The Beer Thread

[sweetcell]

I see some lagers yeast have to be around 48 degree range.  How do you get a fridge that keeps a beer at that temperature. 

you control the fridge through a controller, like a johnson A419 (link) or a ranco ETC (link).   the controller has a probe that you stick either inside the beer or tapped & insulated against the outside of your carboy/bucket.  you plug your fridge into the controller, and it turns the fridge on whenever your beer gets above a certain temp.  so for fermentation you would set it at 55*F, or 48*F, or whatever, then raise the temp a few degrees for your end-of-fermentation D-rest, then crash it down to just above freezing for your 4-6 week (or more) lagering phase.

Hope Bluejacket will be as good as it sounds.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/craft-brewery-with-built-in-dreams/2013/02/15/fa81f610-7609-11e2-95e4-6148e45d7adb_story.html

wow, that does sound promising.  fingers crossed.

I now feel that drinking an IPA is the same thing as eating salted Cod.  We have refrigerators now we don't have to ruin the flavor of food and drinks by preserving them by putting too much salt or hops in them. 

some people really like salt, and can taste the difference between different kinds of salt.  same with hops.  but fair enough if hops aren't your thing.  more of them for us!

[stevewizzle]

How do you get a fridge that keeps a beer at that temperature. 

you can buy a power controller.  you plug your fridge into a the thermostat unit, and the thermostat has a thermometer that is placed inside the fridge.  you set your desired temperature, and power will be provided to the fridge to cool if it's greater than the desired temperature.  when it's at or below, power is cut off.

i own this guy - http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/johnson-refrigerator-thermostat.html

edit - just realized sweetcell beat me to it

[James Ford]

Screw the hoppy IPA, hoppy barleywines are where it's at. Drink them fresh and hoppy, or let them age nicely.

The Mad Fox Barleywine Festival is this weekend. We went last year, was fun, if a little pricey.

Beer List
Updated January 9, 2013, with 30 Barleywines already on hand! More information on sessions and tasting notes, when available, on our Mad Fox Barleywine Festival 2013 Session page. See last year's Mad Fox Barleywine Festival 2012 Session page.

On hand:

?Mad Fox Headcracker English-style Barleywine 2012 Draught 8% ABV
?Mad Fox Slobberknocker American-style Barleywine 2012 Draught 9% ABV
?Mad Fox Oaked Slobberknocker American-style Barleywine 2011 Draught 9% ABV
?21st Amendment Lower DeBoom Barleywine 2012 Draught 10.5% ABV
?Avery Hog Heaven Barleywine 2011 Draught 9.2% ABV
?Bell's Third Coast Old Ale 2012 Draught 10.2% ABV
?Brooklyn Brewing Monster Ale 2011 Draught 10.3% ABV
?DuClaw Devil's Milk Barleywine 2012 Draught 10% ABV
?Duck Rabbit Barleywine 2012 11% ABV
?Flying Dog Horn Dog Barleywine 10.2% ABV
?Great Divide Old Ruffian Barleywine 2012 Draught 10.2% ABV
?Green Flash Barleywine 2011 Draught 10.9% ABV
?Heavy Seas Below Decks English-style Barleywine 2010 Draught 10% ABV
?Heavy Seas Below Decks English-style Barleywine Cabernet Barrel-aged 2012 Cask 10% ABV
?JW Lees Harvest Ale Draught 11.5% ABV
?Left Hand Widdershins Barleywine Draught 2011 10% ABV
?Legend Barleywine 2011 15.5% ABV
?Legend Barleywine 2012 15.5% ABV
?Old Dominion Millenium Ale 2011 Draught 10.5% ABV
?Old Dominion Millenium Ale 2012 Draught 10.5% ABV
?Rogue Old Crusty Barleywine 2011 Draught 11.5% ABV
?Rogue Old Crusty Barleywine 2012 Draught 11.5% ABV
?Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 2012 Draught 9.6% ABV
?Southern Tier Back Burner Imperial Barleywine 2012 Draught 9.6% ABV
?Stone Old Guardian Barleywine 2012 Draught 11% ABV
?Uinta Anniversary Barleywine 2011 Draught 10.4%
?Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot Barleywine 2011 Draught 11.1% ABV
?Weyerbacher Insanity Ale 2011 Draught 11.1% ABV
?Widmer Galaxy Barleywine 2011 9.6% ABV
?Williamsburg Alewerks Grand Illumination American Barleywine 2011 Draught 11% ABV

http://madfoxbrewing.com/barleywine-festival-2013

[atomicfront]

Thanks to sweetcell and stevewizzle for the fridge thing information.  This brewing beer thing can turn out to be expensive. 

