Recent content by brewvac

I know that there is a Morris County club called MASH. And, yeah, we could use more clubs in northern Jersey.

Main Beer Co. - Lunch Ballast Point - Sculpin Bear Republic - Racer 5

I've definitely noticed my tastes/preferences changed drastically when I started to get into craft beers. And, like anything else, once you have something good, it's impossible to go back to crap. My home brewing habit started as a result of my craft beer habit, but has only added to my ability...

Glad you had a great brew day. The day itself was perfect. Sounds like you'll have a lot of very tasty beer to enjoy. The beer fest was a lot of fun and, IMO, very much worth the trip.

BrewingViking, I agree that it was a great night. There were so many great breweries there that I probably only got to a little more than half. There was plenty of fun stuff to watch/do as well. The silent disco and bull riding were just funny to watch. Plenty of great conversations with other...

The day is here! Can't wait to get to AC, play some table games, and drink fantastic beer. To all those who are going - Cheers! To those who can't make it, there's always next year. Pellis007, hope your brew day goes well. Sounds like you'll be busy, but really, what's better than an active...

Great to know that there will be fellow HBTers at the festival. I'll keep an eye out for the red balloon ;) I'll be the one annoying the crap out of the people working the Kane booth :)

Also going to the Friday session. Looks like a great line up of breweries! I'm a big fan of Kane's beers and I'm looking forward to seeing what they bring for the festival.

+ 1 with some love for Kane! Great beers. No slight to Carton, who makes plenty of good stuff, but I think Kane is better. scrapes, I've only had the chance to meet a couple of pro brewers since starting off myself, but I always mention that I'm a relatively new home brewer and ask if they have...

I'm just taking a guess, but it is most likely intended to concentrate the fermentable sugars in the wort. I'm interested in hearing the answer that others have as well.

Sounds like you are going to have a nice beer. I'm curious to know your recipe for this. The idea of a lemon ginger saison sound interesting.

Exactly. Your original post mentioned a lower mash temp, which will increase the fermentable sugars. A good yeast will have more sugars to eat and that means a higher abv, but should also mean a drier finish. Higher mash temps will get you less fermentable sugars, and with less food for your...

Yeah, you can add water if its pre-boil. That way the boil will purify the added water. If the post boil gravity is high, the you should only add distilled water to avoid infection. Or, of course, you can also simply enjoy a bigger beer :)

To be honest, I don't really know how extending the time between mash out and boiling will effect the beer, but my guess is that you will be just fine as long as you keep the wort in a closed sanitized environment.

Thanks for the input from everybody. The fermentation is staring to slow down and I'll be taking a trip to the LHBS this weekend to pick up some Cascades and maybe some Citra for dry hopping. I'll let you know how it turns out.