Brewer's Notes
So this has been lagering and carbing up for just over a week. Not really long enough for this strong saison to age properly, but I cannot resist the occasional nip. To say the alcohol heat is minimal is not quite true, but is surprisingly drinkable. This spent a week
Brewer's Notes
Did you see that one coming? I am trying to put these in some order of importance, and while most times you would think about calibrating equipment, some of the most important equipment you already have. Our senses are incredibly sensitive tools if used properly, and particularly so when trained
Brewer's Notes
It has been a while since I put up a new recipe. I am fairly excited about this one for a couple of reasons. I wanted to stretch my legs on a big beer, and test my new water system and knowledge, as well as feature a hop that I
Brewer's Notes
This article has been superseded by a new tutorial with the release of 1.17a. For the latest, please visit https://www.accidentalis.com/brun-water-spreadsheet-tutorial-free-edition/ There are a number of water calculation tools on the internet for brewers, including EZWater Calculator, Greg Noonan’s Water Witch, Palmers Mash RA spreadsheet,
Brewer's Notes
Well, I had hoped that the funny taste in the overpitch was just green character and from such a massive blow off. It is now clear that the overpitch batch is infected somehow. This yields an inconclusive result and requires a do-over. I hate to admit failure, especially to admit
Brewer's Notes
I recently had my water tested, and based on the report (because of excessive salinity and alkalinity) decided to convert my brewing liquor to Reverse Osmosis (R/O) water with mineral additions. I should share my process because I have learned a lot about this in a short time (but
Brewer's Notes
Boredom causes me to do some stupid things. Like, open up the week-old "control" conditioned bottles for the experiment. These have only been conditioning for a week now, so they are not really ready for consumption and need some aging. I didn't have high hopes at
Brewer's Notes
Pitching Rates Revisited I continue to struggle with whom I should believe relative to pitching rates of DRY yeast. Both Wyeast and White Labs products seem to accurately present the home brewer with a clearly known and validated yeast cell density – as well as accurate “born on” dates that allow
Brewer's Notes
So I jumped the gun. The fermentation had finished. Just conditioning sitting on the lees. I bottled after a cold crash to 40F to drop some of the yeast. Henceforth, these shall be called White (Batch A), Green (Batch B) and Blue (Batch C), well after this post. That is
Brewer's Notes
I have swapped over entirely to R/O (reverse osmosis) water, which requires me to add back in certain ions to achieve good tasting water and beer. The largest requirement is calcium, through the careful additions of calcium chloride (CaCl2) or powdered gypsum (CaSO4) to acidify the liquor and mash.
Brewer's Notes
As I have received a note telling me that I talk too much... and should let the data show speak for itself... I have moved the fermenters into a warmer room to condition for another week. It appears that all three have reached terminal gravity, although the under-pitch may have
Brewer's Notes
Finding consistent and credible information on yeast pitching rates is a bit like religious theology. Trying to find out how many yeast cells are in a pouch of yeast is like trying to find out how many angels can dance on the head of a pin! A lot of people