Let's talk brewing

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BrianEichhorn
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Let's talk brewing

So, what is everyone's experience level? Extract? Partial? All-grain? How long? What types of beer do you enjoy brewing and why? What do you have trouble with?

For me, 3.5 yrs and only all-grain. I brew just about everything and in the middle of my big beer schedule with a Belgian Dark strong this weekend an a Russian Imperial Stout upcoming, as well as a Flanders red before I roll into a few Boh Pils. My current favorite style to brew is Duesseldorf Alt purely for the beauty that a great one is. That and I love doing decoctions!

oldstyle69
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Been off and on for 3 yrs.

Been off and on for 3 yrs. Extct and partial only so far. Getting ready to bottle a belg strong

ChuckMac
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I have been brewing since

I have been brewing since 1991. I use to be a partial brewer for a number of years and finally made the plunge to all grains 3 years ago, using a pumpkin as a mash tun!

I brew browns, porters, ipa's and cream ales.

ThomasThorpe
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I've been brewing since

I've been brewing since December... extract, full boils (5 gallon batches in a 10 gallon kettle), have brewed an american amber, brown, three batches of a saison for a friends wedding and an APA. Looking to stick with belgian styles over the summer because of fermentation temps. I'm still pretty new to brewing but love every minute of it and hope to be able to do more soon as my wife and I are looking to find a bigger place. Should be stepping into min-mash for my next few batches but don't have the space or money to do all grain yet.

DanielBarker
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Just moved to Chicago 8-9

Just moved to Chicago 8-9 months ago and have been brewing for maybe 5-6 months?  4 steeped grain/extract batches (a pale ale kit, a modified stout clone, an ipa, and a belgium golden).  I just started all grain recently (used my tax return to get a giant 15 gal mash tun/kettle) and have a 50 percent wheat ipa getting ready for secondary and a brown ale still peaking its fermentation.   I spent all winter planning a giant viscous ris but never got a way to temp-control its aging so it's on the back burner til then (I bought a large chest freezer from craig's list for 25 dollars and got home to find out it doesn't work.  If anyone can figure out how to fix it I have an analog temp control for it; everyone could use it at the club space).  I'm plenty anxious to learn from everyone and would especially love to hear how the above-mentioned ris's go as it's my favorite style. 

David
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Did you get a lot of

Did you get a lot of splashing when you transferred your beer?  It's hard to tell exactly what's going on from the photos...but if you were fairly sanitary you should be okay.  If you see strange growth after a few days...then I'd start worrying, I think you'll be fine though.

I'd also move your brew into a closet or somewhere where it won't be light struck.  Too much light will give you a "skunky" quality.  I've seen people stick a black t-shirt over the carboy...but a fairly dark place that is also somewhat cool will work just fine.

Kurt said:

I asked the same thing over on HBT, and actually someone mentioned it could be CO2 coming to the surface, so I got up close to it and did notice that each one looks like it has a ton of super tiny bubbles bunched together.... so I think that might be it hopefully.

BrianEichhorn
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Try culturing it and see how

Try culturing it and see how it smells in some gyle. You should be able to find out quick. I recommend picking up sulfur sticks for sanitizing the barrel.

Niilo
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Originally they told me no. 

Originally they told me no.  But when I opened the box they were in there. 

iggi said:

they come with the stands, too?

niilo hayes said:

I got my barrels for $95 each + $10 shipping.  Not bad at all.  5 gallon size.  If interested you could email them see if they have any used barrels right now.  If not they might let you know when they expecting to have more ready for purchase.  I am really excited about this brew.  I also have a solid contact with one of the owners of Templeton Rye.  He said he could definitely score me a barrel from them but only the 55 gallons.  For a big ass group brew then age for quite a while would be ideal.  I know Piece has 2 of their barrels working right now of a imperial pilsner.  They are very big.  Would need some space for it as well. 
.
David Williams said:

There is something about seeing oak barrels that just makes me want to drop everything I'm doing and brew up large batches of strong beer.  Great pics....and glad to hear that we have members interested in barrel aging.  Oak is definitely on the agenda.

 

Niilo and Ryan, where were you able to get the smaller barrels? and how much did they run?  I found some sources for fairly cheap barrels, but they previously held wine and are about 55 gallons.  I think we should definitely do a group brew to be barrel aged.

