Anyone brewed lately?

[Frank&Rita]

I kegged 10 gallons of American Light with Ginger today and started two more kits, but I'm not sure it's called brewing, more like stiring the extract into the water...lol

 

[fratermus]

fratermus, could you post your recipe if it works out? Smithwick's is a tastey beer!

It's one I found on a webpage somewhere, and wedged into beersmith. Just brewed it up today and it's sitting behind me just now starting to put some positive pressure on the airlock.

Also made 2 plates and 7 slants from the yeast pack while making the starter from the smackpack.

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: batch[27] Village Smithy
Brewer: Frater Mus
Asst Brewer:
Style: Irish Red Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 18.93 L
Boil Size: 21.67 L
Estimated OG: 1.051 SG
Estimated Color: 12.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 16.0 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
3.63 kg Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 85.02 %
0.34 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 7.97 %
0.23 kg Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.31 %
0.07 kg Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 1.70 %
14.17 gm Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (60 min) Hops 9.1 IBU
14.17 gm Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (20 min) Hops 5.5 IBU
7.09 gm Fuggles [4.50 %] (10 min) Hops 1.5 IBU
1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs Irish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1084) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: mouse mash
Total Grain Weight: 4.27 kg
----------------------------
mouse mash
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min mash in Add 11.84 L of water at 163.0 F 152.0 F </pre>

 

[uavwmn]

Hey Smurfe, great pictures!!!!

I am bottling my Winterfest beer tonight. It has a wonderful hint of cloves.
I have my favorite Stout up next. I don't drink it, but my other half does as well as my co-workers!! The liquid yeast you have recommended for all my beers have been right on!! Thank you always for your sound advice. CHEERS!!

 

[smurfe]

Hey Smurfe, great pictures!!!!

I am bottling my Winterfest beer tonight. It has a wonderful hint of cloves.
I have my favorite Stout up next. I don't drink it, but my other half does as well as my co-workers!! The liquid yeast you have recommended for all my beers have been right on!! Thank you always for your sound advice. CHEERS!!

Glad it worked out for you!

 

[GrantLee63]

Yes, I've brewed lately.


My wife informed me on November 8 that we are going to be hosting Christmas with my family this year. When I checked my kegs, I was shocked - all 6 of them were at - or near - being completely empty! Shame on me - as a homebrewer, I should NEVER have an empty keg without having another beer to rack into it immediately!!!!!


In any event, starting Friday, November 14 andthrough Friday, November 28, I brewed SIX different styles ofall-grain ales:
<UL>
<LI>Creamy Cream Ale </LI>
<LI>Honey Wheat </LI>
<LI>Centennial Blonde Ale</LI>
<LI>Honey Brown Porter </LI>
<LI>Irish Red Ale </LI>
<LI>Pale Ale</LI>[/list]


I was very busy those two weeks but I am enjoying the fruits of my labor as I type this for I am enjoying a 20 ounce Irish Red! I have a kegerator with 4 faucets, one being a dedicated nitro faucet that I dispense with beer-gas. The other 3 are conventional faucets (Ventmatics) that use CO2 to dispense.
The nice thing about being a mead maker is having a nice supply of varietal honey on hand. I used raw sage blossom in my Honey Wheat, and raw mesquite in my Honey Brown Porter. I enjoy honey-ales and make them frequently. I'll post some pics of my kegerator as soon as I'm able to figure out how to do so.


- GL63

 

[Wade E]

Link to picture</span> loading tutorial</span> which includes image resizer for XP


http://www.finevinewines.com/Wiz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2514

 

[smurfe]

Yes, I've brewed lately.


My wife informed me on November 8 that we are going to be hosting Christmas with my family this year. When I checked my kegs, I was shocked - all 6 of them were at - or near - being completely empty! Shame on me - as a homebrewer, I should NEVER have an empty keg without having another beer to rack into it immediately!!!!!


In any event, starting Friday, November 14 andthrough Friday, November 28, I brewed SIX different styles ofall-grain ales:
<UL>
<LI>Creamy Cream Ale
<LI>Honey Wheat
<LI>Centennial Blonde Ale
<LI>Honey Brown Porter
<LI>Irish Red Ale
<LI>Pale Ale</LI>[/list]


I was very busy those two weeks but I am enjoying the fruits of my labor as I type this for I am enjoying a 20 ounce Irish Red! I have a kegerator with 4 faucets, one being a dedicated nitro faucet that I dispense with beer-gas. The other 3 are conventional faucets (Ventmatics) that use CO2 to dispense.
The nice thing about being a mead maker is having a nice supply of varietal honey on hand. I used raw sage blossom in my Honey Wheat, and raw mesquite in my Honey Brown Porter. I enjoy honey-ales and make them frequently. I'll post some pics of my kegerator as soon as I'm able to figure out how to do so.


