Hi, I'm getting back to homebrewing after about a 7 year hiatus. Back around the turn of the century, I was living in ski country in Utah, and my Fiance' and I brewed 100 or so gallons each year. Back then, we were pretty non-technical, and brewed beer almost like cooking dinner: mash, boil, hop, chill, siphon off last week's batch from the fermenter, leave a bit of yeast in the bottom, and dump chilled wort in, repeat weekly (ahhh, those were the days).
Most of the time, the beer was excellent, and we were very popular
We did, however, occasionally have some problems, and I'd like to see if I can leverage my maturity, and willingness to pay attention to a bit more detail.
1. Extraction problems: We got some low efficiency when we tried to use our tap water. Up in the Utah Mountains, we assumed that the water was very hard and mineral rich, and when we mashed with distilled water, it definitely improved things. BUT, at the time, we used a corona mill, and although the crush looked fine, I wonder if it really was. I have invested in the barley crusher, and will try things out with my NY tap water.
2. The big problem: Occasionally, beer that didn't taste great. We love pale ales, mostly California style, with Sierra Nevada and Lagunitas running neck and neck for our favorites. We generally succeed at cloning these styles, but occasionally, had results that we didn't like. We don't like the following beers: Moose Drool, Fat tire, and Saranac Pale Ale. While not being bad, these beers are just too heavy, maybe with a bit too much caramel, and a flavor that I attribute (right or wrong) to unfermentable sugars in the beer. If anyone can relate to our flavor preferences, and might be able to comment on how we can avoid the fat tire/moose drool style, I would love to hear it. My first guess is mashing temperature, but I'd love to hear some opinions.
Thanks and happy brewing.
Most of the time, the beer was excellent, and we were very popular
We did, however, occasionally have some problems, and I'd like to see if I can leverage my maturity, and willingness to pay attention to a bit more detail.
1. Extraction problems: We got some low efficiency when we tried to use our tap water. Up in the Utah Mountains, we assumed that the water was very hard and mineral rich, and when we mashed with distilled water, it definitely improved things. BUT, at the time, we used a corona mill, and although the crush looked fine, I wonder if it really was. I have invested in the barley crusher, and will try things out with my NY tap water.
2. The big problem: Occasionally, beer that didn't taste great. We love pale ales, mostly California style, with Sierra Nevada and Lagunitas running neck and neck for our favorites. We generally succeed at cloning these styles, but occasionally, had results that we didn't like. We don't like the following beers: Moose Drool, Fat tire, and Saranac Pale Ale. While not being bad, these beers are just too heavy, maybe with a bit too much caramel, and a flavor that I attribute (right or wrong) to unfermentable sugars in the beer. If anyone can relate to our flavor preferences, and might be able to comment on how we can avoid the fat tire/moose drool style, I would love to hear it. My first guess is mashing temperature, but I'd love to hear some opinions.
Thanks and happy brewing.
