/hbg/ - homebrew general: crop circle edition

[Anonymous No.2887532]

post your brews. ask about brews. hops are for trannies.

previous thread: >>2867914

[Anonymous No.2887586]

>>2887532
I make ginger bug sodas, does that count as homebrewing?

[Anonymous No.2887710]

>>2887532
How do I make unlimited honey mead for retards? Is it worth it? Honey is expensive.

[Anonymous No.2887711]

>>2887532
Nice methanol poisoning apparatus

[Anonymous No.2887716]

>>2887586
Sure does
>>2887710
Keep bees

[Anonymous No.2887717]

>>2887716
Should i just catch some and force them to work for me?

[Anonymous No.2887845]

>>2887717
If you can find a swarm of honeybees then yes. Other bees won't produce enough honey.

[Anonymous No.2887904]

>>2887845
How would a bee work operation look? Do I have to place guards? Like catch some hornets and spiders?

[Anonymous No.2887918]

>>2887904
They'll do all of that themselves. You just have to find a swarm and stick it in a bee box. Make sure you look up local apiary laws and follow them. At some point you'll need to go through the box to find and capture the queen unless you want to give the swarm the option to leave. Put out empty boxes in the spring and some of the new queens might move into them.

[Anonymous No.2887937]

>>2887918
>They'll do all of that themselves. You just have to find a swarm and stick it in a bee box
Varroa destructor hands typed this

[Anonymous No.2887965]

>>2887717
Free swarm? Yes, if you can get it
>>2887904
>Do I have to place guards?
Whatever will keep a bear out, in my area you better put an electric fence around the hives or a bear will come and destroy them

[Anonymous No.2887975]

>>2887965
good to bear in mind

[Anonymous No.2887977]

>>2887918
I like how you give competent insightful tips to my clearly stupid post. Quality. I think I might actually get into bee keeping now. I do have the land for it.
>>2887965
We don't have bears here but feral pigs.

[Anonymous No.2888083]

>>2887977
>We don't have bears here but feral pigs.
Can't imagine that's any better...

[Anonymous No.2888115]

>>2887711
Not how that works.

Looking for suggestions/improvements for a wine recipe I'm brainstorming. Hopefully for a contest. Recipe as follows:
300g black tea, 2.5lb sultan raisins, .5lb dried sour/tart cherries, 6 lemons sliced, 6 gallons water, sugar to get to 15%. Nutrient as per directions, and I was thinking D47/V1116/or 71B-1122 for the yeast. I'm unsure. I can go into more details but I imagine people can understand the steps.
After primary and it's in secondary I'd like to backsweeten with a honey (I'm thinking orange-blossom) and a teaspoon of black peppercorns and ginger for a few days in secondary for a nice, spiced kick.

[Anonymous No.2888167]

>>2887977
>feral pigs
Sound like you have a recipe for honey glazed ham

[Anonymous No.2888560]

Kind of curious about lactofermenting fruit seems it only needs salt and bacteria
I have a bag of frozen pear and apple left over from autumn I'm tempted to try it on, Wondered what an ok source of a starter culture would be? I'm aware you can just buy cultures but it seems a little much for a jam jar test batch.

[Anonymous No.2888565]

>>2888560
salt for what?

[Anonymous No.2888571]

>>2888565
lactofermentation

[Anonymous No.2888728]

>>2888560
>starter culture
Yoghurt or similar. I wouldn't get one that contains pectin or gelatin thickeners as they haven't actually gone thru fermentation and at best had the bacteria added later. Pour in a coffee filter and use the clear liquid that comes out.

>>2888560
>frozen pear and apple
It would surprise me if that didn't turn to mush. I'd look for firm green apples, cabbage, cucumber, unions, carrots etc. Whatever is on sale.

[Anonymous No.2888804]

>>2887532
if I'm feeling too lazy to make a ginger bug, what's a good yeast for ginger beer?

