The Official Beer Appreciation Thread

[Hoss]

If anybody is ever up to going out west to Seattle, they have a fantastic selection of beers. Fremont was a newer beer that I had a taste of and it was fantastic.

[Claude_Verret]

Brewed 10 gallons of APA yesterday. First batch in awhile but managed to hit my target OG. Now to brew some irish stiout and some euro pils.

 

Very nice. I've brewed 10 gallons of APA over the last week as well in two separate 5 gallon batches. Both were 'single hop' recipes, the first focused on Citra and the second on Mosaic hops. My next brew sometime next month will also.be an Irish stout for the annual St Patty's day bash that we host.

[elj4176]

Very nice. I've brewed 10 gallons of APA over the last week as well in two separate 5 gallon batches. Both were 'single hop' recipes, the first focused on Citra and the second on Mosaic hops. My next brew sometime next month will also.be an Irish stout for the annual St Patty's day bash that we host.

 

I made my 4-hop Pale Ale - uses citra, cluster and casade and dry hop with Amarillo. Split into 2 carboys - 1 has Thames Valley and the other has 1098. Still getting the hang of the eHerms but this last brew went pretty well considering I haven't brewed in a long time. I'd be curious to see your stout recipe of you don't mind sharing it.

[Claude_Verret]

I made my 4-hop Pale Ale - uses citra, cluster and casade and dry hop with Amarillo. Split into 2 carboys - 1 has Thames Valley and the other has 1098. Still getting the hang of the eHerms but this last brew went pretty well considering I haven't brewed in a long time. I'd be curious to see your stout recipe of you don't mind sharing it.

 

i use Jamil's Dry Stout recipe from this book. I will look it up when I get home and send it to you.

[sabills]

Home brewers, a question:

 

My brew, she's not a-bubblin'. The first few days after brew-day I had my 5-gallon pail in a heated room in the attic, but I was afraid that it was to cold, so I moved it into the guest room and i've been making sure the heat is fairly consistantly around 65-70 ( I have a little space heater in there for extra cold nights). Its been about a week and a half and I'm not getting any consistant bubbling and I'm worried. Should I open her up and check? I'm worried about contamination from opening it, but I'm also worried I'm just letting this beautiful beer go to waste, and I'm hoping its just a bad seal or something. Any thoughts?

[Weave]

Home brewers, a question:

 

My brew, she's not a-bubblin'. The first few days after brew-day I had my 5-gallon pail in a heated room in the attic, but I was afraid that it was to cold, so I moved it into the guest room and i've been making sure the heat is fairly consistantly around 65-70 ( I have a little space heater in there for extra cold nights). Its been about a week and a half and I'm not getting any consistant bubbling and I'm worried. Should I open her up and check? I'm worried about contamination from opening it, but I'm also worried I'm just letting this beautiful beer go to waste, and I'm hoping its just a bad seal or something. Any thoughts?

 

Take a reading of specific gravity. It may be done. The lid on the pail may not have sealed. I;ve had it happen. If the lid isn't sealed you may not see any activity in your airlock because the CO2 is escaping out through where the lid would seal.

 

When in doubt always check specific gravity.

[Claude_Verret]

Don't worry about contamination. Open up the fermenter and check for krausen....the foamy, yeasty gunk that will form on top of the beer. This is a tell tale sign of ferementation, if you see that do as weave suggests and take a gravity reading. If you don't see any krausen then it's likely you have a stuck fermentation, and if you have more yeast you can pitch that into the fermenter. I always make sure to rouse my fermenter by shaking it a little for the first few days, it's also important when you transfer your cooled wort into the fermenter and before pitching your yeast to splash it in there to get the wort somewhat oxygenated...this is crucial for optimal yeast health.

 

and finally in the immortal and sage words of Charlie Papazian.... Relax....don't worry....have a homebrew!

[spndnchz]

Damn. I should start one of these. Sounds like fun. How do you start small? lol

[Claude_Verret]

Damn. I should start one of these. Sounds like fun. How do you start small? lol

 

Small in terms of beer volume or equipment to brew a batch?

 

Here is a great starter kit. The citra and mosaic pale ale kits that I mentioned up thread I bought from these guys too.

