IPA go suck it

[GerritT]

Good one, 3.8% and a nice hop gift. I'll get to it as I plough my way through the book.

 

[simon12]

A LOT is pasteurised, but some are unpasteurised and advertise as such. At least across the North Sea. UNFILTERED, UNPASTEURISED, UNCONVENTIONAL: RAW™

I think actual pasteurisation with heat is quite rare commercially and sterile filtration would be most common method of getting sterile beer.

 

[MyQul]

Obligatory question: got a good recipe you recommend?

Imo with a bitter, it's the yeast that makes it either great or mediocre.

I'm not that keen CML real ale yeast as, for a yeast for a bitter both not very estery and mutes hops, so a bitter made with this yeast turn out very bland (I think this yeast would be great for a scottish shilling beer though as it's so malty). Whereas the Gales strain which I have is very estery and fruity and makes for a great bitter. I've made bitter with exactly the same reciepe but with these two yeasts and they're completely different beers, a million miles from each other

 

[GerritT]

Imo with a bitter, it's the yeast that makes it either great or mediocre.

I'm not that keen CML real ale yeast as, for a yeast for a bitter both not very estery and mutes hops, so a bitter made with this yeast turn out very bland (I think this yeast would be great for a scottish shilling beer though as it's so malty). Whereas the Gales strain which I have is very estery and fruity and makes for a great bitter. I've made bitter with exactly the same reciepe but with these two yeasts and they're completely different beers, a million miles from each other

I wonder what would happen if a CML ale yeast ferments at about 27ºC. Like cattle prodding a sloth?

 

[merrydown]

It was strongly hopped IPA that brought me to homebrewing and drinking a wide variety of ales. I had previously not enjoyed ale, preferring a crisp, cold, fizzy lager instead. I found ale too flat and insipid.

I had made wine for years with varying success and it was a revelation that I could (at least in theory) make beer better than commercial brews. My home made wine was only great made from fresh grapes once a year when my father in laws harvest came in. Kit wines never came close, certainly not at the reasonably priced end.

Who knew basic lager such as Stella was actually at the bottom end of the scale in so many ways? Not I. Now I feel ready to move on from kits to AG or partial / steeped grain mashes. The adventure is just beginning after 2 years kit brewing :)

I can understand the OP being jaded by the constant focus on IPA, but I am just about to get started, trying to brew a classic West Coast citrusy ale with AG in my new - now leak free - boiler.

I don't think people do misunderstand what an IPA should be, because the origins of IPA don't dictate the style of modern IPA you enjoy, that'll be down to your taste buds and brain.

Long live all preferences and styles I say.

 

[kl Roosevelt brewer]

Good morning Merry down! I could not agree more. I too have been making wine for years and Mead and even currently have some maple syrup wine in the primary. I have about 30 gallons of Frozen concentrated juice wines made up for my 2 tap kegerator that make a pretty good drink for the summer. But I like beer a really good hoppy beer and find myself spending $10.29 a six pack. I discovered you can find these IPA extract kids anywhere from 40 to $50 and if I can nail it and get it down pat I could cut my beer bill in half. So that is the adventure I'm on now and I am realizing that there is a whole lot more to this beer making thing then I realized and am studying and learning the chemistry of it all. We winemakers already understand amylase but now we have to learn isomerization and starch conversions into sugar and enzymes and it's all fascinating to me. The all-grain beer experience is where I am heading but I need to get something else on tap besides these juice ciders so I'm going to start with the extract kits. I've already picked up a IPA clone from the local homebrew store and Brewery and I ordered a Dead Ringer IPA from Northern Brewer that's going to arrive via a good old Amazon. These people on these forums are amazing and they suggested I pick up the 4th edition Brewing book this guy Palmer wrote and it gets here tomorrow and I'm going to read it and then jump into this beer making thing on Wednesday. We discussed hot break here yesterday and then they also mentioned the cold break and I'm not sure what that looks like or what it's about I need to learn more about that. It looks like about $500 will get you a good all-grain Brewing System so I am saving my money. Please share any tips you have with extract Brewing thank you

