The brewing thread

[peas_and_corn]

OK, the idea of a brewing thread was mentioned in the beer/ale thread, so I decided to start one.

I have been brewing continuously for 4 years now. It took me about a year to go all grain- each step I made everything slightly better/more complex and got to where I am now. I make 44L (10 gall in the US measure) batches, as I realised that the same time and only a small amount of extra money (everything's the same except for ingredients and a little more gas for the nasa) would double the size of my batches. Regularly my friend pitches in half the money and takes home half of the beer when it's fermented.

I have a beer fridge with two taps coming out the front- they have a chocolate porter and a brown ale coming out of them right now (the choc porter is soooo tasty...). I also bottle with longnecks (halves the work), and have an orval clone (haven't tried it yet), the same choc porter (bottle version tastes a bit more choc), and I'm waiting for the July case* to come through- a Russian Imperial Stout.

SOOOO... share info about brewing, questions that could be answered etc... have fun!

* I am a member of a brewing forum and every Christmas we have a case swap, where everyone goes to someone's house with a case of their beer, and then goes home with a bottle of everyone else's. We're having a Christmas in July swap, which is awesome- the theme for this one is 'winter warmers'.

[Silver]

Dang! You beat me too it! I was reading the Fine Ale thread yesterday when my ISP had a crash and we were left netless for the day. Great idea though as Spike and I are looking to brew up some Mead very soon.

[bbqncigars]

I really miss my homebrew. I started out some years ago as one of the dozen original members of the Ann Arbor Brewer's Guild in Michigan. Started out with bottles, switched to a 1/4bbl Sanke keg, then really got lazy and converted over to the 5gal Cornelius (soda) kegs. I did mostly partial mash brews, but built an adjustable power roller mill for full mash outings. One of the guild members once brought a few fresh bottles of a 5gal batch that he'd used over a quarter pound of his own hops in. That stuff actually made your lips and mouth tingle like a hot pepper. It was very drinkable six months later, however. I usually stuck to darker ales, porters, and the occasional Imperial Stout. I salute those gents with the patience and technique for lagers. I never had the spare refrigerator (or patience) to try a lager. The last I.S. took damned near four months to ferment out, IIRC (champagne yeast). I'll have to break out the gear again if I ever get off of the road. *sigh*
Bottles have their place for portability via a counterpressure filler from a keg, but a few sessions of cleaning/sterilizing will wean you to kegging for most of your tipple.


Wayne

[AFDavis11]

I thought you guys were calling for a Mod . . . carry-on.

[joesixpack]

I love homebrew and I used to love home brewing. I don't ever have the time these days, but someday I plan to start up again. I plan on converting a fridge to a kegerator in the next few months.

[peas_and_corn]

I never had the spare refrigerator (or patience) to try a lager. The last I.S. took damned near four months to ferment out, IIRC (champagne yeast).

You used a champagne yeast? That's not really necessary or advisable for a RIS, as champagne yeasts wouldn't bring very compatible flavours to the beer. I used Wyeast 1084, and that brought me up to 11% no worries- and I'd say that it could carry the beer to higher alc % (maybe 14%), as it's quite sturdy.

[smz84763]

ok, lets get some recipes up! i am at work right now, (i know it is 133am) but i will post some of my more successful ones later. i had a strawberry wheat beer that was pretty killer, a RIS that wasnt half bad, an oak aged belgian abbey ale, and an interesting dunkelweizen aged with real tahitian vanilla beans.

[bbqncigars]

I might have used two yeasts in the I.S. It's been so long. I'll have to see if I can find my notes on it. The initial gravity was something unreal, as well as the final a.b.v. I remember that my sister and her husband loved the last bottle we shared almost six years after bottling. The closest commercial beer I've had to that batch is a Belgian that's brewed to commemorate Charles the Great, or something like that.

Wayne

[peas_and_corn]

If you're after good recipes, you can't go past my choc porter (metric)

44L batch

6kg pale malt
5kg munich malt
800g carapils
500g chocolate malt
100g roast barley

40g Amarillo gold pellets (60 min)
20g Willamette pellets (30 min)
20g Willamette pellets (15 min)
20g Chinook pellets (10 min)
30g Willamette pellets (5 min)

Yeast: Wyeast 1056

I also added 250g dark cooking chocolate in the boil, 60 min
I added a container of choc essence in secondary

Step mash, 66C and 69C, plus a fly sparge.

tasty!

[smz84763]

one of my roommates loves chocolate stouts, so this will have to be my next brew. thanks!