, Amber Ale and Irish Stout.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

That IS a purty good deal right thur!


Tim, I wonder if I can get a braille LCD display?

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Sorry 'bout that. I wasn't thinking, but it would make sense that a deal-a-day link may change when the deal's over :o
I can't even find that list now Tim was nice enough to post, but did find a pic I attempted to post below.

I do have a question, though -- I can order it anytime through mid-May, and it comes with an ingredient kit (I can choose from three: a stout, an Irish red ale, or an autumn ale, I think).

I am going to save up bottles for a while, so should I wait to order everything until I'm ready to brew? Or will the ingredient kit be OK sitting around for a while?

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/media...pon_deal-2.jpg

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Hit up your friends for some bottles. Its going to take a little over a month for your beer to ferment then carb up, so you should have enough bottles in no time.
If you do want to wait to brew, just put the ingredient kit in the fridge

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Awesome. Thanks! I'll be able to collect more than enough bottles in a month:D

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

It will be ok to leave your beer in Primary for up to 3 weeks

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Also... give the local breweries a call.
Schlafly, here in STL, will allow you to come in and pick through their bad bottle bin. I am clueless as to why they are considered bad. You can walk out with cases and cases.

You'd be surprised how few bottles you can come up with by your own consumption and still hold down a job. :D
Figure you need 50-60 per batch, 3 weeks to carb. So... if you brew 3 weekends in a row, you'd need 180 bottles before you could crack any of the stuff you have bottled open. Once you get rolling (if you decide to stick with bottling rather than kegging) you'd have about 300 bottles on hand (empty or full) at any given time.

I love bottling!

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I brewed up a simple little Blonde Ale yesterday.
#10 2-Row (60 min. mash @154.5°F) (~80% eff., OG to boiler 1.054, fermenter 1.043)(7.33 gallons into kettle, 5.25 into fermenter)
5 drops fermcap @ start of boil
1oz Cascade 60 min.
.5oz Cascade 15 min
1 Whirlfloc tab @ 5 min.
1oz Cascade 2 min.
WLP007

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Looks like that will turn out to be a nice Blonde Ale Tim:tu

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

On Sunday I dry hopped "Winston's Lot" IIPA with Simcoe, Cascades & Willamette. :xxx Will probably bottle this weekend.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Tonight I am brewing a clone of Deschutes Black Butte Porter

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

YUMMY:dr

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

A smoked porter, boosted with Shiraz wine juice and spiced with juniper, black peppercorns, coriander & cucumbers, then aged in brandy barrels.

Not mine, but sounds interesting. It's from these guys, of course:

http://www.dogfish.com/community/blo...ction-brew.htm

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

You are making this or drinking it?
If you are homebrewing it, Im curious how you do the cucumbers???

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I think I may concoct a recipe like the one I linked. For the spice & cucumber blend, I think it's probably something that goes in the secondary? I'd think the cucumbers would have to be juiced.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I would think you would have to use alot of cucumbers in a 5gallon batch in order to get much flavor out of them.
This is the funpart about brewing! Good luck!!!

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Just set up a time to meet a guy on Craig's List selling a bunch of label-free empties for $4/case - he said he's got 10 cases. Apparently he moved to kegging and doesn't need the bottles anymore.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Well there it is... my first one. Wanted to take a sec to thank you guys for your input. I can almost guarantee you it's infected as there were multiple opportunities for that to happen, but I'm not really concerned about it. Just happy I got it under my belt and already thinking about the next one.

Again, thanks guys, much appreciated.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Great job! I wouldn't worry too much about whether it's infected. Beer is pretty resilient, and as long as you were "passably clean," you'll probably be fine. :2

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Nice!!
You'll be fine. Especially with first time use equipment... it's hard to infect.
Is that the Brown Ale you talked about? Should be good for a Christmas drink!

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

It sure is Tim! I think I'll be alright, I was pretty anal about sanitizing. Only problem I encountered resulted from the fact I couldn't find the lid to the pot and so some of the tin foil I had covering it in the ice bath plopped in a bit for a minute (but it was still around 125 degrees at that point anyway).

Already on Midwest's site trying to figure out what to brew next. And SERIOUSLY considering a wort chiller... it was excrutiating waiting for it to cool.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

The two best kits from Midwest that I have done are Hanks Hefe and the HopHead IPA.
I use mostly Austin Homebrew supply now. You cant beat their selection!