[James Ford]

REAL men appreciate the beauty of a 40+ woman, and the beauty of a hoppy beer.
 

You boys can keep your heavy hops! YUCK!!!

I am not a fan of beers with a lot of Hops.  I now feel that drinking an IPA is the same thing as eating salted Cod.  We have refrigerators now we don't have to ruin the flavor of food and drinks by preserving them by putting too much salt or hops in them. 

[stevewizzle]

Thanks to sweetcell and stevewizzle for the fridge thing information.  This brewing beer thing can turn out to be expensive. 

yeah man.  it's like being an audiophile i imagine, you can get away with the basics, but you're always looking to improve your system or process, even if it's the slightest bit.

[grateful]

REAL men appreciate the beauty of a 40+ woman, and the beauty of a hoppy beer.
 

You boys can keep your heavy hops! YUCK!!!

I am not a fan of beers with a lot of Hops.  I now feel that drinking an IPA is the same thing as eating salted Cod.  We have refrigerators now we don't have to ruin the flavor of food and drinks by preserving them by putting too much salt or hops in them. 

I understand that as you get older, you lose the ability to detect bitterness.

[sweetcell]

Thanks to sweetcell and stevewizzle for the fridge thing information.  This brewing beer thing can turn out to be expensive. 

heh, it's partially your own fault: you've jumped off the deep end by doing a lager, which are relatively more complicated than ales.  i haven't brewed lagers yet because i lack the equipment, notably a temp-controlled fridge (but i do look forward to the day i can make my own doppelbock - someday, maybe...)

ales are much more forgiving in terms of temp requirements.  i get away with using ice baths ("swamp cooler") to cool in summer and a $25 heat belt on a lamp timer in winter.

if you go the steam beer route (lager yeast at higher/ale temps) then you don't need to worry about temp control quite as much but the beer won't quite have the clean crispness of a true lager.  it will still make tasty beer.

[atomicfront]

Thanks to sweetcell and stevewizzle for the fridge thing information.  This brewing beer thing can turn out to be expensive. 

heh, it's partially your own fault: you've jumped off the deep end by doing a lager, which are relatively more complicated than ales.  i haven't brewed lagers yet because i lack the equipment, notably a temp-controlled fridge (but i do look forward to the day i can make my own doppelbock - someday, maybe...)

ales are much more forgiving in terms of temp requirements.  i get away with using ice baths ("swamp cooler") to cool in summer and a $25 heat belt on a lamp timer in winter.

if you go the steam beer route (lager yeast at higher/ale temps) then you don't need to worry about temp control quite as much but the beer won't quite have the clean crispness of a true lager.  it will still make tasty beer.

Yeah I guess the good thing about making beer is even the ones that don't turn out the best will still be better than the beer most people drink and will still give you a nice buzz.

I was also thinking about the stuff I need for all grain.  Mash Tun, 8 gallon pot, cooling coil.. and then i will want something to grind my grains. 

[sweetcell]

I was also thinking about the stuff I need for all grain.  Mash Tun, 8 gallon pot, cooling coil.. and then i will want something to grind my grains. 

cooling coil (AKA immersion chiller) is a really nice thing to have, but i made so without one for my first few batches.  fill a tub with cold water, let the hot pot cool in that, then dump the water and refill this time adding ice, and let that cool your wort.  at the end, dump some sanitized ice in to get those last few degrees (sanitize the container, use pure filtered water).  it's a pain and takes a while but it works.  you can also make yourself an immersion chiller, check out youtube.  i didn't find it a whole lot cheaper than buying one, but i didn't shop around much and i was impatient.

with regards to a mill, you can order your grains pre-milled if you buy them online, or most local shops have a mill (myLHBS will mill but you need to phone in the order and give them some time to do it, you can't do it yourself).  i go over to a buddy's house and use his mill.

[atomicfront]

I was thinking last night that beer was like child birth.  In that it is sort of like a miracle. 

[James Ford]

Tell that to my wife and watch her kick you in the nuts.

I was thinking last night that beer was like child birth.  In that it is sort of like a miracle. 

[grateful]

Two companies own 210 brands of beer

[atomicfront]

Two companies own 210 brands of beer

Yeah, but fortunately with beer there are 1000's not owned by them. 

[James Ford]

Two companies producing 95% of the beer consumed in America, and thousands of companies producing 5% of the beer consumed in America.

Sort of like the unequal distribution of wealth in America.

Two companies own 210 brands of beer

Yeah, but fortunately with beer there are 1000's not owned by them.