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Kyle98
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In reply to BlackGoldAg2011 • 6:49a, 1/29/15
AG
quote:
THanks guys, yalls help is awesome. So follow on. I just looked at the carboy and even though I haven't seen the airlock bubble in a like a week, if I hold a flashlight up to it I can see little tiny bubbles rising through the beer. I would assume that means it's still fermenting and I just haven't seen the lock bubble because I'm not watching it enough?
Not necessarily. I do pretty much exactly what jock itch described and take a gravity reading after about 14 days. If it's right around my expected FG, I'll wait a couple of days and take another. If it's the same, I know its done, so I rack to a keg.

Sorry to derail a bit, but jock, are you guys (B-52) coming to Big Texas Beer Fest at Fair Park in Dallas in April?
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dave99ag
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7:37a, 1/29/15
AG
I take OG, then a reading after about a week in the primary when I transfer to secondary, then another week later to see if the beer is done fermenting. I don't think it's absolutely necessary for homebrew, but it does make it easier to know that the beer is actually beer and not sweet tea.
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farmer2010
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In reply to Robert C. Christian • 7:40a, 1/29/15
AG
quote:
Curious, how did you determine that fermentation was stuck if you didn't take a reading?

My suspicions were raised because of the sudden unplanned temperature drop. I don't remember, I might actually have taken a reading for that batch.

Regardless, the beer turned out awful because of heavy diacetyl flavors.
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jock itch
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11:03p, 1/29/15
quote:
Sorry to derail a bit, but jock, are you guys (B-52) coming to Big Texas Beer Fest at Fair Park in Dallas in April?
I wish we had more time for festivals, but currently we're throwing nearly 100% of our time and effort into ramping up production (which has meant some very long work weeks for me unfortunately!). On that topic, however; I'm probably in the minority amongst Texas brewers and won't speak for B-52 as a company, but I've had some serious beef w/ how many of the festivals are being run. I don't have experience w/ Big Texas specifically, but given how young the Texas craft market is relatively speaking, I've been noticing festival promoters consistently trying to squeeze more and more out of us...whether that be higher booth fees, higher ticket prices for you guys, extended/multiple sessions, and/or encouraging us to donate beer instead of purchasing it.

From my conversations with brewers on the coasts, they went through a similar phase before coming back to an equilibrium where the festival organizers at least understand that the beer is the reason people come and the breweries should be compensated for it (or at the very least not completely gouged w/ fees).

WIth that said there are obviously some fantastic festivals (Katy Wild West comes to mind), so our basic strategy for 2015 is going to be to pick and choose the very best while sitting out the not so great (ahem...Houston Beer Fest last year).
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jock itch
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In reply to farmer2010 • 11:04p, 1/29/15
quote:
quote:
Curious, how did you determine that fermentation was stuck if you didn't take a reading?

My suspicions were raised because of the sudden unplanned temperature drop. I don't remember, I might actually have taken a reading for that batch.

Regardless, the beer turned out awful because of heavy diacetyl flavors.

Hope you didn't dump it! Sounds like a perfect candidate for krausening.
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bmc13
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1:43a, 1/30/15
AG
quote:
Houston Beer Fest



yeah that group is horrible. I don't plan on ever going to another one after the absolute CF the first year was a while back
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Kyle98
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In reply to jock itch • 6:45a, 1/30/15
AG
quote:
quote:
Sorry to derail a bit, but jock, are you guys (B-52) coming to Big Texas Beer Fest at Fair Park in Dallas in April?
I wish we had more time for festivals, but currently we're throwing nearly 100% of our time and effort into ramping up production (which has meant some very long work weeks for me unfortunately!). On that topic, however; I'm probably in the minority amongst Texas brewers and won't speak for B-52 as a company, but I've had some serious beef w/ how many of the festivals are being run. I don't have experience w/ Big Texas specifically, but given how young the Texas craft market is relatively speaking, I've been noticing festival promoters consistently trying to squeeze more and more out of us...whether that be higher booth fees, higher ticket prices for you guys, extended/multiple sessions, and/or encouraging us to donate beer instead of purchasing it.

From my conversations with brewers on the coasts, they went through a similar phase before coming back to an equilibrium where the festival organizers at least understand that the beer is the reason people come and the breweries should be compensated for it (or at the very least not completely gouged w/ fees).

