BeerTools Discussion Forum

Chocolate malt is different to crystal and is like a lighter roasted barley in appearance.You probably have it in the states but under a different name.Crystal is named such because it cryatalises the endosperm during malting,this malt has previously germinated by being soaked prior.Chocolate on the...

OK, roasted has no extract qualities anyway, so you can use this to add a dryness to the product,the other 2 malts do however,but they are in tiny amounts,Personally i would add all the grains to the boil in order for their flavour qualities alone and put up with a little haze from the chocolate and...

I use a mill but most grainers i know get theirs crushed with a coffee grinder, Make sure it is set to "course" so as not to produce too much powder,It will chop the grain in half rather than crush it open but it does expose the mashable bits well.They work well, go right ahead.

Fraoch

I made a "fraoch" once and it was based on a recipe that called for a "couple of cups" of heather flowers if you can get them.I used 2 ounces for a 5 gal batch and steeped them post boil.No point in boiling as they have no bitterness value worth having just a floral mouth taste a...

Spot on, Fitz, if you get Sheaf Stout then you are a fortunate bloke,i live in Queensland and it is only available in New South Wales. So a trip over the border is required to get the odd bottle.It truly is a fine stout and is one of my favourites.But im sorry, i cannot in any way imaginable agree w...

Ive been trying to contact you also!!!!!!! If you look back through the posts, others have too.our computer crashed so we got a new one but managed to transfer the farmerjim email address but nothing came back. Figured id either upset you or your computer was no more. Good to see you back!!Got the o...

Demarara sugar is the light brown, non sticky stuff you get given with a cappuccino,and as previously stated it is normal sugar that has a small amount of molasses added.Your kneck of the woods may be different but at your local supermarket you should be able to find white sugar( hard white stuff),l...

Is it just me, or are others suspicious when the price of a carton of beer goes up by exactly $1?I mean dont get me wrong, if it wasnt for XXXX i would never have started brewing my own( thanks guys!). As a homebrewer I have NEVER been able to source locally grown barley as XXXX make sure none else ...

Dry hopping used to be done at the stage of kegging in naturally primed beers, in that a part of 2ndary is allowed to commence and according to the recipe the green beer would be racked off to the cask with an appropriate a mount of hops ( normally noble, ie Golding, Fuggle etc),sealed and allowed t...

Being hot and humid, it is far preferential for me to freeze the grain than to have sitting around.I seem to remember a previous post by yourself reccomending freezing which is why i started doing it in the first place!!Its all airtight and blah blah so its a great way for me to store left over grai...

I notice that when the grain is crushed whilst still frozen it shatters into 2mm or so particles with very little powder or flour produced.this then gives me a much larger surface area ratio and therefore a greater yield and as yet no set mash.As for cleaning the rollers on my grain mill, i havent n...

OK, i normally get a very good mash efficiency anyway, around 85 - 90%, but for the last 2 brews ive used grain that has been stored in the freezer, i crack it whilst still semi frozen and mash the next day,the results are phenominal as my efficiency has risen by 5% or more, hitting 99 and 97% respe...

Dortmunder Union ? became Dortmunder Union Kroner.Unfortunately this most excellent brew lost its magic with the upgrade. No doubt the recipe or the original reason why this beer was so good is now lost unless someone knows the change in recipe,mash schedule,yeast,grain bill etc that changed this be...

Cheers for the 20c hydrometer calibrations Jeff, much appreciated by us 20c'ers.Also REALLY good to know that this site is ever evolving and that user interaction is alive and healthy.Makes a top site shine above any other,
Great stuff, Gavin

I filter all my water prior to use through a .001 micron filter,this necessitates the nead to boil, which i used to do.When filtered and then boiled there are no solids present when cooled. Ill try the phosphoric next time. I think my water may contain "buffers" which i am led to believe a...