Off Topic--not driving because I'm home brewing

"superdave847" (superdave847)
05/09/2015 at 18:24 • Filed to: Drunkspin, Brewing not driving

I’m curious to know if any fellow Oppositelock folks are also home brewers? It’s a hobby I’ve been enjoying since 2009.

It is a warm rainy day here in Saint Louis, so I racked my Belgian Tripel into a secondary fermenter. It looks beautiful and tastes delicious (its not carbonated yet though). The original gravity was 1.060 plato and the final gravity reading was 1.001 plato, for an about 8% alcohol by volume. I used ten pounds of pilsener grain and two pounds of wheat grain along with two ounces of Hallertau hops.

It should be ready to drink from my keg by the end of May. Home brewing is a really fun hobby, so I’m curious if any of you also brew.

DISCUSSION (41)

jkm7680 > superdave847
05/09/2015 at 18:29

Kinja'd!!!

Oooooohhh Fanta Orange!

Devilishprune > superdave847
05/09/2015 at 18:39

I brew whenever I get time to do so. I just made an IPA on Tuesday and I’m looking forward to getting to drink it sometime in the next month or so.

E92M3 > superdave847
05/09/2015 at 18:53

Negative! For some reason when I drink beer I feel poisoned, and usually get a headache. Just one is all it takes. Which is probably a good thing since alcoholism runs in my family. I do enjoy other alcholic beverages occasionally though.

superdave847 > Devilishprune
05/09/2015 at 18:53

That’s awesome. IPAs are my favorite beers, but lately I’ve been exploring other styles that aren’t widely available commercially.

Next up for my fermenter will be a Munich Helles. At least that’s my current plan. I’m going to base it off of the recipe in “Brewing Classic Styles” and this recipe: https://byo.com/stories/issue/…

The pistachio extraction in the recipe seems like a fascinating extra flavor even if it violates reinheitsgebot!

banjo cat ghost of oppo past > superdave847
05/09/2015 at 18:54

I’ve helped my best buddy out on quite a few brews betwixt hard cider at first, where we procured uncultured apple juice from a local farm, then our own trials of beer during his tenure at Ithaca brewery and some free software versions for brewing programs. His now-wife bought him a lovely stainless steel 5 gallon pot and other brewing equipment. Thems were sweaty times in small kitchens. We’ve yet to break in his new house we’re both itching.

Our best was a 9% black IPA we dubbed Betamax Porn. Damn near maximum everything.

Shit, just reminded me we have a Cornell microbiology pre-doc buddy saving some brettanomyces cultures for us from an Ithaca excelsior series yasss.. It begins.

zwoof > superdave847
05/09/2015 at 18:55

I’ve brew, but my only attempt with all grain to date was an utter disaster. That said, I’m sipping on a double-fermented Belgian from my last batch right now, and planning on doing a double chocolate porter tomorrow.

Devilishprune > superdave847
05/09/2015 at 18:57

That recipe sounds really interesting. I’ve always thought it would be cool to use pistachios in a stout. Be sure to post up how it turns out for you.

superdave847 > banjo cat ghost of oppo past
05/09/2015 at 19:04

Damn! That’s a great connection. I’ve never tried brewing with brettanomyces. This beer used Wyeast 3787, which my understanding is a strain from the Westmalle Trappist brewery. I made a Patersbier first and then brewed my Tripel using the yeast cake.

superdave847 > Devilishprune
05/09/2015 at 19:04

I will!

superdave847 > zwoof
05/09/2015 at 19:07

That’s fantastic. What happened with your all grain attempt? I do both all grain and extract brewing depending on how much time I have on a given brew day.

Right now I use a 15 gallon picnic cooler for a mash-tun so I only do single infusion mashing for now, but I’d like to eventually get a metal mash tun that I can heat so I have better control of the temperatures.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > superdave847
05/09/2015 at 19:24

I’ve brewed only once in my life. It came out uber delicious. It was a black IPA

superdave847 > E92M3
05/09/2015 at 19:24

Solid reasons to skip beer.

Jcarr > superdave847
05/09/2015 at 19:24

I took a class in college called Beer & Society where we learned about this history of beer/spirits. We brewed beer in the bio lab and then the professor rated each one. It was great.

superdave847 > Jcarr
05/09/2015 at 19:31

That’s fantastic. My law school alma mater is Southern Illinois University. I’m friends with one of the undergraduate professors who successfully started a fermentation sciences degree in the biology department. At one point he had the terrific idea of running a campus brew pub through the biology department. I need to go back and catch up with him.

