74 replies to this topic

[neddles]

Helles but not sure if traditional or Hallertau Blanc. Probably traditional first then Blanc. 

100% Floor malt with fauxcoction?

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

100% Floor malt with fauxcoction?

Absolutely! You've got my recipe down pat   Have you tried it?

[neddles]

Absolutely! You've got my recipe down pat   Have you tried it?

No. But as you can tell it's been in the back of my mind since you first mentioned it. Until this Helles I have going now I have not made a lager in about 18 months or so. Decided not to get fancy with it. Next time though.

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

I didn't do the fauxcoction on the last batch of Blanc. I wanted the hops to come out more and leave the malt a bit more subtle. 

[neddles]

5 days at 50F then up to basement temp for 3 days. Then down to 35F for a week before kegging.

CWG (and other lager makers) I have had this at 65F for almost 3 days now. It's clearing very nicely. Do you taste for diacetyl/sulphur et al. and get a gravity before deciding to crash? 

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

Usually but if the krausen has dropped, I figure that its done. 

 

Have you guys seen this? Lagers at 65 https://brulosophy.c...riment-results/

[Big Nake]

Maybe I'm lazy but I assume that if I have the beer at warmer temps for a few days and I swirl it a couple times during that time that diacetyl has been vanquished. I don't take starting or ending gravity readings anymore either. Sheesh, I'm a disgrace to the community!

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

Not even an OG!?!

[Big Nake]

Not even an OG!?!

Never. Software tells me the approximate OG and FG and to be honest, I really don't care. If the software tells me that the beer will be 5.4% and ends up 5.2%, why do I care? My goals are to make sure the beer is balanced, fully fermented, is clean-tasting and clear. I leave beers in primary for long enough that I'm never going to pull a beer off the yeast before it's done and all beers (ales and lagers) are warmed up prior to being racked to secondary so the chances of having an underfermented beer are almost zero. I used to check efficiency long ago and decided that my yields and projected OGs were consistently close time after time so I just stopped doing it.

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

That's cool. My process is pretty dialed in but I still like to take a gravity reading at the beginning and end of boil. How else would I justify the cash I laid out for my sweet refractometer  . I also like to take some data points so if I do have a problem, it's easier to track down where I went a stray. 

[Big Nake]

That's cool. My process is pretty dialed in but I still like to take a gravity reading at the beginning and end of boil. How else would I justify the cash I laid out for my sweet refractometer  . I also like to take some data points so if I do have a problem, it's easier to track down where I went a stray.

I hear that. When I was a newbie, I was wringing my hands over every little thing and I took OG and FG readings religiously. I also realize that we have cool tools and that some of us like to collect data, etc. which is all good but at some point I realized that every time I took an OG or FG reading, I got what I was expecting and I also realized that I was already spending a lot of time on brewing in other areas (water, pH control, recipe formulation, etc) and I thought I would just skip over areas that didn't seem to need attention.

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

I know what you mean. I have a pH meter but only use it for sour beers. I don't worry about it for clean beers. I put my numbers in ez water and trust that I'll hit my mark with my lactic and mineral additions. I've never had a problem so I don't sweat it.

[Big Nake]

I know what you mean. I have a pH meter but only use it for sour beers. I don't worry about it for clean beers. I put my numbers in ez water and trust that I'll hit my mark with my lactic and mineral additions. I've never had a problem so I don't sweat it.

There you go. Focus on what you need and wave off parts where you seem comfortable. We can all make it as time-consuming or as simple as we want as long as good, fresh beer is the result. Hmm, all this talking has me hankering for a beer and it's only 11am! I have to wait!

[neddles]

Usually but if the krausen has dropped, I figure that its done. 

 

Have you guys seen this? Lagers at 65 https://brulosophy.c...riment-results/

yeah that made the rounds here a while back, good stuff.

 

I'm going to taste that Helles later on today and see how it is. If its at TG, diacetyl free and nothing else funny I'm going to put it in the fridge. How do you guys crash better bottles? put a solid stopper on it or just throw it in the fridge with the airlock on?

 

Also, I can see myself getting more like Ken and not measuring OGs here at some point or with established recipes at least. Efficiency with no sparge BIAB is a sliding scale based on gravity. I have been using a short alpha rest for a while now on all my mashes and every time I get the predicted pre boil OG based on theoretical 100% conversion from Kai's chart. There have been a few times where it is off by 0.001 and that has been 0.001 higher than expected. But really the consistency is amazing to me.

Edited by neddles, 16 March 2016 - 09:03 AM.

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

I use glass carboys. I pop in a solid stopper and crash it to fridge temp.

[neddles]

I use glass carboys. I pop in a solid stopper and crash it to fridge temp.

I normally do too but both of mine were in use when I made this.

[Big Nake]

I don't put carboys in the fridge to crash. I rack from primary to secondary and leave the secondary on the basement floor (a sort of extended d-rest?) where it clarifies well and then it gets kegged, chilled and carbed and then it sits for weeks or months before it hits the taps.

[SchwanzBrewer]

You don't drink fast enough, Ken.

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

Dang! I just did a quick price check on glass carboys, $30-35 for 5 gallons, 'spensive.

[neddles]

I don't put carboys in the fridge to crash. I rack from primary to secondary and leave the secondary on the basement floor (a sort of extended d-rest?) where it clarifies well and then it gets kegged, chilled and carbed and then it sits for weeks or months before it hits the taps.

I suppose I could just let the primary sit on the basement floor for a week or so. Its about 58F down there right now. Then rack straight to the keg and crash and clarify there.