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   1. Tweaking stuff

      by Streamer, 8 years ago in Intermediate Brewing

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      I keep refining my APA recipe, and I’ll be changing two things on my next batch: making a late addition of hops for both flavor and some modified bitterness, and dropping the Crystal Malt from 60 to 15 to lessen the caramel flavor I've been getting. The caramel flavor has been too noticeable, overpowering the other beer flavors I’m looking for, thus the reason for reducing the Crystal Malt.
      By changing from Crystal 60L to 15L, while keeping the % of Crystal malt the same in relation to the...

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      MS and Scott, thank you for your replies. MS, It took me some thought but it finally hit me what you were saying about percentages. Yes, I'll start playing with that.
      Scott, that article is pretty interesting. I hadn't considered dropping the Crystal altogether and bringing in another malt, but I agree with Tony Lawrence about sweetness masking other flavors. I may drop Crystal altogether and substitute another malt - looks like I've got some research to do, and pretty darned quick.
      I'm...
      4 Replies
      13747 Views
      Streamer
      8 years ago
   2. Be careful what you wish for

      by Streamer, 8 years ago in Brew Day Stories and/or Pics

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      I've been swallowed up in a project for the past few months and finally finished a few days ago. My neighbor is moving and gave me a conical fermenter, a SS 60L brew pot with outlet valve and a thermometer, and a 14 propane burner, along with some other stuff. I was itching to make a run at brewing with this new equipment and as my wife is out of town for a week, determined today would be the day. I decided not to attempt to use the conical fermenter for a lot of reasons. I may some day but not...

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      Well, I did go for it and bottled a few weeks ago. I didn't rack into a secondary. I let the beer sit on all the trub for about 3 weeks while fermentation finished, then bottled. The beer conditioned in the bottle for 3 weeks and then I cracked a bottle. The result was a nicely bittered beer, with no grass or hay taste, at least on my pallet. Overall I'm pretty pleased. The final results confirm - again - what so many brewers on this site have stated previously; it's beer, so once it's in the...
      4 Replies
      12435 Views
      Streamer
      8 years ago
   3. Value!

      by Streamer, 8 years ago in Intermediate Brewing

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      It's been a while since I had time to think about my next batch, but things are settling down and I'm tweaking my current recipe.
      In reviewing the attached recipe I see that in section A and B under SRM the sum comes up with a Value! notice. Typically on Excel spreadsheets I see this when I've messed up a formula. If I play around with numbers I don't seem to be able to get it to go away. What am I doing wrong?
      
      Thanks as always

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      Thanks for looking. You were right MS, I plugged in .01 for the Maltodextrin and viola!
      3 Replies
      11659 Views
      Streamer
      8 years ago
   4. Conical Fermenter

      by Streamer, 8 years ago in Bags, Mashers, Thermometers, Kettles etc.

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      I just purchased this conical fermenter from a neighbor who is moving out of state. I've been thinking about getting a conical set up for a while so this seemed like a good deal. It's been around the horn a few times, but still looks good. I doubt if there's much to go wrong with it. It came with a ball valve at the bottom of the cone to drain the trub, a twist valve above that and a thermometer and heat belt. I'm retiring the ball valve and will clean everything thoroughly before first use....

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      Interesting, Steamer...
      
      I have no idea on your question, have never used the product, and don't know anyone that has. Trying to find their website, and think it is this one: I don't see the model listed on their site. Link from yellow pages appears to be correct and has their phone number.
      
      You should make sure you have everything you are supposed to have. (Is there a parts diagram, user manual you could download, etc.?) Any missing gaskets, etc.? Website shows some air locks but I don't know...
      2 Replies
      10733 Views
      Scott
      8 years ago
   5. More Hops!!!

      by Streamer, 9 years ago in Intermediate Brewing

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      Well, I'm posting this under Intermediate because I meet the criteria, but barely. 
      I'm getting prepped to brew my 2nd batch of SNPA Clone, and want to up the IBU's slightly as well as the hop aroma. My last batch was pretty mild to my taste, but I liked the beer in general. Original IBUs were  32.7. So my questions are:
      1. Is going from an IBU of 32.7 to 37.1 a big jump, a baby step, or a Goldilocks just right?
      2. My 1st batch had 32.7 grams of 7.8% AA Cascade hops added at 5 minutes and 32.7...

