I'm looking at getting a nice brew kettle and i'm torn between these two:

Heavy duty brew kettle: http://morebeer.com/view_product/6612/103457/Heavy_Duty_Brew_Kettle_32_Quart_8_Gallon

8 gallon megapot: http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/8-gallon-megapot.html

They're both pretty much identical... the heavy duty brew kettle is a little bit thicker I guess. Do any of you guys happen to have any experience with either one of these? Also, I really don't see the need to splurge on a ball valve and thermometer either.

[Edited on January 11, 2011 at 9:27 PM. Reason : .]

1/11/2011 9:27:10 PM

I'm going with the 10 Gallon Blichmann. I think splurging now for the ball valve, thermometer, and site glass will definitely show rewards down the line.



Had some friends over and brewed an english oatmeal stout this weekend. It wasn't really what I wanted to do, but it was fairly easy and should turn out decently. I'll probably pick up another carboy soon and do something myself in another week or two.

1/12/2011 9:50:01 AM

bottling the SN Celebration IPA tonight. i moved the carboy into my garage to cool it down about 20 hours ago and try and increase the clarity. seems to have worked great.

bottling is going to be such a pain in the ass though, ugh.

also- how much priming sugar do yall recommend using? i'm working with probably 4.5 gallons of beer. i was thinking along the lines of 3.3oz or so...

1/13/2011 11:36:36 AM

What volume are you using? 1.5 - 2.3?

I would say 3.3oz. is way too low. I'd do something near 4oz.



[Edited on January 13, 2011 at 11:58 AM. Reason : .]

1/13/2011 11:55:25 AM

bottling is surprisingly easy, at least to me. I tend to use 3/4 - 1 cup of dextrose sugar. i've never had any issues with overcarbonation or bottle bombs. just make sure it's mixed thoroughly in the bottling bucket and you'll be good to go.

1/13/2011 11:55:35 AM

3/4 cup of dextrose per 5 gallons is norm. So (4.5g/5g)*6oz. would give you 5.4oz.

But there's a lot more that goes into carbonation... how much wheat malt is used, desired CO2 volume per style guidelines, how much mouthfeel you want, etc. It's really not all that important to me, but if you want to do it per the standard IPA guideline, I'd do something around the 2.3 CO2 volume range, which at 68'F and 4.5 gallons would give you something closer to 4oz.

Personally though I think that will be too little. I like more carbonation though.

If you used 5.4oz. you'd still only be at 3.1 which is in the medium carbonation range.

[Edited on January 13, 2011 at 12:06 PM. Reason : .]

1/13/2011 12:03:49 PM

most of the discussion i've seen on IPA carbonation keeps its between 1.5 and 2.5 volumes CO2

^thanks, i think i will go somewhere around 4.0oz

i tend to prefer doing the calculations myself, but this seems like a good tool to use quickly http://kotmf.com/tools/prime.php

[Edited on January 13, 2011 at 12:42 PM. Reason : .]

1/13/2011 12:39:42 PM

I bottled a saison to 2.7 volumes recently - it's more effervescent than I'd want any IPA to be

personally, I like the high end of the recommended range, around 2.3-2.4 - but I also prefer a smoother mouthfeel on that style

[Edited on January 13, 2011 at 4:32 PM. Reason : k]

1/13/2011 4:29:39 PM

^^that's why i recommended 2.3, it's on the upper end of the range.

I think 1.5 is too low for an IPA, IMHO. Keep in mind, 1 volume is a cask ale they're pretty flat, also volume is not directly proportionate to priming sugar, it's exponential (well sort of, pretty much the difference between residual CO2 and the final CO2).

For 5 gallon batch at 70'F with 0.83 residual from the beer:
1 volume - 0.44 oz. of dextrose
2 volumes - 3.13 oz.
3 volumes - 5.81 oz.
4 volumes - 8.5 oz.

[Edited on January 13, 2011 at 5:04 PM. Reason : /]

1/13/2011 5:01:51 PM

I was using 60F, no wonder my numbers looked high

as an aside, I ran out of dextrose and used table sugar for my last two batches - can't find any reason to go back, and should have switched earlier

1/13/2011 5:11:59 PM

^ha, yea, room temperature can vary, particularly in the winter.

i think the calculation is a bit different for sucrose too, though perfectly acceptable.

[Edited on January 13, 2011 at 5:41 PM. Reason : .]

1/13/2011 5:40:27 PM

What should I brew next? I would love to do a stout but I could see that getting $Texas. No IPA's; although I love a solid one, I don't want 50 lying around the house because I will never drink them all. Suggest away...

1/13/2011 6:55:29 PM

Double Chocolate Stout?

California Steam?

