Recent content by jhall4

From Brad (the BeerSmith dev) on the BeerSmith forums on a question related to moisture In other words, I don't think there's much you can do.

from the comments section

Just to help you along in that endeavor: http://www.ninkasibrewing.com/beer-detail/allies-win-the-war/ They list IBU, ABV, OG, plus the grains and hops used (though not specific quantities). Should give you a good starting point!

It's extremely hard to make that assessment. It's not just the amount of oils but the amounts of different types of different essential oils that determines the potency of a given hop. You can make a rough estimate of how potent a hop will be based on the oil content, but it's going to be an...

Bitterness is created from hops when isomerization occurs, which requires high temps (that's one of the reasons we boil our wort). Without high temps, the hop acids can't isomerize and they don't become bitter. So, no, you won't get bitterness despite the higher AA content.

I don't have much personal experience, but I did save an acetaldehyde-y beer and a fairly undrinkable hop test batch by blending them to create a fairly enjoyable pale ale. Anyway, this is a pretty solid resource with good tips and some ideas to try. The Art of Blending Beer

If you wanted to get some hoppy flavors and aromas, I might try dry hopping. I've never done that myself, since my desire for a WeiPA waned after my initial failed experiments. Interesting, I did not know that!

In my experience it's too assertive, flavor-wise, to allow hop flavors to come through and ferments too vigorously to let aromas survive fermentation. I've never tried dry hopping after, though.

Because that changes the characteristics of the beer vs. a more traditional bittering and late addition. I suppose the BJCP guideline is broad enough that having a lot of hop character would still be acceptable for a RIS, but personally I wouldn't expect that character from one so I wouldn't...

Sure, it's just becoming more of a Cascadian Dark Ale/American Dark Ale/Black IPA than it is a RIS.

Ah, well in that is definitely true - a low mash ph will inhibit the activity of the amylase enzymes as well as present the risk of tannin extraction. If I were trying to get a sour beer without doing a sour mash, I'd mess around with higher percentages of acid malt (I might try something...

Awesome, thanks for the help, everyone!

Well, doing a sour mash does not affect your mash efficiency at all. It can reduce your pre-yeast-fermentation gravity but, as with a normal mash, all of the conversion (which is what is measured by mash efficiency) takes place during your sac. rest at 153...

I hadn't seen those anywhere - that would definitely fit my needs. I'll look into them, thanks!

Thanks for the reply, AJ. I guess I should have included some more details in my OP. Basically I'm in an apartment so I cannot install an RO system, so although that would provide the greatest cost efficiency and convenience to me, I'm simply not able. That leaves using straight tap water...