Quag - cold crashing will not hurt your yeast. Just let them come up to room/pitching temperature before you put new wort on it.

4/6/2013 7:00:06 PM

cool...i might give that a shot tomorrow

4/6/2013 11:47:54 PM

Check out my FS thread... cascade rhizomes ready to plant.

Thanks,

message_topic.aspx?topic=636152

4/7/2013 6:25:06 PM

all my hops sprouted last week already... year 3!

(it was 70'F this last weekend and Denver is getting 7" of snow tomorrow )

[Edited on April 8, 2013 at 11:32 AM. Reason : .]

4/8/2013 11:31:09 AM

So despite not posting in here for a year i'm popping in now to share the highlight of my short homebrewing career so far. I went all grain early last year and went pretty gung ho about brewing, I really fell in love with the hobby. I was brewing so much my wife forbid me to brew the last two months of the year (I did take a day off to sneak a brew day in during December )

I entered a few beers into the Piedmont Brewer's cup during late October and was lucky enough to win best of show. The prize was to brew a batch on Big Boss's pilot system at their brewery. Over time it got upgraded to a commercial batch and two days ago I got the chance to finally brew it with them. We made 15 barrels (almost 500 gallons) of my beer. I call it 'my' beer, but it's a modified version of Zainasheff's Bavarian Hefe recipe. It's such a simple recipe, 50/50 german wheat and pilsner, with one 60 min addition of hallertau to about 15 IBUs fermenting with wyeast 3068. The beer should be on tap at the brewery in three to four weeks, I should have a specific date soon. To say that I'm pretty stoked about trying this beer when it's released at the brewery is an understatement, I still don't have a name for it if anyone has any suggestions!

[Edited on April 12, 2013 at 9:00 PM. Reason : .]

4/12/2013 9:00:34 PM

Nice work. Sometimes the best recipes are the simplest.

4/14/2013 5:25:53 PM

Agreed. Plus, there's enough other variables out there to worry about. Where you get your grains from, crush, mash temps, water/grist ratios, mash tun and fermenter geometry, water profiles, pitching rates, how much you aerate, fermentation temp control, carbonation etc etc etc... 10 of us could brew the same recipe and I think we'd end up with 10 different beers.

4/16/2013 10:48:43 AM

Made some new tap handles! These are 1 inch "skinnier" and honestly look much better in my opinion. They're also what you'll need if you have taps that are closer than 3.5" apart.






I'm offering these now in my Etsy store for $35 each, or $60 for a two pack:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/129612403/brazilian-cherry-tap-handle-size-medium?ref=shop_home_active

If anyone's interested in these narrow ones, or the original "larger" version, PM me! Definitely a TWW discount.

4/17/2013 12:55:34 PM

#3 (Third Place) out of 34 entries for Category 21 for my Chocolate Stout in the first round of the National Homebrew Competition, w00t!



[Edited on May 1, 2013 at 7:03 PM. Reason : /]

5/1/2013 6:39:51 PM

Nice work!!

Details on the choc stout?

[Edited on May 1, 2013 at 9:54 PM. Reason : .]

5/1/2013 9:54:23 PM

Basically this:
http://hopville.com/recipe/1664166

But only used 8 peppermint tea bags at end of boil, hence why in category 21 (no peppermint extract or tea in secondary like recipe states)... but it's really nice and subtle, great holiday beer, we brewed it in December and it's really drinkable right now.

[Edited on May 2, 2013 at 3:27 PM. Reason : ,]

5/2/2013 3:26:37 PM

Any one have any experience growing hops in Wilmington? I planted six different varieties about a month ago. So far things are going ok. I have heard that bugs can be a problem around here. Can anyone suggest a pesticide if I notice some bugs eating my hops?

5/8/2013 9:55:06 PM

If you wanna keep it on the "organic" side, check out the "Natria" line by Bayer Advanced.

5/8/2013 10:07:38 PM

What's the upfront cost to get into kegging? I'd need a 5 gallon setup and I'm getting tired of bottles. I was thinking about getting one of the caps that will let you turn a growler into a small keg, but they all run $50-$100. Home much beyond this would I have to spend to have a proper keg setup?

5/18/2013 11:16:31 AM

http://www.americanbrewmaster.com/Homebrew-Kegging-Kit-With-Squeeze-Faucet

230 +tax (if you already have the fridge space)

maybe can piece together for less but I liked getting it all at once from a local place.

5/18/2013 9:30:23 PM

I'd suggest KegConnection.com

http://stores.kegconnection.com/Categories.bok?category=*Homebrew+Kegerator+Kits%3ABall+Lock+Kits

5/19/2013 10:13:05 AM

Thanks for the advice. Looks like it's not in the budget yet, so I'll have to just keep bottling for now...

