BIABrewer Old Hands

1. Partigyle Planning Using the BIABacus (An unoffical draft guide)

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   First post by PistolPatch, 1 month ago

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   I've wanted, for a long time, to write a procedure for using the BIABacus to partigyle. One main problem is that I generally do not brew high gravity beers ( Sarah Sarah has forced me several times) and the grain bill on those done has not lent itself to being re-used for a lower gravity brew e.g. Cherry Chocolate Stout! Since tasting Rocky Ridge's absolutely beautiful Rock Juice, I now have the desire!!!
   
   lukasfab and I will brew it on Sunday week. Ricky from Rocky Ridge has already given...

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   Brew Update
   
   Transferred both these beers to secondary on Thursday for their last hop addition. Then crash-chilled to -1.5 °C. Should get a chance to keg them on Tues or Wed although they could be done now; you can see the trub has settled out already. Some numbers for you. (High gravity beer / partigyle)
   
   VIF and OG: 24.5 L (6.47 Gal) @ 1.097 / 22.5 L (6.0 Gal) @ 1.048
   Final Gravity: 1.025 / 1.012
   Apparent Attenuation: 73.2% / 78.5%
   Primary Fermenter Trub: 5.2 L* (1.37 Gal) / 1.1 L (0.29...
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   Last post by PistolPatch
   1 week ago
2. Holding off on yeast pitching

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   First post by OldGoat, 3 months ago

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   I am using a FastFerment Conical fermenter and have begun to use a technique that I am actually unsure of the pro vs con regarding it. Hoping to get some very experienced folks to school me.
   
   I use no-chill cubes so I do not go straight from the boil kettle to the fermenter. The wort may sit in the cube for several days waiting for the previous beer to be transferred from the conical to the keg. By that time, the wort in the cube is just the right temp to go into the conical fermenter and all...

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   Taking early steps to manage trub would be better, as mentioned by others with bag and sock porosity etc. I started with poor quality bags and eventually made up a few fine mesh Swiss voile bags (thank you beachbum/bribie for the simple circle design) the difference in trub was massive. Added whirlpooling at the end of boiling and slow transfer to the cube, again big improvement. My next step was cold crashing, whereby waiting for the primary ferment to finish and transferring to a secondary,...
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   Last post by Muggy Dawson
   1 week ago
3. Low Oxygen Brewing

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   First post by Mad_Scientist, 1 year ago

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   One of the guys on the low oxygen brewing site has started a thread on HBT under Brew Science.
   
   Bryan Rabe of posted a link to a german brewing site   There he is pointing out the PDF which outlines the methodology for low oxygen brewing (LODO) where you mitigate oxygen ingress at all stages of brewing.
   
   Anyone hear of this before?

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   Correct! Have a Maximus Super on me.
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   Last post by ShorePoints
   9 months ago
4. HI HO HI HO Its off to get RO

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   First post by jhough, 10 months ago

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   ON HOLIDAY !!! Get a couple of days for myself. Brewing up my Gulf Coast IPA on Monday , fishing Tuesday, brewing wife's Lime Blondie on Wed.........Then the youngest is at volleyball camp at University sooooooooo I get 3 days with the wife after brew days :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs Guess I'll see how those days are... Still have 2 more after that.....Maybe fire up the smoker!!

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   Have fun on your holiday! Good to take a regular breaks. I know it's hard to do when you work for yourself, but it's good for the mind.
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   Last post by Scott
   10 months ago
5. Hopstand

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   First post by smyrnaquince, 1 year ago

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   After 2 years of traditional mashing, I'm coming back to the BIAB fold. :o
   
   I am wondering if the BIABacus provides any way to take into account the IBUs from a hopstand. For example, in a Blonde Ale recipe I am looking at, there is a 30-minute hopstand before chilling and pitching yeast. According to BeerSmith, the 60-minute boil hop addition contributes 17.9 IBU and the 30-minute hopstand contributes 6.9 IBUs, so for this recipe the hopstand contribution is significant (28% of the total...

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   Dave.....A 30 minute hopstand will impart aromas plus very few IBUs .Just like adding hops at flameout. I will try to find the article I read on adding hops at these time and post the link. If you are looking for IBUs , try adding around 15 minutes. At that time you will get 50% flavor & 50% aroma utilization .
   J
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   Last post by jhough
   10 months ago
6. [Solved]: Silcone air-lock not working.