I just got a recipe from my local homebrew store for a steam lager, it's pretty basic, but could be good:

Quote :

"Recipe of the Month California Steam 6 lbs. Light LME 1 lb. 2 row 1 lb. Crystal 60 1 oz. Northern Brewer (60 minutes) 1/2 oz. Northern Brewer (15 minutes) 1/2 oz. Northern Brewer (0 minutes) San Francisco Lager yeast, WLP810, or California Lager yeast, Wyeast 2112 Both these yeasts ferment cool, 55-65 F, Perfect for cooler basement temperatures!"

I'm doing a Black IPA next.

1/13/2011 11:17:36 PM

haha i know for a fact that Restricted will never brew a california common.


so i think my yeast fell out of fermentation. I'm going to let it sit through the weekend and then take some Gravity readings on Sunday, but i'm pretty sure it stopped. Windsor Yeast is a quickly fermenting yeast but it's fairly flocculant. But this was literally like <36 hours, 1" of krausen formed and disappeared in so little time.

1/14/2011 9:47:41 AM

Im leaning toward a barley wine, something that will be ready near wedding time.

1/14/2011 10:36:25 AM

when will you send out save the dates?

1/14/2011 10:56:57 AM

Not in charge of that stuff; tell me what to wear and where to be.

1/14/2011 11:03:15 AM

save the date for beer tasting? excellent. i'll PM you my address.

1/14/2011 4:23:44 PM

i am desperately trying to find a 6 pack of Bells Hopslam, if anyone knows where or if willing to sell any that you come across!!!!!

1/18/2011 10:16:07 AM

head over to /message_topic.aspx?topic=572440

1/18/2011 10:46:20 AM

gracias senor.

1/18/2011 11:49:32 AM

Just pre-ordered my hop rhizomes

I'm starting with Cascade, Centennial, and Columbus since I use them the most.

1/19/2011 6:29:17 PM

black ipa you say? please document this as i am verrrry very interested in black IPAs now. such a dynamic style of beer that is really starting to take off. would love to see what recipe you end up using.

1/20/2011 2:56:51 PM

Yea, I've been researching quite a bit for this one... according to the BA:

Quote :

"American-style India black ale has medium high to high hop bitterness, flavor and aroma with medium-high alcohol content, balanced with a medium body. The style is further characterized by a moderate degree of caramel malt character and medium to strong dark roasted malt flavor and aroma. High astringency and high degree of burnt roast malt character should be absent. Fruity, floral and herbal character from hops of all origins may contribute to aroma and flavor."

What I know it will have:
Pale & Crystal, probably Munich for malts, probably Columbus or Centennial for bittering, Cascade for aroma (dry-hop)

What I'm looking into:
Possibly some Roasted Barley, Black Patent, Chocolate Light (British), Carafa III Special, or Midnight malts, and possibly using Simcoe or Cascade for flavor.

The Carafa Special & Midnight are two options for debittered malts (dark but not burnt roast malts).

[Edited on January 20, 2011 at 3:30 PM. Reason : .]

1/20/2011 3:05:00 PM

i can say that the Black IPA was one of the most interesting beers ive had in a long long time. I had the Black Perle and it started off with a very stout/chocolately/wood flavor that finished strong with the bitterness of an IPA, which i think is kind of a 180 from what most black IPAs do...i hear most start out with a cirtusy hoppiness and finish with the roast/malt flavors.

1/20/2011 3:39:42 PM

you can site the Stone Sublimely Self Righteous as one that is on the extreme end of the spectrum. I find the North Point Toxic Sludge to be a very balanced easy drinking BIPA. It's definitely a style I enjoy and I brewed one back in the summer. I'll try and remember to post my recipe tonight.

1/20/2011 3:46:26 PM

^Blue Point, yea.

Here's my first go at it:

Quote :

"American-style India Black Ale Malts: 3.25 lbs Dark LME (60 min) 0.25 lbs Carafa III Special 0.25 lbs Chocolate Malt (Light) or CaraMunich 0.5 lbs Crystal 60L (American) 6 lbs Dark LME (15 min) 1 lb Corn Sugar (0 min) Hops: 1.2 oz Summit (60 min) 1 oz Chinook (15 min) 1 oz Centennial (10 min) 1 oz Cascade (5 min) 1 oz Centennial (0 min) 1 oz Cascade (dry hop) Wyeast 1272 American Ale Yeast II 74.6 IBU 48 SRM Batch Size: 5 gal Boil Size: 3.5 gal Anticipated OG: 1.077 Anticipated FG: 1.022 Anticipated ABV: 7.32%"

[Edited on January 20, 2011 at 4:25 PM. Reason : ;]

1/20/2011 4:13:28 PM

yeah, blue point. WhyTF did i say north? oh well

1/20/2011 4:45:34 PM

^^seems simple enough. i guess the variation is solely in which malts and for how long they are added to the mash? I am not familiar with Summit but i assume you can use either that or some other bittering hop. Can you talk a little about Summit?

