BeerTools Discussion Forum

Well, there have been more odd ideas that actually made it into production... dehydrated beer is one that comes to mind! Here are my thoughts which are subjective: Impressions of beer flavor are dependant on a number of factors among which are alcohol and carbonation. The alcohol would carry over in...

I had spoken with one of the LAGER members (I forgot his name) who had told me it was a BJCP event, not AHA. Maybe he meant he was BJCP? I'm not sure. I used to brew and live in their territory while at Main Street Brewing in Evansville, IN. I used to see a number of thier members who sorta "cr...

Sevomyces is actually not new... it was developed in Germany as a Reinhetz. compliant yeast nutrient in the 70's. It has been available under the Servomyces brand name from White Labs in 10 and 500 gram quantities to pro brewers for over 5 years. It only recently became available to home brewers bec...

Dave; In response to: "...when the beer is poured and ready to drink, there is a slight smell like antiseptic (a bit like the background smell you get in hospitals). " This is the hallmark of an infection created by bacterium that create phenolic compounds that leave this aroma and sometim...

Radler; StarSan is one of many brands of acid anonic sanitizers, not a cleaner. It only has a very slight ability to remove inorganic soils. Brewing residuals on utensiles are virutally always organic. This is where alkaline cleaners are to be used. If you need to soak clean items, always use alkali...

I'm sorry to see no one answered this sooner, but if it is not too late: Steeping bags have a variety of uses... fruit, spice & hop entrainment, specialty grain steeping and more exotic things like holding a crushed up chicken (bones and all) for making Cock Ale! (I did this as a historical expe...

Bill; In your case, this is actually the way to go. Ionic exchange does simply what it says.... swaps one set of ions for another. In the case of water softeners, this is one salt for another. Softened water is completly unsuitable for brewing. R/O water is also, but unlike softened water, it can be...

What was the gravity when you transferred from the primary to the secondary? You noted "This batch had a lot of hops in it and some orange peel, amounting to almost 2 inches of sludge at the bottom". If you decanted off of all of this from the primary, this would not be an issue. You comme...

Congrats on your placing at the KY State Fair! It must have been quite a good beer. Strong Ale is an English and American style category though. You mentioned the intended style was a Scottish Wee Heavy, which under BJCP classifications is a 9E - Strong Scotch Ale. The competition you entered was ju...

Scott; Here are the remaining producers of traditional Brown Malt available in the US: Crisp Maltings, LTD: 3.0% Moisture, 60-90 Lovibond, 76.5% Extract, Fine Grind Thomas Fawcett & Sons, LTD: 3.0% Moisture, 55-70 Lovibond, 71% Extract, Fine Grind You could also buy raw barley and produce it you...

Steve; Replies to your query: "...put it in the frige to carbonate for two more" At normal refrigeration temperatures, very little if any carbonation can occur. "I wanted to know if this is long enough aging considering how heavey this beer is at 1.110 and 14%ABV." Was that 9 mon...

What yeast did you use? Odds are you under-pitched by a long shot if it was an appropriate strain. When this is done it can lead to ethanol stress in high gravity beers. When a fermentation lingers it can result in doubling the problem. After reading the progression, I'd bet this is what occured. Th...

The only reason that famous Stout uses flaked barley is because it is such a low gravity beer it has little to base head formation on. The nitrogen helps to enhance the heading even further. Unless you are brewing a beer in such a low gravity fashion or with body lightening adjuncts, proper brewing ...

If you want to recreate the Becks flavor as we know it in the states, you have to include corn in the grist. The bitterness is also lowered to more closely match American preferences. Only in Germany is it all malt. Another problem you may run into trying to impress your Becks friend is that unless ...

Wow... it really seems so far what you are describing is not a traditional UK Porter (regardless of the label) but rather a Porter that has been handled to produce a hybrid of flavors between a Porter and an Old Ale. If so, most of the rules for producing a Porter are off! No wonder you've been havi...