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[merrydown]

Hi KL,

Actually, technically what I wrote was wrong. I am not moving yet to a traditional All Grain system, I am moving to a Brew In A Bag version of it. I am on a strict and limited budget, so it isn't quite the same thing. It is a simplified and less efficient version of A.G. brewing, allowing me to bypass the need for a separate hot liquor tank and mash tun to begin with. I spent about £170 ($230) on a stainless steel boiler with an electric element. As it stands it will take longer to get to boiling temperature than a gas fired boiler, but it has the capacity and convenience I want at the moment and will allow me to cruise towards All Grain without losing my patience. BIAB is my halfway house :)

As far as kits go, I have brewed IPA / APA and Porter kits, all but two with dry hopping at the latter stages. I am still inexperienced I guess, but I have had all positive experiences, even during disasters and in complete confusion :) The beer even turned out well when I made my own recipe and it stuck quite early. It was more a matter of my inability to tell what was normal or likely using light malt extract and spray malt.

I think the main thing I hear and have abided by is to give the ale more time to finish off and settle in the fermenter than the kit instructions say. It is also wise to always check the SG 2 or 3 days in a row to be confident the brew is finished.

I guess cleanliness is important as it is with winemaking, but is no more difficult to achieve. I don't have a need for sulfite anymore as I am bottle and keg conditioning, so I don't want to put the yeast to sleep! I use a no-rinse cleaner rather than the bleach-like cleaners I used to use. I wasn't aware of these when I made wine.

It's all probably pretty much as you imagine, it was easier for me that I thought it would be, so far

 

[chthon]

Hey, Merrydown, AG is not defined by the vessels you use. All-grain just means that you create wort using a mashing process based upon milled barley (and possibly other grains, does not matter).

I did my first brew with a 10L cooking pot and a sieve to filter my mash, a cheap small meat thermometer, and the mill you see in my avatar (which is heirloom btw. It belonged to my great-grandfather).

 

[divrack]

you:

haha.
sorry. I do agree that there is a lot of pish ipas going about right now, particularly neipas which of fine correctly are nectar of the gods but often is more like hop porridge and cat ****. but I don't really agree that hoppy beers are easier to brew than traditional styles. I think balance is far easier than some people suggest, although I still can't figure out why so much commercial beer manages to be so **** when being is so easy.
that said I still find my pilsners to fall somewhere short of perfection on a fairly regular basis.

 

[merrydown]

Hey, Merrydown, AG is not defined by the vessels you use. All-grain just means that you create wort using a mashing process based upon milled barley (and possibly other grains, does not matter).

I did my first brew with a 10L cooking pot and a sieve to filter my mash, a cheap small meat thermometer, and the mill you see in my avatar (which is heirloom btw. It belonged to my great-grandfather).

Thanks Chthon,

I know you are right really :) My inexperience has made me cautious, as elsewhere I have seen others differentiate between BIAB and classic All Grain with the usual selection of vessels. Perhaps because of the different efficiency?

I've read that there is often an increased grain bill to compensate for the lack of spargey / lautery action and reduced extraction efficiency. It might have been because I was talking about weissebier and there was mention that it is harder to make non barley mashes work without the sparging step.

I appreciate the correction. I have to work my way through 50 pints or so before I have the bottles for my first all grain batch anyway, so I have plenty of time to learn.

I love that you have made beer with such a long-lived and well loved piece of kit!

Cheers!

 

[MickDundee]

Thanks Chthon,

I know you are right really :) My inexperience has made me cautious, as elsewhere I have seen others differentiate between BIAB and classic All Grain with the usual selection of vessels. Perhaps because of the different efficiency?

I've read that there is often an increased grain bill to compensate for the lack of spargey / lautery action and reduced extraction efficiency. It might have been because I was talking about weissebier and there was mention that it is harder to make non barley mashes work without the sparging step.

