http://brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=594289
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5/5/2010 6:38:49 PM

ok, so I brewed my first ever batch earlier this year(IPA), I was very pleased! I'm ready to buy some ingredients and want to make a nice brew for the summer, maybe oberon-like..nice and floral, with a smooth citrus taste, but with noticeable hop bite. Any suggestions on recipes/ingredients?

I use a standard 5 gal bucket for fermenting, then rack it to a bottling bucket(add the sugar then). My only batch has been malt extract, eventually I want to move into all grain...but I don't exactly have the equipment or space for that now. I really just wanted to join in the conversation and get some tips/thoughts.

5/5/2010 6:54:26 PM

ok...im thinking of a summer-ish brew and here's what I've thought about so far, let me know if anything stands out as a deal breaker or maybe a suggestion for something to add in:

6 lbs Wheat Malt
or 5 lbs Wheat Malt, 1 lb Crystal Malt
1lb orange blossom honey (5 min left in boil)
-hops
1 oz Chinook (60 min)
1 oz Saaz (60 min)
1 oz Saaz (15 min)
1 oz Amarillo (flame out)
maybe- dry hop 1oz simcoe/centenial?
-yeast
wyeast 1272 amer ale OR wyeast 1010 amer wheat

5/10/2010 11:28:21 PM

i'm looking for some suggestions (with recipes, if you have any tried and true!) for a relatively high-gravity beer...i'm getting married in 4 months and my groomsmen and myself are thinking about brewing a special batch to be served at the rehearsal dinner (which will be a pig pickin' for about 70 people)

i was given a boatload of vintage 16oz and 22oz grolsch bottles...think they'd be okay to use? no cracks or anything, but they're probably 50 or so years old and just need new seals (they're immaculate, though of course i'll wash them thoroughly)...i thought it would be cool to use them

IPAs are a favorite of mine, but it doesn't have to be an IPA...i've made several batches of wine, but only one batch of beer (a mocha stout that came out amazing)

5/11/2010 8:29:12 AM

got a saison going, about 5 days in the fermenter and that wyeast 3711 is still chugging along

gonna wash the yeast and try a Belgian IPA on that as soon as this first batch is done

^can't see any problems using those bottles as long as the seals are replaced

higher gravity beers can be tough to pull off, especially with extract depending on your brewing setup...any idea what kind of style/abv you're looking for?

a smoky porter would go great with bbq, and wouldn't be too much in the heat

^^using the default AA values in ProMash, thats a 75 IBU beer - pretty high for the style
if you drop the 60 minute saaz (which is more of an aroma hop anyway) and cut the Chinook to 0.75 oz, it'll put you around 45 IBU - still a little up there for a style that is, on the high end, around 30 IBU

I'd just stick with Wheat DME (extract, right?) and maybe the honey if you want, never liked caramel/crystal in my wheat beers

the darker and higher quality honey you use, the more character you'll get from it, and I'd consider a flameout addition instead of 5 minutes to preserve more of the aromatics

[Edited on May 19, 2010 at 10:28 PM. Reason : ;]

5/19/2010 10:01:11 PM

bottled a saison tonight

it finished at 1.002

very dry, tastes awesome

5/31/2010 11:12:20 PM

our second batch turned out a lot better than round 1. Nice head and color. Yet the taste still has that "home brew taste" to it. Although a lot less. It's somewhat hard to describe...some have related it to a "sour apple" taste. I've read that a lot of times this is caused by natural airborne bacterias. and as i said it's very slight this go round. Any tips or sage advice for future batches? We've been really anal about our cleanliness and santization so we are scratching our heads trying to figure out what we let in.

6/1/2010 10:43:31 AM

Do you do the primary in plastic or glass carboys?

6/3/2010 11:52:58 AM

glass. with blow off fermentation in the first, then transfer to a second glass carboy for secondary fermentation

6/3/2010 1:05:26 PM

Thinking about giving this a shot, no experience whatsoever. Someone point me in the right direction? Where can I learn about all this stuff?

6/26/2010 3:27:22 PM

^^^^ sounds like acetaldehyde, an intermediate product of fermentation. It's natural and yeast tend to clean it up themselves given enough time, but excesses can be caused by under-pitching and excessive temperature. How are you pitching your yeast and what are your temp. controls? Never had the issue myself, but you should look into this as a possible culprit.

