re: Homebrewing Thread: Volume II

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It's listed as a "platinum series"; I bought it from a Canadian website. It is listed as seasonal and in stock at morebeer:

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I looked at Morebeer and saw the out of stock for Cali but didnt see the In stock for Pennsylvania.

Kegged up The Hopnotoad, last night. It's version #3, and from initial tastes during measuring, it may be the best yet. This one, i upped the amount of citra dry hops, and bio trans hops. I also upped the OG a little, expecting more of a lag in fermenting, due to the upped biotrans hops, however, i was unable to add the hops at 2 days, and instead had to wait until 3 days into fermentation to add them. Beer finished dryer than expected at 1.012 (was expecting 1.016). So the ABV is higher, around 7.4%, as opposed to 6.2% last time. Tastes incredible though.

In the meantime, i have a fridge full of Parish juice. I also have a crowler of Whole Foods Hop Explorer XII, which tasted great at the brewpub last weekend.

In other homebrew news, i'll be measuring my Saison i brewed a month ago. All bootleg biology yeast. Used bootlegs saison parfait, then pitched funk weapon #2 at the tail end of primary fermentation. This one has been smelling very fruity throughout the process. Once ready, i'll dry hop with about 3 oz. of Nelson Sauvin.

I also have a split batch sour i brewed in December i need to measure again early next month, and another split batch sour i made in Early may, which i'll measure towards the end of next month. The 2nd split batch, i may add some figs too once it's ready, depending on the character i get from it. I try to only do measurements every 3 months for sours to avoid O2 ingress. I also have a 1 gallon jug with the dregs from my first mixed ferm sour i made in March 2016. This was leftover after bottling the sour. The sour beer from this batch is fantastic.

I think my next batch i'll brew will be a coffee stout, followed by a quick sour, then maybe another long aged sour in September, if i can get it done before Baby #2 gets here.

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I better buy another pack or two before it's gone I guess!

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You think its worth the $16 it would cost with shipping?

ETA; Just ordered grains for a 9 gallon batch.....will take 2.5 gallons and brett it up. Got to $59 so free shipping.

So, if some of you recall, i brewed a NE IPA a few weeks ago, and it's been in the keg for about a week and a half now. I upped the total hops by about 3 oz, that go in the biotrans hop addition, and the dry hop. Sadly, i'm a bit disappointed in this batch. It's good, and hazy, and has tons of mouthfeel too it, but it's lacking a nose, and it's tasting almost minerally/grassy on the throat. It finished dryer than expected, 1.012 vs. 1.017 which is what i wanted but my mash temps were off.

It may be early still yet in the keg, but I think i need to reformulate how i'm doing things. First things first, cut back on the hops. There is a law of diminishing returns to a point where it's overboard. This beer had 15.5 oz. of hops total, whereas my previous attempts had 12.5 to 13.25 total oz., and they seemed to taste much better and smoother. All FW Hop additions were the same.
In addition, i need to adjust my water profile. Right now, my Sulfate/Chloride ratio is a .4. I've been treating BR water to get the following mineral profile.

CA - 135
Mg - 1
Na - 10
SO4 - 71
Cl - 186
HCO3 - 0

I'll try and see if there are some new posts on Scottjanish.com that can help steer me in the right direction.
Another change, will probably be hop selection. This beer has been Columbus, Amarillo, and Citra, but mostly Citra on the dry hop, though i've used all 3 in each phase of post boil hopping. I think the next batch i will eliminate the columbus, and substitute maybe El Dorado, Centennial, or Galaxy, or a combination of 2 of those.

Another factor would be grain bill. This last batch had 14.5% flaked oats for mouthfeel. My first version of the beer had 8% flaked oats and 6% spelt. Due to no longer being able to get spelt, i upped my oats. I think this may be subduing some of hop aroma's/flavors produced. For the next batch, i will lower the oats back down to 7-8% and substitute another light colored but sweet grain.

I think a lot of my second guessing of this batch is due to having the best IPA i've ever had, at Whole Foods on Post Oak in Houston. It was their Hop Explorer XII. It had a wonderful aroma, perfect mouthfeel and bright juiciness to it. If i knew the brewer's name, i'd contact him for tips on how he made that.

What are your tips for NEIPA's? I've brewed 3 this year. The first 2 were preferable to this latest batch, but they still need some work.

My best NEIPA had 13 oz of hops in a 7 gallon batch, 5 oz in biotrans. I had 3% flaked wheat and 7% flaked rye and London Ale III yeast. I used columbus for bittering at 60 min. and a combo of Galaxy, Amarillo and Citra for lat boil and dry hop with slightly more citra in biotrans. Give it another week or 2. With that much hop, it may take longer to smooth out.

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With that much hop, it may take longer to smooth out.

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That's what i'm thinking. However, i still think i need to tweak for next time.

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I found that dry hopping in the keg has made for some killer aroma. I will never not do that going forward

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did that my last batch before the current one. Aroma definitely affected by this, and will do on the next batch. Only problem was getting hop bits floating in the keg, even using 8 stainless tea balls.

My buddy actually has this setup and deals with 0 hop bits in any of his pours. I will eventually upgrade to this

LINK

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No pic.

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Edited the post

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If i knew the brewer's name, i'd contact him for tips on how he made that.

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Dave Ohmer is his name, very responsive on the twitter @knoxbrew and Instagram @ @wfbrew

My next IPA is going to use oat malt instead of flaked / rolled oats. Found some good write ups around giving the soft mouthfeel without detracting from the taste. About to check the gravity on the batch 11 - Citra / Mosaic, pale malt ale and a bunch of oats.