Homebrewers - Whats Fermenting?

[Herfin' Harg]

It topped 95 here this week, which to me signals that it's time to start brewing up wit and/or summer wheat with a bit of coriander and bitter orange peel.

Have an apple/chai cider kegged up now, so it should be good 'n crisp by the time the wit's ready to go in with it.

 

[smokinghole]

Oooh shit. Don't be too eager to get me a Westy. My wife is taking me to Belgium as a graduation present next summer! I'll get a whole case if I can swing it right. I'll send you a bottle of my brew for you to compare definitely. I love shipping beer APO! I can't wait to hear about your brews. Just a TIP (not so sure how good it is) check with the closest brewery to you in Bamberg and see if you can buy bags of malt. They might oblige and you could get a great deal compared to shops/online retailers in the US.

 

[SergeantStogie]

I live about 5 min from the Weyermann malt factory.

 

[smokinghole]

Well maybe then you can buy factory direct? I've heard of maltsters doing it for local customers in foreign countries.

 

[smokinghole]

Bottled up my English Stock Ale after six months in the secondary fermentor. Ended up at 9% abv with some awesome flavors. Bottling was a tricky proposition. I assumed that temp fluctuations and time gave me near zero residual CO2 so I bottled for 2 volumes with DME that is 75% fermentable. However the issue lies in the fact that there's Brettanomyces in the bottle which will ferment that last 25% of complex sugars. So I bottled for 2 volumes assuming some residual CO2 but if it's not there I'll be right where I want to be I think. If there is still some CO2 the carbonation will be a touch higher than I really want but still with in style limits.

 

[mthhurley]

My buddy grabbed me the Surly Furious IPA kit from Northern Brewer which I did on Sunday. I also got my own grain mill and my efficiency went from the mid 60's (using my buddies) to 88%. I had 2.5 gallons of extra run-off that I could have made a small beer with but just dumped.

 

[smokinghole]

My buddy grabbed me the Surly Furious IPA kit from Northern Brewer which I did on Sunday. I also got my own grain mill and my efficiency went from the mid 60's (using my buddies) to 88%. I had 2.5 gallons of extra run-off that I could have made a small beer with but just dumped.

I made vinegar with the last batch using excess runoff. Well I'm making vinegar. I fermented the unhopped wort with safale 04 and then added an acetobacter culture that I grew up from a bottle of Braggs apple cider vinegar.

 

[mthhurley]

I have no idea what I'm going to do with this brew Adam...It's going to have 8.5 ounces of dry hops in it. I'm gonna have like 2 inches of sludge in the bottom of it and will lose a ton of beer.
I may have to try my hand at filtering for the first time.
Or dry hop in the keg with a big hop bag.

 

[smokinghole]

Filtering is a bitch. Even at the brewery I'm interning they have to wait until dry hops drop out to filter a batch. I'm trying to figure out a better way to dry hop and not get hop particles all in the beer. That's one of the reasons I made my Pliny batch at 7.5gal instead of just 5.5 or 6. I figured for a lot of loss due to hops from kettle hops to dry hops. I hope to end up with like 2.5 cases worth of beer. I know its tougher to make a bigger batch when you have a kit supplied but on hop bombs that's my MO from now on.

 

[smokinghole]

I have a brewing dilema. Tomorrow I want to make something with Brettanomyces, but I don't know if I want it as a saison bret. blend or a 100% brettanomyces beer. DECISIONS! Both of the yeasts are from East Coast yeast. If I do the brett blend it'll be made with rye if it's 100% brett it will be something else.

 

[smokinghole]

Decided to do a rye saison with the saison brett blend. In the middle of mashing right now.

 

[mthhurley]

I did my first double brew last Thursday. Did my Oberon clone and then Firestone Walkers Union Jack. That was a looooong day.

 

[JRL]

Just started Pale Ale II. Doing an American yeast this time and with some yummy citra hops.

My Rapture Red turned out so good, been drinking that lately. I also picked up a commercial freezer I am going to convert to a kegerator soon. Should hold 8 - 10 corny's if I wanted to.

 

[BeerAdvocate]

Today I kegged a Coffee Vanilla Porter and brewed an Imperial Stout for winter

 

[mthhurley]

Kegged my Oberon and FW Union Jack (along with it's second dry hop charge).
The FW is Soooo frigging good already.

 

[blacklabel]

just kegged some Apple Graf and a Honey Borwn today....I am drinking a Belgian Triple I brewed a few months ago, and I am planning on a Strawberry Blonde soon...

 

[smokinghole]

I brewed up a belgian wit yesterday with a buddy. Luckily for me the brewery I'm at had just done a belgian wit with white labs WLP410. So I went and grabbed some yeast they stored in a sixtel keg today. My Saison is still finishing up. It's under 1.010 but the brett should finish it up over the next two weeks. The wit will be bottle promptly after my return from Myrtle Beach. So that will have over two weeks to ferment. Then I can look at bottling this saison.

I think an IPA is next then a couple more belgians, did I ever mention that I like belgian beer?

 

[smokinghole]

I bottled up the Witbier already and it has a nice spicy aroma. I know it's not my spicing but the yeast. That wlp410 puts out some seriously peppery aromas. I tend to spice my wit very little compared to most recipes so I know it's the yeast. I've been using the same recipe for the last 5 or so wits I made but this is my first time using 410. I will try some this weekend and see how it tastes. It's still young but it's such a low gravity it should be ready.

This weekend I see an IPA in my future. All centennial and then citra at the end and dry hop with WLP001. As soon as my fall semester rolls around I'll get some serious brewing accomplished since I have scheduled myself fridays off.

 

[Mmalone999]

Smokinghole, do you have any tips for new homebrewers? I have now brewed two different brews (both pre bottled liquid malts) and both have tasted roughly the same. I personally like the flavor but my wife and buddies dont have as refined a palate as I do (or it sucks and I like it because I brewed it)! I was wondering what ways I could alter the recipes to change the brews. I'm not to a point where I want to use grains. Also, where do you buy your ingredients? Also, do you have a steps? Ok lots of questions in here...the jist is, what knowledge can you pass on?

 

[JRL]

I did my Punked Ale last week and also my game day red. Both awaiting bottling. My Pale Ale II got bottles and is going to be good. Entering a bunch of bottles in a local competition in the next few weeks. Who knows, my beer might really suck. Lol