WIth that said there are obviously some fantastic festivals (Katy Wild West comes to mind), so our basic strategy for 2015 is going to be to pick and choose the very best while sitting out the not so great (ahem...Houston Beer Fest last year).
Ah, gotcha. I think this is year 6 for Big Texas. We went last year and it was great, from the beer drinker's side. No idea how it was on the brewers' side, obviously. Thanks for the response. Hopefully I'll make it down to Houston at some point to see you guys.
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jock itch
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In reply to Kyle98 • 8:57a, 1/30/15
quote:
Ah, gotcha. I think this is year 6 for Big Texas. We went last year and it was great, from the beer drinker's side. No idea how it was on the brewers' side, obviously. Thanks for the response. Hopefully I'll make it down to Houston at some point to see you guys.
Please do. I'll buy ya a beer...assuming it's one of ours of course.

Good to hear that Big Texas is one of the good ones...I'll definitely keep that in mind. We actually just signed w/ a distributor last week that has the infrastructure to take us state-wide, so sending a little beer out to Dallas, Austin, etc should happen in the relatively near future.
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Kyle98
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In reply to jock itch • 9:01a, 1/30/15
AG
Of course!

Looking forward to seeing it up here soon!
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Kyle98
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9:09a, 1/30/15
AG
Quick question for those who keg....have you ever poured some from the keg into a growler to take to a party? I did on NYE and it was fine, since I drank it within a couple of hours of pouring. We're headed to Austin this weekend for my wife's best friend's annual Super Bowl party, and I'd like to take some homebrew, but all I have is kegs now. If I pour some into a growler tonight, will it still be carbed ok on Sunday if I don't touch it until then? I've never really even done growlers from a bar or anything, so still new on all that.
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jock itch
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9:20a, 1/30/15
I just recently installed a few beer guns for that task since growler fills were slowing us down at the tap room on the weekends, but we've probably filled a thousand plus growlers straight out of the taps with little to no complaints unless the beer was stored over a week or two and/or opened/re-sealed (despite our warnings of course!).

We do have a few flow control faucets which make it a hell of a lot easier, but my method is to wet/rinse the growler, pour at an angle until near the neck, turn up-right at the end and hopefully you have enough space to "fob" the beer and cap on foam. If filled gently, kept cold and sealed...I've rarely had issues w/ growlers and carb levels. It's more the dissolved oxygen pickup that ruins the beer in my experience. A couple of days is almost always fine though if filled reasonably well. I took some on a plane up to Canada and they tasted fine after a week even.
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Kyle98
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9:22a, 1/30/15
AG
I figured it would probably be fine, but just wanted to make sure. Thanks!
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dave99ag
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10:27a, 1/30/15
AG
My normal tap pressure is 10psi, so I lower it down to 3 psi when grolwer filling. Keeps the foaming down to a minimum. You'll be fine for the weekend.
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Kyle98
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In reply to dave99ag • 10:33a, 1/30/15
AG
quote:
My normal tap pressure is 10psi, so I lower it down to 3 psi when grolwer filling. Keeps the foaming down to a minimum. You'll be fine for the weekend.
Yeah, I have mine set at 10psi as well. I'll drop it down when I fill it up. Thanks for the tip!
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dave99ag
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10:47a, 1/30/15
AG
This little contraption helps as well:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/review/product/list/id/5732/category/43/
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khkman22
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In reply to Kyle98 • 11:14a, 1/30/15
AG
quote:
quote:
My normal tap pressure is 10psi, so I lower it down to 3 psi when grolwer filling. Keeps the foaming down to a minimum. You'll be fine for the weekend.
Yeah, I have mine set at 10psi as well. I'll drop it down when I fill it up. Thanks for the tip!
You may want to chill the growler as well ahead of time. I've read some stuff on HomeBrewTalk that talks about doing that as well. I don't keg though so I have no experience one way or the other.
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khkman22
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In reply to dave99ag • 12:14p, 1/31/15
AG
quote:
This little contraption helps as well:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/review/product/list/id/5732/category/43/
That's not compatible with Perlicks in case those are what you have.
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jock itch
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5:46p, 1/31/15
I know it's an added expense, but this is an Aggie board so I'm assuming you guys can afford it: but get a damn beer gun! They're incredibly versatile and well, well worth the cost.
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khkman22
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In reply to jock itch • 7:52p, 1/31/15
AG
But jock, we no need no stinking beer gun.
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BlackGoldAg2011
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9:52p, 2/5/15
AG
Thanks for all the help yall have given me as I get started in this. I present to you my very first beer. Little sweet (finished at a 1.03, I think I mashed it too hot and got some unfermentable sugars) but it has good flavor, clarity, and is most importantly, definitely beer.
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Kyle98
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In reply to Kyle98 • 11:14a, 2/6/15
AG
quote:
quote:
My normal tap pressure is 10psi, so I lower it down to 3 psi when grolwer filling. Keeps the foaming down to a minimum. You'll be fine for the weekend.
Yeah, I have mine set at 10psi as well. I'll drop it down when I fill it up. Thanks for the tip!
Had no problems with the growler, but I do have to find a leak in my setup. After adding a third keg, my CO2 tank emptied out over the long weekend. I thought I did a thorough check when I connected everything, but I guess not. Any tips on how to check this time?
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Kyle98
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In reply to BlackGoldAg2011 • 11:15a, 2/6/15
AG
quote:
Thanks for all the help yall have given me as I get started in this. I present to you my very first beer. Little sweet (finished at a 1.03, I think I mashed it too hot and got some unfermentable sugars) but it has good flavor, clarity, and is most importantly, definitely beer.
Excellent! You'll be hooked now!
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Gator2_01
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In reply to Kyle98 • 3:00p, 2/6/15
AG
Soapy water in a spray bottle. Spray a light coating on all your connections and then turn the air on. Bubbles will appear at the leak.
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LukeSkyWoker
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3:43p, 2/8/15
AG
My first brew matured this weekend. An American Pale Ale from an extract kit. I bought another extract kit then I'll venture into the all grain world. Thanks for the tips you've all shared on this thread, it really helped me out.