^ http://www.howtobrew.com

6/26/2010 5:33:33 PM

double batch of pale ale brewed today for our wedding rehearsal dinner in september:

1lb briess caramel 60 specialty grain
12lbs briess gold malt
2lbs briess golden light DME
1oz summit hops (60 minutes)
2oz perle hops (last 20 minutes)
2oz cascade hops (end of boil, for aroma)

split into two carboys and used:

safale US-05 yeast
wyeast 1272 american ale II yeast

2 weeks in primary
4 weeks in secondary
1-2 weeks bottled

6/26/2010 8:47:41 PM

^^I too am starting to think that it's a temperature issue. We are relocating our brewing operations to another friend's house who can actually keep the room temperature a lot lower, more in the favorable fermenting range.


As far as pitching, we've only been using dry yeast. Is their any room for error in that? We've been pitching as shown on the directions, boiling cup of water+add yeast+waiting suggest amount of time, then pitching to wort.

6/28/2010 4:52:08 PM

Quote :

"As far as pitching, we've only been using dry yeast. Is their any room for error in that? We've been pitching as shown on the directions, boiling cup of water+add yeast+waiting suggest amount of time, then pitching to wort."

heck, i don't even do that...i just let the yeast warm up to room temp and mix it in a beaker with some warm tap water (though my water is filtered and softened) and i pop a rubber cork on it...i've only done a couple batches of beer, but i've done many more batches of wine and not a single one has had trouble with that method

in fact, this is the first time i've used a liquid yeast packet

6/28/2010 5:08:02 PM

Quote :

"got a saison going, about 5 days in the fermenter and that wyeast 3711 is still chugging along"

i used the same yeast you did, i was going to use the 3724 i think, but the homebrew store told us 3711 did really well fermenting and was less sensitive to temperature swings.

here is my saison recipe:

2lbs. Euro Pilsner Malt - 120 min Saccharification Rest
1/2lb. Aromatic Malt - 120 min Saccharification Rest
2-1/2 lbs. Dry Wheat Extract (Briess) - 60 min (boil)
1.25oz. Amarillo Hops (8.4% AA) - 60 min
1/2lb. Sugar - 60 min
0.5oz. Amarillo Hops (8.4% AA) - 20 min.
4-1/2 lbs. Dry Wheat Extract (Briess) - 15 min
1.0oz. Amarillo Hops (8.4% AA) - 0 min
Wyeast FR Saison 3711 Yeast

Original Gravity - 1.070 (corrected for altitude/temp)
Estimated 6.6% ABV

[Edited on July 6, 2010 at 3:57 PM. Reason : ,]

7/6/2010 3:56:49 PM

Where'd you get that recipe? Seems like a lot of wheat to me. The 3711 is a beast, took me from 1.062 to 1.002 in a couple weeks, so consider that you may end up considerably stronger than 6.6%.

washed and saved some yeast from that batch, which was a first for me - currently using it successfully in a small batch experimental saison with peaches and thyme

7/6/2010 4:23:41 PM

it was calculated from an all-grain recipe, it was in a homebrew book.... not sure which one.

7/6/2010 9:46:22 PM

does anyone use Fermcap S?

it's an additive to the wort process to prevent boil over. Right now we are using a minimum sized kettle and when i'm stirring i never have a problem with boil over but some of the others when we trade off tend to slack a little more and rely more on adding water to "kill" the boil over.

would getting a small bottle of this to add to our wort be a good idea, or should we just stick with pouring small amounts of water in? Are there any negatives to either water or Fermcap S?




Also, does anyone have any tips regarding stirring/preventing boil over? We were thinking about it this weekend during our porter brew and there has to be an easier method. Would, say, a cake mixer with extended stirring arms work?

7/12/2010 3:35:48 PM

^i have never used.

I do use a small spray bottle and give it a squirt if it is starting to boil over.

7/13/2010 9:57:40 AM

only time i had boil over was on a turkey fryer trying to boil all 5 gallons at once.

on a stove, i use a 20 quart stock pot, i typically only boil 3-4 gallons (12-16 quarts), depending on the recipe, and add water at the end of the boil.

7/13/2010 10:53:30 AM

^are you constantly stirring though? we do the same as you, but if we stop stirring for more than just a few seconds the foam rises intensely. and we use roughly a 5 gal kettle. maybe slightly less.

