Online Now 2240

MSU Red Cedar Message Board

The largest and most active MSU Spartans board on the web

On this Board 1661
Record: 12118 (3/18/2012)

Online now 2319
Record: 10351 (3/11/2012)

Boards ▾

MSU Red Cedar Message Board

The largest and most active MSU Spartans board on the web

The Press Box

The place to ask questions to SpartanTailgate's recruiting experts

Duffy Daugherty Forum

"The Duff" is dedicated to Michigan State football recruiting discussion

Jack Breslin Forum

"The Bres" is dedicated to Michigan State basketball recruiting discussion

Wells Hall Off Topic Board

This is your pulpit to preach to the masses about everything from politics to religion

Marketplace & Ticket Exchange

The place to buy, trade or sell Michigan State tickets

Fantasy Sports Forum

For fantasy football and other fantasy sports discussion

Test/Feedback Forum

Reply

Homebrew Crew - what you been brewing?, Part Deux

  • BH Spartan said...

    You have to be careful with airlocks - the wort could be fully fermented (I guess it is beer and not wort at this point) and still be releasing CO2, causing your airlock to bubble. I think you are doing the right thing by not touching it for 10-12 days, but I'm guessing it is done fermenting well before that.

    By yeast handling, I mean pitching the right amount of healthy yeast. I'm a big believer in using an active yeast starter - I am usually done fermenting within 3-4 days for ales, including big belgians and barley wines.

    As for the guy that said something about barleywines - I'd recommend going out and buying one or two to check it out. I've brewed a few and they really aren't much different than other beers, except you need to pay special attention to your recipe (may need to add sugar), yeast (you need a lot of it) and fermentation temps (really need to ferment cool to avoid excess alcohol flavors from developing).

    I will definitely be trying a yeast starter on my next beer. Was going to do it on this one, but I didn't have a good vessel to do it in and didn't get to the brew store until yesterday. Also, my smack pack blew up pretty fast so it seemed like the yeast was good to go.

    Phil McCrackin

  • john winger said...

    my usual starter vessel is a growler that i bought from piece filled with their delicious double IPA

    but sometimes i go the stir plate route and flask.

    Mine is an old 1 gallon wine jug.

    BH Spartan ●

  • Took a big boy step this weekend.

    Did my first partial boil. Ground our own grains, did the smack pack and everything. I know this nothing for some of the experience guys, but it's our first try at anything other than LME stuff.

    We did an Oberon clone and will be using a secondary fermenter.

    reg_hartner

  • john winger said...

    did you mean to say your first partial MASH? nice work on the partial mash cheers

    all boils are partial boils unless you are fortunate enough to have a nice outdoor space with a sweet propane burner and large kettle let allows you boil all 5 gallons (you actually start with 8 gallons of water).

    if you add any water after boiling its a partial boil. i have recently switched to only making 3 gallon batches because i can easily boil 3 gallons of wort on my stove in a timely manner, but 3 gallons is about my limit.

    Yeah...that.

    Partial Mash.

    attachment

    reg_hartner

  • john winger said...

    did you mean to say your first partial MASH? nice work on the partial mash cheers

    all boils are partial boils unless you are fortunate enough to have a nice outdoor space with a sweet propane burner and large kettle let allows you boil all 5 gallons (you actually start with 8 gallons of water).

    if you add any water after boiling its a partial boil. i have recently switched to only making 3 gallon batches because i can easily boil 3 gallons of wort on my stove in a timely manner, but 3 gallons is about my limit.

    I may give a 2.5 gallon batch a try... I would assume you can just cut the ingredients in half?

    Is there an advantage to doing a full boil vs. partial boil?

    Would be interesting to experiment with smaller batches. That way if something is terrible, you don't have to dump out as much beer.

    Phil McCrackin

  • Phil McCrackin said...

    I may give a 2.5 gallon batch a try... I would assume you can just cut the ingredients in half?

    Is there an advantage to doing a full boil vs. partial boil?

    Would be interesting to experiment with smaller batches. That way if something is terrible, you don't have to dump out as much beer.

