Homebrewers

[marnold***]

Interesting. What are the logistics in using a 5 gallon pop keg. How do you dispense the beer. Just like a regular keg beer keg, or do you use a pump?

Update: Never mind. I just read up on Cornelius Kegs. They look pretty good, but the pressure was reported at 135 PSI. Still pretty reasonable.

I've got a 20# CO2 tank, tubing, fittings, and a cobra tap. Pretty straightforward.

I just checked one of my kegs. It says 130 PSI. I'm sure there's a "Bubba" factor beyond that too, although I have no interest in finding out. I would guess that at that pressure, the relief valve might vent. Anyway, you would have to go out of your way to get pressures that high. Yeast will die before they produce CO2 in those kinds of pressures. If you would force pressurize it that high, well, you get what you deserve.

I usually dispense at ~13 PSI and force-carbonate at ~30 PSI.

I do have this story: I racked a barleywine I made to a keg too soon because I was going on vacation. Fermentation wasn't near done, as it turns out. I also dry-hopped it. When I went to check the pressure, the relief valve clogged with hops. Same thing with both fittings. I finally unscrewed one of the fittings which promptly launched itself into the basement ceiling. It's a good thing my head was not in the way. Later, I took it outside to do the same thing. The fitting launched to the height of my two-story house.

[sunvalleylaw]

Hi Guys! Reviving this old thead as it seemed to be the most active recent homebrew thread I could find. I am returning to homebrewing after a pretty fair absence. I have been an extract (dry preferred often) brewer since the 90's but quit in the mid 00's due to kids, etc.

I am getting set to brew up a Black Double (or double black?) IPA this weekend. As per usual for me, I am combining some ideas/recipes to get there. This is what I have:

Specialty Grains to steep before boil:

.5 lbs Crystal 80L
.5 lbs. Chocolate Malt
.25 lbs Black Patent Malt
.25 lbs Roasted Barley

Malts/Fermentable Sugars:

7 lbs. darker mixed LME from Williams Brewing Scottish Ale kit
3 lbs. Muntons Plaine Extra Light DME

Hops:

English Fuggle and Golding pellet hops (KCF 125 Williams Scottish Ale kit hops), bittering
1 oz. US Goldings leaf, bittering 1
1 oz. Chinook Leaf, Bittering 2
1 oz. Willamette leaf, Flavoring 1
1 oz. Cascade leaf, Flavoring 2
1 oz. Cascade leaf, Aroma

Hops schedule:
Bittering 1 added after returning to boil after adding LME and DME
Bittering 2 added after another 15 min.
Flavoring added after 50 min. (add Irish Moss)
Add Aroma hops after another 8 or so min. (58 or so total so far)
Boil 2 more min and remove from heat.

Yeast:

1 package Wyeast 1056 American Ale
I have another package of 1728 Williams Scottish I was considering pitching as well, but it is past date and does not seem to be activating after a couple hours.

I am going for something like a Oskar Blues Gordon's ale blackened up and hopped up. Or like a "Back in Black IPA, but pumped up in original gravity. I like Ruination, I like Seven Seas Balls Deep double IPA (though it needs more hops to balance out all that malt), and like the color and flavor added by blackening an IPA with black patent.

I can bump up the black patent or barley, and am open to suggestions on my hopping schedule. I have not dry hopped before, and am not so comfortable doing so as I worry about contamination after pitching.

I will use a larger (8 gal I think) plastic primary with airlock, and rack to glass secondary. Probably unneeded basic info but since I have not done this in a couple years, just kinda reminding myself what worked in the past.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

[sunvalleylaw]

Brewing under way, and adjustments being made on the fly as always. I am thinking I am going to add the Cascade flavoring hops 5 min. early at 45 min, rather than 50, then the Willamette at 50 and remaining Cascade aroma hops at 58 min, just before taking it off the boil. Not gonna pitch the scottish yeast as it didn't poof up. But the Wyeast 1056 poofed up nice and big and hopefully will do the job.

In honor of the upcoming ski season, this Double Black IPA, (or Black Double IPA) is going to be called: "Double Black Diamond Ale"!!

[Beerman***]

I brewed for 9 years and stopped due to moving, job and just not enough time. But, a friend started and I got the bug again. Might start back.
I'm a huge fan of very hoppy brews like Racer 5, Arrogant Bastard and the like and homebrews that are hoppy are easy.

[brewmandan]

i've been homebrewing for about 9-10 years now. brewed up a batch of red wheat lager yesterday.

[sunvalleylaw]

Bump! Well my batch started bubbling nicely in the airlock, then started to poof up the lid enough to make me think it was going to blow its top. (temp had gone up to abut 74 or so from about 70 too.) I was using a primary bucket that does not have a lid that will fit the standard blowoff tubing I have used, so had to figure something out. I used my bottling bucket tubing instead like this:



The lid stayed on overnight, and it is settling in again at about 70 with steady but slower offgassing. Since my Original Gravity (OG) came out so high (measured at 1.091 if it was an accurate measurement), I wish I had thought to use a starter for the yeast. But the pack I used was nice and puffed up and seemed ready to go. I will give it a good 10 to 14 days in the primary and hope I get all I can out of the fermentation. I am also thinking I will dryhop this batch too with likely some Cascade or Chinook hops if I can get some. I have not done that before, but think it might work well in this beer, and give it another layer of hop aroma.

I would welcome any thoughts from you brewers that have been more active (Marnold, Brewmandan, anyone else?) about what I did already and re: any thoughts about what I can do from here on this batch. It is fun to do this again. I really like the big 8 gal kettle I borrowed for boiling too. Much easier to use for a near full batch boil than my little 5.5 gal. stainless.