IGZ
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they come with the stands,

they come with the stands, too?

niilo hayes said:

I got my barrels for $95 each + $10 shipping.  Not bad at all.  5 gallon size.  If interested you could email them see if they have any used barrels right now.  If not they might let you know when they expecting to have more ready for purchase.  I am really excited about this brew.  I also have a solid contact with one of the owners of Templeton Rye.  He said he could definitely score me a barrel from them but only the 55 gallons.  For a big ass group brew then age for quite a while would be ideal.  I know Piece has 2 of their barrels working right now of a imperial pilsner.  They are very big.  Would need some space for it as well. 
.
David Williams said:

There is something about seeing oak barrels that just makes me want to drop everything I'm doing and brew up large batches of strong beer.  Great pics....and glad to hear that we have members interested in barrel aging.  Oak is definitely on the agenda.

 

Niilo and Ryan, where were you able to get the smaller barrels? and how much did they run?  I found some sources for fairly cheap barrels, but they previously held wine and are about 55 gallons.  I think we should definitely do a group brew to be barrel aged.

...igz...

IGZ
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C.hicago H.omebrew A

C.hicago H.omebrew A.lchemists O.f S.ud

Kurt said:

Is CHAOS an acronym for something?   If it is, I just can't figure out the S.

...igz...

Niilo
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I got my barrels for $95 each

I got my barrels for $95 each + $10 shipping.  Not bad at all.  5 gallon size.  If interested you could email them see if they have any used barrels right now.  If not they might let you know when they expecting to have more ready for purchase.  I am really excited about this brew.  I also have a solid contact with one of the owners of Templeton Rye.  He said he could definitely score me a barrel from them but only the 55 gallons.  For a big ass group brew then age for quite a while would be ideal.  I know Piece has 2 of their barrels working right now of a imperial pilsner.  They are very big.  Would need some space for it as well. 
.
David Williams said:

There is something about seeing oak barrels that just makes me want to drop everything I'm doing and brew up large batches of strong beer.  Great pics....and glad to hear that we have members interested in barrel aging.  Oak is definitely on the agenda.

 

Niilo and Ryan, where were you able to get the smaller barrels? and how much did they run?  I found some sources for fairly cheap barrels, but they previously held wine and are about 55 gallons.  I think we should definitely do a group brew to be barrel aged.

David
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There is something about

There is something about seeing oak barrels that just makes me want to drop everything I'm doing and brew up large batches of strong beer.  Great pics....and glad to hear that we have members interested in barrel aging.  Oak is definitely on the agenda.

 

Niilo and Ryan, where were you able to get the smaller barrels? and how much did they run?  I found some sources for fairly cheap barrels, but they previously held wine and are about 55 gallons.  I think we should definitely do a group brew to be barrel aged.

Niilo
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That one I just soaked oak

That one I just soaked oak chips in makers mark then put in secondary for 15 days.  Turned out fantastic!  Very strong though.  I got it up to 10.9%.  Now I have a big ass RIS going in the primary for the last month.  Last week when I checked it was at 14.6%.  That one I will put into barrel.  I found some barrels from Old Sugar Distillery in Wisco.  They are rum barrels but I put bourbon in them for the last 2 months.  Probably age in them for a 1-6 months.  Depending how oaky it gets.  Here they are 9 hours after pitching yeast.  Holy blow off.  It looked like boiling water for a week.  Almost 13 days it was cranking away. 

 

 

 

IGZ
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ryan, and where did you get

ryan, and where did you get your barrels from?  thatll be an investment i need to make soon.  awesome on the upgrades, by the way.  i think a lot of us will look to you for insight.  definitely inspiring to get more brewed up.  esp since people are asking for some homebrews from CHAOS already

...igz...

IGZ
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niilo,  where did you score

niilo,  where did you score the oak barrel from?

niilo hayes said:

I've been brewing for 9 months.  About 15 batches so far.  First 2 were extract.  Now I do patials.  Don't have the room for all grain in my apartment.  I've kegged 2 so far.  My favorite so far I have done is a Bourbon Oaked California IPA.  Turned out fantastic!  Didn't last long.  Brewing an IPA this wekend.  Glad to see some of the brewers in the city!

...igz...

David
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Honey is interesting.  It

Honey is interesting.  It will definitely kick up the ABV...but i find that it doesn't contribute a noticeable honey characteristic.  I like using a little bit of  Honey Malt to get that honey like flavor into a brew.

Kurt said:

 

I actually added 1lb of honey to mine as well.  Mainly to add a little something different and up the abv a little bit.  The base of it was the Boundary Waters kit from Midwest.  I'm waiting to taste it to decide if I can call it a honey wheat though, since there seems to be a lot of opinion that the flavor doesn't always come through.

 

iggi said:

not only enjoyable, but fairly straighforward to brew.  a wheat was my first.  and boy was i short on ingredients.  had to supplement with a ton of honey, so made it into a honey wheat.  it had very interesting head characteristics.

congrats on your first brew!

