Mr_Turtlehead
member
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 201
Loc: In The Shell
|
|
Gavin, I was talkin to the Schlafly rep today. They have a wet hopped pale ale on draught at the Tap Room downtown only until the 6 barrels they brewed of it run out. He says it's even better than the dry hopped APA.
Ozark, you always reminded me of Marion Jones!
|
HAUS
member for now
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 4077
Loc: Paradise
|
|
Ozark, fork em if they can't take a joke...
Hey, give me some of your expert advice on making this german oktoberfest of yours the best it can be.
I'm going to try and brew it up this sunday. i'm going to let it ferment in the garage which has been staying fairly cool. how long would you recommend i leave it in the fermenter before bottling?
I got a secondary fermenter and I'm thinking of moving this oktoberfest over to it as soon as it's done in the primary and then starting another batch.
-------------------- Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day..
|
Hellbender
member
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 3416
Loc: Taney County
|
|
Quote:
I lagered a lot of "ales".
Anchor Steam out of necessity ale'd lagers, and it still lives today. Its a little to hoppy for me, given the body, but it has a good following. I can't say I've had an outstanding beer that came from any brewery larger than a Micro. The beer from Micro's can vary considerably however. One of my kin bought me a beer of the month, or something to that effect, which was 3 different beers a month, a pair of each. It was very interesting and while it was predominately ales, they all maintained a unique identity.
-------------------- A government survey has shown that 91% of illegal immigrants come to this country so that they can see their own doctor.
|
Ozark
member
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 4012
Loc: out in the woods
|
|
Quote:
HAUS said: Hey, give me some of your expert advice on making this german oktoberfest of yours the best it can be.
The main thing is to get the wort temp as low as you can before pitching the yeast. If you've got a wort chiller, that's great. If not, run cold water around the brewpot or whatever to get it down to BELOW 70 before adding yeast.
Just a few degrees makes a big difference in how yeast works and what flavors it puts into beer. A colder, slower fermentation is always best.
Pitch your yeast in the primary fermenter and keep it away from direct light and in the coolest place you can. When the foam goes down enough that you can see the surface of the beer, rack it into a secondary fermenter, and again keep it cool. After a couple of weeks in the secondary, it'll be ready to bottle.
|
Liberty
member
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 5796
|
|
how cold can you go Ozark
|
Hellbender
member
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 3416
Loc: Taney County
|
|
I would think doing lager in a chest freezer would be worth the trouble here, especially if you don't have a basement.
-------------------- A government survey has shown that 91% of illegal immigrants come to this country so that they can see their own doctor.
|
Paul Dallas
member
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 1189
Loc: the corner of Bedlam & Squalor
|
|
I've never attempted ales at lager temps. Might have to try that one.
HB's right. To achieve my lager temps (w/lager yeasts), I just took my basement fridge and put a cheap, christmas light timer on the plug. Regular old fridges seem to keep a temp of about 38-42F, which is a bit too cold for lagering, so I fiddled with the timer to get it to where I was keeping a fairly constant 50-52F.
|
Ozark
member
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 4012
Loc: out in the woods
|
|
Nah, 38-42 degrees is perfect for lagering with a real lager yeast. You can't get yeast to start at that temp, so start it at about 60-65 and when you've got a good krausen (foam on top), in the 'fridge it goes.
Same with ales, get the yeast started in the 60's, then the ideal ferment temp is 50-55 degrees.
Liberty, so far as how cold - I've cold-lagered here in MO in an unheated shed in the winter. The top 6" of the beer froze solid in the carboy a couple of times, but when it thawed out the airlock started bubbling again. That made some real good beer, too.
|
HAUS
member for now
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 4077
Loc: Paradise
|
|
Ozark,
Thanks for the info. I got around to actually thinking about brewing Sunday and realized I wasn't even close to starting. I hadn't cleaned anything yet, and I didn't know how big my brew pot was. So I settled for doing some prelim stuff and figured out my brew pot was 3 gal.