Ferrero1911 > superdave847
05/09/2015 at 19:41

I don’t brew, but my dad does. He gets better and better every year. It’s the highlight of Christmas vacation.

superdave847 > Ferrero1911
05/09/2015 at 19:52

My brewing has improved a lot from my first batch too (although it was good enough to keep me interested). Mostly upgrading equipment over the years has improved my beer—especially being able to control the temperature of fermentation precisely.

guinessboy2013 > superdave847
05/09/2015 at 21:19

I’ve been working with friends that brew for a while then finally got my own equipment this winter. I’ve put out a nut brown ale and porter so far. Have a dry stout conditioning in the bottle now, probably racking my Trippel to secondary tomorrow, and just pitched on a batch of dark velvet stout about an hour ago. I’ve been using partial mash recipes from a local shop, learning characteristics of different ingredients.

guinessboy2013 > superdave847
05/09/2015 at 21:20

Same. I love IPA’s but there’s a bagillion different ones in every store, but I can never find stout/porter, so I’ve been focusing on brewing stuff like that.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > superdave847
05/09/2015 at 21:30

Have you ever had Samichlaus Helles ?

superdave847 > guinessboy2013
05/09/2015 at 21:42

Porters are a great example of a style that had almost gone extinct except for craft brewers and home brewers revitalizing the style of beer. The same is true for Vienna Lager.

superdave847 > guinessboy2013
05/09/2015 at 21:44

Are you part of any brew clubs? I was a member of the Southern Illinois Brewers when I was living down there. It was a really cool way to develop my own knowledge. I need to join one of the Saint Louis brewing clubs.

I did partial mash for a long time since I’ve always lived in apartments. Brewing in a bag is a great way to control mash temperature, especially if you don’t mind brewing 2 or 3 gallon batches.

superdave847 > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman
05/09/2015 at 21:45

I have not! Who brews it? As in, where can I get it?

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > superdave847
05/09/2015 at 22:06

I’m a better brewing assistant than brewer. I’ve only done kits myself. It’s been a while since I’ve done it, since my last batch was infected. Gross

superdave847 > Santiago of Escuderia Boricua
05/09/2015 at 22:18

Sorry to hear that! Lots of bleach and Star San go a long away toward preventing the funky stuff.

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > superdave847
05/09/2015 at 22:29

My new place has a gas stove, so I think that’ll help. Cooking wort on an electric stove is a bad time

superdave847 > Santiago of Escuderia Boricua
05/09/2015 at 22:35

Definitely. Boil overs might have been part of the problem.

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > superdave847
05/09/2015 at 22:39

It’s also hard to dedicate time to beer instead of my race cars. Now that winter is over I should really brew again

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > superdave847
05/09/2015 at 22:46

Not sure where. It’s made by Schloss Eggenberg

superdave847 > Santiago of Escuderia Boricua
05/09/2015 at 22:48

Awesome. What kind of cars do you race? I drive a 335i for my daily driver, which I love.

zwoof > superdave847
05/09/2015 at 23:11

Temperature control was the problem, I kept it too hot (near boiling) after adding the grain instead of just letting it steep. Ended up with what looked like oatmeal and a scorched brew kettle. I guess I missed that part of Papazian’s tips!

superdave847 > zwoof
05/09/2015 at 23:13

You could always just pretend you meant to do a decoction mash. : )

guinessboy2013 > superdave847
05/10/2015 at 00:08

If you want a Vienna Lager just reach for a hometown hero Sam Adams Boston Lager! (I’m not huge on lagers personally, but it is good.)

guinessboy2013 > superdave847
05/10/2015 at 00:18

Don’t belong to any clubs, but I really should look into that. I don’t have at all advanced equipment, no fermentation temp control (so pretty much convinced my trippel is gonna come out crappy). I boil 2-3 gallons in a smoked shoulder pot and use a barbeque thermometer, then add it to more water to make 5 gallons. Made a wort cooler the other day, just used it for the first time today, and hoping to pick up some stuff to make an oatmeal stout in the next day or two.

I’d love to do more high gravity stuff, but with my job it’s weird to work out with the long boil-to-bottle times cuz I frequently disappear for months on end. I’m also hesitant to make my own recipes cuz if I’m investing the time, money, and effort, I want something to turn out good. And if it doesn’t, I can blame someone else for it >.>

superdave847 > guinessboy2013
05/10/2015 at 00:34

I hear you. Check out the book, “Brewing Classic Styles” by Jamil Zainascheff & John Palmer. It is truly the best brewing book I’ve purchased. My goal is to brew all of its recipes. It includes extract versions and all grain versions for each recipe. And all the recipes have won first place at competition.

guinessboy2013 > superdave847
05/10/2015 at 00:40

Alright man, thanks for the heads up! I’ve just been perusing the the recipes my homebrew shop slaps together. Branching out into winemaking, gifting a kit to my mom for Mother’s day.

And in a pinch, grape juice, sugar( like for coffee), & sweet/cinammon roll things (brown bread will do) can get you where you need to be.

pip bip - choose Corrour > superdave847
05/10/2015 at 04:40

nope.

non-drinker me.

superdave847 > pip bip - choose Corrour
05/10/2015 at 10:14

You can make it without drinking it!

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > superdave847
05/10/2015 at 11:24

I started with my FR-S daily driver doing autocross and rallycross. I’ve got a 62 plymouth fury for LeMons. I also picked up an 83 chrysler fifth avenue to take the engine out of and put in the fury. I’ve got a 99 e36 that’s going to become a rally car at some point as well.

Probably too many cars.

pip bip - choose Corrour > superdave847
05/11/2015 at 03:58

why bother when you can’t enjoy it?

superdave847 > pip bip - choose Corrour
05/11/2015 at 21:43

I’m sure you have some friends or a crazy old uncle who wouldn’t mind a few spare bottles.

pip bip - choose Corrour > superdave847
05/12/2015 at 03:39

plenty of mates that wouldn’t say no.

we are a large non drinking family.

never seen my parents drink , never seen my uncles & aunts drink.

most of my cousins are non drinkers too.