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What's in Your Fermenter? 2020


Otto Von Blotto

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Hi guys.

My current brew appears to have stopped around 1.013-14. A little higher than I had hoped but it still may drop a further point or two yet before I decide to keg it next weekend. Added the 50gm Cashmere dry hop to my current brew a short while ago. First time using this hop so this is a test brew. Descriptors are pretty spot on. I did note a slight resiny trait that I also quite like in general.

Ever had a sickly sweet IPA or other type of beer? The resiny trait of some hop varieties is very effective at helping to quell & cut through malt sweetness. Particularly helpful in higher ABV% beers that carry a lot of malt flavour. Whenever I come across a hop that has it as a forward trait I always make a note of it for future reference as not all hops have this character trait.

Cheers & good brewing,

Lusty.

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From my limited uses of Columbus I feel it carries a dark berry/citrus type character more than a resiny trait per say. I used it to bitter a couple of beer styles & didn't like it there as I expected I would from what I had read & the recipes I was following at the time. I have however really enjoyed dry hopping with it & low temp steeping it. Really terrific when combined with the right types of hops at this junction (IMHO).

I'm looking to use it in a stout/porter recipe when I can get around to it as I reckon it will work really well in that space. But don't tell anyone though. 😉

Just my 20 cents,

Lusty.

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7 minutes ago, Beerlust said:

From my limited uses of Columbus I feel it carries a dark berry/citrus type character more than a resiny trait per say. I used it to bitter a couple of beer styles & didn't like it there as I expected I would from what I had read & the recipes I was following at the time. I have however really enjoyed dry hopping with it & low temp steeping it. Really terrific when combined with the right types of hops at this junction (IMHO).

I'm looking to use it in a stout/porter recipe when I can get around to it as I reckon it will work really well in that space. But don't tell anyone though. 😉

Just my 20 cents,

Lusty.

I’m the opposite. I feel it brings a dank reisiny  which is quite welcome in certain type beers. 

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I used it as a bittering hop in an amber ale recipe with Wyeast 1728 & didn't like what it contributed to the beer this way. It put me off using it through the boil despite trying it this way in a further couple of brews, at a couple of boil points with a different yeast. It is a very popular choice as a bittering hop for American styled IPA's, so I'm not trying to argue the point about the validity of the hop in certain scenarios.

Mine is just one view of it. That doesn't make it wrong or right. It's just a view.

Cheers,

Lusty.

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2 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

Lager yeast can still be working at that temperature, rather than zero. Ales obviously go dormant much warmer so it doesn't really matter with them.

But don't you want to slow down the yeast for clarification and in preparation for kegging?

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So the AG Stout now post ferment and diacetyl rest and maturation went into the brew fridge this evening (as the Lager was kegged earlier today)... for a slow gentle cool down ha ha (rather than a crash) but yeah hoping to floc all that ripper US05 out -- which has already settled to some extent... and then get the beaut brew too into a keg for some C02 and later Nitro ; )

Looks fairly black.... ish 😎

Cheers Brewers

image.png.daee04f9116d4eb257b30d178489dfe3.png

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16 minutes ago, Beerlust said:

I used it as a bittering hop in an amber ale recipe with Wyeast 1728 & didn't like what it contributed to the beer this way. It put me off using it through the boil despite trying it this way in a further couple of brews, at a couple of boil points with a different yeast. It is a very popular choice as a bittering hop for American styled IPA's, so I'm not trying to argue the point about the validity of the hop in certain scenarios.

Mine is just one view of it. That doesn't make it wrong or right. It's just a view.

Cheers,

Lusty.

Exactly mate.  Opinions are like ar$e holes.  We all have one 

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18 minutes ago, PaddyBrew2 said:

I’m the opposite. I feel it brings a dank reisiny  which is quite welcome in certain type beers. 

As a bittering hop, if looking for dank & resiny, maybe try Mt. Hood

That's my go to hop in this space & have used it particularly for bittering extensively in my brewing. Recently used it for my Old School brew of my first use of the White Labs WLP059 Melbourne Ale strain & it produced a really terrific session-able ale beer (IMHO). Reportedly heavily used in the USA, but barely known & used here in AUS for what it gives.

I did a variant of the Coopers DIY Vintage Ale recipe using this hop combined with Vic Secret, & Riwaka. It is one of only about 7-8 brews I have made that I have given 5 out of 5 stars for in the last 9 years of home brewing beer, I felt it was that good. I'm a tough critic on my own beer.

In the search for best bang for your buck/high alpha type hops, varieties like this are often overlooked. I'm glad they are, as that means I'll always be able to get them when i want them. 😉

Cheers,

Lusty.

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11 minutes ago, PaddyBrew2 said:

Exactly mate.  Opinions are like ar$e holes.  We all have one 

True that.

