Or…Here’s my Christmas Wish List:

1.  6.5 gallon glass carboy – either that or a Better Bottle carboy.  I think I would like to end my primary fermentation in a bucket days.

2. Grain mill - I have been putting this one off because of the cost, but I would rather mill my grains at home than have someone else do it.

3. Aeration stone set-up – This piece will complete my quest in getting better at fermentation.  Now that I feel like I have starters and temperature handled, I should be aerating my wort during every session.

These are the next three immediate upgrades.  After these three, my sights will be set on a keg system.

I have began pondering the benefits of playing with my water chemistry. I was wondering how many of our readers make adjustments or “build” their brewing water for all-grain sessions.

Currently, I sort of blindly play with my water chemistry. That is to say I often add gypsom to me English style beers, but only because I can. I really have no idea what my current water chemistry is out of the tap. Therefore I also have no idea what it is in the kettle after the addition of gypsom.

I have been meaning to take a closer look at John Palmer’s water section in “How to Brew”. I have also been thinking of sending in some samples to Ward Labs for analysis to see where my water is currently at.

Any of our readers care to chime in? Do you adjust your water?

BREW ON!

The saga of the home pressed hard cider continues.

After reading an article in BYO about making hard cider, I learned that I should use a clarifying agent to clear up my cider.

The article’s author presented two choices: Sparkolloid and Bentonite.  When I went to the homebrew shop, the first thing I saw was Bentonite so I picked it up.

I researched a bit on how to use this stuff but that led to more questions.

• Should it be added before or after fermentation (a little late for me on the first option)?
• After you make a slurry with the Bentonite and water, should it rest an hour or 24 hours?
• After you add your slurry to your cider, how long should I wait before racking and bottling?

I wish I had more answers.  I haven’t used this type of clarifier before since I don’t make wine.

If you have any tips, please post a comment below.

I am always pondering my Oatmeal Stout recipe and recently was thinking about the toasting of flaked oats.

I have toasted oats myself before, but I don’t use any specific process.  I just like to lay out a pound of Old Fashioned oats on dry non grease cookie sheet.  I set the oven at 375, then put them in.  I look every 5 minutes or so.  The start to dry out, and sometimes you can even hear a little crackling like sound as it happens.  I’ll shake the sheet a couple times as they toast.

But you do have to keep a close eye on them, as once they start browning they go quick.

I find it rather useful to also have a handful of the untoasted oats on a plate near-by.  That way I can pull the sheet out, and compare the color side by side.  Once I think I’ve gotten a new color that isn’t too dark, I shut down the process.

I can’t say that I have done enough testing to compare side by side, but now that I feel like the base of my recipe is about done, I may start playing with toasting oats again.  The only problem I have with toasting/roasting grains yourself at home is consistency.  I find it improbable to expect to get the same results each time.  This like residual humidity and ambient temps probably effect the process considerably.  However, its still a fun thing to play around with.

Anyone else care to chime in on how they toast oats (or other grains, base malts).
I normally, toast my oats the day of brewing.  Some sources mention letting the grain sit in a paper bag to “off-vent” for a couple days. Thoughts on that?

The great thing about summer is the fact that friends will come and see you at a moment’s notice.  In the winter time, they are slow moving.  Visits take planning.  In the summer, they are at your doorstep as soon as you hang up the phone.

If they visit, they will drink beer.  If they drink beer, you will need to brew again…soon!

I am getting my thoughts together for the next brew.  Since I am brewing a wheat beer and the first all grain brew had a stuck sparge, I was thinking I should buy some rice hulls.

Rice hulls are the coverings of rice that protect the grain during its grow.  When it’s harvested, it is removed.  I don’t think we can digest them.  Although we can’t (shouldn’t) eat them, the hulls can be put to good use.

We can put them into our mash so it does not get stuck.  They will act as a sort of internal strainer/separator to keep glue-y grains like oats and wheat from becoming an impenetrable clump.

Rice hulls can be added right to the mash.  They add no color, flavor, or fermentables.  They are just your “inside the tun” helpers.

Just be sure to rinse them thoroughly before use.

Here’s a photo of our rice hull pals:

For the record, I don’t think I absolutely need rice hulls for my wheat beer recipe since I think I have enough barley malt to keep things a-moving. I just want to try them out.

So, I saw this stuff earlier this year in a pile near the pile of plain ol’ corn sugar at Beer-Wine.  Muntons KreamyX. 

It primes!

It increases head formation!

It increases head retention!

It washes windows!

Ok, it doesn’t wash windows… but KreamyX claims to be a beer kit primer with heading powder.  Its ingredients are dextrose, spray-dried malt extract, and propylene glycol alginate.  I am pretty sure what the first two ingredients are.  I looked up the last one and found out it was an emulsifier, stabilizer, and thickener used in food products such as ice cream and salad dressing.   How it works in beer remains to be seen.

I would say I am trying Kreamyx for experimental purposes.  I don’t think I would have shelled out the extra cash if we didn’t have a blog to report on the results of certain ingredients or techniques.   Ok, I was curious for myself too…but I am debating in my head if adding chemicals to my beer is a short cut.

I asked people on Twitter if they had ever used Kreamyx.   A couple of people replied with ”No” answers. 

So, what say you?  Have you used this stuff before?  Do you have a pseudo-moral dilemma about adding stuff to your beer that you really don’t need to add? 

I’ll be using it and we will let you know how it turns out in a few weeks.

It’s Fermentation Friday for September 2008 and Marcus from Final Gravity is hosting.  The topic this time around is:

What indigenous brewing ingredient have you used or would you like to brew with and what style would that beer be?

John here. Not sure if this is a cop out, but I did use some Vermont Maple Syrup for my Maple Porter last year.

Maple syrup has been made in these parts before the Europeans showed up. Someday, it would be nice to collect my own sap and boil it down (we do have some sugar maple trees around here). Until then, I think it’s best to buy from a small farm that made it on the premises.

I think brewing with ingredients that are indigenous to your area is the way to go. If they are from your area, the ingredients are fresh.
Fresh ingredients make good beer.

Plus, beer styles came from brewing using ingredients that were nearby and from environmental conditions. I think as homebrewers, we should continue this tradition…and make our own styles.

What indigenous brewing ingredient have you used or would you like to brew with and what style would that beer be? 

For me, Mike, I think the best indigenous ingredient I have used has to be the cranberry.  Here in Massachusetts out on the cape cranberry production has been a quiet staple of the agricultural industry.  I once made a fantastic wheat based cranberry beer for the thanksgiving holiday. What a great beer.  I used fresh local cranberries, fresh local apples and some oranges (non-native) to make a thick relish.  I racked the beer after primary onto the relish and and let it sit for another two weeks.  The beer was great.  Tart and vibrant, it was a surprising treat for those cool fall evenings here in New England.

The best part of using cranberries as a fruit addition is their acidity.  Cranberries are so acidic, that once you make then into a relish in a food processor any wild yeast contaminants are killed or greatly attenuated so they don’t infect the beer.  So you don’t have to mess around with boiling fruit (which leads to horrible haze) or trying to pasturize the fruit like you would for other types of fruit beers.

Just thinking of that tart beer is making me thirsty….where is that damn recipe????