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Echoes97
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10:45a, 2/9/15
AG
So we are going to attempt our first sour! I'm a little nervous but hey what's the worst that could happen? Anyway, has anyone else done this? We started yesterday by brewing the base beer as a saison, with low IBUs so as not to inhibit the lactobacillus.

We split a 10 gallon batch into 2 glass carboys and put French Saison yeast in one and Belgian Saison yeast in the other. Hit OG perfectly, pretty efficient session so we think the base beer will be good.

We are debating when to throw lacto and when to throw Brett. Thinking of throwing the lacto (not sure the amount yet) after the saison yeast has finished primary. Then maybe the Brett in a few months. Doing some reading but if anyone has any experience or advice I'd appreciate it.

Crossing our fingers we can get a nice 3.5-3.6 pH sour.
Us And Them - The Pink Floyd Experience
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farmer2010
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12:39p, 2/9/15
AG
Good luck! I used a cheater method in my only experience with sours since I didn't want to fool around with lacto and brett, or wait the extended time required. I'm still glad I did it because it's fun to experiment with new styles, and I was pleasantly surprised with the result. Be sure to let us know how yours turns out!
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BlackGoldAg2011
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1:16p, 2/9/15
AG
alright, another rookie question for those more experienced in the group.

from my first batch (the one that ended up making 4 bottles) the first one was as described above, sweeter than it should have been, but otherwise very drinkable. 2-4 however were bad enough that i poured them out (i don't pour much out, as reference point I once chugged 3/4 bottle of red wine that had oxidized because it was too bad to drink but not bad enough to pour out). They had the taste/feel of sour milk. I'm assuming that since 1 bottle was fine and the others bad it had something to do with my bottling process. my main guess was that i introduced too much oxygen trying to get the small volume into the bottles, but I guess it could also be that the bottles hadn't been cleaned enough and were contaminated.

is there any way to tell from the (bad) taste whether the problem was from oxygen or poor cleaning/sanitation?

TIA
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farmer2010
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3:47p, 2/9/15
AG
Very likely was poor sanitation resulting in infected bottles. Sour flavors are the trademark of certain bacteria. As with anything that touches the wort/beer after it's cooled, you need to be very diligent with bottle sanitation. A bottle brush is a must, and waiting to sanitize until just before you're ready to bottle is a good idea.

