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April Banter Thingy

H2O

By H2O,
in Mid Atlantic

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Bob Chill

Bob Chill

Posted
Posted

You nailed it! I used the Marine 303 on the hot tub cover and omg, it's no longer the sad, dried up, sun beaten thing it was.

I now completely understand the desire to run around looking for things to 303. :)

 

Awesome! Do it 2-3 times a year and you may never need to replace it. 

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nw baltimore wx

nw baltimore wx

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I'm brewing a Black Eye PA Susan today and was wondering the dry-hop process used by the many brewers here.  I've decided to let fermentation go through the peak period (about 5 days) and then add the first round hops for 3 days, then remove and add second round for another 3 to 5 days.  Informational, but I only use a primary bucket for fermentation (I used to transfer to a carboy for secondary, but have seen no advantage to this, especially since I keg and don't bottle).

 

Besides anyone's thoughts on what I'm planning, what I'm really wondering is if anyone has dry-hopped immediately during primary fermentation and what were the results. I know commercial brewers are experimenting with this, but I don't want to spoil a batch of beer on a science project.  Besides, I kind of feel like I'm pushing the envelop a little bit by waiting only 5 days before adding the first round of hops.

 

Anyone have any thoughts?  I hope Jonjon sees this because he's definitely a hop master.

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nw baltimore wx

nw baltimore wx

Posted
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^ I don't have a single answer for you but I would be willing to taste test a gallon or 2 for you if it tastes good.

Lol. You're welcome to try it. We live only a couple of miles from Pimlico and have an annual Black Eye Susan party on the day before Preakness that starts about 9AM here at home, goes to the track for an afternoon of racing, then back here for those that are still standing. All are welcome to stop by. Maybe I can get RR to stop in for a minute to sample a home brew since he works so close.

I was actually inspired to brew a Black IPA because of an event I was at a couple of weekends ago that had several local breweries represented. One of which was Mad Science Brewery which is probably very close to you. Their Black Death IPA is worth a trip.

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jonjon

jonjon

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I'm brewing a Black Eye PA Susan today and was wondering the dry-hop process used by the many brewers here.  I've decided to let fermentation go through the peak period (about 5 days) and then add the first round hops for 3 days, then remove and add second round for another 3 to 5 days.  Informational, but I only use a primary bucket for fermentation (I used to transfer to a carboy for secondary, but have seen no advantage to this, especially since I keg and don't bottle).

 

Besides anyone's thoughts on what I'm planning, what I'm really wondering is if anyone has dry-hopped immediately during primary fermentation and what were the results. I know commercial brewers are experimenting with this, but I don't want to spoil a batch of beer on a science project.  Besides, I kind of feel like I'm pushing the envelop a little bit by waiting only 5 days before adding the first round of hops.

 

Anyone have any thoughts?  I hope Jonjon sees this because he's definitely a hop master.

Sorry, didn't see this until this morning.

 

Don't sweat adding the first round of dry hops that early.  I just brewed a two barrel batch of our Six Legged Frog IPA on Sunday (its a thick, murky, aromatic northeast-style ipa along the lines of those brewed by Treehouse, Trillium and Tired Hands).  I added my first round of dry hops on Wednesday, so it was just three days after brew day!  Adding during active fermentation purges out any oxygen that was mixed with the hops or that you allowed in while adding the hops.  I am religious about keeping oxygen off my beer so as to not oxidize the precious hop flavors and aromas.  It will be a bit more problematic when you add the second round as the fermentation process will not be helping to purge the oxygen at that time -- if you are able to purge your carboy with CO2 after you add the second round that would be what I recommend.  I only feel three or four days is necessary for dry hops.

 

If you want to take your hops to another level, I recommend using yeast that accentuate the flavors.  I've used basic US-05 dry yeast for most of my beers (both for hoppy and non-hoppy styles) because its dependable and doesn't really add any flavor to the mix and allows consistency.  But I've recently used Wyeast 1318 -- London Ale III -- and although it doesn't make a pretty looking beer, sometimes downright murky if you add oats or wheat to the recipe like I do for the Six Legged Frog, it just allows the hop aromas and flavors to burst.  This beer has been our most popular and I can't keep it in stock.  I was worried about people not getting the "look" of the beer, but after a sip a lot of people are just hooked.  Many are just starting to understand that a "hoppy" beer does not have to be bitter, it can just be a smooth ale bursting with wonderful flavors and aromas.

 

The brewery is going so well we are doubling the size of our system (again).  Every day I feel like I'm closer to leaving my lawyer gig and doing what I really love to do.  

 

Hope I helped.  Cheers!

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nw baltimore wx

nw baltimore wx

Posted
Posted

Sorry, didn't see this until this morning.

 

Don't sweat adding the first round of dry hops that early.  I just brewed a two barrel batch of our Six Legged Frog IPA on Sunday (its a thick, murky, aromatic northeast-style ipa along the lines of those brewed by Treehouse, Trillium and Tired Hands).  I added my first round of dry hops on Wednesday, so it was just three days after brew day!  Adding during active fermentation purges out any oxygen that was mixed with the hops or that you allowed in while adding the hops.  I am religious about keeping oxygen off my beer so as to not oxidize the precious hop flavors and aromas.  It will be a bit more problematic when you add the second round as the fermentation process will not be helping to purge the oxygen at that time -- if you are able to purge your carboy with CO2 after you add the second round that would be what I recommend.  I only feel three or four days is necessary for dry hops.