7/13/2010 11:11:39 AM

no, only constantly stirring when adding DME/LME, 3 gallons in a 5 gallon pot shouldn't boil over, if it does you're adding the ingredients too fast

7/13/2010 12:48:57 PM

I figure this is probably the most relevant thread to post in even though it is not about beer...

Anyone on here ever made their own hippocras before? Thinking about making some from this recipe.

Quote :

"Hypocras [or Hippocras] 1 bottle of tannin-rich red wine (75cl / 3 cups) 125gr (3 oz) sugar 2 grains black Pepper 1 sticks cinammon 2 pod green cardamom 1 cloves 1 cloves long pepper (piper longum) 0.5 teaspoon ground galangal 0.5 teaspoon ground dried ginger 1 teaspoon Guinea grains (aframomum melegueta) 1 clean cotton towel [or other fine filter] "

A lot of people do different things as far as changing ingredients...using honey instead of or along with sugar or adding fruits etc.

Basically take a red wine, finely grind and mix the ingredients separately and then add to the wine. Some people heat (not boil) for awhile before letting it sit other people just say to let it sit in a cool place overnight or as much as a week or a month depending on what recipe you read. Then filter out any remaining particles of the added spices before serving. Sounds easy enough to make besides all the recipes being pretty imprecise.

7/13/2010 1:47:21 PM

Quote :

"no, only constantly stirring when adding DME/LME, 3 gallons in a 5 gallon pot shouldn't boil over, if it does you're adding the ingredients too fast"

1) I can agree to that - you should have a good lip with a 5 gallon pot brewing 3 gallons of wort. Some ingredients produce more foam though. In my experience, LME foams more than DME.

2) Once the extract is suspended in teh water and the rolling boil begins, it is necessary to follow the temperature guide provided in the recipe (or suitable to the style of beer being brewed) and try no to turn the burner 'all out'. I feel it is easier to control on an electric range than over gas. The faster it achieves boil, the foamier it gets.

7/13/2010 2:34:17 PM

1. perhaps our pot is not as big as i thought then. we may be using a undersized kettle.


2. maybe that's our problem. we've just been leaving the electric burners on high once boil is achieved. are we supposed to turn it down some so that it's just barely at boiling temp? If so, the recipe directions (still extract only right now) have not made that clear.





once i move i'll begin building my own brew station so hopefully some of these issues and limitations are only temporary.

7/13/2010 2:39:11 PM

^ yeah, you want only the minimum amount of heat necessary to keep it slowly boiling...it'll be easier on you and lessen your electric bill

7/13/2010 3:23:51 PM

^ agree

7/13/2010 3:34:24 PM

Lowering the heat will also lessen the amount that boils off. If your someone who typically comes under the batch size and has to add more water to the carboy/bucket it may help you there as well.

7/13/2010 8:02:46 PM

thanks guys. Here is our porter less than 72 hours after introducing yeast








If any of you guys have a dedicated home brew setup lets see it. I'm hoping to build some pretty nice brewing stations and hopefully a "cellar" and/or kegerator once I have a garage.

7/13/2010 10:40:05 PM

my "dedicated" setup is a pair of sterilite containers (one for each carboy since i usually brew or make wine in double batches so i can try different yeasts) in my crawlspace (which i can stand up in) filled with water in which i place the carboys

on the those 100°F days we had last week, ambient air temp was 78°F and the water temp around the carboys was about 72°F...at that point, i put 2L bottles filled with water and frozen into the sterilite containers around the carboys, which successfully brought it down to 66-68°F...when it's about 90°F outside, the water stays right around 68°F by itself

7/14/2010 8:01:13 AM

^so you take your carboy and set it down inside the container so it's completely enveloped (less the neck and opening) in water? That sounds like a great idea in this hot climate. We've been worried about higher temps during fermenting. I need to stick a thermometer in my crawl space and see what its temp is.

7/14/2010 8:39:34 AM

id hate to lug a full carboy up into a crawlspace.

sounds like a great way to have a really big mess on your hands

and also to disturb the cake wayyy too much when you're taking it down to rack.

i was contemplating lagering last winter in my basement but decided taking a carboy up and down a few flights of stairs wasn't worth it.

im thinking of making a batch this weekend (first in months... )

7/14/2010 9:00:48 AM

yeah, there definitely is some logistical things to figure out if that's where you plan to let them ferment. It would probably be a great place for lagering in the late fall around here.