   17 Replies 4154 Views

   First post by PistolPatch, 1 year ago

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   [EDIT: Now solved. See this post below . A good example though of how hard some answers are to find.]
   
   Just when I thought I had seen everything!
   
   Okay, here's a pic of my (and youmustbemellow's) last brew... Copy of Fermenter.jpg It's a simple pail with two holes in the lid. The centre one was originally blanked off before I posted this but, in this pic, has a Steri-lock now attached. The hole that is off-centre has a five-holed bung that I can do all sorts of stuff with. A five-holed bung...

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   Kewl..... Glad to know it wasn't ALIENS !! :lol: :lol: :lol:
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   Last post by jhough
   1 year ago
7. 90 Minute boil with no early hops?

   2 Replies 706 Views

   First post by Primavera, 1 year ago

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   If there are no hop additions planned before :20 remaining, is it still necessary to boil for 90 minutes?
   
   I understand why hop additions happen after the first 30 minutes - wouldn't it be a time and propane saver to cut the boil to 60 minutes when only hopbursting?

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   There's a few things (Edit: actually, a lot of things) worth understanding here.
   
   - Hop addition times are really not that relevant to boil time. For example, if you add x grams of hop A at 90 mins versus adding it at 60 mins, there is very little difference in the end result. So, boiling is not really about hops.
   - A home-brew 90 minute boil is not the same as a craft brewery 90 minute boil. Certain techniques might be employed in a craft brewery that are unavailable to us.
   - You can't...
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   Last post by PistolPatch
   1 year ago
8. Tinseth formula issues?

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   First post by Lumpy5oh, 1 year ago

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   I recently listened to most of an experimental homebrewing podcast. The topic was expected ibu's vs measured. I have not listened to the lead up cast but the experiment was to provide listeners with an APA, IPA and IIPA recipe. Listeners brewed these and submitted them for testing. Across the board there were discrepancies of up to 30%. Glenn Tinseth was on hand to discuss the results. What I found really interesting is that Glenn said that his formulas are based on whole leaf hops and not...

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   I realize there is already a ton of documentation on the inaccuracies of ibu calculations. What I found most interesting is the fact that Glenn used whole hops in his testing and believes that once the hops were covered in the sugars in the wort that hop oil extraction dropped and that pellets are probably more efficient. 
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   Last post by Lumpy5oh
   1 year ago
9. How Much Precision Do You Use w/ Managing Mash Temperature?

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   First post by Scott, 1 year ago

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   I brewed this today. So let's say you have a mash temperature of 62 deg C / 144 F (German Pils). Planned for a two-step mash with the first part for 50 minutes. Strike temp was 149 deg F. I was quick with the stirring and when done the temperature was 145.5 deg F. Wrapped the pot and at 5 min in temp on the pot was 144.0 deg F. At 25 min in temp was 143 deg F. At 55 min in temp was 141 deg F. (Seems like once the blankets and sleeping bags warmed up they helped to stabilize temp quite a bit....

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   Scott, I have Stepped, Ramped, Single Infusion, and Reversed Mashed.
   
   The Only noticeable difference has been the Reverse Mash (start High, and let it Cool).
   
   The Original question was How Much Precision Do You Use w/ Managing Mash Temperature?  
   
   My answer is, to Make Beer , NONE.
   
   To make a Recipe Beer, it is Very Important.  
   
   To Duplicate a Recipe , batch to batch, which is Very Difficult, it is Very Important.
   
   If the Recipe says Mash at 145F/62C for an Hour, and then Mash at 157F/60C for...
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   Last post by Primavera
   1 year ago
10. Dried Yeast Starters ?

    3 Replies 631 Views

    First post by Yettiman, 1 year ago

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    Why can't Dried yeast be used to make a Starter? 
    
    I have read lots and lots of posts on multiple sites stating that you cannot use a Dried Yeast to make a Starter
    
    Does anyone know why?
    
    Yeast is hard to come by where I live and it would be good if I could split a packet, create a Starter and save the rest for another batch.
    
    Why would this not work?
    
    If you can create a Starter from a single cel and via Slants and Setups create a Starter, why not from part of a Dried Yeast pack containing...

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    I have never read that you ' can't ' use dry yeast in a starter. I think the general consensus is just that it is unnecessary, since a dry yeast pack has more than enough cells to ferment the standard 5 or 6 gallon batch, where as with liquid yeast the count is lower, and more variable.
    
