tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6398670700108906754.post2780808496635251730..comments2023-05-31T01:20:09.913-07:00Comments on Crema's Beer Odyssey: The Home Brew Adventure: A Happy Mistake called Red SnowEmmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06761021858837635618noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6398670700108906754.post-85999542036529816182013-06-10T02:12:19.778-07:002013-06-10T02:12:19.778-07:00Well, there kind of is. We went to the London Amat...Well, there kind of is. We went to the London Amateur Brewers (LAB!) monthly meet for the first time last month and found it fascinating. One of the reasons we'd wanted to go was to get feedback on our own beers. But it was interesting to try other people's beers too. Such a good learning experience.<br /><br />Are you going to be down (?up) at all before the GBBF?<br /><br />EmsUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11228202175596830186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6398670700108906754.post-62045845989839202272013-06-06T09:40:48.688-07:002013-06-06T09:40:48.688-07:00Waiting for you will be some of the original Decla...Waiting for you will be some of the original Declassified Black IPA, Batch 1 of Red Snow, Smoked Owen Porter, Declassified NZ, Lunch Monkey Saison, Batch 2 Red Snow, an as-yet un-named Belgian IPA and an as-yet un-named Pale Ale. Plus anything else we brew between now and then! There's going to be a lot of beer drunk when you're over!Emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06761021858837635618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6398670700108906754.post-66464300947324267542013-06-06T01:11:21.346-07:002013-06-06T01:11:21.346-07:00Great name for a red ale :) It's also pretty ...Great name for a red ale :) It's also pretty interesting reading through the process. I feel as though there should be "lab meetings" where local home brewers meet every month and do a powerpoint presentation of their brew with feedback, etc.Bioblogisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15778268441044428778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6398670700108906754.post-22208012446031597482013-06-05T17:37:58.120-07:002013-06-05T17:37:58.120-07:00Sweet! Looking forward to trying the brews.
Prett...Sweet! Looking forward to trying the brews.<br /><br />Pretty Things (from Massachusetts) uses the output of the first mash as strike water for the second mash in their barley wine, which starts out around 1.115. I think you can hit 1.100 with a standard mash if you calculate the grain bill at a lower efficiency -- I pulled it off once with a strong dark ale that used 5.3 kg of grain for a 9 L batch. <br /><br />Also, holy crap, 1.102 is HUGE!doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14808726205478989377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6398670700108906754.post-87224346404633902292013-06-05T12:36:59.467-07:002013-06-05T12:36:59.467-07:00We just wanted to beat what was going on, rather t...We just wanted to beat what was going on, rather than accept defeat and add sugar. We've got a much better understanding now of our mash efficiency after the two brews that we can properly estimate it using BeerSmith. The other option we're considering is brewing two gyles and mixing them or splitting the grain bill in half, mash the first, lauter and then heat that up to strike temp before using it as the strike water for the second half of the grain bill. Needs a bit of calculation though. We might give the high gravity version a try before your visit.<br /><br />And don't worry about trying it. We put aside a few bottles (of all of our brews) when we knew both Martha and you were coming. Hopefully they'll still taste good in August!Emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06761021858837635618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6398670700108906754.post-20228130944225421992013-06-05T10:57:18.424-07:002013-06-05T10:57:18.424-07:00Adding sugar is not cheating, but it is a decision...Adding sugar is not cheating, but it is a decision that affects other things, such as final gravity and body. Also, adding sugar is historically a very English thing to do as well.<br /><br />Have you looked into adjusting your efficiency setting in the recipe design page on BeerSmith? It defaults as something like 70% or 75%, but I know any all-grain thing I do ends up in the 60% to 65% on my system (which, admittedly, is a bit of a kluge). Anyway, if you started with the same grain bill both times and got the same OG, that makes it sounds like you can get consistent results but need to modify the efficiency setting to make more accurate predictions. I'm pretty sure the Fermentation tab under a recipe in BeerSmith will tell you your actual efficiency for that batch once you enter the measured OG and FG.<br /><br />Also, efficiency can drop due to large grain bills (mash tun efficiency) and high hopping rates (wort lost in the hop flowers rather than evaporation, meaning less liquid without the concentration of sugars).<br /><br />Also also, I want to try this beer. Will bring a bottle of our own hoppy red along to share.doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14808726205478989377noreply@blogger.com