You Can’t Do That! It Won’t Work for F**k Sake!

[GuingesRock]

Why is it that people can sip a glass of wine at 12% and not beer at 9.5%. Maybe 9.5% just isn’t quite strong enough. People can take tiny sips of neat scotch or brandy. Maybe it takes practice and experience.

[Tony L]

Why is it that people can sip a glass of wine at 12% and not beer at 9.5%. Maybe 9.5% just isn’t quite strong enough. People can take tiny sips of neat scotch or brandy. Maybe it takes practice and experience.

Probably because beer is meant to be drank and not sipped.

Beer is for the masses and liquor and wine is for the Gentry.

[GuingesRock]

Maybe you have it there Tony, but in the old days, according to Mitch Steel’s IPA book, the gentry drank the fine high ABV IPA beers. It was said to have been like champagne, with its clarity and fine bubbles.

[Tony L]

Maybe you have it there Tony, but in the old days, according to Mitch Steel’s IPA book, the gentry drank the fine high ABV IPA beers. It was said to have been like champagne, with its clarity and fine bubbles.

Yup, and us poor peasants drank the cheap stuff 2 and 3% ales.

[GuingesRock]

Before I kegged, I bottled, and I used wide-necked stainless steel drink bottles ($9.95 for a two-pack at Zellers). I liked them because with the wide necks, I could wash them with the dishes in the dishwasher at the end of the evening, and on bottling day I used to sanitize them in the dishwasher (on sanitize setting) with a little bleach. Now I put 1-step in the dishwasher instead of bleach. John Palmer has a theoretical concern about rinse-aid affecting the head on the beer (theoretically also applies to beer glasses - rinse-aid is a surfactant). You can not put rinse-aid in the dishwasher and use those soap tablets with the rinse aid in them instead when you need rinse-aid, if concerned about that. The drink bottles take a lot of pressure and there is no risk of exploding glass. They have silicone gaskets and hold pressure well for at least 2-3 weeks (didn’t try it for longer). Says on them “not dishwasher safe” but only because the enamel paint on the outside flakes of a bit after a while. You can get more expensive unpainted ones that do say dishwasher safe.

These things also make good growlers when you need to take kegged beer on the run.

Also: you can clean and sanitise them in the dishwasher, screw the caps on and they are ready to be filled with a Blichmann gun when needed.

[GuingesRock]

Thanks Sandy, If I remember right, you asked me if it was a "fruit beer" and I said "no, that's just the flavour from the hops". Sorry I got you a bit tipsy at breakfast time. Was really exciting to have a Brewnoser visit and try my beer. The one I just kegged is so good, full of "fruity" hop flavours, it is all FWH (with no other hopping) 8oz Cascade leaf and 8 oz Styrian Goldings pellet for 10 gallons into kegs, 9.5% ABV, grain bill half sack of MO and 1kg dextrose. Mash start temp 152F with free range mash. Best one yet! I was brewing that one when you were here 7 days ago picking up the English pump fittings. I hope the fittings worked out ok.

Recipe attached. Please report back here if you try it.

# 16 Extra (9.5% ABV with a kg of Dextrose to jack up the ABV)...it’s too sweet and tastes like it was made with pure extract a bit (but worse, I made much better extract beers before), I went off it in a big way. I almost lost my confidence in my brewing over that . I stopped drinking my beer!!! , although everyone else seems to like it ok (the first impression is the hops and I fell for that too). I thought my keg of #16 (8 %without the dextrose) had blown, but my wife discovered it was still working and I’m happy again I hadn’t added dextrose before and I don’t think I will again.

Edit: I was having a bad day...it isn't that bad, in fact I'm enjoying it again (#16 finally blew). I still prefer it without dextrose though.

[GuingesRock]

OK! 16 Extra (9.5% ABV and dangerous) has been in the keg for 2 weeks and it’s become really nice. Live and learn! I had to come in and post a picture of it by the fountain. That’s not my hand

Edit, I had given a keg to my father-in-law and just heard it's a big hit there as well.

[GuingesRock]

I’m having another go at the “overnight mash hop” tonight. RubberToe pointed out that since the last attempt was mash hopped only there wasn’t enough bitterness to balance the natural sweetness of the beer. I think he’s right and I did more reading on that. Also I am going to start the mash at 149F this time. BS calculates this one at 176 IBUs but I know from experience with similar brews, that it won’t taste anywhere near that high. There is a podcast on basic brewing radio where they tested IBUs and discovered that if hops are in for a full 1 hour boil, It doesn’t matter how many hops are in there, even if it is 10lbs, you won’t get above 50 IBUs (podcast here). Late hopping and dry hopping etc. adds more bitterness to that 50. I'm estimating 50 for this beer which has 1lb FWH and 1lb overnight mash hop for 10 gal.