    In your situation I would do the same thing, especially if yeast is hard to come by. I've noticed around these parts the price of dry yeast has gone up quite a bit over the past couple years too, as well as...
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    Last post by goulaigan
    1 year ago
11. Finally Brewed !!!

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    First post by jhough, 1 year ago

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    Finally got to brew a batch... Long time in the making. Brewed up my Amber Ale on Labor Day weekend , for us Yanks .
    Smoked a Pork Butt at the same time. Time ran late, so I put the ale in a clean carboy with an airlock. Had to lower temp to pitching temp which took 3 days, life got in the way so it was 10 days b4 pitching. At 4 days I started seeing krausen, ...did I pick up a wild yeast ???? Not sure .... After 10 days pitched rehydrated US- 05 satchet . 3 days after I've got krausen again in...

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    No worries, I'll be getting my 50th birthday present in November. :nup:
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    Last post by thughes
    1 year ago
12. Prepping the day before brew day.

    11 Replies 2506 Views

    First post by PistolPatch, 2 years ago

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    This is in the Old Hands forum because, you've done quite a few brews now and I want to hear your thoughts on preparation the night before versus on brewday.
    
    My question is: Do you find that weighing grain and hops (crushing grain if needs be) and setting up equipment the day before brew day makes a difference?
    
    I imagine, but I'm by no means sure, that we'll get different answers depending on people's circumstances. For example, is it more important for a person in a small home who has to...

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    A lot of what I have here is an accumulation of small parts; o-rings, washers, irrigation bits, fermenter lids/bodies; stuff that is useless to anyone. Yes, there are some bigger items (plate chiller) and various pumps but it is the small stuff that really costs a brewer in money and time.
    
    I'm working on a prototype of something atm and the large bit of it cost $115 AU. I can't count the times I have been to the hardware in the last week but the last receipt I scored yesterday was $130 AU,...
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    Last post by PistolPatch
    2 years ago
13. Lager

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    First post by jhough, 2 years ago

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    I'll try to keep on point here.
    Used Jamil's method of brewing a lager, ie BJCP study guide. Lagered at 52* for 2 weeks (he says that at that at 50* you do not need a diacetyl rest. Work got in the way for a couple of days and temp went to 58* but never over. At 2.5 week mark now....
    Question, should I increase temp and do a D rest or bring back to 52* and then rack to secondary and lager for 2 months... I know ...WHAT! 2 MONTHS !. Yes I have patience for a good lager !
    
    What say you ??
    J

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    Hey PP , sorry between work & bro -inlaw in hospital haven't gotten back with you.....
    Pitched at 11c/52fbecause after dropping temp I pulled from chill then aerated wort for 15 minutes... temp rose at that time.
    Beer style is a Classic American Pils.. Yeast was White Labs WLP840.
    Went with a rest ........Not a nap HAHAHA
    J
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    Last post by jhough
    2 years ago
14. Refractometer?

    36 Replies 9264 Views

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    First post by daddyo, 6 years ago

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    Does anyone use a refractometer instead of a hydrometer? Does it accurately measure FG too, or just OG?
    
    I've been thinking of picking one up, but need to know if they work for both gravity measurements or just one.

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    Thank you SP for posting that :salute:.
    
    It's always a bit uncomfortable challenging something like this refracto area, sometimes you think, Is it only me that gets these results? :dunno:. Your post definitely makes me feel more at ease :peace:.
    
    Even though I gave up on the refracto ages ago, it was still interesting for me doing the tests. It would be interesting to hear if those who do use a refracto for some parts of their brewing, have more difficulty with darker worts than light ones....
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    Last post by PistolPatch
    2 years ago
15. Office Water Cooler/Heater Brewing Possibilities

    7 Replies 2742 Views

    First post by PistolPatch, 2 years ago

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    I was getting some office supplies today and noticed that they had office water cooler and heaters for sale for AU$75 (US$53 at time of writing).
    
    Water Cooler.jpg
    There was also another cooler/fridge unit for AU$245 (US$173 at time of writing).
    
    Water Cooler and Fridge.jpg
    The fridge is tiny so forget that but the idea of a water cooler/heater on top of a wine (read fermentation temperature) or bar fridge certainly got the cogs turning. (Just had another quick look online and there are...

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    I wish you where my neighbor :love: , we could talk over the fence and you can pass your unwanted beer to me...
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    Last post by Mad_Scientist
    2 years ago
16. High gravity BIAB

    9 Replies 2455 Views

    First post by Contrarian, 2 years ago

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    One of the frustrations I have found with BIAB was that I was struggling to make high gravity beers. This is only a minor concern as I rarely brew high gravity but from time to time the situation arises and I want to give it a go.
    
