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
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
Took another refractometer reading today and looks like the underpitch is catching up. I am also at the point where the refractomer is going to be fairly useless to determine accurate gravity readings... so will leave these alone now until next week. At that point I would expect terminal gravity,
Brewer's Notes
Well, color me very surprised. I am about 40-something hours into the experiment and at least 2 of the batches have reached my expected terminal gravity (plus or minus a gravity point). Here is how things stack up so far: Sunday: 1. Batch A | Half Pitch Rate: 1.065, showed
Brewer's Notes
Nothing like a Sunday afternoon, with football on the tube, brewing! Because this was to measure pitching rates, I intentionally pitched warm, and it will ferment at 72 to 73°F. The gravity and heat should help bring out a few extra flavors (good or off) to help amp up
Brewer's Notes
I am not a scientist, but have used test and measurement to good effect in my career. After reviewing my APAV2 notes, I underpitched by a significant factor. I intentionally pitched at the same rate as the previous brew to eliminate variables other than brewing liquor; however, it stalled and
Measurement
The general sensibility is that if the water tastes good, you can brew good beer with it. While I agree with that statement, we have a "calibration" and observation problem. We tend to become blind to flaws in things we are exposed to every day. I have adapted
Measurement
I use a refractometer(s) almost exclusively in my brewery. Now first, I realize I am giving up some precision, which tends to go against my personal philosophy, but please allow me to explain. I am greedy. Using a hydrometer consumes wort. That is about a pint of wort that