re: Homebrewing: In-Process Thread

I finally bottled enough to open up some fermenters and am going to get back to brewing this weekend. I think I'm going to brew another batch of %100 Brett Porter and use the oak chips from the %100 Brett Blackberry Porter to ferment this one.

The farmhouse ale that I bottled has a bit of funk going on already

Tried my Tart of Darkness clone.. The acidity is up and the oak/bourbon/vanilla flavors have faded a little.

decided to go ahead and put this in the lineup for Brew at the Zoo...

Y'all have fun the next few days. Wish I could be at Brew at the Zoo and try some of y'all's beers.

The Winter Warmer tasting is coming up in December. It's right by my parents house, so easy access to imbibe and then sleep it off. My dad went to Embrace the Funk Fest last year and had nothing but awesome things to say about it. I look forward to going next year.

I'm still trying to find a decent homebrew store around here. I've been spoiled by Brewstock always having all the ingredients in stock and having knowledgeable staff. The craft beer store by my house sells homebrew supplies, but their grain, hops, and particularly yeast selections have been questionable. Might go back to ordering online.

Just because it's not bubbling doesn't mean the yeast are done, let it ride. If you're worried about it, take a hydro reading now and again in a few days, if the numbers change at all the yeast are still working.

quote:

---

the gravity isn't where I need/want it

---

What yeast did you end up going with? The belle saison dry yeast? I experienced some slowdowns in the past when it starts getting into the low teens. It never stops, but it sure as hell slows, especially the closer to 70 it gets.

First pour from our first home brew. Kolsch came out pretty good. Pleasantly surprised. Little darker and sweeter than it should be due to a boil mistake by me. Added LME way too early. But overall very happy with it.

What is the grace period for the expiration date for yeast?

I have 9/19/14 best used by date. I intend to brew in a week.

I have gone a week or two before without a problem, but a month - I am not so sure.

Thanks Bottomland.

It would depend. Most of the time I'll just pull 1.2-1.5l of wort off when I boil and build up a starter overnight. In this example, that puts me at 187 to 229 billion cells, where 198 is my target for a 1.054 beer (using the Troester calc for stir plate starters). If it's a bigger beer, I'll start the starter a day or two early and step it up once.