 

http://morebeer.com/products/personal-home-brewery-kit-1-standard.html

Edited January 9, 2014 by Claude_Verret

[spndnchz]

Small in terms of beer volume or equipment to brew a batch?

 

Like space I need to do it. Would you think one should just by the real good equipment from the get go or not?

[sabills]

Don't worry about contamination. Open up the fermenter and check for krausen....the foamy, yeasty gunk that will form on top of the beer. This is a tell tale sign of ferementation, if you see that do as weave suggests and take a gravity reading. If you don't see any krausen then it's likely you have a stuck fermentation, and if you have more yeast you can pitch that into the fermenter. I always make sure to rouse my fermenter by shaking it a little for the first few days, it's also important when you transfer your cooled wort into the fermenter and before pitching your yeast to splash it in there to get the wort somewhat oxygenated...this is crucial for optimal yeast health.

 

and finally in the immortal and sage words of Charlie Papazian.... Relax....don't worry....have a homebrew!

Take a reading of specific gravity. It may be done. The lid on the pail may not have sealed. I;ve had it happen. If the lid isn't sealed you may not see any activity in your airlock because the CO2 is escaping out through where the lid would seal.

 

When in doubt always check specific gravity.

 

Thanks guys. I'll open 'er up and take a look when I get home. I did the shake thing before I sealed it up, but I'll give that a shot, too. I don't have the specific gravity thing (my next purchase, methinks) but my father-in-law does. I'll borrow that, and a homebrew or two, from him, haha.

[Claude_Verret]

Like space I need to do it. Would you think one should just by the real good equipment from the get go or not?

 

You don't need a lot of space. I started brewing in my apartment on Harlem road. In addition to the starter kit I linked to you'll need a 5 gallon pot of some sort to boil your wort on your stove, some non twist off bottles that you can easily collect, and a beer ingredient kit and you're good to go.

 

I have always felt there are two camps in the homebrewing world.....those who just want to make good beer..and those who like good beer as much as the fancy and expensive gadgets that you can buy to make good beer. My homebrewing friend is one of the cheapest guys I know in terms of not needing all the fancy equipment, and he also won a silver medal at the national homebrew competition a few years ago. So no you don't need to buy anything fancy right away to make great beer.

Edited January 9, 2014 by Claude_Verret

[sabills]

Like space I need to do it. Would you think one should just by the real good equipment from the get go or not?

 

You can get the 'Mr. Beer' guys which take up almost no room and are a decent starter. The quality I got from that was kinda crappy, but to be honest I didn't do a great job keeping up with it, and my storage left alot to be desired, so I don't have a great view on how good they are.

 

The guy I have now is basically a 5-gallon bucket, which also doesn't take up much space. I got this kit for christmas: http://www.northernb...tarter-kit.html

 

I get the feeling that this is one of those things where you just keep buying more stuff for it til it takes over the house, though, haha.

Edited January 9, 2014 by sabills

[Claude_Verret]

Another awesome and free resource is the first edition of John Palmer's How To Brew that he put online.

 

http://www.howtobrew.com/

[darksabre]

You can get the 'Mr. Beer' guys which take up almost no room and are a decent starter. The quality I got from that was kinda crappy, but to be honest I didn't do a great job keeping up with it, and my storage left alot to be desired, so I don't have a great view on how good they are.

 

The guy I have now is basically a 5-gallon bucket, which also doesn't take up much space. I got this kit for christmas: http://www.northernb...tarter-kit.html

 

I get the feeling that this is one of those things where you just keep buying more stuff for it til it takes over the house, though, haha.

 

Come on man, time to fill that big basement of yours with carboys!

 

[Claude_Verret]

You can get the 'Mr. Beer' guys which take up almost no room and are a decent starter. The quality I got from that was kinda crappy, but to be honest I didn't do a great job keeping up with it, and my storage left alot to be desired, so I don't have a great view on how good they are.

 

The guy I have now is basically a 5-gallon bucket, which also doesn't take up much space. I got this kit for christmas: http://www.northernb...tarter-kit.html

 

I get the feeling that this is one of those things where you just keep buying more stuff for it til it takes over the house, though, haha.

 

That Northern Brewer kit is probably the better deal as it includes a choice of ingredient kits for only $10 more. Which one did you get? My very first beer was an American brown ale like the one offered at Northern Brewer.