Alternatively, did you leave a bunch of trub in your bottles? The flavor of trub could also be interpreted that way. If this is the case, give your bottles time in the fridge to clear up, and carefully pour into a glass when ready to drink, making sure to leave the trub behind in the bottle.
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farmer2010
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3:49p, 2/9/15
AG
Oh, and too much oxygen usually leads to cardboard-like or stale beer flavors (think cleaning up after a house party smell).
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BlackGoldAg2011
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4:44p, 2/9/15
AG
Thanks, from this it sounds like it was either bacteria or trub. there was a decent layer of trub in the bottom. i think i agitated it too much in the transfers to the bottling bucket and then the bottles.

hopefully this second batch is better on both fronts as they were all brand new bottles, i soaked them well in sanitizing solution (after washing with PBW), i tried to leave a slight film of solution in the bottles and it looks like there will be minimal debris (i cold crashed the fermentation, and then was very careful not to disturb the trub in the fermentation vessels while racking to the bottling "bucket"). but i guess if i am going to bottle i should invest in a good bottle brush.

also, lesson leaned, cleaning a carboy post-fermentation without the proper tools is a PIA...
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aggietony2010
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In reply to BlackGoldAg2011 • 11:02a, 2/10/15
AG
quote:
Thanks, from this it sounds like it was either bacteria or trub. there was a decent layer of trub in the bottom. i think i agitated it too much in the transfers to the bottling bucket and then the bottles.

hopefully this second batch is better on both fronts as they were all brand new bottles, i soaked them well in sanitizing solution (after washing with PBW), i tried to leave a slight film of solution in the bottles and it looks like there will be minimal debris (i cold crashed the fermentation, and then was very careful not to disturb the trub in the fermentation vessels while racking to the bottling "bucket"). but i guess if i am going to bottle i should invest in a good bottle brush.

also, lesson leaned, cleaning a carboy post-fermentation without the proper tools is a PIA...

If you can afford it, invest in a bottle tree and a vinator (basically a pump sprayer for bottles). It will make your bottling day go much smoother, way faster, and it will save you sanitizer (I use less than 32oz of diluted StarSan to sanitize all my bottles). Once they are washed, sanitizing each one takes 3-5 seconds.

Actually, just saw you are doing gallon batches. This advice might be overkill, but if you go 5 gallon or larger without kegging, is useful advice.
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khkman22
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In reply to aggietony2010 • 3:40p, 2/10/15
AG
The bottle tree or stackable trays are definitely worth it if you move to 5 gallon batches and don't keg. I have a bottle tree, but I assume the trays work just as well, although they don't allow you to mix the regular bottles with the bombers like you can on the tree.

As far as the vinator, it is probably faster, but I don't think it will necessarily save you any StarSan if you do what I do. I have to sanitize my bottling bucket, siphon and other tools anyway, so I just dip the bottles in the bottling bucket and then put them on the tree.
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BlackGoldAg2011
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In reply to khkman22 • 4:25p, 2/10/15
AG
quote:
I have to sanitize my bottling bucket, siphon and other tools anyway, so I just dip the bottles in the bottling bucket and then put them on the tree.
This is basically what i did on this last batch (which was 2.5 gallons for the record, i just used both the primary and secondary fermenter from the kit to do primary). I filled the bottling bucket about half full of sanstar solution and soaked each of the bottles for 60 seconds before shaking them out and setting them on a rack.
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Kyle98
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2:06p, 2/13/15
AG
Building a Citra/Mosaic IPA recipe to maybe take to Brew Riot in May (along with a hefe and a Best Bitter, probably, if I can get them all brewed and ready by then):

10lbs 2-row
1lb Crystal 20L
0.75lb Light Munich
.75lb Carapils

1oz Mosaic - 60 min
1oz Citra - 15 min
.5oz Mosaic&Citra - 5 min
.5oz Mosaic&Citra - dry hop 10 days

Thoughts?
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danieljustin06
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In reply to Kyle98 • 4:01p, 2/13/15
AG
quote:
Building a Citra/Mosaic IPA recipe to maybe take to Brew Riot in May (along with a hefe and a Best Bitter, probably, if I can get them all brewed and ready by then):

10lbs 2-row
1lb Crystal 20L
0.75lb Light Munich
.75lb Carapils

1oz Mosaic - 60 min
1oz Citra - 15 min
.5oz Mosaic&Citra - 5 min
.5oz Mosaic&Citra - dry hop 10 days

Thoughts?
What are the IBU's? Seems slightly low amount of hops for an IPA. Might want to toss in another addition at 45 min and 30 min.
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