    My current situation was that I have a yeast cake for a saison/Brett mix that has already made a saison so I was wanting to brew something big for the yeast cake. I also saw this as an opportunity to try a method for brewing high gravity that I thought would work...

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    I had planned on doing something similar a while back adding base and specialty grains into the bag for the second beer. I never had the time on the planned day so it never happened. I am definitely going keep an eye on this to see how things progress.
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    Last post by Lumpy5oh
    2 years ago
17. How much when repitching from yeast slurry

    21 Replies 6091 Views

    First post by chesl73, 2 years ago

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    I haven't tried it before but thought I'd give yeast washing/re-using a go. I've got a bottle of my old yeast which has been washed in the fridge, I've gotten rid of any trub and any top floating beer/water to leave me with about 200mls or so of yeast slurry.
    I only do small batches of around 2.5G/10L (into fermenter) so I was wondering how much of this yeast slurry I should pitch into my next brew (OG ~ 1.050)?
    I tried using the Mrmalty.com website but it suggested I only need 43 ml, that's...

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    Thanks - Joshua. Can't guarantee the crazy apart...
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    Last post by Brew4me
    2 years ago
18. Advanced BIABacus Pre-Release Questions

    204 Replies 47756 Views

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    First post by PistolPatch, 5 years ago

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    There are a few BIABacus Pre-Release Questions being asked on the forum that don't quite fit into the current pre-release structure - they are not feedback questions or scaling questions.
    
    I'll reserve a few posts here on the off-chance it might make life easier on the mods. In the meantime, I would like to get at least one advanced answer done here.
    
    (Please bear in mind that I am also quite short on time atm and so any answers I can give here will be more, Discuss between yourselves ones,...

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    Contraian, My Post Boil temperature Greatly Varies with the Ambient Room Temperatures
    
    The rate of Cooling can be 1F per Minute at the start, and as All Cooling systems, drops of to less than 1F per 20 minutes Near Ambient.
    
    All I do is Wrap the Kettle In a Home Made Kettle Cozy , (an Old Sleeping Bag cut in to a thick Cup shape).
    
    Then add the Flavor hops until the Flavor Rocks, about 5 to 20 minutes depending of the Hop, then Un-zip the Cozy and let it cool to 140F, and add the Aroma Hops,...
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    Last post by joshua
    2 years ago
19. Crown Beer

    13 Replies 5872 Views

    First post by hashie, 4 years ago

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    Let me first preface this post by saying that I am not trying to clone, copy or otherwise mimic another beer, commercial or otherwise. I simply wish to discuss and experiment as to the merits of Crown Beer.
    
    For a long time an Australian brewery, Carlton and United Brewery (CUB), has, in my opinion, been ripping punters off. They have done this by selling 2 different beers from the one fermenter. This is done by bottling the lower 2/3 (I really don't know the amounts, this is just a guess) of...

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    50% of one, 50% of the other Lumpy.
    
    A keg of beer isn't homogenised, kegs (universally?) draw from the bottom and in 2 days the hops have changed.
    
    But back to the stratification of a bottle of chimay. Put into a bottle of water, vinegar and oil and observe the stratification. Shake it (create a salad dressing)and see how long it takes to stratify again - pouring a beer isn't as radical as shaking. So depending on if you are sipping on $20 liquid or skulling a small beer after a hard days...
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    Last post by DanIAm
    2 years ago
20. Big BIAB

    1 Replies 1689 Views

    First post by floppo, 2 years ago

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    Hi,
    
    I wonder about big BIAB.
    Some have already play with big volumes ?
    
    Did you squeeze it ? Was it full volume ?
    
    Just to give more context, i brew now only 20 liters batch (5 gallons), but i bought and put a electric heater in a 100 liters (25 gall), so i plan to brew 50 liters batch, and would like to go bigger.
    But i would like to get some feedback from people who already did some batch around 25 gallons or bigger.
    Just to get advice and to know if it's a good idea.

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    Hi floppo,
    
    I currently use a 25 gal pot heated with 2x3500w induction plates.
    
    I have made around 10 batches already. It works very well.
    
    If you have any questions please ask.
    
    Cheers!
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    Last post by doomy86
    2 years ago
21. Thin beer with full volume brewing....

