Search found 11 matches

by The Professor
Wed Mar 14, 2012 1:09 am
Forum: Ingredients, Kits & Recipes
Topic: McEwan's Scotch Ale
Replies: 2
Views: 28769

I haven't seen McEwan's Scotch for quite some time. The brands have been acquired by another brewery recently from what I understand, so who knows...we may see it again. If you're looking to reproduce it, all I can say is mash at a higher temp, aim for a high OG, and use a yeast that will finish at ...
by The Professor
Wed Mar 14, 2012 1:04 am
Forum: Brewing Problems, Emergencies, Help!
Topic: Too long in secondary?
Replies: 4
Views: 14041

My Barleywine/Burton Ale, my strong Porters, my Ballantine IPA clone, and usually my Scotch Ales routinely spend from 6 months to a year in secondary. To me, it is essential for getting the character I want from these brews. Even beers that aren't hi-test brews like these will be unharmed by a long ...
by The Professor
Mon Dec 27, 2010 3:39 pm
Forum: Tasting & Experiencing
Topic: Bottle conditioning vs force carbing
Replies: 1
Views: 10733

I've not experienced any difference in quality of force carbonated vs. bottle conditioned...in fact I have even bottled beer that has been force carbonated, and it has never affected the beer (even strong ones which stay in bottle for a year or more). As a result, I stopped all bottle conditioning m...
by The Professor
Wed Jan 06, 2010 10:37 pm
Forum: Tasting & Experiencing
Topic: micro brews and hops
Replies: 2
Views: 12696

Most American microbrew Oktoberfest beer is crap...overhopped and overdone. I am not a 'style nazi' by any means, but these days folks do play fast and loose with tradition regarding these styles. brewpubs seem to be the worst offenders (and make the worst beer). Unfortunately, it's true that a whol...
by The Professor
Wed Jan 06, 2010 10:30 pm
Forum: BeerTools Pro Bug Reports
Topic: Style Error
Replies: 2
Views: 8474

Ignore the "style" issues. The various brew software I've used has been strictly to help calculate percentages and estimate end results...the "style" tips are largely useless. Really, the biggest problem with most brewing software is the fact that the databases are tied to BJCP g...
by The Professor
Sat Mar 14, 2009 9:52 am
Forum: Ingredients, Kits & Recipes
Topic: Lt. Munich as a base malt
Replies: 1
Views: 5422

Munich is a great base malt...that is, after all, how it is used in Germany. As far as it being a "sweeter" finish, it doesn't necessarily need to be so. It will finish with a "maltier" profile (definitely not a bad thing) but like any malt, you can manipulate the sweetness of it...
by The Professor
Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:54 am
Forum: Ingredients, Kits & Recipes
Topic: Molasses Porter?
Replies: 2
Views: 7598

Molasses (or alternatively, brown sugar) is great in a porter and even in some special bitters...but heed Legman's advice; it can be intense so you don't want to go overboard. You may have to experiment to find the right threshold for the profile you're after. But it does really compliment a good po...
by The Professor
Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:35 pm
Forum: Tasting & Experiencing
Topic: I found some Ballentine XXX
Replies: 2
Views: 16130

Re: Don't Confuse This Brew With The Legendary Ballentine's.

The beer you picked up is not the same as the Ballentine's of legend... Historical accounts of this beer noted it as a moderately caramely, high bitterness (by US standards of the day) Pale Ale, and by some an IPA.... The Ballantine Ale sold today is nothing at all like the original brew, which was...
by The Professor
Mon Feb 02, 2009 12:03 pm
Forum: Tasting & Experiencing
Topic: Brewers sensatized to hops? Noooo.
Replies: 10
Views: 71187

Seems to happen a lot. The BJCP's guidelines list itself has gotten out of hand over the years, with the expanding list of "styles" getting a bit silly. But yes...it would not be so bad if the judges would keep in mind that the guidelines are just that, guidelines that are not carved in st...
by The Professor
Mon Feb 02, 2009 12:01 am
Forum: Tasting & Experiencing
Topic: Brewers sensatized to hops? Noooo.
Replies: 10
Views: 71187

Lots of beers these days are simply over-hopped. I never thought I would say that, but it is unfortunately true. Odd thing is, the very highly hopped beers that were available 40 years ago were a "niche" product (and there were some great ones...I know because I sought them out and drank t...
by The Professor
Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:49 pm
Forum: General
Topic: being patient
Replies: 5
Views: 11499

Very hoppy beers very definitely do benefit from longer aging. Granted, there are some folks that enjoy the harsh, green flavors of a young highly hopped beer...perhaps they have become accustomed to that flavor profile due to simple impatience at the thought of letting the brew age, or from experie...