I read that if the temperature of an overnight mash drops too much (below 130f), bacterial growth occurs, any bacteria that do grow are killed off in the boil but these bacteria can cause off flavours. I’m insulating this mash. It occurred to me that having a pound of hops (which are anti-bacterial) in the overnight mash, potentially might help guard against these off flavours occurring.

I just Googled antimicrobial effects of hops, and it seems they are highly bactericidal, even at low doses. That might be another argument in favour of leaving the hops in for the ferment.

[GuingesRock]

Canadian Home Brew Supplies advertises this as a “beer filtering kit” for $82.65. It looks like a basic water filter (normally around $27.99).

I wonder 1) if enough leaf hops could be packed around the filter for that to work as a Randall? 2) if pellet hops could be used in there because it has a fine filter? I read that pellet hops are more “grassy and resinous” when used for dry hopping unless you leave them for a few days, but I don’t know if that is true. Maybe the filter would filter out some of that. I might go to Home Depot and investigate this afternoon, for throwing in the keezer on one of the beer lines. I could run cleaner, sanitiser through it after use, like I do the beer lines (1-Step solution). The filters ($4.99) would be thrown away each time the hops are changed and I wouldn't sanitise the new ones as they should be sanitary enough for a beer line.

The filter would also reduce conditioning time. http://www.brewnosers.org/forums/viewto ... 151#p67151

[glassgiant]

Before I kegged, I bottled, and I used wide-necked stainless steel drink bottles ($9.95 for a two-pack at Zellers).

You can get 500mL aluminum beer bottles with customized logo from http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/67339 ... ottle.htmlfor $1-2 each, apparently, in reasonable quantities (as opposed to many beer bottles, which you have to order by the 40 foot container). I've never ordered any...yet.

[GuingesRock]

Those bottles look really interesting! I wonder if the necks are big enough for the dishwasher to wash and sanitise inside. They might be.

My little project for this afternoon’s was fun and the results delicious+++

I chose the Rainfresh as I like the bayonet/o ring canister attachment and I also picked up a filter just in case I ever want to use it to filter beer (not sure I will). I got it from Canadian Tire (Home Hardware also have them) but had to go back to Home Depot to get the fittings to hook it up. I used hose fittings for the lines as a quick disconnect...making it easier to attach a beer gun etc.

There isn’t enough room for hops around the outside of the filter so I dispensed with that idea.

I had a bazooka that I got from NG but the thread was smaller than the usual ½ inch, and I had never found a use for it. It threaded nicely into the central column (the out tube) of the water filter housing. I shortened it a bit and crimped the end so it fitted.

It's portable too, Like the New Zealand guy and his Hop Rocket here

I have to go and have a glass now, only had a swig or two, but my wife has disappeared outside with a pint of it.

Edit: I might modify the out connection later and put a Corny ball lock post there (OBK has the fittings to do that) instead of the hose fitting, so I can also snap my Blichmann gun on to it and fill some bottles some time. It really does taste good and huge aroma too, works well…no bits of hop in the beer. I used the bleeding button on the top to get the last bit of air out.

There are some features of the water filter housing design which may serve its function as a Randall when used with a bazooka: 1)The inlet directs flow to the outside of the canister as it is designed to direct water to the outside of the filter. 2) The hops tend to float and pack more densely at the top of the canister. Both of these may help the beer to distribute evenly throughout the canister of hops rather than tracking across to the upper part of the bazooka....seems to work well, whatever is going on in there.

One of the larger water filter housings might work as a hop back, using a similar design. Not sure if they are appropriate for hot liquids though.

hop chemistry (takes a while to load).

Edit #2 It worked very well ...that is until it leaked and emptied 3/4 keg of beer into my keezer. I was really pissed off and haven't used it since. If you look at the design in the pictures, I have PVC hose slid over copper tube and fastened with hose clamps. That kind of connection doesn't work unless you keep tightening the hose clamps and that was where it failed, but that was the only way I could find of doing it, after an hour in home depot looking at all the possible fittings. Take care

[GuingesRock]

I thought about getting a Blichmann Beer Gun for quite a while but was put off by the videos as it seemed to take about half an hour to connect it up, same to disassemble and clean. I came up with the idea of putting a Corny post on the gun (got the fittings to do that from OBK), and I ended up getting one from NG, used it this weekend and I really like it. Hook up is all by Corny ball lock connecters, which is quick as a wink

Cleaning it out is just the same as cleaning a beer line. Also dunk it in the Starsan bucket before use (and between each bottle). The brass button is used to charge the bottle with CO2 first, and then the big trigger, (which unfortunately has twisted behind the gun in the first picture and not shown) injects beer into the bottom of the bottle, the tip is submerged in the beer as it fills. If you have the beer pressure low, you get very little foaming. Both gas line taps are on during use.