It's like I would never make fun of a balding gentleman. Because I have a bald head too, but it's only got one eye.

True that. 😉

Cheers,

Lusty.

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17 minutes ago, Beerlust said:

Have heard of the old Mt Hood a while back in dispatches @Beerlust Lusty - will be keen to give them a run...

And think I have set my eyes on Mt Hood if it's the Oregon one ha ha but it was away in the distance... 

Was told that the blurry white snowy hill over yonder was the Hood ; )

So best I get hold of some Hoodies and try them out.  Good stuff. Tx mate. BB

image.png.fb8a47bf55cce48f5f0831f439907b60.png

Edited by Bearded Burbler
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7 hours ago, Bearded Burbler said:

But don't you want to slow down the yeast for clarification and in preparation for kegging?

It seems to drop out pretty well anyway. My lagers usually look quite clear even before I begin the ramp down. What little yeast makes it to the keg drops out pretty quickly, usually in about a week. 

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11 hours ago, Bearded Burbler said:

And think I have set my eyes on Mt Hood if it's the Oregon one ha ha but it was away in the distance... 

Funny I thought they were Kiwi hops as there is a Mt Hood in NZ.  

Edited by MartyG1525230263
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On 3/15/2020 at 8:33 PM, Woodsy1525230278 said:

A Hoppy English Bitter

Coopers English Bitter kit

1kg Light dry malt

250g medium crystal cold steeped overnight

30 min boil (couldn’t be bothered to wait for 60)  25g Wakata hops at 30,20,10. 
S-04 yeast pitched at 18

OG 1.040

Will dry hop last 25g of the hops day 5 or so 

 

Just following up on this one...

FG 1.008,ABV around 4.7 with carbonation drops. 

Dry hopped for 5 days, bottled early on day 9. 
has come out just as I was hoping, some wonderful caramel characteristics in aroma and flavour,  it’s hoppy but not overpowering which is what I was after. Might use some finings next time as it’s a bit murky looking. 

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I mixed together my first stout in over 20 years. Used to make stout all the time in my first foray into home brewing because I knew nothing about temperature control back then. I made stouts back then because then I could add lemonade to make a portagaff, which would hide a few of my brewing inadequacies.
But this time round I'm armed with a bit more knowledge. I'm improvising the Best Extra Stout recipe. I've padded it out to 23 litres from the 20 recommended in the recipe for a few reasons - 1. The efficiency and economics of making 2 complete boxes of beer, as opposed to the 26 bottles the original recipe would make. 2. Due to my addictive nature, a 6.8% ABV is too high for me. Every beer for me is a session beer. I don't know what it will finish at but I'm guessing closer to 5%. OG was 1.045.
I know it won't be as full bodied but, who knows, it might still turn out nice.

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Historically yes, stouts evolved from porters as a stronger and more intense flavoured version known as stout porter. These days they're more differentiated by flavour than ABV. Stouts tend to be more roasty and bitter while porters are smoother and a bit sweeter. There are obviously some exceptions like milk stout for example. ABV is pretty similar, as they are both brewed somewhat light up to quite strong. 

Edited by Otto Von Blotto
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8 minutes ago, MUZZY said:

Thanks, Instigator. I'm learning more every day. I never actually knew what a porter was before now. So basically it's a lighter stout?

 

9 minutes ago, MUZZY said:

So basically it's a lighter stout?

Historically they are very closely related, however they have both evolved and are now totaly different beer. Stout has more bitterness than a porter and always contains a % of roast barley. Porters however are very malt driven beers.

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Because Porters generally don't carry as much roasted character, I find them a fun base to throw all sorts of other ingredients at to create wonderful complexities of flavour & aromas that marry well with this leaner stout type recipe. Ingredients such as vanilla, oak chips, fruits, desiccated coconut etc..etc.

It really is limited to your own imagination. 😎

Cheers & good brewing,

Lusty.

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12 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

It seems to drop out pretty well anyway. My lagers usually look quite clear even before I begin the ramp down. What little yeast makes it to the keg drops out pretty quickly, usually in about a week. 

So you only ever pull up at 3 deg Kelsey with your Lagers? 

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7 hours ago, MartyG1525230263 said:

Funny I thought they were Kiwi hops as there is a Mt Hood in NZ.  

The USDA Breeding programmed named Mt Hood Hops variety after the Mt. Hood volcano which is due east of the city of Portland, OR and sits perched above the mighty Hood River. Mt. Hood Hops was released in 1989 and has similar qualities to German Hallertau and Hersbrucker hop varieties.

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7 hours ago, Woodsy1525230278 said:

A big YES to this hop. Like eating candy. I took a gamble on this when my LHBS in Perth had just ordered some in and it’s my favourite hop. 

Well has great lineage Cacade and Norther brewer.  

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