Homebrewing

[billbob]

Would you recommend making a yeast starter when using slap packs (for ale, ca. 8 lb LME?

[mneagle]

Would you recommend making a yeast starter when using slap packs (for ale, ca. 8 lb LME?

 

I'd only do that for a really big beer, like a serious barleywine or very high gravity Imperial IPA.

 

Otherwise a single smackpack has always worked for me.

[goatboy]

I made my first batch of beer today - a GLUTEN-FREE IPA (using sorghum extract and three types of hops).

 

We'll see how it turns out!

[billbob]

Found it makes a big difference- previously after boiling and cooling to ca. 70F, I would dilute back to about 19L using filtered tap water... gets pretty cold in winter so the end result might easily be 66F-68F. Then would add yeast and airlock. Much better results if after the boil I only cool to about 100F, then add the freaking cold filtered water to dilute with final overall temp at ca. 75F - 73F. After aerating the temp is about 72F. Then add yeasties and stow in closet ( keep hotpad in closet to maintain constant temp around 70F. Minor detail but has had major impact on my last few batches.

 

These days I seem to spend more $ on hops than malt. Damn! Maybe go to dry hopping? Liking the new Ranger beer from New Belgium, good shit.

[mneagle]

Liking the new Ranger beer from New Belgium, good shit.

 

I completely agree...yummy stuff. I'll be sure and tell my neighbors that you like it. (Kim and Jeff live 5 houses down the road.)

 

On another note, I've been experimenting with no-sparge brewing and so far things have been going well. Here's my current protocol:

 

1) Calculate water:grain ratio needed for desired specific gravity using pre-boil

volume of 7 gallons and post-boil volume of 6 gallons.

2) Adjust grain bill so that run-off will equal 7 gallons...no-sparge needed!

3) Mash in with total water needed at ~122 for protein rest.

4) Do double decoction mash:

-saccharification rest 150-158 x 60-120 minutes(depending on profile desired)

-mash out at 168-170 x 10 minutes

5) Boil x 60-90 minutes depending on style. For a longer boil I may have to top up

with water. I shoot for a post boil volume of 6 gallons, hoping to get 5 1/2

gallons into the primary and then racking 5 1/4 gallons into the secondary and

5 gallons into the keg.

 

Note: I use a 20 gallon Boilermaker for the mash, which allows me to heat and

recirculate the mash in case I undershoot my mash temps without adding

additional water.

 

A lot of the no-sprage stuff I've read say to expect an efficiency of ~55% but with this protocol I've been getting between 65-70%. Although decoction mashing is felt required for most european lagers, I've found it to be very helpful in all the beer styles I've tried it for, including barleywine, scottish ale, Imperial IPA and American wheat beer. It takes longer but I think the malt profile and efficiency are greatly improved. I was actually able to brew an entire extract batch of oatmeal stout during the waiting periods of an all-grain brewing session without any difficulty. The only real downside is the extra cost of a few pounds of grain.

 

Here's the table I've been using to figure out lbs of grain and water to use to get various gravities. I found it on-line and then modified it to actually show the ratios. Once you know this, you can use Beersmith pretty easily to figure out the rest.

 

 

OG of wort 1.035 1.041 1.048 1.051 1.054 1.057 1.059 1.064 1.069 1.074 1.080

Pounds of Grain 8 10 12 13 14 15 16 18 20 22 25

Gallons of water 7.5 7.8 8.1 8.3 8.4 8.6 8.8 9.1 9.4 9.7 10.2

Qt/lb ratio 3.75 3.12 2.7 2.55 2.4 2.29 2.2 2.09 1.88 1.76 1.63

 

 

 

Edited March 24, 2010 by mneagle

[mneagle]

I made my first batch of beer today - a GLUTEN-FREE IPA (using sorghum extract and three types of hops).

 

We'll see how it turns out!

 

How did the sorghum beer turn out? My sister is gluten-sensitive and coming out for a visit this summer. If you've got a good recipe, then post up and I'll give it a try.

[summitchaserCJB]

You guys have some legit set-ups. I've been brewing for a little while and it gets better every time. Gets a little pricey at times but it's worth it.

[goatboy]

Thanks for asking - I have bottled it and am waiting a little while before cracking the first one. Will report here when I know if its worth a damn or not.

 

The color is .... kind of orange and cloudy. But it smells hoppy, so that's a good sign.

[summitchaserCJB]

I'm brewing tomorrow. Any ideas for recipies? I was considering a orange wheat beer. I'm thinking something light. Maybe some fruit in it.

[mneagle]

Here's a recipe for a wheat beer I made recently:

 

5.5 lb maris otter

5.5 lb german wheat malt

1.5 lb 10L crystal

1.5 lb 10L Munich malt

1.5 oz cascade pellets hops x 60 min boil

2 oz Tettnager leaf hops x 2 min boil

2 tsp gypsum

1 tsp Irish moss x last 15 min of boil

Wyeast 2565 Kolsch yeast

 

Boil time: 60 minutes

 

Mash:

-rest at 122 x 15 min

-decoction w/ rest at 154 x 20 minutes then boil x 30 minutes before adding back to mash and doing saccharification rest at 150 x 90 minutes

-added heat to mash out at 168 x 10 minutes

-No-sparge

 

ABV ~5.2%

 

It turned out quite nice with an excellent level of bitterness and texture/mouthfeel. The Kolsch yeast gave it a bit of fruitiness but I think I made a mistake by using the Tettnanger flavor hops. I should have used Centennial or more Cascade as flavor hops, which I think would have given it a nice citrus flavor. The taste is more like a typical German hefe but I'm finding that I actually prefer American wheat beers. For that matter, I may replace the Maris Otter with domestic 2-row next time and think about replacing the Munich malt with something like Victory malt to make it a little more "American".

 

Brew on.

[JoeR]

4 bits of advice as it seems many are just getting into brewing:

 

1: Brew outside. It's just better than way.

 

2: Can't afford to drop a few month's rent $$ on kettles? Use 15.5 gal kegs instead. They work great. You can get all the same crap welded on there that those expensive kettles have pretty cheaply. Spent less than 50 bucks on mine, including a mesh ring I can put in the bottom so I can use it as a mash/lauter tun. You can even shine em up if you really need the gear wank with your buddies.

 

3: Yeast is easy to culture. Try it. Mini-fridge and some glassware. Cheap. You can use the same yeast 7-8 times if you pay attention to hygiene. Senescence will eventually set in, but it is easy to catch and just pitch fresh. Smell and sight are your guides here as far as contamination.

 

4: Participate as a novice judge in a beer contest. Nothing will help your beer as much. The style guidelines and judging sheets develop your palate like nothing else....Plus, free beer!

 

Bonus tip: Don't be afraid of trying Extra Big (15%+) beers or wild fermentation.

 

 

To Summit: If you like fruit hefe, try blueberries when they're in season. Freeze em up and macerate, add in secondary for a tertiary ferment. Be sure to figure their sugar content so your yeast can handle it.

[summitchaserCJB]

Good to know. We held off on the fruit because of the astronomical price of most of the things we were interested and added a synthetic peach flavor to our pale ale. We'll see.