[GuingesRock]

I think I finally cracked the overnight mash hop (recipe above in another post). It ended up at 9.65% for some reason and it was supposed to be 8.3%. 10 gal batch, 27.5lbs MO as the only grain, 1lb Styrian Goldings in the “overnight mash hop” and 1lb Styrian Goldings in FWH to provide bitterness, to counteract the sweetness (thanks for the tip RubberToe). No other hopping. It has a slightly sweet and more malty flavour than I’m used to from just using MO. It has quite a kick, lots of nice hop flavours, nice and bitter, with another taste that’s almost exactly like Famous Grouse scotch whisky (is that a fault?), it isn’t fusel alcohol (done that before when I first started brewing and Winekitz sold me a heating band to put around the fermentor ). It’s sweeter than my similar brews that have a 90 min mash, and it is more malty (I don’t understand that either). I insulated the overnight mash hop with an old parker, it went for 12 hours (had a lie in). Using the thermapen, the initial mash temp was 148.5F and the final mash temp was 136F (I think you are supposed to make sure it doesn’t go under 130F to avoid off flavours from bacteria, so that was ok). I like it!

That’s it! My damn Randall decided to start leaking today and spilled half a keg of nice beer into the keezer, I spent most of the afternoon cleaning it out. I had to wash the kegs and it stirred them up and all my nice beers are cloudy now because of that.

[GuingesRock]

LiverDance asked in the Dave's Cascade Celebration thread:

Mark, what method gives you the best hop flavor? Also which gives you the best aroma?

Brian, I struggled with that question before, but for another opinion, my sister-in-law was around with her husband last night and she was analysing the beers and their aromas, she is a sommelier and part of the training was beer. She also has a love for craft beer. She has an amazingly articulate knack for describing flavours and aromas in an almost spot on way, whereas all I seem to be able to do is say “I like that one”…or “not so keen on that one.”

The choices were (all 10 gal batches) my Overnight Mash Hop, Bunny Hop, and Champagne Cascade. After trying them all, she first picked the overnight mash hop for her drink because it had “an amazing aroma”. It’s the 9.5% one with 1lb styian goldings in the mash and 1 lb styrian goldings in FWH and 27.5 lbs MO, She said it was a “big beer, and not as nicely balanced as the champagne cascade". After a while everyone settled on the Champagne Cascade (usually people gravitate to that one) which is late hopped only with 1 lb cascade leaf at 15 mins, and 27.5 lbs pilsen only. Bunny Hop has more complex malt and hop bills and was liked, but it isn’t a clean, hoppy IPA. Then I found some bottles of batch 16 which was FWH only with 1 lb styrian goldings and 27.5 lbs MO only, and that was said to be the best of them all.

I was asking for her opinion, because of your question above, and I think I might be able to recommend FWH only (1 lb bag aroma hops for 10 Gal) for both great hop flavour and aroma.

I find that massive late hopping only, with 1lb cascade leaf (5-15 mins, depending on bitterness required)…also makes a very nice IPA.

[LiverDance]

Thanks for the update, it's always nice to have someone who can be a little more descriptive in their opinions of beer

[GuingesRock]

I thought I would move and update bottling and labeling ideas I had on other threads to here...for f**k sake!

I found some stainless steel bottles in Dollarama for $3 each.

I went to this site to design the labels: http://www.beerlabelizer.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ($5 by PayPal or visa to upgrade for more label styles, several free ones. Lots of different designs, save it as a jpg or print, and it takes a second to enter the text. You can upload images on to some of the labels).

Then saved the picture from the label making site on the desktop, opened it and rotated it 90 degrees.

Next downloaded MS Word template for Avery 6499 labels, from the Avery website (template attached). These labels are low adhesive, removable and reusable. I picked some up today from Staples.

Then inserted the rotated picture in the label spaces on the template and printed the labels.

[LeafMan66_67]

Nice job Mark!

[GuingesRock]

Thanks!

