Homebrewing beer discussions http://www.brewboard.com/index.php Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:09:46 +0000 30 http://www.brewboard.com/index.php http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=113897
Thanks,
Sean]]> Sean jpc Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:04:45 +0000 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:58:35 +0000 113897 http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=113770 I would like it to have let's say OG as 1.050 and FG at 1.040, meaning most of the suggars are unfermentables (dextrins) and with high malt flavor (Crystal 40/120?) and dark (chocolate?)
I tried to play with some online brewing tools but even when I use only dextrin malt, the FG comes out still low, how come? I though when using dextrin malt, none of the sugars would be utilized.
So any ideas how to accomplish what I want?
One thing though. I want to bottle so I need active yeast left to carbonate by bottles,. I heard pasteurization is one way to stop fermentation and stay at high FGs but not an option for me.
Thanks!]]> nilo nilo Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:44:20 +0000 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:22:09 +0000 113770 http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=113917
Well, my buddy gave me a bottle of his brew to try...he was concerned that he overdid the spices at the end. I tried the beer and it was good, but there was an overcarb issue. When I opened the bottle, it didn't gush, but there was plenty of carb when I poured, and most of the pour was foam. But the beer was really good.

Now, on to my issue. My beer had been sitting in a keg secondary for months. I went to add the spices and the thing was under some CRAZY pressure. I went to open the relief valve and got a beer shower...I was like, ########, this has been sitting for months I expect it to be flat? The lid was under so much pressure I couldn't get it off. The only way to get to the beer was to unscrew the relief valve and get the lid off as quick as possible...foam oozed out the keg opening. So I threw the spices in the beer, got a quick sample, then closed it up.

I had two initial thoughts...one was that the primary was not over when I racked and I got fermentation going on in the secondary (I later discredited this theory). The next thought was contamination, but when I tried the beer, it tasted great...awesome in fact.

Fast forward to last evening...it had been spiced for a week, so I went to rack off the spices to another keg. Same problem. The thing was jacked with pressure and I could hardly get the lid off. So, I opened the thing, racked to a new keg as fast as I could...lost about 2-3 pints on the floor from the foaming out the top. Strangely, no yeast cake in the bottom of the keg to suggest any kind of fermentation going on in the secondary. Beer still tastes great, no sourness or off flavors at all.

Back to my buddies beer...he now has bulging bottle caps. I told him to chill it ASAP, move it to a cooler of ice water outside in case there are any bombs. I think he is going to try to uncap, let the bottles sit a little then recap to relieve the pressure. My thoughts are that he just used to much priming sugar...I think he used molasses to prime, but I don't know how much.

So, any ideas as to what's going on here, at least with my kegged beer. Help, thoughts, theories?]]> mach5 mach5 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:59:14 +0000 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:08:32 +0000 113917 http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=113916
In the meantime I have been cultivatiing some yeast from bottles of SNPA (for the fun of it) with the same LME. I checked the SG of that and it was 1.010. Started around 1.045. Since the bulk of the LME was the same between the 2, I suspect the problem is with the yeast. There are no obvious off flavors with either the beer or the starter wort.

Not sure I did the right thing. I swirled up my starter, and took about 1.5 pints out of it (roughly 20% of it is yeast) and poured it into the fermenter with the stuck beer. I didn't want to use it all as I was preparing it for use this weekend. It is now 36 hours on. Activity in the airlock has increased slightly, going from 1 bubble every 2 minutes to 1 every 1.5 minutes.

Questions: What are the most probable causes of the stuck fermentation? Is this going to help bring the FG of the beer down? Should I have tried aerating the wort when I poured in the additional yeast (I tried to disturb it as little as possible)?

NOTE: When I initially made the beer I vigourously swirled the wort to aerate it. I don't think that is the problem, but I suppose it could be.

A second item: When I use the starter this weekend, should I just pour it all into the wort, or should I pour off most of the liquid and just add the sediment. It is under airlock and will have been settling for 2 days after I swirled it up to take some out. The LME I used was old and would prefer to keep the amount in the beer to a minimum. I have fresh LME for the new brew.]]> Highlander Highlander Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:29:47 +0000 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:03:02 +0000 113916 http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=113889 buzzkill Marvin Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:58:03 +0000 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:19:31 +0000 113889 http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=113909
thanks!]]> Thorhale slothrob Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:56:53 +0000 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:33:45 +0000 113909 http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=113914 i recently brewed a scottish ale. i left it in the primary for about 5 weeks then racked it to a secordary glass carboy for clarification. a couple of days after racking, i started noticing these little white floating discs on the surface of the beer, some of which actually seem to have a hexagonal shape. the FG was in my target range and the beer did not smell off when i racked it. should i be worried about these discs? could it be mold, and if so, will it harm the beer? WillRun4Beer slothrob Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:58:57 +0000 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:09:41 +0000 113914 http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=113915 1. Do you make a starter, let it finish, put it in the fridge waiting for brew day?
2. Do you just take your smack pack, smack it, shake it and pitch?

I've heard good things about this but would like some details.

Cheers,

John]]> johnpreuss johnpreuss Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:47:24 +0000 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:20:59 +0000 113915 http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=113612
I bought it used (from someone who said it was hardly used, and it looked in fairly new condition when I bought it even though it was originally purchased years before I picked it up) and I don't know if it's in original condition or if someone might have taken it apart and forgot to put something back.

The problems I've been having are that sometimes the drive roller turns but the other one does not. It still has the O-ring but it has a flat spot on the O-ring and I think it may be causing it to stop turning when it hits the flat spot (I know I should probably just get rid of the O-ring).

Are there supposed to be any washers between the rollers and the end plates? (There are circular marks on the inside of the end plates where you can see there has been metal on metal wearing.)

What type of grease or oil should I use in the bearings?

The adjustment thumb screw broke off, any idea what size the thumb screw is or what the threads per inch is? (the thumb screw broke off the last time I was trying to use it, had to go back to the Corona mill to get the job done)

Any thing else I should know or look for?

Thanks.]]> Brewby my beer logbuyer Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:41:20 +0000 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:07:33 +0000 113612 http://www.brewboard.com/index.php?showtopic=113904
Or, do most people just use kegs for session beers that do not require a lengthy aging process?
]]> ChalukBrewing logbuyer Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:22:05 +0000 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:45:44 +0000 113904