 

If you want to take your hops to another level, I recommend using yeast that accentuate the flavors.  I've used basic US-05 dry yeast for most of my beers (both for hoppy and non-hoppy styles) because its dependable and doesn't really add any flavor to the mix and allows consistency.  But I've recently used Wyeast 1318 -- London Ale III -- and although it doesn't make a pretty looking beer, sometimes downright murky if you add oats or wheat to the recipe like I do for the Six Legged Frog, it just allows the hop aromas and flavors to burst.  This beer has been our most popular and I can't keep it in stock.  I was worried about people not getting the "look" of the beer, but after a sip a lot of people are just hooked.  Many are just starting to understand that a "hoppy" beer does not have to be bitter, it can just be a smooth ale bursting with wonderful flavors and aromas.

 

The brewery is going so well we are doubling the size of our system (again).  Every day I feel like I'm closer to leaving my lawyer gig and doing what I really love to do.  

 

Hope I helped.  Cheers!

 

Man, thanks for the reply.  Your timing is perfect because we brew outside and since it was so windy last Tuesday, we decided to wait until tomorrow to get this batch going.

 

Like you, I try to keep my beer away from any oxygen, which is part of the reason I've gone the route of doing one fermentation in a 5 gallon bucket rather than transferring to the carboy.  Since I've started kegging, our beers have excellent clarity and I haven't noticed any off flavors from letting the beer sit on the yeast cake, so it doesn't seem worth the risk to transfer.

 

Also, like you mentioned, dropping in the hops after the first few days during active fermentation doesn't concern me, but I am concerned about opening the bucket to add the second round a week in.  I've read that it's not a big deal if you're careful because the layer of CO2 will stay in place, but I'm not sure I buy that.  I think I'll try to rig up a valve of some kind other than the airlock so that after I get the lid back on the bucket, I can add CO2 and purge anything bad that I let in.  If you have any ideas or opinions, I'd definitely like hearing them.

 

Glad to hear the place is going so well.  I've only been there twice but both times were great experiences, and the beers are really terrific.  We will definitely be up again soon to try out the new brews.

 

 

jonjon is such a badass

 

No doubt.

 

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jonjon

jonjon

Posted
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Man, thanks for the reply.  Your timing is perfect because we brew outside and since it was so windy last Tuesday, we decided to wait until tomorrow to get this batch going.

 

Like you, I try to keep my beer away from any oxygen, which is part of the reason I've gone the route of doing one fermentation in a 5 gallon bucket rather than transferring to the carboy.  Since I've started kegging, our beers have excellent clarity and I haven't noticed any off flavors from letting the beer sit on the yeast cake, so it doesn't seem worth the risk to transfer.

 

Also, like you mentioned, dropping in the hops after the first few days during active fermentation doesn't concern me, but I am concerned about opening the bucket to add the second round a week in.  I've read that it's not a big deal if you're careful because the layer of CO2 will stay in place, but I'm not sure I buy that.  I think I'll try to rig up a valve of some kind other than the airlock so that after I get the lid back on the bucket, I can add CO2 and purge anything bad that I let in.  If you have any ideas or opinions, I'd definitely like hearing them.

 

Glad to hear the place is going so well.  I've only been there twice but both times were great experiences, and the beers are really terrific.  We will definitely be up again soon to try out the new brews.

 

 

 

No doubt.

I'm not so sure about the CO2 blanket either -- I've heard there is more gas mixing than we would have thought. If you don't have a good way to purge, you may want to consider just doing one big dry hop during fermentation and skipping the second one.

Let me know how it comes out!

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Bob Chill

Bob Chill

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Posted

This weather might not be good for spring fever but it's great for catching big rockfish on the bay. Caught a 5 fish limit yesterday with the 2 biggest going 42 & 43". My friends let me bring 4 home. I just finished vacuum sealing over 30lbs of primo fillets. Street value well over $300. Love it.

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nw baltimore wx

nw baltimore wx

Posted
Posted

This weather might not be good for spring fever but it's great for catching big rockfish on the bay. Caught a 5 fish limit yesterday with the 2 biggest going 42 & 43". My friends let me bring 4 home. I just finished vacuum sealing over 30lbs of primo fillets. Street value well over $300. Love it.

Man, I'm jealous. I'll share beer for rockfish.

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smokeybandit

smokeybandit

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This weather might not be good for spring fever but it's great for catching big rockfish on the bay. Caught a 5 fish limit yesterday with the 2 biggest going 42 & 43". My friends let me bring 4 home. I just finished vacuum sealing over 30lbs of primo fillets. Street value well over $300. Love it.

 

I ate at Reynolds Tavern tonight, ordered the rockfish only for the waitress to say they didn't have any due to it being a poor rockfish season.

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Bob Chill

Bob Chill

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I ate at Reynolds Tavern tonight, ordered the rockfish only for the waitress to say they didn't have any due to it being a poor rockfish season.

That can't be truthful. It's red hot out there right now. Charter boats are coming back in less than 2 hours with limits. Commercial guys should be loaded up too.

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