Home brew

[Dartgod]

I know there are some other home brewers on here; Bwana and TJ for starters.

I'm brewing my first batch ever today. It's a German wheat. Looking forward to tasting this bad boy in about a month!

[KCUnited]

I can get started on a signup/style thread. Logistically I was thinking each person that's interested can post the top 2 styles they're interested in brewing, ranked #1 and #2, in the thread. I can update the OP with names and style preferences. If there's no definitive consensus, we can put it to a formal vote with a poll.

From there, we can decide on ABV/gravities. Then grains, hops, yeast, and so forth.

Once we have the recipe, we can create an official thread for the beer and consolidate informative links within the OP.

[phisherman]

Hazy IPA all the way.

[unlurking]

1) citrus ipa
2) belgian strong

[KCUnited]

**** it, I just created a poll.

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=307783

I kept it simple, so if you want another style that isn't listed, write it in. If IPA or Pale wins, we can have a discussion on west coast, hazy, dank, tropical, etc. afterwards.

[Marcellus]

On a side note I am in an Iron Brewers contest our local brewing club is doing.

Basically we came up with a list of ingredients, set up bracket and started a tournament.

You have to brew a beer using an ingredient randomly drawn from the list and you go head to head against another brewer making a beer using that same ingredient.

You both bring the beer to the monthly meeting and they do blind tastings and vote.

Anyway I think I lucked out as I ended up with Lemon Grass and have several ideas using that.

One of the ingredients on the list was yellow mustard. Imagine trying to make a beer and using mustard.

Rules state you must use the ingredient and you have to be able to taste it in the beer.

I saw another brew club's ingredient board for this same style contest and one of the ingredients was Cpt Crunch. Holy shit could you imagine.

[KCrockaholic]

Today is day 6 post brew. Did the citra hop yesterday. My Krausen has begun to fall off and I currently have a thin layer of green on top I'm sure due to the hop pellets expanding and disintegrating into the beer.

My current plan is to bottle on June 2nd. Then begin the next batch of something else on June 3rd. Hopefully June 2nd isn't too early.

[Nickhead]

moisture in the top of glass bottle, and small white floaters in the beer. i assume the caps didn't fit the bottle properly? (was my fear from the beginning that the bottles i used may not be the standard bottle top size).

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by KCrockaholic

Today is day 6 post brew. Did the citra hop yesterday. My Krausen has begun to fall off and I currently have a thin layer of green on top I'm sure due to the hop pellets expanding and disintegrating into the beer.

My current plan is to bottle on June 2nd. Then begin the next batch of something else on June 3rd. Hopefully June 2nd isn't too early.

June 2nd should be way past when you can bottle that beer unless its an imperial. Not sure why you would think it could be too early. Fermentation will be way done by then and thats a long dry hop. You wont hurt anything by going that long though.

If your next brew you are doing a beer using the same kind of yeast you can literally dump the beer onto that yeast cake in the fermenter after you rack off of it to bottle that beer. Save you some time and $ on yeast and will work fine 2 or 3 times.

I often take the yeast cake and trub off the bottom of my fermenter and put it it into sanitized mason jars and save it in the fridge for beers I make later.

[KCrockaholic]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

June 2nd should be way past when you can bottle that beer unless its an imperial. Not sure why you would think it could be too early. Fermentation will be way done by then and thats a long dry hop. You wont hurt anything by going that long though.

If your next brew you are doing a beer using the same kind of yeast you can literally dump the beer onto that yeast cake in the fermenter after you rack off of it to bottle that beer. Save you some time and $ on yeast and will work fine 2 or 3 times.

I often take the yeast cake and trub off the bottom of my fermenter and put it it into sanitized mason jars and save it in the fridge for beers I make later.

Very very interesting on the yeast idea. I hadn't heard of anyone doing that before.

I've been reading about people who bottled too early and their beers ended up being duds or bottle bombs. I feel like I should just bottle once I have the same hydro reading 2 or 3 days in a row rather than worrying about a set amount of days.

[KCUnited]

Take a couple gravity readings if you can. If they're consecutive, it's done.

[KCrockaholic]

I made a honey wheat today. Felt seamless, and went very natural. My OG came out to 1.060! Seems high for a wheat beer, but I'm not complaining, this was a successful brew day. I have a smoked Saison coming up in a couple weeks and can't wait to tackle that one.

[KCUnited]

Brewed my first beer since breaking my neck back in September. I set out to ease back into it with a straight forward WC IPA, but my homebrew shop was out of WY1056, so I took a flyer on an English strain (WY1332).

In the vein of March Madness and the local schools still left, here's the keg sample of...Juice Weber.

[srvy]

Originally Posted by KCUnited

Brewed my first beer since breaking my neck back in September. I set out to ease back into it with a straight forward WC IPA, but my homebrew shop was out of WY1056, so I took a flyer on an English strain (WY1332).

In the vein of March Madness and the local schools still left, here's the keg sample of...Juice Weber.

My God really? That deserves a thread in itself.

[KCUnited]

Originally Posted by srvy

My God really? That deserves a thread in itself.

Eh, I've talked about it a few times. It's a pretty tame story, especially compared to what some others on CP seem to be dealing with.

Anyway, the hardest part was that I couldn't lift over 5lbs for 5 months, so I couldn't brew. So I thought A LOT about brewing, specifically lagers, which is where I'd like to focus now that I'm back in the game.

[KCUnited]

Also, if anyone cares, Juicy or Hazy IPA/DIPAs are now official styles according to the Brewers Association:

Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale

• Color: Straw to deep gold
• Clarity: Low to very high degree of cloudiness is typical of these beers. Starch, yeast, hop, protein and/or other compounds contribute to a wide range of hazy appearance within this category.
• Perceived Malt Aroma & Flavor: Low to low-medium malt aroma and flavor may be present
• Perceived Hop Aroma & Flavor: Medium-high to very high hop aroma and flavor are present, with attributes typical of hops from any origin
• Perceived Bitterness: Medium-low to medium
• Fermentation Characteristics: Low to medium fruity-estery aroma and flavor may be present, but are usually overwhelmed by hop fruitiness. Diacetyl should not be perceived.
• Body: Medium-low to medium-high. Perceived silky or full mouthfeel may contribute to overall flavor profile.

Additional notes: Grist may include a small amount of oat, wheat or other adjuncts to promote haziness. Descriptors such as “juicy” are often used to describe the taste and aroma hop-derived attributes present in these beers.

• Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.060-1.070(14.7-17.1 °Plato)
• Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.016(2.0-4.1 °Plato)
• Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 5.0%-6.0%(6.3%-7.5%)
• Bitterness (IBU) 50-70; may differ from perceived bitterness
• Color SRM (EBC) 4-7(8-14 EBC)