    In a similar vein, could I just get a second brew pot and do two 2.5 gallon boils simultaneously with half the ingredients in each, then combine them in the fermenter?

    Phil McCrackin

  • For those still sitting on the fence, this may make you take the plunge - still need a kettle and some bottles and caps, but otherwise I think this gets you all you need including an ingredient kit.

    Midwest Hydroponic and Homebrewing Supplies LLC Deal of the Day | Groupon Ocala

    $64 for a First-Time Brewer Starter Kit and Ingredients Package from Midwest Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies

    www.groupon.com

    BH Spartan ●

  • BH Spartan said...

    For those still sitting on the fence, this may make you take the plunge - still need a kettle and some bottles and caps, but otherwise I think this gets you all you need including an ingredient kit.

    Well, that sucks. I just ordered my kit from them last sunday and it was shipped out yesterday. Oh well, it's not like I am going to enjoy it any less because I didn't save this dough. cheers

    Klevin Torborg ●

  • john winger said...

    Since there is no damn multi-quote

    phil, first know that i brew all my beer on my stove. my stove is just powerful enough to boil 3 gallons in a timely manner. if i could boil more than 3 gallons i would, but its not practical on my stove. the goal is to always boil as much water as you can, or achieve the "full boil".

    when you do a full boil batch on your stove (say its only 3 gallons) you should achieve a higher efficiency of grain conversion, meaning you should be able to hit your predicted O.G. every time. this is important because you would like to hit your target ABV. also, when doing the full boil, you are incorporating all the ingredients, should get a more vigourous boil, you can reach some of the grains buried in the middle of the bag. IMO, you lose control over the final product when adding water, especially if its tap water and you have no idea whats in the water, because again it takes a long time to boil and sterlize another 2 gallons of water. if you buy bottled water, that adds another cost, and you still have no idea what is in it. bad water really ruins a beer like no other.

    i like brewing the 3 gallon batches in the plastic better bottles. easier to handle and move around. easier to clean. i also like to make two batches of 3 gallons with the nearly the same ingredients, but lets say i pitch one kind of yeast in batch 1 and another kind of yeast in batch 2. then i compare the two. it might be the yeast, or the base grain, or the specialty grains... but you can change one of them and then see how it affects your taste when you compare the batches side by side. i just did this with my wheat beers - one got 1007, the other got 3333 yeast.

    to figure your recipe, i like to use hopville beer calculus and specifiy if its a 5 gallon or 3 gallon batch. if i want to make 5 gallons, i just make ~ 2.5 gallons twice and combine all the wort in the fermentation carboy. i no longer dilute it with water. yes, this takes twice as long to brew 5 gallons, but i have found the taste and quality to be so much better.

    why would you boil grain?

    BH Spartan ●

  • Phil McCrackin said...

    I will definitely be trying a yeast starter on my next beer. Was going to do it on this one, but I didn't have a good vessel to do it in and didn't get to the brew store until yesterday. Also, my smack pack blew up pretty fast so it seemed like the yeast was good to go.

    take a tip from this clown

    My First All Grain Brew (6/x) - YEAST STARTER

    Well heres my step by step video of my first all grain brew. First, we need to make a yeast starter. Might as well learn how to do it now seeing as the beer...

    www.youtube.com

    3SBC

  • This kind of takes a lot of the fun out of brewing but check this thing out.

    http://www.williamswarn.com/

    ZCavaricci21757 ●

  • Z.Cavaricci said...

    This kind of takes a lot of the fun out of brewing but check this thing out.

    http://www.williamswarn.com/

    Kind of cool - although for $6k, you can probably make a pretty automated system with refrigeration.

    I've found that the more I brew, the more lazy I get. I should be ready for one of these in 5-10 more years.

    BH Spartan ●

  • OK, so I brewed my first batch on Saturday. It is sitting in the fermentor and started bubbling w/in 24 hours, but now, 3 days after brewing,it has really slowed down already - to the point where there are bubbles in the airlock but it is not actively blowing bubbles. Is that normal?