1/21/2011 8:30:54 AM

It's basically a higher alpha Cascade, high in citrus and fruit with some floral notes, pretty much the same taste and aroma profile just much higher alphas so it's much better for bittering than Cascade is. Cascade is more known for aroma, typically used in dry hopping. I may try to find some Ahtanum hops for dry-hopping as they are even more citrusy.

When you experiment with your recipes you can use whatever bittering hop you want, but certain hops have certain flavor and aroma profiles to them, so for instance I'm not going to put a hop that's spicy, piney or earthy like Northern Brewer in a India Black Ale. Per the BJCP, India Black Ales are supposed to have fruity, floral and herbal characteristics, so I'd stay away from Northern Brewer hops.

Now you "could" just use Cascade, but at an alpha acid content of 6% you'd need (3x) the amount of hops, adding a lot of cost for something the Summit can do with less and have the same hop profile. So typically I try to use high alpha hops for bittering (>8% AA) and lower alpha hops for aroma, but it completely depends on the recipe and what the best use of the hop is.

For 6gal boil, 5 gal batch:
1 oz. of 18% AA (Summit) = 62 IBUs
3 oz. of 6% AA (Cascade) = 62 IBUs

If you're doing all grain I'd just switch out the Dark LME with ~11.5 lbs. Rahr 2-row Pale.

For the malts a couple things, again to stay close to the style you want roasted notes but NOT bitterness like a stout. To stay away from the bitterness you need to use a dehusked (debittered) malt. There are only a couple out there that give you a dark color without bitterness, so I'm trying to stay close to the Midnight Wheat and Dehusked Carafa III (Special = dehusked). Stay away from Black Patent and Roasted Barley, use Debittered Black instead (Roasted Barley dehusked)

Carafa I - light roast
Carafa II - chocolate like
Carafa III - dark roast

And make sure it's "Special" aka dehusked.

[Edited on January 21, 2011 at 11:56 AM. Reason : ,]

1/21/2011 11:34:57 AM

Quote :

"i guess the variation is solely in which malts and for how long they are added to the mash?"

I'll add the only grains that need to be mashed is the Rahr 2-row pale (or LME if doing extract), the other malts are for steeping grains (color, texture, flavor). Not much sugar comes from the steeping grains.

The Carafa III Special (and Midnight Wheat) will give a really dark color (500+ lovibond) and a nice dark roasted flavor to the beer but both are debittered.
The Chocolate Malt is a mild-roasted malt, contributes to the color & flavor (~400 lovibond)
The Crystal 60L contributes to the body & head retention and color (60 SRM), giving it a light red color, and sweet caramel flavor. The 80L could be a good choice too as it's a bit darker red to deep ruby color, as well as the caramel, burnt sugar, and raisin flavor.

[Edited on January 21, 2011 at 3:10 PM. Reason : .]

1/21/2011 3:09:13 PM

For making a yeast starter, does it make any sense to use DME that fits the beer style or is the volume so small that it really doesn't affect flavor much? So far i've just used whatever DME i've happened to have at the time...

1/21/2011 8:33:29 PM

I would say it's not large enough of a quantity to matter much, but I presume you're using 4oz. or less of DME for the starter, which in most recipes would only be 3% of fermentable sugars and would not do much for color just so long as you use Light or Amber DME. Dark DME I'd be a bit more concerned about but you could make adjustments in the steeping grains to change the SRM if you think it would impact it. I'd say there's no way 4oz. of DME would affect the SRM more than a point, and certainly not enough to impact flavor. Color and flavor comes more from your steeping grains, not from the fermentable sugar source.

[Edited on January 21, 2011 at 9:10 PM. Reason : .]

1/21/2011 9:06:14 PM

trying to decide when to crack a bottle of my IPA. do i need to let them bottle age for at least 2 weeks? its been 10 days now, and im getting so anxious lol

1/23/2011 5:45:40 PM

depends, i would wait til the full 2 weeks. i've never gotten full carbonation before then. particularly in the colder months it seems like minimum of 2 weeks, but if you have 50 bottles, what's the harm?

1/23/2011 5:48:00 PM

to the garage i go. will report back!!

needs more time to carbonate. very little head, no lacing. as expected, the beer is kinda thin. i didnt get good efficiency in my 1st try at all grain. its got a nice flowery aroma to it, and definitely has some grassy notes.

overall, not what i really wanted, but a drinkable IPA that finishes nicely. im looking forward to improving upon it. also, i wont give it the final judgement until full carbonation is allowed. right now, i'd compare it to a Founders Centennial. just, lighter.