 

Northern Brewer and MoreBeer are probably the two biggest and best online homebrew stores.

[josie]

You can get the 'Mr. Beer' guys which take up almost no room and are a decent starter. The quality I got from that was kinda crappy, but to be honest I didn't do a great job keeping up with it, and my storage left alot to be desired, so I don't have a great view on how good they are.

 

The guy I have now is basically a 5-gallon bucket, which also doesn't take up much space. I got this kit for christmas: http://www.northernb...tarter-kit.html

 

I get the feeling that this is one of those things where you just keep buying more stuff for it til it takes over the house, though, haha.

Can I design your labels? :P

[sabills]

That Northern Brewer kit is probably the better deal as it includes a choice of ingredient kits for only $10 more. Which one did you get? My very first beer was an American brown ale like the one offered at Northern Brewer.

 

Northern Brewer and MoreBeer are probably the two biggest and best online homebrew stores.

 

Mine is an Irish Red Ale, which (if I don't screw it up) will be ready just in time for St. Patricks day.

 

Can I design your labels? :P

 

Oh god, yes, haha.

[LTS]

Home brewers, a question:

 

My brew, she's not a-bubblin'. The first few days after brew-day I had my 5-gallon pail in a heated room in the attic, but I was afraid that it was to cold, so I moved it into the guest room and i've been making sure the heat is fairly consistantly around 65-70 ( I have a little space heater in there for extra cold nights). Its been about a week and a half and I'm not getting any consistant bubbling and I'm worried. Should I open her up and check? I'm worried about contamination from opening it, but I'm also worried I'm just letting this beautiful beer go to waste, and I'm hoping its just a bad seal or something. Any thoughts?

 

Do you have a spray bottle with Starsan solution in it? If not you are really doing yourself a disservice. If you do, just spray the lid areas and your hands and check the beer.

 

what yeast are you using? if it's been 65-70 the whole time you should be fine, but it's possible that the yeast is bad.

[elj4176]

You can make brewing as complicated or as simple as you want to. That's part of the fun of it. Extract brewing is on the easier side of things and you can make some pretty good beer that way. All grain needs more equipment and generally takes a bit longer on brew day. I brewed extract for 3 batches with a kit I bought online and then switched to all grain with a couple of picnic coolers and an old keg with the top cut off for a long time. There's something really satisfying about sitting down with an excellent brew that I made and watching the Sabres play.

 

Glad to see there are a few of us homebrewers on here. I remember talking to Weave about brewing awhile back.

[sabills]

Do you have a spray bottle with Starsan solution in it? If not you are really doing yourself a disservice. If you do, just spray the lid areas and your hands and check the beer.

 

what yeast are you using? if it's been 65-70 the whole time you should be fine, but it's possible that the yeast is bad.

 

No spray bottle, but starsan did come in the pack. When I move the stuff into the second bucket and have to make some more up I'll steal that idea though.

 

As for the yeast, I think "Wyeast 1272 American Ale Yeast II" is what I have (found that on the website and it sounded familiar).

[elj4176]

No spray bottle, but starsan did come in the pack. When I move the stuff into the second bucket and have to make some more up I'll steal that idea though.

 

As for the yeast, I think "Wyeast 1272 American Ale Yeast II" is what I have (found that on the website and it sounded familiar).

 

Did the yeast pack swell before you pitched it?

[sabills]

Did the yeast pack swell before you pitched it?

 

maybe i have the wrong one, but it was a dry yeast.

 

EDIT: I a word.

Edited January 10, 2014 by sabills

[sabills]

Yeah, sorry, it was a Danstar Nottingham Ale yeast, and a dry one.

 

So I opened her up and I don't see much going on. It smells like beer, but I see very little foam.

 

 

Thats it (sorry about the picture from my flip phone/potato), but after I gave a good shake, there was less of that foam before that. I'm going to give it the weekend and try to get my hand on that spec grav tester, but if I don't see anything much going on I might have to get some more yeast to kickstart it. Thanks for all the help guys! WHEN I get this stuff done I owe you all one of them.

Edited January 10, 2014 by sabills

[Weave]

See that scum around the edge? That is krausen. Looks like it may be done fermenting.