    19 Replies 5036 Views

    First post by Tytonegro, 2 years ago

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    Hi, I'm not a very experienced brewer to fit in the category 'old hands', but I have done about 12 brews in a one-pot rims system with full volume and a biab bag to hold the grain....
    
    So far, I'm quite pleased with my beers, but someone commented that full volume brewing gives thinner beer, less body and mouthfeel as compared to brewing with less water and sparging afterwards.
    He suggested brewing two brews with the same recipes, one full volume without sparging and one small volume mash with...

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    Lol goulaigan. From memory you are another one here whose every post on the board is of high quality :salute:. If you're writing them drunk, please keep drinking!
    
    (Normally if I saw a post that was heading things off track I'd PM you first anyway to make sure I hadn't got the wrong end of the stick and I ask people to do the same to me. So, relax everyone. It's actually usually some of us older-timers on the board that sometimes don't read as well as we should and then write a post that isn't...
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    Last post by PistolPatch
    2 years ago
22. Gravity Question

    8 Replies 2804 Views

    First post by jhough, 3 years ago

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    Sorry gents, been out of the loop for a bit. This may seem long-winded ,but, giving as much info as possible.
    Brewed my Amber ale 3 weeks ago, keeping fermenting temps @ 68* F . After 1 week cold front came thru and temp dropped to 64* F . Not terrible, but , not ideal. left for 2nd week @ 64* F . Checked gravity @ 2 week mark and was 1.022 - expecting terminal @ 1.016 .
    I had a 1/2 sachet US-05 in freezer so I rehydrated , gave a good shake to carboy and added. I wrapped carboy in a blanket...

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    Hey ya'll Think I figured out my gusher problem with these Ambers........ I don't drink them fast enough. Opened one the other night and it had a very HEALTHY HEAD ! Guess I'll be drinking them sooner.
    J
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    Last post by jhough
    3 years ago
23. Musing while brewing

    7 Replies 2462 Views

    First post by jhough, 3 years ago

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    I was just thinking whilst my boil was starting. Started skimming off the hot break and of course was smelling it.... Has anyone done a side x side to see if taking out the hot break drops your efficiency ? Changes the flavor profile? Or are you just helping clarity ? OR of course did I just waste 3 minutes of my life? What say you ??
    JOE

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    Josh, sometimes I have more time than others. Other times it all goes into the fermeter. Just depends.
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    Last post by jhough
    3 years ago
24. Im a BIABACUS convert

    20 Replies 5703 Views

    First post by Lars, 3 years ago

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    Tried beersmith a few years ago and wasn't impressed. Really just use it for putting recipes together. Anyway, I've always brewed by the seat of my pants and made some great beer. Until recently, I never even measured my starting water, just knew approximately what was going into my kettle.
    I recently used the BIABACUS for the first time and I intend sticking with it as I'd like to achieve some consistency and predictability. Ive attached the file.
    Had a couple of problems with this brew....

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    Thanks Rick. Didn't see a response/reply here or there but I've just written a post here which explains why software working on fixed amounts of ingredients and efficiencies (something the most simplistic of spreadsheets can do), can be very incorrect and cause so many problems.
    
    If anyone thinks this post is unfair or incorrect in any way, as with everything I write, I am most happy (would love, in fact) to be corrected*.
    
    :peace:
    PP
    
    * From my personal point of view, I really think we need...
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    Last post by PistolPatch
    3 years ago
25. Achieving low FG on high gravity (e.g. 1.090 OG) brews.

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    First post by Rick, 3 years ago

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    Hey folks, I'm just looking to pry into your experiences on how you went about achieving high attenuation on the bigger beers. Those of you that wanted it, anyway.
    
    I had a shot at my own Imperial IPA recipe, and took some precautions to help attenuation along as I knew it would be an issue ...
    
    - 7% of base grain swapped for turbinado sugar, added at end of boil. (I see 5-15% recommended from multiple sources, so I played it conservative to start).
    - 5.35 mash pH target (room temp) for a...

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    Update. Nothing about processing here, just recipe notes.
    
    I won't be using Turbinado again for anything in the pale ale style, that's for sure. Hop aromas are dying down a bit now, and the turbinado flavors are coming through bit more than expected.
    
    Most comments I have seen around forums, consensus says up to 10% gives subtle molasses/brown sugary flavor. I wouldn't call it potent, but it's not subtle at all at 7%. Instead of adding a flavor layer, seems to be battling everything else in...
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    Last post by Rick
    3 years ago