5/19/2013 2:27:42 PM

keep an eye on craigslist for keg supplies and/or kegerators. You can findn some great deals every now and then.

Also, dontlimit yourself to ball-lock kegs Pinlocks arejust as good, easier to find, and cheaper usually. They're just shorter and wider (still hold 5 gallons)

5/19/2013 3:17:06 PM

I funded the tap it cap on kickstarter. I have a few months before the ship mine. I will post reviews when i get it.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1732077870/the-tapit-cap-the-beer-growlers-best-friend

5/19/2013 11:45:39 PM

Ditto

5/20/2013 11:13:58 AM

For some reason I have been on a hiatus from brewing for 2 years, I used to do a batch every 2 weeks. I am going to do my first batch on Thursday and I am so excited. I think I am going to try the avery ipa clone from their website.

7/10/2013 10:13:45 AM

I, too, have been on a hiatus. I'd really like to brew a peanut butter chocolate stout/porter. The mint stout sounds great too - I was at Roth a couple years ago and they made a barrel of one of their employees homebrew recipes that was just the perfect touch of mintiness on a chocolate stout - best beer I ever had at Roth by far.

7/12/2013 1:44:30 PM

Quote :

"best beer I ever had at Roth by far"

So the beer probably still sucked

7/12/2013 9:44:36 PM

haha their beer does suck.

I just bought a kegerator for $150 off craigslist in near new condition - the guy said he had 45 emails in an hour but luckily I convinced him to hold it for me.

Just got everything I need to brew a blackberry kolsch and a peanut butter chocolate porter. Does anyone have any experience using PB2 powdered peanut butter or anything similar in brewing?

7/13/2013 4:38:48 PM

I suggest adding a little jelly to that PB beer.

7/14/2013 10:24:51 PM

I was thinking about it actually. Might toss in some of the blackberry puree I got - maybe split the batch and see what happens.

7/19/2013 10:37:08 AM

I've got a mammoth fig tree in my back yard and I'm looking to use some of the figs in a beer, but the interwebs is sorely lacking in info. Most of what I've found says to puree, freeze, thaw and then add to secondary. Also, I'm still extract brewing but that might change soon.

I'm thinking a dark saison. Anyone have thoughts on style or other ingredients to incorporate or avoid?

7/19/2013 1:02:46 PM

not to keep on with the peanut butter, but Trophy had a peanut butter saison a while ago that was awesome

[Edited on July 19, 2013 at 3:14 PM. Reason : inspired my porter idea]

7/19/2013 3:14:47 PM

^pretty sure that Trophy peanut butter beer (The King) was actually a Dubbel, not a saison.

7/19/2013 3:20:02 PM

So after contemplating beginning to homebrew for the past year or so, I believe I'm ready to take the plunge. A few of my friends homebrew, so it'd be cool for all of us to share beers, compete against one another, etc.

I'd like to do some reading and research before investing in the equipment/ingredients. Any recommendation on a book to get me started?

7/29/2013 11:58:49 PM

http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Homebrewing-Third-Edition/dp/0060531053

and

http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375197456&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+brew

I also get a lot of good info here:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com

Also, if you feel like really starting off well, I would download and play with the BeerSmith program. Great way to plan recipes and keep track of what you're doing.

7/30/2013 11:19:36 AM

So I brewed a Kolsch last weekend and it stopped bubbling after about 4 days. I don't know how it could be contaminated. I had liquid yeast that was in my fridge for about a week before I pitched it but the guys at the brew store said it should be fine.

My cousin (brews several batches a month) is saying to put it in my kegerator to drop the temperature down, but I thought it would be too cold and kill the yeast, so I had it by the AC vent in a 68 degree room.

Might just get more liquid yeast and pitch it in.

Any thoughts?

7/30/2013 12:05:56 PM

Did you test the gravity? It may just be finished fermenting.

7/30/2013 2:04:20 PM

I'm going to check when I get home today. could it really ferment in 3-4 days?

7/30/2013 3:35:04 PM

It's an optimistic possibility. I've had some beer ferment in 3-4 days when it didn't have a high initial gravity or when it was warmer out (since I ferment in my crawl space, sometimes in the summer it can be 72 degrees under the house).

If you check the gravity, at least you'll know for sure if it finished fermenting or not. It is possible that the yeast was weak or something else affected the fermentation.

[Edited on July 30, 2013 at 5:14 PM. Reason : ]

7/30/2013 5:13:03 PM

Bubbling is not a good indicator of fermentation.