[Anonymous No.2888896]

>>2888804
i have a theory that you can use bread yeast and you maybe it will be fully carbonated before the yeast flavor is bad

[Anonymous No.2888916]

random question and I think this is the most relevant thread for it:

If I wanted to extract the ethanol from something like vodka, what would be the simplest ghetto-rig to reduce the amount of water? Im thinking a cup within a cup type of setup

[Anonymous No.2888944]

>>2888916
put some ice on the lid so it drips into the cup faster

[Anonymous No.2888997]

Drinking my beer after 4 whole weeks not bad if I do say so myself. Tastes a bit yeasty, I'm going to ferment it on the table so it doesn't kick up the trub/yeast next time. I didn't think of that. Carbonations pretty good but maybe next time I'll add more sugar. Don't think I want a keg, I'm too cheap and dealing with leaks and shit worries me

[Anonymous No.2889025]

>>2888804
Any yeast will do, but it won’t taste exactly as ginger beer. The bacteria really help reducing the sharpness of the ginger and make it less sour (as most of them are LAB) so it may end up a bit more spicy.

[Anonymous No.2889050]

>>2888728
Some of the apples and pears I have especially the apples seem to retain their structure faily well but even if they turn to mush a jam jar won't last long.

[Anonymous No.2889056]

its the middle of summer, and I'm branching out from my regular US-05 to try a kveik for the first time. it'll be hitting 40c for 3-4 days and no airconditioning, the brew temp will probably vary between mid 20's and low 30's before any heat generated by the yeast is accounted for.

it's going to be a basic ale to match my last brew so I can get a good comparison for how the yeast affects flavour. any gotchas I should be aware of?

[Anonymous No.2889078]

>>2889056
>gotchas I should be aware of?
Kveik requires more yeast nutrient than regular yeast (reportedly 2x) so you may want to add some.

[Anonymous No.2889091]

>>2888896
i've been using bread yeast, and it comes out fine, but I'm still getting that doughy flavor within even 12 hours.
>>2889025
I actually really enjoy the sharp ginger bite/burn. I'm looking at s04 and EC118, but just not sure what kind of yeast would work well with that palette

[Anonymous No.2889125]

>>2889091
i heard that the yeast flavor is mostly formed in the growth stage. if you can inhibit yeast growth then maybe it would go into fermentation mode faster? the only thing i can think of is making your ginger beer have very little oxygen. bottle it while it is hot since oxygen is less soluble in hot water, and then add a little bit of yeast once it cools down to a safe temperature. avoid shaking it up so oxygen doesn't dissolve back into it. report back if you try it

[Anonymous No.2889159]

>>2889091
I normally put EC1118 for specialty stuff or anything I do for the first time because it’s so reliable. But I think if it’s spicy then you won’t taste much of the yeast

>>2889125
Youre part right I think: normally it over populates a bit initially, and then you’ll have a bunch of starved yeast on the bottom while it ferments. The more dead yeast and the longer you keep it on the dead yeast, the more yeast taste you get in my experience (eg sur lie aging). You can do staggered nutrient addition but low oxygen fermentation is hard to control unless you can measure and control it well.

[Anonymous No.2889201]

Stupid question maybe, how do you guys transfer hot must from a pan into the brewing vessel?

[Anonymous No.2889257]

>>2889091
>that doughy flavor
I dabble with bread yeast all the time and I've never had any flavor problems with it, just low attenuation

[Anonymous No.2889290]

>>2889201
Oven mittens :-), do primary fermentation in plastic bucket and just pour.

[Anonymous No.2889336]

>>2889290
I spill like 5-10% holding a pan on its side, maybe I’m a bad cook.

[Anonymous No.2889457]

>>2889336
Just a wristlet

[Anonymous No.2889460]

>>2889457
This kinda shit doesn’t happen to you?

[Anonymous No.2889464]

>>2889460
you need to be confident with your pours to avoid that. don't slowly tip it into the pot, just dump it in

[Anonymous No.2889469]

>>2889460
pour faster, problem solved

[Anonymous No.2889472]

>>2889201
A lot of times, I only make 3 gallons on the stove top. Then, after the boil, I add another 2 gallons of almost frozen water. This brings the temp of the wort down really quickly, leading to what is known as a "cold break." Inducing a cold break at the end of the boil makes it more manageable to handle, but also helps to drop some of the proteins out of solution, resulting in a cleaner, less hazy beer.

[Anonymous No.2889519]

>>2889460
If you pour it strongly to start you don't get teapot effect, then you can back off and pour more slowly. It takes strength and coordination.

