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Old 12-03-2012, 12:21 PM   #21
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I was worried it would smell like beer but it doesn't.
Why would that be a bad thing for a beer lover?

I have not been to the town of Cognac (one of these days), but read that the entire town smells of the liquor, as it seeps from the oak barrels that are used to age this eau de vie for several decades.

Umm... I would be taking a deep breath to inhale the smell of this invigorating spirit.
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Old 12-03-2012, 12:43 PM   #22
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Why would that be a bad thing for a beer lover?

I do love the 'taste' of beer I can't say I enjoy the 'smell' of it, well at least not in those quantities! Plus I was in shock, I had pulled a small glass to taste it and it was tasting like it had a lot of potential, and then to see it all laying there slowly spreading out was tough.

And my wife does NOT like the smell of beer and if I made the house smell like beer it could spell the doom of my beer making (at least in the house!).
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Old 12-03-2012, 12:53 PM   #23
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...the loss of a good 5 gallons of beer...
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Old 12-03-2012, 01:27 PM   #24
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As others have mentioned, I would also suggest just using the plastic food grade buckets (HDPE). I have not checked, but I don't think the brew stores charge too much of a premium on these, over what you might find elsewhere.

There really is no need to rack to 'secondary' on this recipe. For typical ales, I find three weeks in the primary bucket is enough time for it to ferment out (best to check with a hydrometer though).

A few comments to follow on this recipe - the process is rather 'old school'. I'm sure it will make a great beer, but I think you will have better results, or maybe just better odds of success with a few updates, there are few potential problems - see below:

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7 lbs Light Malt Extract
1 lb Light Dry Malt Extract
1 lb Wheat Dry Malt Extract
1/2 lb Munich Malt
1/2 lb Crystal Malt 40L
1/4 lb Belgian Caramunich Malt
1/4 lb Peated (smoked) Malt
1 oz Northern Brewer Hops 8 HBU (Boiling) 60 minutes
1/2 oz Kent Golding Hops (Flavor) 15 minutes
Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale

Add cracked Munich, Crystal, Caramunich and Peated Malts to 2 gallons of cold water and bring to a boil When the boiling starts, remove the grain. Add the Light Malt Extract, Dry Light Malt Extract and Wheat Dry Malt Extract then bring to a boil again. Add 1 oz of Northern Brewing Hops and continue to boil for 45 minutes. Add 1/2 oz of Kent Golding Hops and continue to boil for 15 minutes. Sparge the hops with cold water into the fermenter. Add the wart to the ferementer with cold water to make 5 gallons. Add yeast when temperature reaches 70 degrees. Ferment at 65 degrees for 7 days or until fermentation slows. Rack to a secondary ferementer and let it age for 2 weeks in secondary then bottle or keg.

I keg but the recipe says if you bottle to use 1 1/4 cup fo dry malt extract boiled with 2 cups of water adding in the bottling bucket.

Not my recipe but I think it makes a nice smoked scottish ale. Good luck and let me know if you try it and how it turned out.
1) Add cracked Munich, Crystal, Caramunich and Peated Malts to 2 gallons of cold water and bring to a boil When the boiling starts, remove the grain. - You run the risk (not the certainty) of extracting tannins (tea bag like flavor) if you bring the grains near a boil, and/or using that much water. It is now suggested to keep the water/grain ratio at ~ 3Q/# for a steep like this - turn off the heat at ~ 160F. Generally recc to stay under 170F. If you started with cold water, that should probably be enough time to extract the flavors from the grain. Otherwise, hold it at ~ 150-160F for ~ 20 minutes - time is not critical. One of the new brewers in our club definitely experienced this problem with tannins - it's not just theoretical. IIRC, he didn't go to boiling, but he had the steeping grains in the full 5 gallons of water - this dilutes the acidity of the grain/water, and that will tend to pull the tannins out.

2) Technically, Munich malt is normally 'mashed' rather than just steeped. This is because Munich Malt is mostly starch (those other grains have been converted to sugar already). With only 1/2#, it probably isn't a big deal, and some will probably get converted as you are raising the temperature, but the normal procedure for mashing Munich is to hold it very near 150F for ~ 20 minutes. You might also want another 1/2# of a base malt to increase the enzymes to assure conversion.

3) Be very careful when adding the malt extracts that they don't burn on the bottom of the pot! Turn the heat off, and make sure it is dissolved well before applying more heat. One of our experienced brewers made this mistake recently while adding sugar to a Belgium - burn't it and ruined the batch. It has also become common to add ~ 1/2 the malt extract at the beginning, and the remaining, slowly, ~ 15 minutes from the end of the boil. The extract does not need extended boiling, and long, concentrated boils can be somewhat detrimental.

4) It wasn't clear, but if you are using a glass carboy primary, all the wort has to be cooled before adding it to the carboy. Adding it hot, or mixing hot/cold as you fill will stress the glass, it may crack, or weaken and crack later. Again - I just don't like glass, save it for recipes that actually need real aging (see below).

5) Add yeast when temperature reaches 70 degrees. Ferment at 65 degrees.... If you are going to ferment at 65F (sounds good), it is generally recc to get the wort all the way down to that temp, or a few degrees lower. The yeast will 'wake up' as it warms, and go to work. The drop from 70 to 65 may cause it to slow down. Also, temps in the 70's can create some off-flavors in some yeasts.

