405 replies to this topic

[Shervz0r]

Sunday evening we were treated to Nick's red ale, which was fantastic! Kudos to him for his second brew...see, now that you had a homebrew to drink while brewing the Red, you could follow Papazian's advice.

Don't worry, have a homebrew!


Tomorrow evening I'll be hitting up the homebrew headquarters (aka Steve and Aaron's apartment) to watch another all-grain brew in action, probably an American pale ale. He also picked up some interesting beer from Michigan (among them a blueberry stout and a cherry stout), which may prove tasty!


God, how could anyone NOT love beer? Nectar of the gods, that's what it is.

[DoctorShumway]

That's cool, mig. I've found homebrewer's love to talk about their craft. When I went in to get my first run of supplies, the guy at the shop that helped me suggested getting the kit only because of cost. He said upgrading to carboys later would be easier on the pocket. I didn't want to use buckets either, just because of everything I read about scratches and such. Really though, if you're careful, I don't know how you could really scratch up the inside of the buckets. Unless you are mixing the yeast in with a sword.

So a quick update: Red ale is finished and is a success I think. Much smoother than the IPA. It's pretty cloudy (however, not as much as the IPA) and not really red per se, but whatever. It's pretty damn tasty. I can clearly see how the things that I learned from my first beer really helped the brewing of this one.

With these two batches being consumed at a brisk pace, I'm going to choose a receipe and brew sometime next week. I'm not going to use one of the kits this time and I'm currently leaning towards trying a summer ale clone. I expect even better things out of this one, especially now that I have some good sanitizer and a larger strainer.

Raub: try searching Yellowpages.com

[raubhimself]

awesome, i'll check it.

[mig50]

my current homebrewing goal(s):

1. buy a kit in a month or two, and make my first batch.
2. brew a smoked porter

[ChristineMFer]

john and I need to brew again.. we're running low on english ale so it's definitely time to brew. mig, we will save you one. I'm sure you'd like to taste your work. When you coming out to PHX again? sorry side tracked.. so yeah we need to brew again..any suggestions ? So far John and I have made an ipa, pale ale, english ale, orange hefe and honey crystal ale. It's practically summer in Az so I'd like to do something refreshing.

also, has anyone ever gotten an Iodaphor flavor in their beer? I taste this occasionally?

[DoctorShumway]

also, has anyone ever gotten an Iodaphor flavor in their beer? I taste this occasionally?

I've only use it for sanitization once and I was absolutely terrified it would alter the flavor, since the only directions the homebrew store gave me was "It's trial and error. Add a tablespoon for 5 gallons, then add a little more until it turns a straw color." Great, thanks.

I'm getting really anxious to brew again, especially now that this thread is heating up again. This weekend I'll be in NYC, so maybe I'll brew on Wednesday. I'm now thinking I'm going to brew a basic light ale, but add in some extra flavors I've seen in other receipes to give it a more summery taste.

[Shervz0r]

What's in a Sam Adams summer ale? That may be one worthy to clone. I have a book of 150 clonebrews, so if anyone wants the recipe that it has just let me know!

[woodman]

I don't think i've had an iodaphore taste - yet - i'm pretty careful about how I go through it - you're supposed to let anything that sits in it 'air dry', and some people rinse with distilled water after soaking for a few minutes... there's another product that requires no rinsing etc., but it's expensive. I just bought the mother-fucking giant bottle of the iodine death serum so i'm set with that shit for the next ten years. woo!

[DoctorShumway]

you're supposed to let anything that sits in it 'air dry'

They never told me this at the store. Thankfully, since I was so terrified of the stuff, I let it dry out before I bottled or else I probably would have gotten that taste.

[woodman]

eh, i wouldn't worry about it - i'm sure it doesn't have to be completely dry to be ok - you just don't want to dump a shipload right into the beer. has anyone met the other guy that works with ken at homebrew depot? he seems pretty nice, although a little bit TOO excited about beer.

