Official Alcohol Discussion Thread!

[DaMexiRican]

Can we get a sticky for this?

What do ya'll prefer to drink? Beer, Wine, Hard Liquor, Wine Coolers? All of them?

I only drink Beer and Hard Liquor. Mint Mojito is about the only thing close to a wine cooler I'll drink though LOL

 

[Off_contstantly]

Thanks! One of these days, I'll "level up" to the keg set up like most of you have. I'm still crazy excited to be doing this.

I am curious though what everyone's preference is on a few things. Stainless or aluminum brew pot? Glass or plastic carboys?

 

[Illiciter]

Thanks! One of these days, I'll "level up" to the keg set up like most of you have. I'm still crazy excited to be doing this.

I am curious though what everyone's preference is on a few things. Stainless or aluminum brew pot? Glass or plastic carboys?

I prefer stainless everything.

carboys don't matter much at this scale, glass is great, plastic is great.

Glass Pros: Smooth surface, easy to sanitize and clean, durable.
Glass Cons: If you drop that sumbitch you WILL get gashed open.

Plastic Pros: Smooth surface, easy to sanitize and clean, durable.
Plastic Cons: If you scratch the inside you will lose the protective layer and invite bacteria into your beer, don't use brushes just PBW and let it work overnight/couple days.

 

[Off_contstantly]

What's PBW? A cleaner?

 

[Illiciter]

Powdered Brewery Wash

It's an alkaline detergent that cleans **** like a mofo.

I put 4-5 tablespoons per 5 gallons. It's a pricey detergent but you can stretch it quite a ways. I have had my 3 pound bag for at least 6 months now and it's still not even halfway gone.

The trick is just recycling it... It doesn't stop working over time. I get rid of it after it gets dirty enough and you can see soil floating around and it looks greenish brown. You don't even have to scrub just let it sit overnight. Heck, I had a dirty fermenter that I left out for a couple days while I was away... the crap had dried rock solid inside that thing and grew some mold.. I used PBW and let it sit for 3 or 4 days... came out lookin new.

 

[MacDaddyOJack]

Im a stainless/ glass guy but I dont think there is anything wrong at all with a better bottle. I have come close to dropping an empty carboy before, it was scaaaaarrrrryyyy never come close with a full one though, I guess I'm just more careful with those

 

[Off_contstantly]

Since they won't let me link, I'll do it this way.

 

[splax23]

Anyone watch Brew Masters on Discovery Channel last night? I thought the first episode was pretty awesome. I hope it continues to be good!!

 

[BigRick]

Watching it now. Looks awesome!

 

[Off_contstantly]

I want to, but I'll have to wait until it hits Netflix or I can find it on the internet.

 

[BigRick]

I want to, but I'll have to wait until it hits Netflix or I can find it on the internet.

^^ THIS IS why I can never get rid of my satellite provider.

 

[Off_contstantly]

So I've got my setup anxiously awaiting my first batch! I ended up getting glass carboys (5 gal and 6.5 gal) and a turkey fryer kit that has a 30 qt aluminum pot. I'm also renovating a small section of my basement to include a soaker sink for clean up and sanitation.

 

[Glen-BoB]

So I've got my setup anxiously awaiting my first batch! I ended up getting glass carboys (5 gal and 6.5 gal) and a turkey fryer kit that has a 30 qt aluminum pot. I'm also renovating a small section of my basement to include a soaker sink for clean up and sanitation.

iI'm jealous. wish i knew how to brew beer. I gotta get into it.

 

[DaMexiRican]

^^ THIS IS why I can never get rid of my satellite provider.

You get it free anyway

 

[Off_contstantly]

iI'm jealous. wish i knew how to brew beer. I gotta get into it.

I've got a guy in my NG unit to thank for getting me interested, and Splax, Alpha, and MacDaddy to thank for getting me going even more.

 

[Illiciter]

Speaking of getting going.. here's a double chocolate cherry stout recipe I'm going to do this weekend:

2.5 lbs. Maris Otter Pale
1.5 lbs. English Chocolate Malt
1.5 lbs. Roasted Barley
0.5 lbs. Crystal Malt 40°L
0.5 lbs. Crystal Malt 120°L
8 lbs. DME extra light
0.25 lbs. Dark Brown Sugar
0.5 lbs. Malto Dextrin
.5 lbs. Barley Flaked
.5 lbs. Wheat Flaked
2 oz. Fuggle
1 oz. East Kent Goldings
1 oz. Styrian Goldings
16 oz. Ghirardelli cocoa in boil
3lbs Cherry puree in secondary, 3lbs cherry puree in tertiary if the cherry isn't just right
.5 oz. chocolate essence at kegging
Wyeast Irish Ale


Whatcha think? I kinda borrowed and stole from various recipes trying to imitate the young's double chocolate stout

 

[DaMexiRican]

Sounds like it'll taste great

 

[Off_contstantly]

Sounds great! My first is going to be an Oktoberfest from a kit, but the next is probably be a chocolate or chocolate cherry stout.

 

[Glen-BoB]

IU've been into the real Hoppy beers lately. love em.

 

[MacDaddyOJack]

Me too, love hoppy beers. You can always use more hops!

Alpha - that looks like lots of hops for a stout, although like I just said, more hops = better The only thing you may want to be careful of is the hops drowning out the chocolate or cherry flavors. I honestly have no idea if 3 or 4 ounces is better though, I'm interested to see how it turns out!

Edit: I know I commented on here about a bigass IPA I made a little while ago. It turned out wonderfully! So wonderful that I kicked the keg a few days ago

 

[Illiciter]

Me too, love hoppy beers. You can always use more hops!

Alpha - that looks like lots of hops for a stout, although like I just said, more hops = better The only thing you may want to be careful of is the hops drowning out the chocolate or cherry flavors. I honestly have no idea if 3 or 4 ounces is better though, I'm interested to see how it turns out!

Edit: I know I commented on here about a bigass IPA I made a little while ago. It turned out wonderfully! So wonderful that I kicked the keg a few days ago

I was thinking the same thing! But the east kent and styrians are 30 and 15 respectively. The fuggles are pretty standard for an english stout at 60 mins. I'm wagering that the heavy sugar bill will keep the hops kind of muted. Especially if there's going to be a sweeter chocolate overtone with the extract. Guess we'll find out!!!