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      Hi Streamer,
      
      I would give it a shot without adjusting the Perle addition... My opinion. Give it a shot. I think you will be okay. And let me know how you like Perle at 10 minutes...
      
      Wyeast 1056 American Ale Yeast says 60 to 72 deg F. I would think 63-64 deg F should be okay but on the lower side. WLP001 and US-05 are supposed to be the same but list slightly different numbers for most everything.
      
      7 days to ferment an Ale seems like it's on the low side. :scratch: Might be done but may not....
      9 Replies
      17363 Views
      Scott
      9 years ago
   6. Big Apricot

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      by Streamer, 9 years ago in BIABrewer.info and BIAB for New Members

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      I've brewed the All Amarillo APA twice now, and both batches have come out with way more apricot than I like. I've confirmed this by asking my professional tasters, and they agree that apricot is the dominant flavor. I know they are pros because they require payment in beer.
      
      Is this taste profile a function of the hops, the grain bill, or perhaps the yeast?
      
      If I were to stick with the grain bill and change the hops to eliminate or modify the apricot flavor, how would I go about changing the...

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      Streamer - a soak in Starsan won't do it. That is strictly a sanitizer. It's what you use directly after you use the cleaner. We are on the right track, I think. It appears to be a cleanliness issue, in that you have been rinsing and sanitizing, but not cleaning. 
      
      I would rinse after use so that there is no build up and less sit time on the cleaner is necessary.
      34 Replies
      31335 Views
      Scott
      9 years ago
   7. SNPA Clone recipe check

      by Streamer, 9 years ago in BIABrewer.info and BIAB for New Members

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      Hi all. I've brewed the All Amarillo APA 3 times now and I've decided to try something different. This time a Sierra Nevada clone. I copied the recipe from somewhere on this site a couple months ago and now can't find it's origin - my apologies to the brewer who first posted it! I did make adjustments for my equipment, and changed out one line for the addition of 1/2 tablet Whirlfloc.
      One question I have is the last addition of the Cascade hops at 0 minutes. Do I leave the hops in the hop sack...

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      Hey Streamer, Glad to hear things worked out for you!
      
      The cover with a towel thing...didn't come from me. ;)  Might have been PP...  :scratch: 
      
      I think there is a lot more knowledge on hops and hopping yet to be learned. For me...I've tried the whirlpool at flame out thing, and it took about 40 minutes to get the temp below 170 deg F, which supposedly where the isomerization of hops stops... Then I used immersion chiller to get temp to 70 degree F range quickly. Final result - plenty of...
      7 Replies
      9158 Views
      Scott
      9 years ago
   8. User error - obviously

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      by Streamer, 9 years ago in BIABrewer.info and BIAB for New Members

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      I brewed my second All Amarillo APA today, this time a 5 gallon batch. I thought I was very careful with volumes, mash time, boil time, everything. Even took careful notes. I ended up way off of my target volume and surprisingly (for me) slightly low on my OG. I was going for a VIP of just over 5 gallons, which according to Biabicus I would need 5.42 gallons VIF. My VIF ended up at 4.6 gallons with a lower OG than predicted!
      I've looked at Some common reasons for a Low Efficiency Reading and...

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      Want to use a freezer with a temp controller. I have a chest freezer and it works well. Had difficulty finding a decent used one on Craig's List...and got new one at Best Buy, low priced chest freezer.
      
      EDIT: I've read the same...not super clear verbiage on the mash out. Pat says in the tests he's ran, you get an extra point or two by doing a mashout, so I take it that we are extracting the last little bit of goodness out of the grain, at a different and higher temperature before the boil......
      28 Replies
      27709 Views
      Scott
      9 years ago
   9. Third go at All Amarillo

      by Streamer, 9 years ago in BIABrewer.info and BIAB for New Members

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      This will be my third attempt at BIAB and NRBs All Amarillo; the second batch was better than the 1st, the 1st wasn't bad for my first go.
      After getting some very helpful input I'm changing the yeast to Wyeast WLP090 to see if I can knock down the apricot aftertaste I've been getting.
      So, here is my revised Biabicus - I'd appreciate a look to see if I've messed anything up. I did delete the .4L in X Adjust volume loss from Lauter , although I'm not sure this is a good thing as it increased my...