[Anonymous No.2889548]

any of you lads really autistic about home distillation? thinking about getting a single vessel home brew machine with a still attachment to make stuff for cocktails like funky unaged rum etc (australia has obscene sin taxes on alcohol so it would be worth the effort
soliciting general advice and tips

[Anonymous No.2889549]

>>2889548
>a single vessel home brew machine with a still attachment
because I also want to brew beer of course

[Anonymous No.2889563]

>>2889548
never heard of such a thing. usually it's a dedicated appliance. if you plan on doing this a lot, i would probably keep them separate so you can have more freedom with customizing your fermentation side of things

[Anonymous No.2889658]

just did a ginger beer with a ginger bug. was kinda disappointed from the result, though it wasn't horrible. it didn't carbonate despite the ginger bug showing clear signs of activity. i was going for a more intense flavor and spicyness, so i upped the dose and tried something different from the recipes online.

recipe:
>blend 150 gr ginger with 0.5 liters of water
> add lots of peppermint twigs + juice from 1 lemon and let infuse for 1 hour
>prepare a pot with 2.5 liters of water, 300 gr sugar, 150 gr ginger, 3 cinnamon sticks, 1 anise star and some black pepper
>let the pot simmer for 5 minutes and cool down
> mix blended liquid to pot and add 150 gr of gingerbug

i poured some into a pet bottle to check for carbonation, but it has not built anything after 6 days.
>taste
i dont get much of the anise and cinnamon. the peppermint is quite present, ginger is not prominent enough for me, also the burn and spicyness is definitely lacking.
any recommendations? i really wanted a spicy and intense ginger beer, with some nice burn. next time i'll for sure drop the peppermint and anise, maybe add more cinnamon and black pepper.
which ginger:water ratio are you guys using?
>>2888896
>>2889091
>>2889125
>>2889159
>>2889257
also interested in bread yeast. didn't quite understand how you avoid the off-flavors.
i may experiment with just adding some bakers yeast before bottling, and using a pet bottle as a carbonation gauge.

[Anonymous No.2889661]

>>2889460
Use a ladle or spoon to transfer enough out so that you can properly pour it

[Anonymous No.2889666]

>>2889658
ginger never gives any flavor when you just boil it into water. you need to juice it. also, bacteria fermentation is something you need to practice since yeast is able to survive in most conditions. my bacteria ferments fail because i either don't aerate the liquid enough or i didn't put enough starter into it. it usually isn't a sugar problem since i've fermented weak grain wort just fine before

[Anonymous No.2889668]

>>2889666
I've had good results keeping the wort aerated for several days by adding a fish tank pump and an aerating stone. Be sure to sanitize the air tube and aerating stone in a regular sanitizer, and add some HEPA filter to the air pump to keep the air fairly clean. Just leave the pump running for the first several days of fermentation.

[Anonymous No.2889669]

>>2889658
Did you use organic ginger to get your gingerbug going? The organic ginger still has some yeast and bacteria on the skin, but 'regular' ginger is often times imported and has been sterilized. You can always kickstart your gingerbug by adding a little bread yeast, but the only way to get a good bacteria culture going is to allow natural bacteria from your kitchen to start growing in it. It can easily take a couple of weeks to get a halfway decent starter going.

[Anonymous No.2889677]

>>2889668
i wouldn't do that since it allows unwanted aerobic yeast to start growing. i shake things up before fermentation to give it enough air and then seal it up

[Anonymous No.2889811]

>>2889666
> ginger never gives any flavor when you just boil it into water
The ‘superfood people’ make ginger tea by just putting sliced fresh ginger in boiling water and it works fine.

>>2889658
> also interested in bread yeast. didn't quite understand how you avoid the off-flavors.
Bread yeast isn’t very different, most wine yeast have just been bred for better alcohol tolerance, some special tones and less waste. But again if you add a ton of spices the difference is hard to notice so imo just use ec1118 for its reliability

> really wanted a spicy and intense ginger beer, with some nice burn.
Dried ginger 1000g/L dried for super fiery, 500 for pretty spicy and 200 for ginger taste like store bought ginger beer. But I leave the ginger in during fermentation

5 minute simmer is way too little, try keeping it at 60c for 2 hours instead

[Anonymous No.2889997]

I've only made 3 batches of beer and they were drinkable to decent but how do I really up my game? How do I make a tip top tier beer? I don't have a fridge for temperature control

[Anonymous No.2890139]

>>2889666
checked
>juicing ginger
i blended it with similar thoughts in mind, but it didn't turn out like i imagined it
>>2889669
used organic for the bug but then switched to regular for the wort. but it seems like too much hassle with keeping a bug going. i think i'll experiment with replacing the bug with bakers yeast. thinking about adding it after the boil and then bottle it directly without a fermenter, since i only want it for carbonation and not necessarily for alcohol. a plastic bottle should do the trick with pressure monitoring.
>>2889811
thanks for the ratios! you recon the weak flavor was from too little cooking time?