I got a wort chiller and luckily my well water comes up from 535' below, so it's good and cold (I'm guessing in the 50's). Should be no problem dropping the wort temp quickly.
I'm going to try and brew this oktoberfest up this week before I leave to go hunting. My goal was a drinkable brew for thanksgiving, but I've screwed around too long for that. Just have to enjoy it at Christmas time.
Edit: Need to stay on topic... I just drank the last of all the beers which was a Smithwick Irish. Next best thing is some Peach Cider I brought in from Colorado. Damn good stuff
-------------------- Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day..
Edited by HAUS (11/05/07 02:54 PM)
|
Forsythian
member
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 435
Loc: Nether Regions
|
|
It's been a while since I've made the drive to the big city of Springburgh... so lately I've been scrambling around the greater Branson/Hollister area looking for good beer, and trying some new stuff.
I did find some Schlafley Octoberfest... four stars!
New Belgium 1554... smooth but a bit too malty for my taste (plus, as a hop head I think smooth may be a bit overrated)... 3 stars
And where's the Sam Adams black lager? Is that a seasonal? I'm not finding it.
-------------------- Sweep the leg.
|
Ozark
member
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 4012
Loc: out in the woods
|
|
Forsythian - Next time you go to Springpatch, you better stop by. I've got six homebrews now that need a quality check, with two more on the way.
Maybe you can explain to me how to catch a fish out of upper Bull Shoals, I haven't been too good at that lately.
|
archer66
member
Reged: 12/20/05
Posts: 435
Loc: Ralls County, MO
|
|
Where is a good place in St Louie near the beaten path that carries a variety of differnet beers? There ain't much in Hannibal that I haven't already had, but will be in STL this weekend and want to pick up something new or two.
-------------------- Never argue with an idiot. Doing so brings you down to his level, then he beats you with experience.....
|
HAUS
member for now
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 4077
Loc: Paradise
|
|
Forsythian,
Stopped off at the beer megastore over here on 71 at the stateline. they had sam in the black lager, brewmaster's special.
i hadn't been in the store in a while, but did notice Blue Moon brewing has a seasonal out now called Full Moon
I didn't get it, but may the next time i'm in there. Blue Moon also makes a nice seasonal pumpkin ale.
I picked up a sixer of Schafly APA and had 3 last night. Me likes. Thanks for the tips fellas
-------------------- Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day..
|
Paul Dallas
member
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 1189
Loc: the corner of Bedlam & Squalor
|
|
Archer, Lukas Liquors in Ellisville (Manchester and Clarkson) won't disappoint.
|
Forsythian
member
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 435
Loc: Nether Regions
|
|
Ozark, I will definitely be giving you a call here one of these days... a QC sampling session will sound pretty good after a hard day's work of shopping in the big city... maybe I'll bring ya something from the big Derby.
Guys, there's a little shop in Branson that had the Schlafleys Octoberfest and APA... I got the Octoberfest but I was holding out for the "dry hopped" APA, is that a separate beer, or am I mixing metaphors?
-------------------- Sweep the leg.
|
HAUS
member for now
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 4077
Loc: Paradise
|
|
The dry hopped APA I got last night was in a light green carrier with hops all over it. I don't think they make more than one APA, so jump all over it
-------------------- Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day..
|
Forsythian
member
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 435
Loc: Nether Regions
|
|
Thanks for the head's up... I guess I'll be making my way back over to the Branson store here in a day or two! Mrs. Forsythian has kin your way I think (Lockwood)... we don't get out that way too much anymore since her grandparents passed, but it's nice country out there.