[Shervz0r]

Brewing with Brewmaster Aaron last night was a lot of fun. We whipped up a batch of American Pale Ale via the all-grain process, which took roughly 4 hours. Definitely much longer than a partial grain or kit, but interesting nonetheless. In the meantime, we sampled some tasty treats:

• Founders Brewery's Devil's Dancer
  Wow, this was a TRIPLE IPA! Neither of us had ever had one, and it was fantastic! Very hoppy, but not harsh at all and it left an extremely pleasant aftertaste. I loved it.
• Dark Horse Brewery's Blueberry Stout
  It took a number of sips to realize the blueberry taste, which was a bit lacking, but as a stout it was very nice. No bitterness, full body, and a solid head. Highly recommended just for the stoutiness!
• Kuhnhenn Brewery's Creme Brulee Java Stout
  THIS was interesting! We had no clue as to what we should expect, and it was a bit of a let down to see less than a millimeter of head while we poured. Upon tasting it, it was a blast! Not something I would or could drink frequently, and I would compare it to a dessert wine in sweetness. Imagine a coffee stout with vanilla added, with a hint of something I can't place. Sadly, the aftertaste was gross, almost filmy on the tongue. Aaron thought that there might be some kind of additional sugar added (he knew the name, I forget it now...) that added to the creamy consistency, similar to a milk stout.

He convinced me to try to make a Belgian White Ale, and I have 4 books to leaf through to find a recipe I like. I love this hobby!!

What was really cool was that we bottled his last batch of single hop beer, completing a series of 6 different brews. It's a cool idea to create a series of brews and then have them all ready to be sampled side by side, something I would like to try later down the road.

Oh yeah, regarding the iodophore....since it's a no-rinse sanitizer, the belief is that once you remove it from whatever you are sanitizing, the very miniscule remnant will impart no flavor on the brew (and no hazard to the consumer). I suppose it depends on how much you dilute it and all that, but I think Woody nails it

[woodman]

Bottling shall happen thursday, I hope, for the Minibrau Hefe - should have done it sunday but kittens intervened. ah, can't wait for CARBONIZATION.


...bump

[DoctorShumway]

I'm probably going to try and brew a summer ale this weekend. Ideally I'd like to brew a basic white ale and add in some flavors that I've found in other receipes. Not really sure how that's going to work out, but that's the fun of it I suppose. I'm going to Minnesota for two weeks at the end of June and I was planning to make 2 batches of homebrew to bring with me out there (for the annual 4th of July BBQ that happens.) I'd like to try the summer ale receipe before I commit to making it for my trip, as the timing is going to be tight regarding brewing/traveling. The other brew I'm going to make is probably a basic knock-off. Perhaps a Labatt's clone. I know that kind of defeats the purpose of making good homebrew, but I'm not dealing with the most refined tastes out there. I want to have a good "high-end" type brew for those who like beer, and a decent "general" beer for people who just want to drink.

As a side note, Monday I watched "Good Eats", the Alton Brown show on Food Network, and the episode was about homebrewing. It was a really good episode and he had some interesting techniques. For example, he uses 7 lbs of ice in place of one gallon of water when preparing the brew. He adds that to the fermenter and then strains the wort into it, rather than waiting for the batch to cool down. Basically by cooling it this way, he's able to keep the wort as sterile as possible, as it won't sit out more than necessary. I may try that on my next batch to see if it makes any difference.

[mikemfer]

Perhaps a Labatt's clone.

Good luck cloning a lager beer without lagering equipment and a lot of time. You might want to do a pale ale or maybe something light with honey instead if you're looking for something that average beer drinkers will like.

The ice technique is not too far from what John and I do. We put 3 gallons of water in the freezer when we start brewing and dump it in the carboy right before we strain the wort in. Usually it's just starting to freeze. We also will set the brew pot in a sink of ice water to cool it down some first.

We bought a video off the Nomeansno guys called "All Grain Brewing with Johnny Hanson", and he uses a wort chiller to cool his wort. I think that and an auto-siphon top my wish list right now.

[Shervz0r]

Definitely snag an Autosiphon, they're lik $5 or so. The Thief is a great tool too, quick and easy hydrometer readings.


Lagering shouldn't be too difficult if you can find a spot that is in the right temperature range...you may be lucky and have a closet or door-to-the-porch or something that hangs around that temperature. That's what my friend uses, the back stairwell in his house.

A wort chiller would be rad...and not too hard to make, apparently. I remember seeing some plans for one made out of that pink insulating foam somewhere online....I think that was a chiller, now I'm actually not too sure.


I have decreed that all of my homebrew must be finished before I move on the 27th or so....hey Phoenicians, any of you guys interested in a bottle or two of Anchorsteam and/or Newcastle clones? I can send a few with Colin and Steph