[Anonymous No.2890146]

I'm the anon from last thread with the crooked bottle caps. the beer carbed out fine (picrel). but it was too boozy initially. the alcohol taste has mellowed a bit after the second tasting, but still present. so i rechecked the recipe and apparently im retarded. i was supposed to lager it for at least 3 weeks at 0 to 6 celsius after 2 weeks of bottle priming. threw the remaining bottles into the fridge with hopes of saving the beer.

you guys think it's worth it? it's been sitting at room temp for 9 weeks already…

[Anonymous No.2890218]

>>2889997
>How do I make a tip top tier beer?
Making clones tells you if you've got control over you process. Post your equipment and budget and we can suggest cost efficient upgrades.

[Anonymous No.2890311]

>>2890218
>Making clones tells you if you've got control over you process
Good strat. I brew in a bag does expensive ass equipment really make a difference? What is necessary?

[Anonymous No.2890345]

>>2890311
>does expensive ass equipment really make a difference? What is necessary?
If you're making lager you either need temp control or pressure fermentation. Other than that can't come up with anything strictly necessary. A mill so you can buy whole grain, a keg with co2 tank and regulator for forced carbonation, equipment for yeast bank are thing that are helpful that comes to mind.

[Anonymous No.2890349]

>>2890345
For that reason I'm not gonna make lagers. Sierre Nevada Pale Ale prime their bottles, I don't see why I need a keg and the grains I get are pre-milled. I should have asked if there's a technique or something I'm missing. I strongly don't believe a keg is going to make a beer any better

[Anonymous No.2890375]

>>2889997
>water minerals
>water ph
>water aeration before fermentation
>step-mashing to allow for certain enzymes to have their time to shine
>boiling the wort long enough to coagulate protein
>filtering as much coagulated protein as possible before fermentation
>finding the right flavors you want to add into the beer
>letting sediment settle to the bottom after fermentation is done before siphoning
hopefully someone can add a few esoteric ideas to the list that doesn't involve fridges

[Anonymous No.2890377]

>>2890349
Just make them anyways.

[Anonymous No.2890396]

>>2890377
Honestly yeah. I don't want to get super autistic about this with hundreds of dollars worth of equipment. Surely I can make a decent beer with a bag. Faggot redditor youtubers make it seem like you need thousands of dollars worth of equipment and the science down to the grain to make anything good.

[Anonymous No.2890397]

>>2890375
Thank you

[Anonymous No.2890411]

>>2890396
>science down to the grain to make anything good
i think they like to talk about their recipes in deep detail so that people have the information to replicate it. i personally don't measure anything and throw things in if i remember to do it. however, i think you should probably take some of their advice if you feel like you are falling short somewhere, as long as you have the equipment or ingredients needed to take that advice. i end up making lots of failures whenever i veer off course and do my own recipes and omit certain procedures without reading into the purpose for why people do them in the first place

[Anonymous No.2890538]

>>2890396
>>2890411
The variance in environment becomes larger than the variance in recipe pretty quickly. If the recipe says 50F then a super constant 55F is better than going 40-60 all the time even though it’s 50 average. This goes for many factors.

If you want it to taste better to friends and family just make it sweeter and add more herbs and they’ll say wow that’s great I never had this before. If you want it better as in beer competitions, try and get some temp control and read the Yeast book

[Anonymous No.2890645]

>>2890396
>Faggot redditor youtubers make it seem like you need thousands of dollars worth of equipment
They're paid to do that. There's nothing in my setup that isn't homemade or scavenged/recycled
The corny was lucky. still haven't got a CO2 bottle because I just prime in the corny and serve from there

[Anonymous No.2890765]

>>2890645
>I just prime in the corny and serve from there
The Co2 created gives enough pressure to serve? Cool