I appreciate the correction. I have to work my way through 50 pints or so before I have the bottles for my first all grain batch anyway, so I have plenty of time to learn.

I love that you have made beer with such a long-lived and well loved piece of kit!

Cheers!

You don’t have to skip the sparge stage with BIAB. “True” BIAB doesn’t have a sparge and you don’t need to but it’s easy to do and helps efficiency. I dunk/batch sparge and put 5-10L of 80C water in a bucket (I used to use my FV but find my 97p B&Q bucket allows the water to cover the top of the bag) then add the bag of grain and leave it for 20mins whilst my post mash wort boils.

 

[merrydown]

Thanks for the suggestion Mick! (sorry if I have derailed this portion of the thread! :) )

It's all invaluable knowledge.

I have seen/read some - after mashing - hang their BIAB just above the boiler - still in contact - opening the tap to take some of the preboil, then pouring it through the bag repeatedly. I guess they turn the boiler back on if it cools noticeably. I don't know whether this is a good technique too? I started to get concerned about oxygenating the wort as it went back through the bag. I bought a cheap pulley system to attach to a ceiling hook when I have a joist to take it though :) It was cheap enough to be an 'in case' and I guess it will be handy to drain the bag either way.

I look forward to putting all this into practice soon! I will be joyfully brewing an IPA first, cheesey as that may be :)

 

[Covrich]

Imo with a bitter, it's the yeast that makes it either great or mediocre.

This this and this!

Its the one style where you see a lot of people find it hard to crack, I have made many which were like you say average. But the ones which really hit the spot I have always used a great liquid yeast with, I genuinly think its the cornerstone of the final product.

 

[GerritT]

This this and this!

Its the one style where you see a lot of people find it hard to crack, I have made many which were like you say average. But the ones which really hit the spot I have always used a great liquid yeast with, I genuinly think its the cornerstone of the final product.

And what is that yeast? Interested in ales and bitters too .

 

[Covrich]

And what is that yeast? Interested in ales and bitters too .

You have quite a choice, for just a few

http://www.wyeastlab.com/beer-strai...0&field_abv_value[min]=&field_abv_value[max]=

I have used recently West Yorkshire and London Ale III this year with great success, something with a 70 to early 70% attenuation gives a nice balance, and obviously you can harvest and use again

 

[Sadfield]

In Jeff Alworth's book The Secrets of Master Brewers: Techniques, Traditions, and Homebrew Recipes, John Keeling (Fullers) recommends pitching more than one yeast, and hints to looking at Belgian yeasts.

Edit: It was Adnams head brewer not Fullers.

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[RichK]

This might be the right thread to mention I had my first ever bottle of Brewdog's Punk IPA on Saturday. A recent aquaintance (sp?) is mad on the stuff so seeing a bottle whilst shopping I thought I'd give it a go. I wasn't keen. It was like drinking liquid hop. I do like Proper Job (and Razorback) but the Punk just took it over the line (for me at least).

 

[divrack]

This might be the right thread to mention I had my first ever bottle of Brewdog's Punk IPA on Saturday. A recent aquaintance (sp?) is mad on the stuff so seeing a bottle whilst shopping I thought I'd give it a go. I wasn't keen. It was like drinking liquid hop. I do like Proper Job (and Razorback) but the Punk just took it over the line (for me at least).

if punk IPA took you over the edge I suggest you don't try any of the new school stuff like cloudwater ddh.
you would be getting scraped off the ceiling. they regularly dry hop with qualities far excess of 20g/l and go heavy in the Whirlpool also.

 

[foxbat]

This this and this!

Its the one style where you see a lot of people find it hard to crack, I have made many which were like you say average. But the ones which really hit the spot I have always used a great liquid yeast with, I genuinly think its the cornerstone of the final product.

That that and that!

Not only the selection of the appropriate strain but using it over and over again to learn how to control it to get to the flavours and attenuation you want.

 

[MyQul]

I use Gales, which I got out of a bottle of HSB