- GL63

Welcome aboard and fantastic that we have another all grain brewer here that supplements the winemaking. Some tasty choices you have brewed up there. What type of system do you use? I am thinking of getting a HERMS system but still trying to justify the expense in my head. I use coolers right now. May try to make a HERMS or RIMS system with my coolers. I sure do like bling though and the 3B or Sabco systems are really calling my name.

 

[GrantLee63]

Hey there Smurfe,


I too use coolers - 10 gallon Rubbermaids to be specific and I fly-sparge. A HERMS would be cool and of course a SABCO would be the ultimate, but I would have a very difficult time justifying the expense of either, asI'm very pleased with the system I have. Although I brewed a lot of beer in a short period of time, that is not typical - it's just that I got lazy and did not follow my 'beer in stock at all times' protocol:
<UL>
<LI>4kegs filled and on tap</LI>
<LI>2 kegs filled, on CO2 (in the kegerator) in 'reserve'</LI>
<LI>2 carboys with the next batches bulk-aging*</LI>
<LI>Immediately brew another batch when one of th carboys gets racked into an empty keg.</LI>[/list]


Had I been following that protocol,I would not have to have made 6new batches all at once in anticpation of a large number of guests coming over in 6 weeks or so. So I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the system I have makes great beer and I really don't make THAT much beer a year. I routinely get 80-85% efficiencies and am very comfortable with the equipment I'm using.
- GL63


*Try to bulk-age a beer a month or two (or three!) before starting to drink it and find out what you've been missing! Make sure to top-off the carboys with CO2 to ensure you do not oxidize your beer. And I'm not talking really heavy beers here -the improvement thata little bulk-aging will do to even a moderate (1.045 - 1.060) gravity beer is remarkable. Of course, try to keep it on the cool side - my basement is between 60-65 F most of the year.

 

[smurfe]

Your set up sounds just like mine. I use rubbermaid coolers, stainless steel false bottom, fly sparge. I started with a regular rectangular cooler. Did OK but had lower efficiency. I now hit 90% routinely with the current setup. I just want automation with the pumps to dial in on consistency.

 

[Frank&Rita]

I "brewed" my IPA with my homegrown Cascade hops last weekend, I used 3 cans of malt, and 30 oz of honey I had laying around, and a whole bunch of hops, starting SG 1.076.

 

[JWMINNESOTA]

Got to love the smell of beer brewing. Starting a IPA and Bohemian Dark Lager today, cold and snowy outside, brew time!

 

[smurfe]

Frank, that is gonna be an Imperial IPA if it attenuates good. Might of wanted to pitch 2 packets of that yeast, which BTW is a great yeast for that beer. I have been using the heck out of that dry Fermentis US-05 yeast. Hope she gets down low enough for ya. I love an IPA. You have any idea how many ounces of hops you had there? Did you add them all at once?

 

[Wade E]

Frank, are those your hops?

 

[grapeman]

Frank, are those your hops?

I "brewed" my IPA with my homegrown Cascade hops last weekend, I used 3 cans of malt, and 30 oz of honey I had laying around, and a whole bunch of hops, starting SG 1.076.

Wake up Wade! You must be tired after shoveling again

Sorry Bud, I'm getting a bit loopy staring at white out the windows...........Edited by: appleman

 

[Wade E]

Yeh, it might help if I actually read the post but there was slobber all over the screen!

 

[Jeff D]

The son in-law and I brewed a 10 gallon batch on the 20th. I found 26 lbs of grain that I had ground sometime in the past, with no idea of what the specialty grains might be. I hope it's not the best beer I ever made, since there is no way to reproduce it.


Jeff

 

[Frank&Rita]

Frank, that is gonna be an Imperial IPA if it attenuates good. Might of wanted to pitch 2 packets of that yeast, which BTW is a great yeast for that beer. I have been using the heck out of that dry Fermentis US-05 yeast. Hope she gets down low enough for ya. I love an IPA. You have any idea how many ounces of hops you had there? Did you add them all at once?

Between one and two ounces, plus some from last year that were vacuum packed (not much though) The ferment took off fast and is sitting still now, I'm going to bottle it to condition rather than keg it I think. I added 1/2 the hops at the start, and 1/4 at 30 minutes, went for a total of 90 minutes and added the last 1/4 hops 1 minute before cooling.

 

[Frank&Rita]

Bottled the Imperial IPA today, SG 1.012, 8%ABV, looked pretty good, bottle conditioning. I put it up in bottles so I could make some labels, I'll post a picture when I get time.
I also started a double batch of ginger beer in the minibrew yesterday, I'm not impressed with the Minibrew 15gal. as of yet, when I bottled the white wine the otherday I was scooping it out of the cone with a cup to try to get the last gallon out, the bottom outlet valve had plugged with yeast and my two kits came up 3 to 4 bottles short. Good thing I have a MiniJet filter. Hopefully it works better for beer, it was an expensive test.