[GuingesRock]

I think I finally cracked the overnight mash hop (recipe above in another post). It ended up at 9.65% for some reason and it was supposed to be 8.3%. 10 gal batch, 27.5lbs MO as the only grain, 1lb Styrian Goldings in the “overnight mash hop” and 1lb Styrian Goldings in FWH to provide bitterness, to counteract the sweetness (thanks for the tip RubberToe). No other hopping. It has a slightly sweet and more malty flavour than I’m used to from just using MO. It has quite a kick, lots of nice hop flavours, nice and bitter, with another taste that’s almost exactly like Famous Grouse scotch whisky (is that a fault?), it isn’t fusel alcohol (done that before when I first started brewing and Winekitz sold me a heating band to put around the fermentor ). It’s sweeter than my similar brews that have a 90 min mash, and it is more malty (I don’t understand that either). I insulated the overnight mash hop with an old parker, it went for 12 hours (had a lie in). Using the thermapen, the initial mash temp was 148.5F and the final mash temp was 136F (I think you are supposed to make sure it doesn’t go under 130F to avoid off flavours from bacteria, so that was ok). I like it!

I said on IPA day, I couldn’t decide which of my four DIPAs I liked best (LiverDance said I should just mix them). Tonight it’s turned out to be the overnight mash hop that is the best. I wasn’t so keen on it at times, as I usually start drinking the DIPAs almost right out of the fermentor to get the hoppy kick, but this one is really nice. It was brewed on the 13th July and its 3rd August today. I’ve christened it “The Overnighter” (because of my overnight mash hopping process). I was thinking of bottling "Champagne Cascade” from the keg with the Blichmann gun tomorrow, in all my new $3 dishwashable SS bottles. Now I'll have to do half and half, or arf and arf, as the Welsh would say, when they want rice and chips (French fries) with their curry order.

At 9.65%, "The Overnighter" comes with a guarantee that it will work for you, and I'm expecting uploads of the recipe to skyrocket

[GuingesRock]

I’m making “ The Siesta” today. It’s similar to “The Overnighter”, but instead of the overnight mash hop + FWH, I’m doing a 90 min early-afternoon mash hop + FWH.

[GuingesRock]

Just finished beer gunning some “Champagne Cascade” and “The Overnighter” into the Dollarama SS bottles and labeling them. I came across a potential problem with the Dollarama $3 bottles. The lids are like an inverted cup, rather than a plug like the Zellers bottles I have. The inverted cup style lid traps a small amount of air. I’ll drop a couple of bottles of for Dave at Everwood when I go, and leave some there for Sandy too, and they can let me know if they think it tastes at all like cardboard. I suppose I could have purged the lids with CO2 from the beer gun, but I don’t think it is going to be enough air to cause a problem. Time will tell.

Because of the cupped lids, I used the clips to hang the lids around of the edge of the top dishwasher basket, so they didn’t sit upside-down full of water.

[GuingesRock]

I just got 18 of these 1Litre SS bottles from Canadian Tire. $3.99 (on sale this week, down from $9.99). They are completely dishwasher safe (the dishwasher sometimes damages the paint a little on the painted ones, after many runs through). Silica gel seal inside the cap and no cupping to trap air. They hold pressure…I tested one before by filling it with coke and shaking the bejesus out of it (I think they are designed to hold soft drinks), but I didn’t buy any before because they were too expensive. I also ordered some more on a rain check, they said I couldn’t do that but I talked to the manager and he okayed it.

I figure 18 of them will free up a keg, so it’s even Steven cost wise. Also if the keezer is cluttered with kegs ¼ full, I can put the beer in these with the beer gun and free up keezer space. I can supply family and friends who aren’t set up for kegs with SS bottles to put in their fridge. I will have beer “to go” when we visit friends, and best of all, I can wash and sanitize them in the dishwasher.

The lid straps can be taken off, and put back on again...I might take them off.

[Woody]

G Rock you are a man on a roll. Great labels and set up. Like I said I would never have thought about it but it looks great. Your posts really get me thinking.

[GuingesRock]

Thanks. I thought people just thought I was nuts, probably most do, but it’s nice to get a friendly pat on the back once in a while.

I’m enjoying this brewing thing, and the results, that is, until I move on to the next project to master. My last project (actually the one before the last), I designed and had built in the states, a novel condom vending machine to help with AIDS and unwanted pregnancy, and drop shipped them around the world, even shipped them to places like Namibia and Australia. I had them in local schools too, where I tested them for indestructability. Just broke even and gave the company away. It is still in operation though: http://www.qualitycondomsvending.com/.

[Woody]

I say run your own race and do what makes you happy. Not to get to deep on this site but it's the key to happiness. Sounds like some great stuff you've done. I feel that brewing is like martial arts in some ways. What I mean is that mastery is not possible as it's something you are always chasing hence the appeal. There are amazing brewers but they can always get better or learn something new. That is what I love about it. Not that I've even scratched the surface of brewing but it's so much fun. I want to be 90 home brewing and talking about beer with friends or anyone who will listen. lol