Niilo
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I've been brewing for 9

I've been brewing for 9 months.  About 15 batches so far.  First 2 were extract.  Now I do patials.  Don't have the room for all grain in my apartment.  I've kegged 2 so far.  My favorite so far I have done is a Bourbon Oaked California IPA.  Turned out fantastic!  Didn't last long.  Brewing an IPA this wekend.  Glad to see some of the brewers in the city!

BrianEichhorn
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In my experience, honey taste

In my experience, honey taste is more prominent when you maintain the aromatic components by adding at high kraeusen and in a significant proportion. I'll be interested to try it for sure though!

IGZ
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not only enjoyable, but

not only enjoyable, but fairly straighforward to brew.  a wheat was my first.  and boy was i short on ingredients.  had to supplement with a ton of honey, so made it into a honey wheat.  it had very interesting head characteristics.

congrats on your first brew!

Kurt said:

Brand new to brewing.  My first American Wheat is sitting next to me on the windowsill.  Extract with steeping grains.  It's been in the bucket 6 days at the moment.  Anxious to open it up and test the gravity maybe tomorrow.  Figured it was best to start out with a Wheat since the gf enjoys them more than most.

...igz...

BrianEichhorn
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One thing on the chinook IPA

One thing on the chinook IPA is to be careful when using Chinook as a bittering hop as it can be pretty aggressive and harsh. It works great ad a late addition though for sure.

IGZ
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I haven't yet...but...one of

I haven't yet...but...one of the main wild CHAOTIC plans we have is to get our shit together, brew some spectacular recipes and compete. More to come on that at the innaugural meeting and discussion. How you like that shameless plug?

...igz...

BrianEichhorn
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Very cool. My girlfriend and

Very cool. My girlfriend and I did our first mead about five weeks ago using Curt Stock's Staggered Nutrient Addition protocol and it was wildly successful. We just did our first rack and sample and it is far cleaner and better than I ever expected. It's a cranberry blossom show mead. I plan to do a fused and a few ciders this weekend if I get a chance to get to Whole Foods. Also, I really like to help others when it comes to brewing and I apologize in advance if I come across as a know-it-all or pedantic, but I get super enthusiastic about talking about brewing and the like. I also love hearing about others experences re: brewing and I tend to start random discussions as well. Can't wit to hear more. BTW, does anyone here enter competitions?

iggi said:

I've been doing it for about three years now I think. I jumped to an improvised all grain on my second brew but quickly reverted back to extract and partials. But I'm ready to go all grain. Dave, above, has been my mentor. I enjoy brewing the weizens, the belgians, ciders, and I'm still working on my mead that started on valentines day last year. I love to play with the names as much as I like to play with the recipes. I'm big on complex flavors without an emphasis on hops. For some reason, overwhelming hops tastes like the smell of new carpet to me. I currently have my third saison in secondary, which is my '40 days and 40 nights' saison to be tapped on easter.

Cheers

IGZ
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I've been doing it for about

I've been doing it for about three years now I think. I jumped to an improvised all grain on my second brew but quickly reverted back to extract and partials. But I'm ready to go all grain. Dave, above, has been my mentor. I enjoy brewing the weizens, the belgians, ciders, and I'm still working on my mead that started on valentines day last year. I love to play with the names as much as I like to play with the recipes. I'm big on complex flavors without an emphasis on hops. For some reason, overwhelming hops tastes like the smell of new carpet to me. I currently have my third saison in secondary, which is my '40 days and 40 nights' saison to be tapped on easter.

Cheers

...igz...

David
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I started brewing about 5

I started brewing about 5 years ago...mainly extract with steeped grains.  I made the jump to all grain a little over a year ago.  I've brewed many different styles, but have an affinity towards brewing big stouts, and Belgian beers.  I'm still working on perfecting my all grain technique (part of why this club was started - to bounce ideas and see the different ways people do things).  I mash in a 10 gallon round insulated cooler and have a 15.5 gal keg converted to brew pot that is fired on a propane burner.

 

I think that it is great that we have a good range of skill levels.  More experienced people are great resources for people just starting out.  We are also working on building out some public space that will be available to CHAOS members.  The equipment I described above will most likely be the system we setup in the space.  We plan on also offering classes for people.  This should be a good introduction to brewing for some...and a refresher for others who want to participate.  It will also get people acclimated to brewing with our "house equipment".  Still lots to do, like hooking up the vent, and building a cold room...but shouldn't be too far out.

Sean Colleran
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I've been brewing for about a

I've been brewing for about a year, and I'm still using extracts with steeping grains.  I'm currently in the process of making the switch to all grain for my next batch though.  Just need a few more pieces of equipment.

 

I've got an imperial stout which was aged on coffee and vanilla beans bottle-conditioning right now.  Can't wait for this one!