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      MS - are you saying that the 0.4 is supposed to be in there, perhaps correcting a default error...?
      4 Replies
      6404 Views
      Scott
      9 years ago
   10. New Kettle Questions

       by Streamer, 9 years ago in BIABrewer.info and BIAB for New Members

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       I recently purchased a 60 quart aluminum kettle, and haven't yet used it to brew (coming soon though!). The inside dimensions are 16 x18 (40.6cmx45.7cm) which I input in section B. So my question is how accurate are sections S, T, U and V? I'll probably go ahead and fill and measure, but really, this should be a very simple geometry issue involving the volume of a cylinder. Maybe this is a nonsensical question, but should I test the volume of the cylinder and compare my measured volumes to...

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       Thanks for the feedback MS.
       2 Replies
       4986 Views
       Streamer
       9 years ago
   11. Finally - my first BIAB brew day coming up

       by Streamer, 10 years ago in BIABrewer.info and BIAB for New Members

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       I had hoped to brew my first BIAB batch right after New Years, but life got in the way. I'm ready to start this batch in a couple of days and wanted someone to check my recipe to make sure I haven't inadvertently altered something. I used the BIABicus to scale down an All Amarillo APA to 6 gallons TWN, finishing up with approximately 3 gallons VIF. Any tips or comments would be appreciated.
       Also, when I fill my brew vessel, is it ok to use hot water from the tap to jump start the heating...

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       Hey Streamer,
       
       Let me take a stab at the hop question... I don't think under-shooting the OG would have any negative effect on hops. If anything, a lower OG might intensify the hops that are in the beer (balance would be heavier toward the hops than malt). So, I would look at the hops...
       
       1) Are you sure there were no mistakes with hop measurements (etc.)? That would be an easy one...
       
       2) Assuming you measured twice and cut once , what was the age of your hop pellets (or were they flower?),...
       16 Replies
       16563 Views
       Scott
       9 years ago
   12. Need to confirm kettle volume in BIABacus

       by Streamer, 10 years ago in BIABrewer.info and BIAB for New Members

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       Hello folks, I've got a 15.5 gallon keg as a brew vessel. I've attached a photo of it. In a previous post, Mad Scientist suggested inputting the keg diameter as 39.2 cm, the height as 42.4 cm, and in the area for adjustments (x) 4.3 liters for the shape of the keg - is this the brew vessel shape you were referring to? I've pegged the dimensions into the BIABacus and looked at the output and think I understand the logic. I just want to confirm that this gets me started in the right direction on...

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       I'm going to do a boil off tomorrow with just water to determine my Change evaporation rate in area X of the Biabacus. I know this not a precise figure, but given the shape of my kettle, I think it will be a good place to start. My plan is to fill the kettle with 5 gallons of tap water (there's that damned US thing again!), bring it to a boil and let it run for an hour. then I'll measure the amount left and determine the amount boiled off.
       
       Any suggestions? Should I use 8 gallons instead, since...
       19 Replies
       17942 Views
       PistolPatch
       10 years ago
   13. Alternatives to Copper

       by Streamer, 10 years ago in Chilling

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       I'm curious as to whether others have explored alternatives to copper tubing to use as a wort chiller. Just wondering if something like this would work or if there are reasons not to use it, or better alternatives?

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       You definitely want to avoid plastic tubing as a chiller, not only because it is a poor conductor but also because it will impart off-flavours to your wort.
       
       I can't think of a single plastic that won't taint your wort at boiling point although there are probably some. Most will taint your wort even at mash temperatures. (Use only silicone or metal hoses for hot transfers).
       
       For chilling, copper or stainless is the go and I'm thinking stainless would be better as it might be easier to keep...
       4 Replies
       15614 Views
       PistolPatch
       10 years ago

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