Ferocious IPA homewbrew

[757Hokie83]

i've often read that the biggest problem homebrewers face when bottling is that we almost always use the entire 5oz priming sugar package, and that is nearly always going to over carb the beer....i recently bottled my first batch in quite a while, since i've been kegging for the past few years, and i still did it

 

[Cobrabit]

i've often read that the biggest problem homebrewers face when bottling is that we almost always use the entire 5oz priming sugar package, and that is nearly always going to over carb the beer....i recently bottled my first batch in quite a while, since i've been kegging for the past few years, and i still did it

Yeah, I can see that and will try to check online for suggestions for certain styles. I only had a truly overcarbed homebrew the last time I did this clone (the NB version) and all of the other 20 or so batches ended up pretty good. One of these days I'm just going to switch to kegging, but without the room in the house, I don't see that happening any time soon.

 

[757Hokie83]

i think one of the main causes is that the 5oz of priming sugar is for carbonating 5 gal of beer, which we almost never end up with.

 

[tometom]

man, i wish i had the time to brew more. kids just don't allow it, plus they think they want to help, but they really don't.

a few comments on things you guys were talking about.

1. ice bath - What I've done is freeze water bottles (like 90% full so the plastic doesn't crack while freezing.) then I sterilize the outside and just drop those in my wort to chill it quickly. as opposed to putting ice in there.

2. I've found that i always ratio down the priming sugar to the gallons i end up with, so if you 4 gallons of beer, then i make sure to only use 4oz of the priming sugar. I've never had bottles explode. I've had a few times where a beer or two was under carbonated, but i think that was poor stirring before bottling and not because of the wrong amount of sugar i added. (some of that batch was overcarbonated).

 

[mrwallace2ku]

I LIKE this thread, thank you for sharing.


ESPECIALLY today!

 

[Cobrabit]

i think one of the main causes is that the 5oz of priming sugar is for carbonating 5 gal of beer, which we almost never end up with.

2. I've found that i always ratio down the priming sugar to the gallons i end up with, so if you 4 gallons of beer, then i make sure to only use 4oz of the priming sugar. I've never had bottles explode. I've had a few times where a beer or two was under carbonated, but i think that was poor stirring before bottling and not because of the wrong amount of sugar i added. (some of that batch was overcarbonated).

Makes sense and something I'll try to work with on the Hex Nut Brown Ale I'm going to brew this coming weekend.

I LIKE this thread, thank you for sharing.


ESPECIALLY today!

No problem. I knew there were a lot of us on here that brewed. Then there are those that have never done so, but are interested. Figured that through this thread, you'd get a decent idea of what all is involved as a beginner/intermediate brewer with extract/specialty grains. Maybe someone that does all-grain could make a similar thread for that process.

For the extract route, I look at around 3 hours on brew day (sanitizing, brewing, cleaning up), about 30 minutes to transfer to the secondary (sanitizing, racking, cleaning up), and about 2 hours or so on bottling day (sanitizing, transferring to the bottling bucket, filling bottles, cleaning up). So for about a day's worth of actual work and several weeks of letting the yeast do its thing, you can get some pretty good beer for 1/3 - 1/2 the price of buying it in stores. Plus the fact that you can change things the way you want them and the pride in your own efforts.

 

[Cobrabit]

Decided to twist the caps and release the built up pressure since I'm sure it would be over carbed. Still have a month or so before they'll be drank, so plenty of time to carb back up, just didn't want nothing but foam or bombs.

Am brewing the Hex Nut Brown ale now, but not taking pictures because the steps are similar except for not as many hops/ additions during the boil and no dry hops.

 

[mrwallace2ku]

Summer is going to very good to you this year Mr. Cob.

Enjoy your evening porch sits and COLD drinks.

 

[Cobrabit]

Summer is going to very good to you this year Mr. Cob.

Enjoy your evening porch sits and COLD drinks.

Oh it certainly will be. Does depend on how much is left over from the going away party we're throwing for our pastor (why I decided to brew these two), but should be enough to enjoy with cookouts and campfires with the boy. Do need to start looking into a winter beer, since I want to brew a high gravity which will take a while to mellow. Did like the bourbon barrel old ale I made last year, but may look into an imperial stout, wee heavy, or barley wine. All take at least 6 months to age in the secondary.

This hobby is addictive. Sadly I've also picked up the hobby of traditional wet shaving with double edge safety razors and am looking to get into straight razors. Definitely don't need to mix the two hobbies, haha.

 

[mrwallace2ku]

Ever tried your hand at making mead out of orange blossom honey? I think you would do nicely in this area. 2 year wait tho, start to finish.

 

[Cobrabit]

Ever tried your hand at making mead out of orange blossom honey? I think you would do nicely in this area. 2 year wait tho, start to finish.

A mead has interested me, but would need to pick up another carboy since I routinely use e two I currently have with either beer or wine. However, I'd like to get my hands on a commercial one to see if I'd like the style first. May see if there are any 1 or 2 gallon kits available.

What I really need is a a decent sized shed that I could go with all grain equipment, kegs, etc. and start a homebrew club where several of us get together every month or so to brew and taste. I know several of us homebrew Hokies live relatively close to each other and may be something to look into for the future.

 

[757Hokie83]

thinking about looking for a 21st amendment, Brew Free or Die clone...one of my favorite IPAs. I dont really like to do clones so much, but i think i would be happy with this one

 

[Cobrabit]

Poured the first glass today after 6 weeks in the bottle. Did release the pressure a couple times in those 6 weeks, more toward the first few weeks since I thought I over carbed them. Carbonation is good, aroma and taste are there. A nice crisp IPA without a noticeable resin finish. Ver drinkable!

Pay no attention to the slide and ball pit in the living room 'jail'.

 

[Gatorchip]

Nice thread. Perhaps I can do this for my next all-grain brewing day

 

[Cobrabit]

Nice thread. Perhaps I can do this for my next all-grain brewing day

Please do! I know 757Hokie83 just did one of his AG brew with a few pictures. It would be nice to have a few threads around so that all of the steps can be shown (which is difficult if you're brewing by yourself and can't take a picture). I thought it would be neat to do so that those that have been interested in home brewing can get a visual of what it really takes and compare extract vs. AG to see which would be better for them. I will eventually step up to AG, but for now, I'm staying with extract/specialty grains.

 

[757Hokie83]

A mead has interested me, but would need to pick up another carboy since I routinely use e two I currently have with either beer or wine. However, I'd like to get my hands on a commercial one to see if I'd like the style first. May see if there are any 1 or 2 gallon kits available.

What I really need is a a decent sized shed that I could go with all grain equipment, kegs, etc. and start a homebrew club where several of us get together every month or so to brew and taste. I know several of us homebrew Hokies live relatively close to each other and may be something to look into for the future.

that's where i've been stuck at with mead. i've been wanting to do a recipe that i found for a couple years now, i just need to get another carboy first and have never gotten around to it

i've actually been talking to a few homebrewers in my area that i know of and we have toyed with the idea of a club...i should get back in touch with them and see whats up