It’s Beer Thirty FReepers! Time For The Homebrewing / Wine Making Thread #36 April 26, 2013

Free Republic | 4-26-2013 | Red_Devil 232

[Red_Devil 232]

Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!

Happiness is a bubbling airlock! And a Cold Brew

 

Irish Stout Yum!

Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers.

I missed posting last Friday and I apologize. I just got caught up in all the news coming out of Boston last Friday and missed posting the thread. I did get to brew up another Irish Stout last week and it needs to be racked into a secondary tomorrow. My last Irish Stout turned out to be so good I needed more! Yum!

[Red_Devil 232]

Ping To the list.

[tacticalogic]

What would you recommend with bacon and jalapeno hushpuppies?

[mirkwood]

[Red_Devil 232]

Some fried small sized river Catfish whole, all you can eat! A nice side of cole slaw and a big glass of iced tea. LOL That is what I would love right now! Oh and keep the fish and those hushpuppies coming!

[Libloather]

Drinking AND smoking? Never heard of it...

[onyx]

How about Signing up to Donate Monthly?

VERY Generous FReeper Sponsors are donating $10 for every New Monthly Donor & $1-A-DAY DONOR!

[JimRed]

Bump for later.

[djf]

Stout is IN and BUBBLIN!

Started preppin last Monday night, doing some preliminary cleaning and getting my starter going.

Starter had abt 1/2 pack of Safale 04 and qtr tsp of yeast nutrient.

Was going hells bells Tuesday afternoon so I figured it was now o never... dissolved the sugar (recipe call for 1 kg of sugar, 2.2 lbs, I used closer to 3 lbs.)

Added the malt and got everything in the carboy, but it was still way overtemp, do I put it in the sink, surrounded it with water and ice cubes, till it was down to about 75.

Pitched the starter and after about an hour was seeing foam at the top. let it set for another fours hours or so, then pitched the other half of the pack of yeast just to give it a kick. Foamed over the first night, but lately the foaming action has slowed down, now there are BUBBLES, I mean BIG BUBBLES coming up. In my coupla years of brewing I’ve never seen it actually bubble instead of more foam, kinda weird.

Recipe is enough for 6 gallons, so at some point in the next two days, I will separate off a bit and dilute it down just a touch.

I absolutely love this stout. As much a food as it is a beer!

[Yogafist]

I was thinking real hard about brewing a stout, but settled for a smoked Scottish ale I will brew tomorrow. Sad thing is it has to ferment for three weeks (primary and secondary).

[djf]

My main problem over the 20 or so times I have brewed hasn’t been contamination.
It’s been uneven carbonation.
So my inclination is to bottle early.

The very first time I brewed this stout (it’s the Coopers kit, but I never use their yeast) when it slowed down in the bubbling, I figured it was ready to bottle, so I tasted it,
it was the foulest stuff you could think of, so I diluted it a bit and it started fermenting again!

Thirty days after that stuff was in the bottle, it was without doubt, the absolute best beer I ever had!

So far, between the beers and ciders, I managed to contaminate one batch,

Stinkfoot!! Big time!!!

Good luck with yours! I figure about Sunday I will split it off for a secondary, give it about 2 days, then into the bottles. Might be able to have one on my Bday, which this year coincides with mothers day...

[Jayster]

I posted last year when I ordered 8 varieties of Hops. All of them came back this year and are doing really well. So well that I am taking some of the Bines and cloning them to give away to friends that want some.

I might take some pics and post them as the are starting to go up the twine now. The Cascade is going crazy and is already about 12 feet up the twine. That is the one that I am taking the cutting from for the clones.

With 8 varieties and the ability to get dozens of clones off of each plant, I should be busy.

A bine is a climbing plant which climbs by its shoots growing in a helix around a support. It is distinct from a vine, which climbs using tendrils or suckers. The stems of many bines are rough or have downward-pointing bristles to aid their grip. The rotation of the shoot tip during climbing is autonomous, and does not (as sometimes imagined) derive from the shoot following the sun around the sky – the direction of twist does not therefore depend upon which side of the equator the plant is growing. This is shown by the fact that some bines always twine clockwise, including runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus) and bindweed (Convolvulus species), while others twine anticlockwise, including French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and climbing honeysuckles (Lonicera species).

[Red_Devil 232]

Great going with growing the hops! My raised beds are full of tomato plants - my hobby - other than brewing beer. Are you the one who posted the beautiful pictures of the your harvested hops in the plastic container last year?

[Jayster]

No that was not me but I will post some this year.

Last year was the first year for these hops and they start producing 2nd year on.....

I plan on having hops growing for the rest of my life.

[Red_Devil 232]

What kind of climate do you have? It was my understanding that they required a cool climate to grow.

[Jayster]

I live in the Sacramento area in El Dorado Hills near Folsom Lake.

All 8 varieties grew just fine last year.

http://www.sacramentohistory.org/films_hopfarm.html

[Jayster]

How to Grow a Beer: The Amazing Rebirth of a Sacramento Beer
http://youtu.be/lt17fK3DJRM

[Red_Devil 232]

Very, Very interesting video. Looks like many varieties hops will grow well in all types of climates. Even here in Texas.

Thanks

[Jayster]

This is by far the best place to get hop plants:

https://www.facebook.com/GreatLakesHops

[Red_Devil 232]

Bookmarked, Thanks for the link.