7/14/2010 9:04:54 AM

^^^ close enough, anyway...it will float if you put the water too high, and so it could tip over (the containers aren't huge, but since i can't find a square one, they're rectangular and so it could tip)...the water is usually just below the wort line in the carboy (which allows for me to add frozen 2L bottles when necessary)...and, really, that's all you need

now, i usually do wine, which is generally less particular than beer due the yeast differences...i did this two summer ago with a mocha stout that turned out great and right now my pale ale is just waiting to be bottled...the two yeast strains we used for the pale ale has a top end of about 70°F, but it appears to have worked out just fine (we tasted them after primary fermentation stopped almost two weeks ago and they both tasted great)

i might take a picture when i get home this evening...they're in buckets now, instead of carboys, but still in the water baths...you can count on the water keeping the wort 5-6°F cooler than the ambient air temp, regardless of what it is

^^ my crawlspace is beneath my house and you can stand up in it (it's where i store my motorcycle and scooter and kayak, actually...i realize most people don't have that luxury, but it works well in lieu of a proper basement or garage

[Edited on July 14, 2010 at 9:22 AM. Reason : .]

7/14/2010 9:05:28 AM

shit for some reason i was thinking of the attic above the house instead of crawlspace below the house

i was shocked at how cool your attic was

carry on

7/14/2010 9:18:40 AM

7/14/2010 9:20:41 AM

I have this in my basement, fits 6-gallon carboy just perfect When I'm not brewing, I put the racks back in for the wine.

Set it to custom temp and it will sit at 65'F, with the heat from active yeast the beer sits perfectly at 70'F:


[Edited on July 14, 2010 at 11:40 AM. Reason : .]

7/14/2010 11:38:16 AM

Working on my wort right now

7/14/2010 3:20:47 PM

pics or it didn't happen

7/14/2010 4:20:42 PM

My "Pumpkin" Ale is in the fermenter

7/14/2010 5:48:56 PM

i'm interested in which recipe you used, my batch last year was nast

7/14/2010 6:27:45 PM

Made one up; I will post up my recipe later on.

7/14/2010 6:47:40 PM

bottled an american pale ale sunday. i tasted one earlier.. it's not very carbonated yet but pretty good considering. still has a bitter aftertaste though

hopefully it'll be better in a few weeks

7/14/2010 8:00:52 PM

6.5 Light DME
1.0 American Crystal 60L
0.8 Cara-Pils/Dextrine
0.8 Biscuit Malt
3.8 Pumpkin***

Mt. Hood 1.0oz (60mins)
Irish Moss 1/2tsp (10 mins)
Spice Mix (10 mins)

White Labs - WLP002

When its goes to secondary I'm might add a vanilla bean to balance out the spice since I neglected to use brown sugar. OG was around 1.060

***There is a huge shortage of canned pumpkin so I bought fresh butternut squash; baked @ 350 for 2 hours.


[Edited on July 14, 2010 at 9:39 PM. Reason : ....]

7/14/2010 9:18:19 PM

10hrs in I had strong fermentation, when I woke up this morning ~0600hrs, I had to rig a blow off tube using a my siphon tube because I was a couple minutes away from disaster.

7/15/2010 7:00:58 AM

lawls, the liquid yeast started really does put your yeast count in the billions. that's awesome. and your OG is right in line too so it sounds like everything has gone well so far.


post some pics.

7/15/2010 8:49:50 AM

^ are you referring to smack packs or just starting your dry yeast a few hours before you need it? smack packs are ridiculously overpriced, IMO

7/15/2010 9:02:21 AM

^he used a liquid vial and made a starter wort.




I have only ever dealt with dry packs with plenty of success. and they are still costly, but i guess that's the way it goes, can't make beer without the yeast.

7/15/2010 9:11:31 AM

Came home for lunch and the tube is working fine so far; just worried it isn't big enough and will get clogged. Do any of you switch out the blow off for an air lock after a few days?

7/15/2010 12:30:56 PM

[Edited on July 15, 2010 at 12:42 PM. Reason : ...]

7/15/2010 12:42:38 PM