-------------------- Sweep the leg.
|
griffin
administrator
Reged: 12/13/05
Posts: 9634
Loc: the most dangerous city in Ame...
|
|
I went back to my store to get more Dry hopped APA....they was out. I grabbed the manager, told him of my dilemma, and he is going to order a case a week for me......life is good.
griffin
-------------------- "The Irish are one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever." - Sigmund Freud
|
HAUS
member for now
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 4077
Loc: Paradise
|
|
I'm due west of ya about 60-80 miles, south of Neosho. We gots the big liquor store on the stateline cause them dipstick arkies have a dry county just south of us.
Do you talk to jigman anymore?? I haven't heard from him in a couple yrs. If you see him, tell him T HAUS says hello.
-------------------- Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day..
|
HAUS
member for now
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 4077
Loc: Paradise
|
|
Quote:
griffin said: I went back to my store to get more Dry hopped APA....they was out. I grabbed the manager, told him of my dilemma, and he is going to order a case a week for me......life is good.
griffin
what dilemma do ya got? the one with the son in law and his vanilla beer??
-------------------- Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day..
|
Mr_Turtlehead
member
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 201
Loc: In The Shell
|
|
Forsythian, they do make a regular APA as well as the dry hopped. I think the regular one is in an orange colored sixer and like Haus said, the dry hopped is covered in green hops. The regular APA is decent, but the dry hopped is friggin awesome!
|
Original_Al
member
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 786
Loc: Most dangerous city in America
Current High Scores in:
|
|
|
|
Quote:
Paul Dallas said:
Archer,
Lukas Liquors in Ellisville (Manchester and Clarkson) won't disappoint.
Lukas Liquors probably has the best selection of all booze in the whole dang area. Top notch joint.
Whats in the fridge for me?
about 5 less bud lights than there was an hour ago. And the numbers continue to decline
I still got some pumpkin beers that need drinkin too
-------------------- I Ain't Gone To Bed With No Ugly Women, But I've Sure Woke Up With A Few
|
HAUS
member for now
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 4077
Loc: Paradise
|
|
Knowing I was going to run out of APA last night, on the way home I bought a sixer of Schlafly Pale Ale. Whoa!! Guess I got spoiled on the APA cause the pale ale is nothing like it. I choked down two and called it good. Don't know if I can handle finishing off the rest.
Pretty bland on body and has no finish. Kinda sense a burnt taste. Not much hop flavor and I was hoping for some more knockout hops. Kinda like fishin, you gotta try em to find the good ones
-------------------- Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day..
|
Forsythian
member
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 435
Loc: Nether Regions
|
|
I still ain't got to Springpatch, and I've been nothing but disappointed in the selection round these parts. Sure would be nice to have some of Griffin's Schlafley he's hoardin'... envy & gluttony in one sentence
Tonight, as Christmas lights continue to be strung, it's a battle of the lagers: Harps vs. Sam Adams Old World vs. New World Who will win the coveted Forsythian Tuesday night buzz award?
-------------------- Sweep the leg.
|
Ozark
member
Reged: 12/14/05
Posts: 4012
Loc: out in the woods
|
|
I just sanitized bottles, a keg, carboys, autosiphon, bottle filler, etc. on the ol' fish cleaning table. I brought all those inside to my shop.
Tonight I'm going to bottle 5 gallons of the Yellow Dog Lager and keg the other 5 gallons of it. Then, I'm going to rack the next batch, Wheat Bock, from primaries to secondaries. After that, I'll be ready to brew again tomorrow.
The hops jumped up on me in the Yellow Dog Lager. Only 7.3 HBU's, but it's pretty hoppy - and while I like it that way, friends who think BUUUUD is beer won't like it.
I'm going to try brewing Yellow Dog again in the morning. This time, I'll cut the S.G. down to 1.036 and maybe just wave a hop pellet over the boiling brewpot.
I'm looking for a good "lawnmower beer" for the spring - one that won't get me too hammered while I'm catching crappie.
btw - Today I put Stabil in the gas in my fishing boat, tractor, mowers, and tiller - ran them a little, then turned the gas off and let the motors run dry. Have you guys done that? Ya oughta.
|