    This post was edited by Klevin Torborg on 4/12/2011 at 11:00 PM

    Klevin Torborg ●

  • I have heard numerous people who have been brewing for decades to NEVER look at your airlock as an indication of fermentation. The only way to be sure is to take a gravity reading.

    I have never taken a gravity reading in the 10 or so batches I have brewed. It's hard but you have to be patient. Leave it alone. Depending on the style you can leave it alone for weeks and maybe even a couple months.

    The best thing to do is go to www.homebrewtalk,com and do a search for any question you have. Any question you have has been thoroughly discussed. I used it daily when I first started brewing.

    ZCavaricci21757 ●

  • Klevin Torborg ●

  • Have a Black IPA in the fermenter right now.....HIgh OG, ridiculous amount of hops. Going to be soooo good.

    signature image signature image signature image

    Μολὼν λαβέ.......

    Presto ●

  • Klevin Torborg said...

    OK, so I brewed my first batch on Saturday. It is sitting in the fermentor and started bubbling w/in 24 hours, but now, 3 days after brewing,it has really slowed down already - to the point where there are bubbles in the airlock but it is not actively blowing bubbles. Is that normal?

    yes

    BH Spartan ●

  • Tried my vanilla java porter after 3 weeks in the bottle. I used too much coffee. I'm hoping if I age it the coffee will mellow and the vanilla and the grains will come out.

    TX Sparty

  • john winger said...

    you dont have to worry about your primary fermention for a solid 28 days. you can almost forget about it. dont worry about the airlock, other to make sure the bung and 3-piece are firmly in place. its there to let CO2 escape.

    What do you mean? Just leave it in there for 3 weeks to a month just to be sure?

    Klevin Torborg ●

  • Klevin Torborg said...

    What do you mean? Just leave it in there for 3 weeks to a month just to be sure?

    Yup. Even if there's no airlock activity, that doesn't mean the yeasties aren't doing their work.

    What I usually do is wait 2 weeks or, and then take hydrometer readings for 3 straight days. If the gravity is the same for 3 days straight, I figure the fermentation is done and either move it to the secondary or the keg.

    TX Sparty

  • i brewed a coffee stout a few years ago and used way too much coffee...after about 6 months the coffee flavor mellowed out and it started to taste good. 1 year later it was tremendous!

    hopefully you wont have to wait that long

    3SBC

  • 3SBC said...

    i brewed a coffee stout a few years ago and used way too much coffee...after about 6 months the coffee flavor mellowed out and it started to taste good. 1 year later it was tremendous!

    hopefully you wont have to wait that long

    Yeah, I did that with a Breakfast Stout clone, let it age and the coffee mellowed out. Coffee can be tricky. I had two buddies who did the breakfast stout right before I did. The first one used the amount of coffee the recipe called for and it was way too strong. The second one used half and it was still too strong. I used probably a third of what the recipe called for and the coffee flavor was still dominate.

    TX Sparty

  • TX Sparty said...

    Yeah, I did that with a Breakfast Stout clone, let it age and the coffee mellowed out. Coffee can be tricky. I had two buddies who did the breakfast stout right before I did. The first one used the amount of coffee the recipe called for and it was way too strong. The second one used half and it was still too strong. I used probably a third of what the recipe called for and the coffee flavor was still dominate.

    I've never done coffee, but have done the whiskey barrel thing. I'm not sure about coffee - but the whiskey taste does not mellow over time, I'm 100% positive on this.

    BH Spartan ●

  • BH Spartan said...

    I've never done coffee, but have done the whiskey barrel thing. I'm not sure about coffee - but the whiskey taste does not mellow over time, I'm 100% positive on this.

    Done the whiskey barrel thing? I've been curious about this. Where does one procure a whiskey barrel?

    daggermouth

  • daggermouth said...

    Done the whiskey barrel thing? I've been curious about this. Where does one procure a whiskey barrel?

    Faux whiskey barrel taste - soak oak chips/cubs in whiskey before putting them into the beer.

    BH Spartan ●

Michigan State
247Sports
Features
Resources
Connect

247Sports In partnership with CBS Sports