7/30/2013 7:41:01 PM

Does anyone have a favorite pumpkin ale recipe? I'd like to get started on one soon.

[Edited on August 8, 2013 at 10:12 AM. Reason : ]

8/8/2013 10:08:49 AM

Any one else attempt to grow there own hops? I have just finished the a major harvest of my plants. I got a fair amount for first year. Probably around 10oz dried from 5 different varieties.

8/11/2013 10:42:41 PM

I am growing my own hops this year too. I tried 6 different varieties, planted at both the in-laws and at my house. 2 of the varieties never came up (possibly shitty rhizomes). The plants at my house are finally reaching heights over 8 feet, but at the in-laws they are covered in hops. I am heading out next weekend to check on their status.

[Edited on August 11, 2013 at 11:16 PM. Reason : ]

8/11/2013 11:15:02 PM

One of my rhizomes turned out to be male plant and did not produce any hops. Not sure how that happened.

8/13/2013 9:14:57 PM

It's my first year growing hops. I started this year with 4 Cascade rhizomes (from Northern Brewer) and 2 Chinook rhizomes (from Piedmont Hops). Just my luck, two of each bine were hit with by falling trees and limbs during those big wind storms we had a few months back. BUT, two of the Cascade bines really took off. I don't think I'll get much more than a few ounces total though.

I'm going to brew up a pretty simple pale ale this weekend, then pick the hops next weekend and use what I get for dry hopping. I'll probably use some Cascade pellets for bittering, but I'm hoping to really let the hops shine through to get an idea of what fresh hops bring to the dry-hopping table.

8/14/2013 4:28:37 PM

austin homebrew 20% and free shipping anniversary sale: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php?cPath=178_452_42_638

8/14/2013 10:09:14 PM

^ Thanks for the tip , just ordered 3 kits for $75. That's a deal!

8/15/2013 11:34:36 AM

Just made my first run with mead. Should be interesting how this turns out. Also after trying Flying Dog pineapple saison, it has made me want to experiment with brewing with pineapple. Has anyone ever tried that, or have any thoughts.

8/23/2013 10:48:24 AM

that sounds awesome. haha I wonder what the next thing will be, mangos, kiwis, passion fruit? but seriously, I'm all for the different stuff.

I kegged my peanut butter chocolate porter last weekend and I think it's great. The head retention is great (something I was worried about) and it's just enough peanut butter to give a little aftertaste but not make it like an undrinkable desert beer. Next time I'll add more chocolate malt to give it some more body.

I used a pound of pure cocoa powder, and two pounds of peanut butter powder.

Not the best quality pictures but here they are anyway







[Edited on August 23, 2013 at 12:01 PM. Reason : pics]

8/23/2013 11:56:46 AM

picked up a second hand immersion chiller yesterday. Can't wait to give it a go. Getting the chiller is the first step towards going all grain. One day. One day.

Will be brewing a Homegrown Harvest Pale Ale on Sunday with Cascades from my backyard!

8/30/2013 4:46:15 PM

Brewed 30 gallons last weekend.

10-gallon batch of Pale Ale (will split into 5-gallon Pale, and 5-gallon Pineapple Pale)
10-gallon batch of Pumpkin Ale (was split into 5-gallon batch with Saison yeast, 5-gallon batch with ale yeast + pumpkin pie spices)
10-gallon batch of Porter (will split into 5-gallon Porter, 2.5 gallon Raspberry Porter, 2.5 gallon Chocolate Porter)

Here's the porter after sparge:


and obligatory tasting:


[Edited on September 2, 2013 at 7:47 PM. Reason : .]

9/2/2013 7:41:58 PM

just picked up a new 20-plate B3-23A (one of the 12" long units) heat exchanger for $75 shipped



i brewed a single batch last weekend on my electric stove for the first time (i was out of propane and didn't feel like going out for more)...it sucked so hard, and cooling it down in the sink took FOREVER (hence the exchanger purchase)

[Edited on September 6, 2013 at 10:59 PM. Reason : image]

9/6/2013 10:58:31 PM

Learned a tough lesson a few days ago when bottling. I was boiling some honey and water on my stove to mix with the beer before bottling. I wasn't paying attention and it boiled over. Unfortunately for me I didn't realize thats like the worst thing to have boil over on a glass top stove. Apparently the sugar binds to the glass somehow and it etches in pot marks that you can't get out. It was a brand new stove. Needless to say I got an earful from my wife :-(

9/11/2013 10:57:06 PM

Have you tried using a razor blade to get the crud off the stove top? I've boiled over several times over the years on my glass top stove.

9/12/2013 8:52:44 AM