6) Ferment at 65 degrees for 7 days or until fermentation slows. Rack to a secondary ferementer and let it age for 2 weeks in secondary then bottle or keg. Again, just let it ferment out in the primary plastic bucket. It use to be 'conventional wisdom' that you had to get the beer off the yeast at 7 days - that has been dis-proven by many, many brewers, in many, many forums. No need for a 'secondary', unless you have a recipe that really requires extended bulk aging (like over two months - maybe you have it sitting on fruit or oak?). Everything else, just use the primary, and keg/bottle from there. Kegs make great 'secondaries' as others have pointed out.

I guess it depends on the peated malt supplier, but 1/4# could be quite strong? A little can go a long ways.

Hope your re-brew goes well!

Cheers - ERD50
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Old 12-03-2012, 01:28 PM   #25
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Very very sorry to hear. A friend is bringing 5 gallons down for my DH's 50th birthday party next weekend and we are very much looking forward to his efforts.
Glad you are back at work on version 2!
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Old 12-03-2012, 01:32 PM   #26
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Why would that be a bad thing for a beer lover?
Fresh beer smells great to a beer lover! But the cooking process in making beer (it is still 'wort' at this time) is a very different smell. A lot of people hate it, most brewers love it.

Spilled, stale beer - yuck!

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Old 12-03-2012, 02:31 PM   #27
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Why would that be a bad thing for a beer lover?

I have not been to the town of Cognac (one of these days), but read that the entire town smells of the liquor, as it seeps from the oak barrels that are used to age this eau de vie for several decades.

Umm... I would be taking a deep breath to inhale the smell of this invigorating spirit.
I have been to the town of Tequila, which does indeed smell of the liquor. There are several large distilleries sporting prominent No Smoking signs. Watching the agave harvest is fascinating.

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Old 12-03-2012, 04:33 PM   #28
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Sorry for your pain, and good luck finding a replacement, albeit temporary and commercial. Nature has a way of finding balance, though. On the same day you suffered a painful loss, I had a pleasant surprise. My favorite ale, missing from store shelves for over a year, is back.

Hey, so that's some good beer, huh? DH loves a good brewski being of German heritage and all. Seen it in my local grocery store and wondered. I'll have to pick up a sixer for the old man. BTW, the picture on the label looks like an illustration from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. 'Nuther reason to trust it.
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Old 12-04-2012, 03:50 AM   #29
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Hey, so that's some good beer, huh? DH loves a good brewski being of German heritage and all. Seen it in my local grocery store and wondered. I'll have to pick up a sixer for the old man. BTW, the picture on the label looks like an illustration from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. 'Nuther reason to trust it.
It is a very bitter ale. The label does look unusual, the brewer is Flying Dog and all the brews are dogs.
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Old 12-04-2012, 06:13 AM   #30
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As a fellow beer lover (not brewer yet, but planning on adding it to may way too long hobby list), I shed a few tears for you and your friend that was lost at such a young age. This is truly tragic news....
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Old 12-04-2012, 06:53 AM   #31
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BTW, the picture on the label looks like an illustration from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. 'Nuther reason to trust it.
That's no accident, as described on the Flying Dog website. (Click on "Hunter S. Thompson" and "Ralph Steadman" in the left-hand frame.)

I once toured the Flying Dog brewery in Frederick, MD with the James River Homebrewers club from Richmond, VA. Excellent brewery and we got the "behind the scenes" tour. Great tasting room, too. The highlight was when one of the brewers said, "excuse me" and I had to move out of the way of the scale large enough for a person so he could weigh out a boat-load of hops. Mmmmm.... hops.....
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Old 12-04-2012, 07:02 AM   #32
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Sorry for the broken carboy. I also use glass and I've been getting a bit leery of it after 10 years. You've inspired me to examine all my carboys when I get home for hairline cracks. They might hold up for years then give way like that one day. I ferment in the basement where there are floor drains, but I don't think I could take losing 5 gallons of homebrew after I spend all day on the patio brewing all-grain (which is a 4-6 hour process for those who aren't into the obsession, er, hobby, of homebrewing).

Not to mention the possibility of a severed artery. I don't want to imitate Dan Aykroyd doing Julia Child.

Oh, I also second the Brew Hauler. I use milk crates as well, but the BH is much easier on the hands while carrying it.

And I might have to put that recipe down for a future brew session. Looks tasty!
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Old 12-04-2012, 07:08 AM   #33
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That's no accident, as described on the Flying Dog website. (Click on "Hunter S. Thompson" and "Ralph Steadman" in the left-hand frame.)

I once toured the Flying Dog brewery in Frederick, MD with the James River Homebrewers club from Richmond, VA. Excellent brewery and we got the "behind the scenes" tour. Great tasting room, too. The highlight was when one of the brewers said, "excuse me" and I had to move out of the way of the scale large enough for a person so he could weigh out a boat-load of hops. Mmmmm.... hops.....
Thanks for that link and tidbit of info.
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Old 12-04-2012, 07:59 AM   #34
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So sorry for your loss.

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Old 12-04-2012, 09:30 AM   #35
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Thanks for all the condolences (and the recipe and carboy suggestions), it makes this old man sniffle just a bit thinking how everyone here understands...you guys get me

I do have the new beer going, I woke up to a happy sound this morning, a nice burping sound from the yeast going to town on the beer, so I am well onto a replacement. I am optimistic it will be ready for my NYE party. Think POSITIVE is my motto.

I have never tried an all grain-usually I do the partial recipes. 4-6 hours of work then I would be crying for sure!
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Old 12-04-2012, 04:59 PM   #36
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Congrats! That's great news. The good thing about beer is that you can always make more.
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