Begin Brewing!

Back in late July, I made an extract-based Belgian Single using a recipe from E.C. Kraus.  The beer turned out to be one of the better ones I've made, and we've gone through (and given away) almost all of it, so I decided to try brewing a second batch. In my notes from the original version, I noted that I would dial the hops back slightly and add some sugar to dry out a little of the sweetness.  Here is the updated version 1.1 recipe: 1 pound Biscuit Malt 8 ounces Aromatic Malt 3 pounds Golden Light DME (early addition) 3 pounds Golden Light DME (late addition) 1 pound Brewer's Crystals (to boost fermentables) 0.5 ounces Styrian Goldings pellets (6.2% Alpha) - 60 minutes 1.0 ounces Czech Saaz pellets (3.2% Alpha) - 15 minutes 1.0 ounces Czech Saaz pellets (3.2% Alpha) - 5 minutes 1 package of Wyeast Belgian Abbey II yeast (1762) 0.5 ounces of Coriander, crushed 0.5 ounces of Sweet Orange Peel, crushed Yeast nutrient (based on package directions and kettle vo...

Bob Sandage and Phil Farrell gave a presentation at the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) conference this year entitled "Does the Type of Fermenter Affect Your Homebrew?" Their experiment revolved around brewing a large commercial-sized batch of Kolsch.  The style was chosen because it would easily show any unexpected fermentation issues or differences, and required no post-fermentation processing that might have affected the flavor of the finished beer.   The large commercial-sized batch was divided into a variety of different fermenters used by homebrewers, including plastic buckets, carboys, cornelius (corny) kegs, and stainless steel conical fermenters.  Where possible, blow-off tubes and poppet style airlocks were also used to gauge any difference these might make. Finished beers went through a blind taste-test to determine which tasted the best.  They were also subjected to a laboratory analysis. The taste test rated the beer fermented in a...

Adventures in Homebrewing makes a number of all-grain and extract recipe kits for homebrewing.  During a sale earlier this year, I picked up their Peanut Butter Conspiracy Stout extract kit (on sale for $26.99 as of this writing in November 2015).  The kit includes: 6 pounds of Pale LME 1 pound of Flaked Barley 1 pound of Carafa II 4 ounces of Black Patent Malt 1 dram of Peanut Butter Flavoring 1 ounce of Willamette Hops (5.4% AA) It is recommended to use Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale, White Labs 004 Irish Ale, or Danstar Nottingham.  Since I ordered the kit during the warmer months, I settled for Danstar Nottingham dry yeast. Brew Day The brewing process was: Heat 2.5 gallons of water to 150-160F.  I used The Grainfather to do this. Drop the bagged grain into the water and steep for 20 minutes. Remove the grain from the water and let it drain, then discard. In my case, while doing the above, I heated 3 gallons of water in a kettle on my kitchen...