beer ASK WHEEBZ

thats a good kid

I used the Brewers Best kit, i still use the buckets, but for other shit than brewing anymore
 
whats the deal with moonshine corn. is it malted? seems like today it isnt and they may or may not use packaged enzymes. was it ever? made from malted corn tho? how did them yee olde mountain men make booze? guessing they malted ateleast a portion of it...​
 
wheebz, new project - Mead

I tried this last year and it was a total fail but I have found that there is a bee farm not 20 minutes from here where I can get honey right from the hive and I'm thinking about running just a 1 gallon test batch.

Here's the questions:

1. When I boil honey does it need to be a rolling boil or just bring it up above 190 degrees F to kill off any nasties? For how long?

2. I understand the need for yeast nut's but what yeast is best? Cote's De Blanc, Champagn, or should I use the special yeasts for Meads?

3. I have seen where meads take longer than beer for fermentation. What should the fermentation schedule be? Something like 30 days Primary, 30 days secondary, bottle and let sit for 6 months or longer or is it more like going by clairity?

4. For 1 gallon batch, which I want to come out simi-sweet, would 5 pounds honey be enough? I'm thinking about using either Wildflower or Orange Blossom.

Thanks Bro,
RM
 
I picked up a portable draft kit as I'm only using 1 Keg right now and the Pumpkin Ale will be going to the Family Christmas party. I really don't like Picnic taps and constantly having to pump them up and besides your adding air so I was really happy to find this set up.

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First 2 glasses were pretty much yeast ale. I let them sit for 48 hours in the fridge and the first one cleared the first half inch and the second one about half a glass. Here's a shot of the third glass pulled. I really like this set up.

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Ok, so it's half of the third one pulled, but hey, it's damn good beer!
 
Can you condition right in a keg using priming sugar rather than force carbing?

I have an empty corny keg, but zero equipment that goes along with the keg
 
That's a good question. I don't know a thing about kegs. I don't know that it is necessarily locked per say, but I have no clue how to get it open. I could take a picture of it when I get home. I know its missing something. I just don't know what is needed to make it a fully functional keg.
 
its probably a sanke keg? i think you can open them with a flathead if you are careful... the locking ring is on the inside of the coupling if i remember right.
 
Ok, so I lied. I guess I just didn't try hard enough, but I got it open no problem. It's very clean inside, but banged up and dented a bit. Will this be a problem? I don't know a thing about gettin this keg up and running and what else I need.

I'll post a pic in a bit.
 
How do I tell if the O ring needs replacing? It looks to be pretty good.

Do the hook ups for the lines (I'm assuming thats what they are) need to get taken apart?

So there is a big dent on the very bottom, and other little dents all around, but everything seems in good shape.

It looks like something is missing on the lid thing. Is that were pressure release is supposed to be?
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Yep looks like that one saw a little use before it came to you. You have pin connectors so you should contact your local brew shop and get a new O ring set for it. Then you can fill it up with water and do the inversion test to see if it seals or is leaking. You'll also want to do a pressure test on it to make sure it'll hold the pressure. Make sure you use some Idphor before actually filling it with beer. :)
 
ok gotta catch up

didnt realize i missed this much

What RM said about your keg is absolutely correct, it should be fine, its just a shame you got a Pin Lock keg, they are a little harder to find parts for

RocketMan said:
wheebz, new project - Mead

I tried this last year and it was a total fail but I have found that there is a bee farm not 20 minutes from here where I can get honey right from the hive and I'm thinking about running just a 1 gallon test batch.

Here's the questions:

1. When I boil honey does it need to be a rolling boil or just bring it up above 190 degrees F to kill off any nasties? For how long?

Anything above 160 for a minimum of 30 minutes is considered sterile, but realistically I would take your honey water, bring it to 180, maintain for 10-15 minutes, and then cool

2. I understand the need for yeast nut's but what yeast is best? Cote's De Blanc, Champagn, or should I use the special yeasts for Meads?

There is no "best" Its all about what flavor you want for your mead. I prefer the Cote De Blanc yeast, as it doesnt attenuate nearly as much as like a champagne yeast would. That way you dont have to worry about back sweetening and adding Potassium Sorbate

3. I have seen where meads take longer than beer for fermentation. What should the fermentation schedule be? Something like 30 days Primary, 30 days secondary, bottle and let sit for 6 months or longer or is it more like going by clairity?

I would tell you the best schedule would be to check gravity readings every couple of days until its terminal, and then rack it to a secondary fermenter and let it chill for 3-6 months, but since you are only doing a gallon its kind of hard to do that.

I have a bunch of friends that have finished mead in 2 months, and a couple that wait a year. Depends on how patient you want to get. Me personally, ill drink my shit in 2 months

as for clarity, there are a couple of fining agents you can use, but the cote de blanc yeast should floc out fine, and after sitting for 2 months, you should be ok




4. For 1 gallon batch, which I want to come out simi-sweet, would 5 pounds honey be enough? I'm thinking about using either Wildflower or Orange Blossom.

Be careful with Orange Blossom, it WILL come out very perfumey. I would do 8 pounds of honey. Some people do 5, some do 10, ill take mine in the middle.

Cool thing is you can mix and match your honey

as of right now, you will not be able to get FRESH orange blossom, its a spring thing here in florida

Thanks Bro,
RM
Click to expand...

Now I am not a mead expert by any means

my knowledge of it is very minimal, so take everything I say with that understanding
 
are dented kegs like that typical? i have 2 ball corny's due to be delivered to my place on friday. hopefully they are in better shape than that one.
 
According to the Most Awesome Dude from who I received mine, you know who you are, they came from a school. I'm not even sure that they even make C-kegs anymore since soft drink companies have moved on to plastic bags in a cardboard box. I would immagine that the dents come from how they were handled when they were empty and the drivers would take them back to be cleaned, sanitized and refilled. So, your going to find them in all conditions. That said though, so long as they'll pressurize they're good to go. Besides, once they're inside your kegerator and the beer flows :drunk: , who cares what they look like. :beer:

:cool:
 
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