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I hear you there Mason. When I would finish my boil, I would then transfer the pot into a large utility sink in the wash room and pack a couple of bags of ice around it. Then fill up the basin with some cold water. This would reduce the wait time down a bit prior to transferring into my 6 gallon glass fermenter.

When we moved to another house that didn't have a utility sink, I brought out my daughters wading pool, placed a couple of bricks in the bottom and filled with water. At the end of the boil, I would transfer the pot onto the bricks and then turn on the hose, causing circulation within the wading pool. 60 degree water circulating again brought down the temperature inside the pot.

A good wort chiller is key though:tu

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I brewed an Alaskan Amber clone last night

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I work about 5 minutes from Midwest Supply, which can be dangerous. I've made several of their kits and have been pleased. If you like big IPA's you should try their Ferocious, which is a clone of Surly Furious, and was made with the help of Surly's head brewer, Todd Haug.

FWIW, I used to cool my wort in an ice bath (20 lbs ice) mixed with water softener salt. That brings the temp down below 32 degrees to help cool the wort faster.

I recently bought a wort chiller from these guys. As much as I like Midwest, I need to stretch my dollars like most people do these days. Even with shipping it was $15 cheaper than MW. I received it withiin a few days, got regular UPS shipment updates, and it's just great. I got the "basic" 3/8" 25' copper model. http://www.nybrewsupply.com/products...-immersion.php

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Those are good prices, thanks!

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Cooling IS a PITA... you especially want to look into a chiller if you decide to make some IPA or AIPAs... cooling the wort quickly is critical in saving late hop addition aromas.

Glad everything worked out well. Cheers, heres to speeding head first down another slope!:noon

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

LOL, thanks a lot Warren, how was I NOT supposed to order that once you put it up. Wort chiller: check. Next up, a new fermenter and kit.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Quick word of advice on immersion chillers... moderate your flow through the chiller. Allow the cool water to work, don't just turn it on full bore.
I've always had much better/quicker results by running mine at about 1/4 throttle.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I racked over two beers to carboys tonight. First is a Belgian raspberry ale, and the second is a nut brown ale. The colors in the picture aren't so great. The raspeberry ale is quite red, and the nut brown isn't so dark. They both taste really good.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Thanks Tim, good to know.

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

Yea, but I like the way my outflow tube whips around the driveway when I have my spigot cranked all the way open :D

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I felt like brewing today, but only had a smack pack of Wyeast 1968 London ESB that I hadn't made a starter with. So I used Mr. Malty's pitch calculator to back into the quantity that I could make of a 1.045 beer. Three gallons worked out about perfect. I used 3 lbs of golden light DME, and steeped a large handful of some grain that I lost the grain bill for, and don't remember what it is. For sure there is some oat malt and some dark crytal, and probably either chocolate or brown, or both, but I don't remember. I hopped it to 25 ibu's with Magnum and Willamette. It's cooling now, and I'll pitch the yeast when it gets down to about 62 degrees.

Who knows, maybe I'll invent something wonderful and have no idea how to reproduce it. That would be my luck. :r

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

That Belgian raspberry ale looks and sounds awesome Warren!:tu

Re: Homebrewers - Whats in the fermeter?
 

I saw this on BA and wanted to pass it along.

*****************

Hops Poisonous to Dogs

I had no idea about this. An email got forwarded to me about a guy's dog who ate some hops during a homebrewing event and died that day.

I've never seen this discussed before, but thought I'd pass it on for the many dog owners out there.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison...ants/hops.html

Canine Toxin Alert-Hops:

As more people start to brew beer in their homes, veterinarians have seen an increase in cases of hops toxicity in dogs. Unfortunately, not much is known about this toxin, although one study as well as anecdotal evidence has confirmed that hops consumption, even in small amounts, can, in some dogs, cause malignant hyperthermia (severe, rapid overheating), panting, vomiting, abdominal pain and seizures followed by death. Some breeds and individuals seem to be particularly sensitive, including, most notably, Greyhounds and Labradors.

This is a severe condition that can cause death within a very short time period. There is no effective treatment available at this time, and it appears that only a couple of ounces of hops can kill a medium to large dog. Although not all dogs are predisposed to this condition, and may not be affected at all, home brewers should be aware of the possibility of poisoning and keep hops pellets and spent hops in sealed containers, high up and out of reach. Do not compost spent hops anywhere that a dog might have access to, as hops flavored with malt may be particularly attractive to dogs. By the time overheating begins and symptoms manifest, progression to death is rapid and untreatable. Be aware: hops can kill dogs quickly and painfully.