IPA and Blonde

   / IPA and Blonde #1  

RobertN

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Location
Shingle Springs California
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New Holland TC40D
Brewed for first time in three years. Friend got a pound of Citra hops, so we put them to use. Did a 10 gallon all grain IPA, and a 10 gallon extract blonde ale. we split the two batches. Another buddy, did his own 10 gallon extract IPA.

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   / IPA and Blonde #3  
Yum:licking:

When is the tasting? :drink:
 
   / IPA and Blonde #4  
It's all Greek to me, but I bet it tastes good. :laughing: It seems like a microbrew IPA is usually a good choice.
 
   / IPA and Blonde #5  
The krausen fell on the IPA already. Time to move to secondary...

That doesn't sound good.
What does it mean?
Who is krausen and why did he fall on your beer?
I would make him stay outside from now on.
 
   / IPA and Blonde #6  
That doesn't sound good.
What does it mean?
Who is krausen and why did he fall on your beer?
I would make him stay outside from now on.

He didn't say "Loose the Kraken!" You can sleep well. :laughing:
 
   / IPA and Blonde
  • Thread Starter
#7  
During primary fermentation, a foamy layer forms on top of the wort(unfinished beer). When that foamy layer(krausen) falls or dissolves, the main part of the fermentation process is done. It is mostly yeast, and proteins from the wort.
Here is a basic explanation with a couple pictures.
How to Brew - By John Palmer - Primary or Attenuative Phase

That doesn't sound good.
What does it mean?
Who is krausen and why did he fall on your beer?
I would make him stay outside from now on.
 
   / IPA and Blonde #8  
During primary fermentation, a foamy layer forms on top of the wort(unfinished beer). When that foamy layer(krausen) falls or dissolves, the main part of the fermentation process is done. It is mostly yeast, and proteins from the wort.
Here is a basic explanation with a couple pictures.
How to Brew - By John Palmer - Primary or Attenuative Phase

Thanks for that...very informative, although I will need a glossary to fully understand it. I have no experience with brewing but I have had some that was very good. It was a long time ago and it was stored or brewed in old glass quart (beer) bottles with stoppers when I poured it. You wanted to be careful to avoid the stuff in the bottom of the bottle, so leaving an inch or of beer in the bottom was smart.....sad.. but smart.
After glancing at few chapters, brewing seems more complex than I had imagined. Sounds like it would be hard to get consistancy and it could pose a health risk.
Are you going to fement it twice?
Why did you stop for three years?
How long before you are enjoying a chilled glass?
 
   / IPA and Blonde #9  
Thanks for that...very informative, although I will need a glossary to fully understand it. I have no experience with brewing but I have had some that was very good. It was a long time ago and it was stored or brewed in old glass quart (beer) bottles with stoppers when I poured it. You wanted to be careful to avoid the stuff in the bottom of the bottle, so leaving an inch or of beer in the bottom was smart.....sad.. but smart.
After glancing at few chapters, brewing seems more complex than I had imagined. Sounds like it would be hard to get consistancy and it could pose a health risk.
Are you going to fement it twice?
Why did you stop for three years?
How long before you are enjoying a chilled glass?

I don't know why home brew would be a health risk other than drinking the yeast in the bottle which can lead to rather explosive events. :shocked::laughing::laughing::laughing:

I just ferment in a five gallon plastic bucket for 3-4 weeks. Most of the fermentation is done within 5-7 days though. After 3-4 weeks I bottle the beer and one week later I drink. After one week, there should the beer should be carbonated. Basically 4-5 weeks from brewing to glass.

Funny thing is that I saw a note on a local mailing list this morning that our community college is having beer making classes. :drink:

Making beer is not hard but you can get a bit worried about contamination which is really easy to avoid. Palmer's book is excellent but one really only needs to read a few chapters to start. His book gets real helpful as one brews more and more. There are quite a few videos on YouTube about brewing. There is on Canadian brewing in his basement with quite a few videos. After watching what this guy was doing I figured if he could to it without making bad beer so could I.

Later,
Dan
 
   / IPA and Blonde
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Beer can range from easy to very involved. Beginning to intermediate brewing on the stovetop is fairly simple. I've found the ingredients are pretty consistant. The big variable for most home brewers is temperature; that can affect batch to batch convsistancy. Some folks put a special thermostat on refridgerators to get the specific temps they want.

Health risk is weight gain...

Both of these beers will go in a secondary fermentor tomorrow eve.

I brew a few times, get busy, brew and wonder why I took so long between batches, get busy/distracted...

probably another 4-6 weeks to the glass. Will age it in kegs(I put the beer in 5 gallon soda "Corny" or "Cornielius"(sp?) kegs)

After glancing at few chapters, brewing seems more complex than I had imagined. Sounds like it would be hard to get consistancy and it could pose a health risk.
Are you going to fement it twice?
Why did you stop for three years?
How long before you are enjoying a chilled glass?
 
 
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