[I Are Baboon]

Currently in primary: Cherry stout (wife request)
On deck: British IPA
Just ordered: Witbier (wife request)


Stay thirsty, my friends.

 

[TN]

I approve!

we got a holiday spiced ale in primary & a batch of apfelwein going right now too.
will be bottling the holiday ale this weekend.

I just read a recipe for Joe's Ancient Orange Mead I want to try soon.

 

[dhmike]

the holiday spice ale sounds good TN . IAB i know it's your wife's request but cherry stout .

 

[binary visions]

So how many of these do you think are going to fail to carbonate?

I'm taking bets. Odds are 2:1 that 1 out of 3 beers fail. 3:1 that the cherry stout tastes like cough syrup. 5:1 that IAB exposes himself to a female coworker at the company Christmas party.

 

[BadDNA]

So how many of these do you think are going to fail to carbonate?

I'm taking bets. Odds are 2:1 that 1 out of 3 beers fail. 3:1 that the cherry stout tastes like cough syrup. 5:1 that IAB exposes himself to a female coworker at the company Christmas party.

I'm going to have to sit down with IAB and watch him brew some day. I haven't had nearly the amount of problems he seems to have. I learned from some pretty capable guys though, I think IAB is more or less self taught. We'll have to see what's throwing his beer to hell so often.

 

[I Are Baboon]

the holiday spice ale sounds good TN . IAB i know it's your wife's request but cherry stout .

Heh...I sort of agree. I won't be drinking too many of those myself.

So how many of these do you think are going to fail to carbonate?

I'm taking bets. Odds are 2:1 that 1 out of 3 beers fail. 3:1 that the cherry stout tastes like cough syrup. 5:1 that IAB exposes himself to a female coworker at the company Christmas party.

Shut up, ass badger. I only seem to be struggling with high octane beers. The four batches of 1065 OG and lower have all been great.

I'm going to have to sit down with IAB and watch him brew some day. I haven't had nearly the amount of problems he seems to have. I learned from some pretty capable guys though, I think IAB is more or less self taught. We'll have to see what's throwing his beer to hell so often.

We can talk shop this weekend.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Here are all the batches I've made so far, in order:

Barleywine: so-so
double IPA #1: so-so
bourbon porter: success
Celebration Ale clone (IPA): success
vanilla coffee porter: success
double IPA #2: god awful and undrinkable (only batch so far that didn't carbonate)
oatmeal stout: success
cherry stout: in primary

 

[BikeGeek]

I just read a recipe for Joe's Ancient Orange Mead I want to try soon.

Use a wine yeast. I tried the recipe as written years ago and it sucked. It had tons of potential: nice aroma, good progression of flavors from the orange and spices, but the taste finished like a biscuit. I also think it needs a lot more time to mellow, it was really hot from the alcohol.

 

[BikeGeek]

I only seem to be struggling with high octane beers. The four batches of 1065 OG and lower have all been great.

I'd love to know what happened to that one batch. High abv beers will carb with enough time. We had 3 bbls (93 gallons) of trippel that went in to oak at 11% where brett. lambicus chewed on it for 2 years taking the abv up to 11.5-12%. We bottled it in July, pitching fresh yeast (2mil cells/ml, roughly equivalent to adding half a tube of white labs to a 5 gal batch at bottling) and priming with table sugar. It took a while, but we finally got a very satisfying "pop" as we removed a cork yesterday.

 

[pnj]

Hmmm....

I bottled an APA last weekend, just dry hopped a different APA and this weekend will probably be doing an IPA this weekend. Starting to build my stash back up.

 

[pnj]

Brewday went well yesterday. I'm no longer chilling my wort so that cuts an hour out of my brewing time, which is nice. As it is, it takes me over 4 hours including clean up. I made a RWS (real wort starter) using the wort as my liquid and pitched my yeast into that. I'll be pitching the yeast into my fermentor in a few hours when the temp drops down a bit more.

fun stuff.

 

[SkaredShtles]

Ass badger...

 

[I Are Baboon]

BadDNA tried out my two FailBeers this past weekend. He suspects the yeast never fired up.

 

[TN]

What was wrong with your so-so beers? Just didn't turn out how you hoped or were they flawed in any way?

 

[I Are Baboon]

What was wrong with your so-so beers? Just didn't turn out how you hoped or were they flawed in any way?

"So-so" on the barleywine was being kind. That and the 2nd double IPA are absolutely putrid. I really don't know what I did wrong. I am drain-pouring the double IPA batch now and I can't even stand the smell of it.

I dunno.

I know I underpitched the yeast on the first double IPA, but at least that one is drinkable. In fact, it's all gone.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

the holiday spice ale sounds good TN . IAB i know it's your wife's request but cherry stout .

Sam Adams Cherry Wheat rocks - so I believe in the cherry stout!

 

[I Are Baboon]

ok, now I am all sorts of confused. As I am popping these bottles of DIPA and pouring them down the drain, I've been pouring every third bottle or so into a glass to check for carbonation. No luck, until I popped this last bomber. It had all sorts of carbonation...almost overcarbonated. And the pisser is that it actually tastes pretty good and has a beautiful color. It makes me think maybe I just didn't stir the bottling bucket enough. Could my problem really be that simple? I always fill the bombers last, after all the 12oz bottles are filled.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Here the double IPA I just poured. Notice the CARBONATION. I'm going to savor the hell out of this fifty dollar glass of beer.

 

[binary visions]

Didn't you take my suggestion and add carbonation tabs to a few bottles? In which case that should have added sufficient sugar if the yeasties were still active... Weird that this one bottle clearly had the yeast to carbonate the sugar.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Didn't you take my suggestion and add carbonation tabs to a few bottles? In which case that should have added sufficient sugar if the yeasties were still active... Weird that this one bottle clearly had the yeast to carbonate the sugar.

