Brew-Magic
I promised to write up and compare brewing before the software upgrade and after. I realize this is for a very small audience, so will keep this fairly succinct. I intentionally brewed as I would have in the past, without using any of the recipe functions. I will use the
Brewer's Notes
What an ugly surprise. Yesterday, I was adding some sugar into my split batch saison, and saw this. Unintentionally I managed to contaminate the batch with Brettanomyces. I have played with Brett quite a bit in the brewery, but how it managed to sneak into this batch remains a mystery.
Brewer's Notes
I do like to mix things up a bit. One of the more frustrating problems I have with small batches on the stove is the consistency of temperature. I am so spoiled by the Brew Magic’s ability to maintain a consistent temperature – I have been seeking ways to replicate
Brewer's Notes
Well, I promised more stuff on water, and haven't gotten around to it. Apologies. I got detoured with the Blacklands Malt, the malt analysis sheets, etc. All around - poorly planned on my part. The Brew-Magic is sitting waiting for the PLC to arrive. I got the software
Brewer's Notes
It's time to get a little nerdy about Malt. We are going to run through and compare Blacklands Malt White Horn® Pilsener to Briess® Pilsen Malt, and hopefully learn a little bit about choosing quality products. Malt Analysis sheets are useful tools in a brewery toolkit for making
Brewer's Notes
In the last post, Building a Recipe: Saison, I went through some of my thought processes and research in building a new recipe. Something I didn't cover was the source for a recipe, and that varies greatly. A great place to start is Brewing Classic Styles, Zymurgy or
Brewer's Notes
Returning briefly to water, I thought a nod toward a simple approach that yields good results is to take a direct look at AJ deLange's A Brewing Water Chemistry Primer on homebrewtalk.com. This makes fairly straightforward recommendations with a few "exceptions" that I will paraphrase
Brewer's Notes
Rather than revisit the past, despite a rather disappointing and very annoyed viewing of The Hobbit 2 (if you have to ask, you will never understand), I thought this space is better spent looking forward to 2014. Seriously, what was Peter Jackson thinking?I do have some goals, but not
Brewer's Notes
I realize most people would consider calibration something you would do with a measurement device. Something that I have been striving for as a brewer is the ability to repeat a recipe, and then make simple/small changes to refine or improve it's characteristics. We should all realize
Brewer's Notes
Palmer and Kaminsky, as well as AJ deLange and Martin Brungard, have lately laid out arguments that largely debunk the sulfate/chloride ratio as only effective within a certain range of amounts of ions. This makes sense, as concentration (ppm) of a given mineral drives to a flavor threshold, and
Brewer's Notes
I thought it might be nice to revisit these tasting notes over time. You may recall the early tasting when this strong saison was still very green. In just a few weeks lagering, this has really turned a corner. Below, I will mark the previous comments as ET (Early Tasting)
Brewer's Notes
Sometimes simplicity is best, although I have a knack for mucking up something pretty simple. It is just how my brain works. I brewed this a couple of months ago, and it sat on primary for about 6 weeks, and another 8 weeks or so in a bright tank, all