[Edited on January 23, 2011 at 6:01 PM. Reason : .]

1/23/2011 5:48:41 PM

Quote :

"to the garage"

is that where you're conditioning? don't know where you live, but it's probably pretty cold out there, I'd imagine

[Edited on January 23, 2011 at 6:05 PM. Reason : l]

1/23/2011 6:04:18 PM

is it too cold for carbonation?

1/23/2011 6:05:51 PM

room temp is recommended, probably a little cold for the yeast to work out there this time of year

[Edited on January 23, 2011 at 6:23 PM. Reason : ;]

1/23/2011 6:23:08 PM

yea, bottle conditioning = fermentation, you need to keep it within the limits of your yeast, typically around 65-68'F

1/23/2011 7:28:07 PM

You guys need to post more pics!

I just drank the last of the Oatmeal Stout today This is the result of a second attempt after spilling all 10 gallons accidentally after the first attempt. We'll be brewing a pilsner next, we made our own recipe so we'll see how that works out. Pics of the stout:


[Edited on January 25, 2011 at 9:37 PM. Reason : .]

1/25/2011 9:18:03 PM

your pics put mine to shame, thus i dont want to post any haha

i need to go rack my oatmeal stout into secondary but i'm beyond lazy





(not that it really matters if i do it. but my plan is to rack it on a bed of coffee grains which i dont even have yet.)

1/25/2011 9:20:37 PM

excuse the crappy pic, but I just finished building this last weekend:



holds 4 Corney kegs + 1 carboy.

[Edited on January 31, 2011 at 8:04 AM. Reason : d]

1/31/2011 8:03:41 AM

very nice! you will love that!


but i bet you outgrow 2 taps in no time! a keg system would make me want to have a backlog and at least 4 on tap at any one time

1/31/2011 8:10:29 AM

that is NICE

1/31/2011 8:27:50 AM

Thanks for the compliments.

^^yeah, I kinda built it with 4 taps in mind. Figured 2 would be good enough for now, considering I'm just now brewing my 2nd batch ever.

My first batch, a Sierra Nevada clone, came out pretty nice. It's only been in the bottle 2 weeks but I tried one this weekend and it was good, if a little citrus-y. I expect a couple more weeks in the bottle will take care of that.

My 2nd batch is a lager, and it'll be lagering in there at 45 degrees for a month or so.

The freezer is painted with chalkboard paint. The plan is to have my wife make me some awesome artwork for all my brews

[Edited on January 31, 2011 at 9:16 AM. Reason : d]

1/31/2011 9:13:30 AM

Anyone know where I can get a Stainless steel or aluminum 7 gallon pot for ~$20? I'm using a boilermaker as a mashtun and brew kettle, with a turkey fryer pot as a HLT but need something large to transfer the wort into after mashing.
I've been checking craigslist and the classifieds but haven't had any luck yet.

1/31/2011 10:49:07 AM

if you are using the blichmann boilermaker as your brew kettle and just need something temporarily house the wort just get another 7-10 gallon aluminum turkey pot and save money. No reason to spend on stainless. However, unless you find something on craigslist you are still looking to spend $50-$70 new.

1/31/2011 11:05:25 AM

Yeah craigslist has been a dead end so far. There are a lot of the fryer sets selling, but I have no need for the rest of the crap involved, I just need a metal 7 gallon container.

I was hoping to find some brewers that may have updated their system and had a pot they weren't using. If I can't find anything I can always get a SS 7.5 gallon for about $75 which would be an improvement on my HLT. That would just be eating into my equipment budget too much.

Also, while I'm posting here. There's supposedly a metal worker in Raleigh that works with Homebrewers to make alterations to kettles. I've got the autosparge arm for my boilermaker but need the 13/16" hole cut into the top to connect it to. Every metal worker I've talked to can't do it, they're only set-up to work on flat sheet metal. American Brewmaster used to have contact info for the guy but have since run out of cards and couldn't remember his name when I was there last.

My only other option is to buy a step drill (~$50), but I'd rather have someone experienced do the work than buy a tool I've never used and will never use again.

1/31/2011 11:47:37 AM

Just got into the hobby... the only negative thing is that it's so damn addictive! I just put apfelwein mixture into my carboy yesterday. Hoping it turns out okay.

What are some good beginner recipes or extract kits you guys have used/brewed?

[Edited on January 31, 2011 at 12:05 PM. Reason : Question added]

1/31/2011 12:03:29 PM