Yea Im trying to do the same, I only have a 6 pack left of my IPA I brewed a while back. A Weizenbier I had bottled is at 2 weeks, I tried it last night and it is most certainly not ready very little carbonation.

Unfortunately I put 2 6 packs in the fridge then tired them, will the lower temperatures in the fridge slow the bottle conditiong? Am I better off pulling them out of the fridge and back to room temp, or am i being a nit?

yeah, it'll slow it, but not by that much. I'd just leave 'em and be patient.

Definitely this. I've recommended it before, and I'll do so again - the Party Pig is a mighty fine item to have. I also suggest doing a mix of 12 & 22/25oz bottles. I'm sure there will be times when you share a beer or two.
I just looked and the buckets are dirt cheap, so I don't see why you wouldn't get one. The only other thing I'd suggest is buying the fittings and making one yourself.

I'm assuming you have a bottling wand?

Yes. At least, I'm pretty sure that's what that thing is. A long plastic tube with a black thing in the end that if you press it, liquid comes out until you let go.

Edit: And my issue isn't really cost, my issue is space. I haven't really got a lot of room to do this yet. As I find the space, I'm going to add stuff. I am about to buy a bottling bucket though.

Just an FYI I set the record for Yards ESA consumed in a day yesterday during my 3 brew day.

solid work, son.

I made the mistake of meeting some friends at my place this afternoon so we could go somewhere else together.

Turns out there was a leak in the air compressor line yesterday, which seems to have burned it out. In the end, I kegged up 4 of my 6 beers and just put them on the regular draft lines, which got them through football Sunday. Now I have to go in tomorrow, clean and fill all the available kegs I have. I guess it's not the worst day a fella could have. At least I got the impression the boss man realized I saved the day.

Just my opinion but don't even bother with a secondary unless you're dry-hopping or adding other secondary ingredients (fruit, coffee, etc.). Just leave it in the primary for ~3 weeks. There is virtually no chance of yeast autolysis and the yeast clean up some of the off flavors they put out during the early part of fermentation.

If I were going back and doing the bottling thing again I'd just get flip-tops (mostly 16 oz). Any homebrew store should sell them, they will cost more but it only hurts once and is a gift that keeps on giving.

Made my first yeast starter for one of my last batches, I wasnt all that confident in it mostly bc I had never done one before. I pitched it Saturday Morning at about 11am, by 3 pm I had some bubbling so I was excited. I check it on Sunday at 11am and omg this thing was fermenting like crazy!!!

I took a video but it doesnt do it any justice, its fermenting in a 6G Better Bottle so there is plenty of headspace but it was billowing out of the top of the Airlock. At one point the Airlock was filled with sanitizer, now its overflowing. I'll never not do a starter now.

http://qik.com/video/14015811

Have you tried washing yeast? If you time your batches you can just rack a beer off the yeast cake, wash the cake (or not, you don't have to wash it), and then you'll have a bunch of yeast ready for another batch. Or you can save it in mason jars but viability drops off quickly. I try to pitch it within a day or two but have saved it for months, but then another starter was required. Saves money on yeast and you don't have to worry about underpitching. If interested check out a thread called 'Yeast Washing Illustrated' on HBT.

Yea I was reading that thread yesterday actually. Im thinking about trying it out down the road. Thats my next step in this addicting hobby.

Its more or less necessary when brewing lagers, unless you like making 2.5g starters all the time.

Im not sure I follow you, youre saying its not worth washing for ales?

I think what he's getting at is that lagers just need more yeast for a given volume and gravity. In order to pitch at the proper rate for lagers you often need starter sizes that are impractical.

I always brew lagers that way. I make a low-ish gravity lager (like ~1.046 or so) using a 1.8L starter (which is underpitching) and then use the cake for a subsequent lager (reusing a portion of each successive cake for the next, then the next, and so on). They all get a good shot of pure O2 through a stone but it's doubly important that first, underpitched batch gets good aeration.

It's my belief that since we want the lager yeast to do some work after the main fermentation is complete, and we want it to happen at lower temps; that good yeast health/nutrition (including good aeration) and proper pitching rates are even more important in lagers than in ales.

No no, it definitely can be useful for all types of beers. I'm just saying that since I brew 11g batches of lager, the size of yeast starter I need is usually 2.5g minimum, sometimes more. I only want to do that once. So I make my giant starter, brew a lager, and then wash and reuse the yeast for a few generations.

The benefits to washing yeast are the same for ale and lager, but the cost of not washing is, for me, different. I can whip up a .5g starter no prob. Getting a 3g starter going is a different endeavor.

Cool stuff, I just planned out my next 5-6 brews based on 2 strains so I guess I'll see if Im cut out for some washing.

Coff:

You snooze, you lose!

You Bastard!

lol

Finally cracked Sierra's XXX Anniversary Black Barleywine this afternoon. Obviously not my photo:



Poured a deep near-black with beautiful ruby highlights at the edges. Dark tan head that stuck around pretty nicely for a beer this big. Bottle says it's 10.2%. The aroma was of dark fruits and licorice. Taste starts out like the nose, with lots of plummy, raisiny sweetness, and then that gives way to a bitter chocolate, roasty finish. Bracing bitterness throughout, it's well-hopped for sure. The finish also has some alcohol warmth to go with the roastiness, but its not abrasive or solvent-like.

This was another outstanding XXX beer from Sierra. I believe I paid $10 for the caged, corked 750. I'm definitely going to go out and get another bottle to cellar for a while. All of these anniversary beers have been fantastic.

Speaking of Sierra Nevada, I had a few of their pale ales this afternoon. Verdict: Not incredibly impressed. They tasted much like the other pale ales I've had up to this point. I have no problem drinking them, but I at no point did I think, "Damn! I've found a new go-to beer!"

This leads me to believe that maybe I'm not a huge fan of pale ales? I've had about 10 different brands, and for the most part, they taste really similar.

Samuel Smith has a RIS that I highly suggest you try

New post for a couple of reviews, the first one will be Oskar Blue's GUBNA Imperial IPA.

Poured into a chalice, the beer created a gorgeous head with a goldish, orangeish hue to it. By the way this beer cost a friend of mine, $15+ for a 4pack of cans. No that is not a typo.

The beer is brewed with 100% summit hops, which I think is fine as the flavoring (%9) was not overly bitter where it attacks your taste buds, the hops were [I]obviously[I] there, just not OMG WTF IBU content. Obvious grapefruit notes up your nose and as well on your palate.

The hope and malt combination worked for me, I could drink all 4 of the cans if it didn't have such a damn high ABV. Just the kind of beer where after you were done taking a sip, you just want to go back for more of that fruity hoppy goodness. One of my favoirite Imperial IPA's to date, gives the 90min a solid run for it's money IMO.

Mouth feel is about right for a imperial IPA, sticky and hoppy with tons of flavor and enough malt to cut out the bitterness of the hops.

A solid 4 in my opinion.

This has been bothering me, when someone say a beer has an "estery" smell what exactly does that mean.

Ive been looking it up for the last half hour, but I guess Im looking for the non technical answer.

It means it smells fruity ... like bananas

possibly the first time i've ever heard sam smiths anything described as expensive, they're pretty much notable over here for selling bland tasteless stuff that is vaguely as described really, really cheaply

Compared to some of the $15/bottle stuff I've seen in here, it's not -really- expensive by any stretch, but at $2.50 per 12 oz bottle, it's above average for this area.


Where is 'over here?'