Yeah, I was thinking about that after posting that previous message. I added carb tabs to four bottles earlier and still got no carbonation. I even put two bottles in our utility room, which is usually in the high 70's, and no luck. I don't know what makes this one bottle so special. I've put that glass in the freezer and we'll see how it tastes in an hour. As weird as it sounds, I'll feel a little better about one decent fifty dollar glass of beer over a total failure.

 

[I Are Baboon]

I brewed the IPA today and added some hops and grains to the kit. Recipe for disaster, I'm sure.

Cherry stout in secondary on the left (just a stout right now), today's IPA to the right.

Shut up, haters. My cats will stab you in the neck.

 

[pnj]

Could my problem really be that simple?

I'm thinking yes...

 

[RUFUS]

I are Baboon,
where are you located again?

Can you recommend me a quality home brew kit or maybe a list of materials that you have been happy with?

I do not want to do the cheesy, plastic bucket kit.

 

[pnj]

I do not want to do the cheesy, plastic bucket kit.

Some of the best beer in the world is done in plastic buckets. unless you are talking about Mr. Beer, those generally suck.

northernbrewer
morebeer
austinhomebrew
rebelbrewer
brewmasterswarehouse

all sell good kits to get you started.

 

[RUFUS]

Some of the best beer in the world is done in plastic buckets. unless you are talking about Mr. Beer, those generally suck.

northernbrewer
morebeer
austinhomebrew
rebelbrewer
brewmasterswarehouse

all sell good kits to get you started.

That is what I meant. Thanks for the starter list.

 

[I Are Baboon]

My wife bought me this starter kit from northernbrewer.com with glass carboys.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/starter-kits/deluxe-beer-starter-kit.html

I've only been at this for 10 months.

 

[binary visions]

The brewing I've done has been with a friend's kit... On my project list is to piece together my own kit and I plan on using Better Bottles.

They seem to get great reviews, are lightweight (good for me with an apartment without much storage space - I can toss them places I couldn't put glass), and can be had in a ported variety which makes the actual transfer process much easier.

Anyone used them with anything positive or negative to say?

 

[BadDNA]

That is what I meant. Thanks for the starter list.

Go visit these guys, just down the road from you: http://vermonthomebrew.com/default.aspx

I've never been to them myself but homebrew suppliers on a whole tend to be pretty friendly. They'll be your best resource for tips, advice, gear and supplies.

 

[pnj]

The brewing I've done has been with a friend's kit... On my project list is to piece together my own kit and I plan on using Better Bottles.

They seem to get great reviews, are lightweight (good for me with an apartment without much storage space - I can toss them places I couldn't put glass), and can be had in a ported variety which makes the actual transfer process much easier.

Anyone used them with anything positive or negative to say?

I have one. it is much lighter then the glass carboy I have. The ported ones aren't worth the extra cost, in my opinion. I use an auto syphon to transfer my beer.

 

[TN]

IRB- Are you going to bottle any of that stout without the cherry extract?

 

[I Are Baboon]

IRB- Are you going to bottle any of that stout without the cherry extract?

I wasn't planning on it. The extract gets added to the bottling bucket right before siphoning the beer from the secondary fermenter. I suppose I could add the extract as the final step but I don't think it would mix as well.

 

[TN]

I wasn't planning on it. The extract gets added to the bottling bucket right before siphoning the beer from the secondary fermenter. I suppose I could add the extract as the final step but I don't think it would mix as well.

Oh, OK. I see. But you can decide on how 'cherry' you want it by adding more or less to the bottling bucket, eh?

 

[I Are Baboon]

Oh, OK. I see. But you can decide on how 'cherry' you want it by adding more or less to the bottling bucket, eh?

Yeah but that would require thinking. I'm just going to dump the whole bottle in. It's a small bottle.

 

[TN]

Have fun bottling!

This weekend I am going to buy a cornie keg all the stuff to start kegging our brews, although I may keg our apfelwein if it is ready before I get to brew again.

 

[BadDNA]

Have fun bottling!

This weekend I am going to buy a cornie keg all the stuff to start kegging our brews, although I may keg our apfelwein if it is ready before I get to brew again.

Kegging is the way to go. I have 5 cornie kegs and a 5lb CO2 bottle with a dual regulator setup. I can carbonate and/or dispense two kegs at a time and have more on deck. It was a blast last summer at MF when we went through 4 kegs of homebrew in two nights.

Additionally, if you want to give some away as gifts, you can carbonate in the keg and dispense to bottles from there. I'll usually drop a couple of carb tabs in each bottle to make sure it's good and carb'ed up when it's opened.

 

[binary visions]

I was going to ask about that... when you keg, is it as easy as just filling up and capping some bottles if you want to give it away? I was reading some random comments about the carbonation disappearing very quickly when you bottle kegged beer.

 

[BadDNA]

I was going to ask about that... when you keg, is it as easy as just filling up and capping some bottles if you want to give it away? I was reading some random comments about the carbonation disappearing very quickly when you bottle kegged beer.

It's just about that simple. I have a piece of tubing that fits into the nozzle of my picnic tap, the other end is cut at a slant so the beer rolls out without as much turbulence. It also helps to keep the bottles as close to the beer temperature when you fill them. This all helps to fill the bottles without agitating the beer. I add the carb tabs if I'm not sure it'll be consumed right away, that's just for insurance.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Bottled the cherry stout today.

I also racked the IPA to secondary. That's 1 ounce of cascade leaf hops dry hopping.

This is my dog. She is a good dog.