Last night, I got my stuff together for the Sam Adams LongShot submission. I followed the instructions that they emailed me including printing out the labels and attaching them to each bottle using a rubber band. I took a few pictures of the bottles and the traveling case I am using for transport:

So if you see a guy on the subways of Boston with a case like this, he may not have a laptop in it…

I am submitting the APA that I just brewed along with the Maple Porter I made late last year.  I am going to be dropping them off at the brewery today.

Now I don’t have any delusions that I am going to win or even do well in this competition…just interested in the whole process.
I have learned that life is about experiences and trying things like this blog…so let’s see what happens.

Hey there,

We had a reader write in with a problem about low to no carbonation after priming and bottling his lager.   From what he typed about in his email, it seems it might have been an issue with time and/or temperature.

The temperature part of the issue has me concerned…and I am using this post to reach out the community for comments and discussion.

Here’s a little back-fill:  I plan to brew a lager this year.

The few things that seem to be the brick wall in front of me are:

• Controlling temperature - will I be able to maintain the right range of temps without a fridge?
• Will I be able to master the diacetyl rest if need be?
• Are my yeasties going to settle out before I bottle?  If so, will I need to add more yeast at bottling?

Although I have a few worries (silly, I know), the one I would like to focus on and get a discussion going is the last point.

Has anyone run into problems bottling a lager, in particular low to no carbonation in the bottle?

Comment away!

Hey Fellow Homebrewers!
Today marks the first day of entry for Sam Adams Longshot American Homebrew Contest.  It’s also the day that taxes are due.  Coincidence?

I set up my account today and entered in the styles I want to submit.

Here’s a screenshot of the entry form:

After you enter your beer’s information, you get sent an email with information on how to submit your brews. I am probably going to drop mine off at the brewery in Boston since I live close to it.

Cheers to Sam Adams for doing this entry process up right.

Last week, a new social beer/brewing site came across our inbox: BrewPoll.com

Brew Poll is a site where users can submit and vote on articles about brewing.  It’s a niche version of the site Digg.com.

I have been checking it out over the past few days and I have found lots of great articles.  Check it out when you have the chance. 

I think I will be over there votin’ and submittin’.  

The BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) has completed an update to the 2004 style guidelines.
The style guidelines are meant to put some quantitative and qualitative information on each beer style. While some brewers do not like the strict use of style monikers per se; I find that having style guidelines are a beneficial way to communicate beer characteristics.

I think that even the non-brewer would find the style guidelines quite interesting.

After reviewing the new guidelines there aren’t a lot of glaringly obvious changes. However the good folks at the BJCP put together a one paged document that lists the changes quite nicely.

I suggest you go out a download or bookmark a copy for yourself as a reference tool.

You can get to the guidelines through this link (and find the changes document):
BJCP Style Center Web Page

My favorite page is the web “quick index” which you can get to here:
BJCP Web Look Up Page

Now read up on your favorite category and BREW SOMETHING!

Well things have been a bit hectic and I still haven’t brewed up any beer lately as John mentioned in a previous post.

Alas however a great tragedy in the brew-house this week…my beer fridge as finally kicked the bucket.  Its been with me for a good 6 years or so.  It was old and tired to begin with but becoming a dedicated beer fridge gave it new life.

So for now I am in mourning while I search for a new fridge.

The saddest part of this story is that I have a keg of Oatmeal Stout and Winter Warmer fully carbed and ready to drink.  I’ll have to just drink them up before the ambient temperature outside gets to high.

Next time you have a homebrew, drink one to my fridge.  It was a good friend and member of the brewery for many years.

“Should I use a secondary fermentor?”

I see that question asked a lot in various on line forums. The general consensus among many “expert” brewers is that it is a waste of time. I also find that those same “experts” (myself included) tend to be keggers.

Getting clear beer takes a couple things that happens long before the choice to secondary or not becomes an issue. First, I use Irish Moss or Whifloc in the kettle. This goes along way to helping clear up the beer. Secondly, I employ a 75-90 minute boil. This ensures a really great and complete hot break to denature many haze forming proteins. Thirdly, I use a wort chiller. Getting a great chill on the beer helps to coagulate those proteins in what we call cold break. The combination of these techniques gets you pretty far in the quest for clearer beer.

But what about secondary and does it really help?

I normally ferment my beer for at least 2-3 weeks in primary. So by then… its done! And I think we can all agree that there is really no more fermentation going on in secondary. I hate to break it to you, but when you see a bubbling airlock in your secondary its just dissolved CO2 escaping from the beer…if you actually let the beer finish in the primary.
That said, when I am done with primary, I tend to transfer to a keg. Then I chill that keg down and start my carbonation process, with pressurized CO2. In a week or two I am drinking clear beer.

Now many “experts” do the same thing and say: “Hey, I don’t do secondary.” However, as I see it, my process (shared by many) is the same thing as a secondary but it’s done at colder temps and in the serving vessel! To me I would have to say, that I am employing a secondary in a way, but I prefer to look at it as a conditioning step rather than call it a secondary.

If you can’t chill your finished beer down with a fridge, or if you don’t have a kegging system, then I think a secondary “ferment” can help you out in most applications (whether you are brewing a 1038 OG Bitter or a 1065 IPA). Especially, as an extract brewer doing partial boils that extra step is quite useful for clarity. I think the last key to good clear beer is a cold conditioning step; whether it be in a glass carboy, a keg or in the bottle.

So I say skip the secondary fermentor, but do a cold conditioning step as the final part of trying to achieve a clear beer Nirvana.

Check out our post on primary fermentation as well.