Brew Dudes Homebrewing Blog

Hop and Malt Shortage Podcast

On December 11, 2007

FYI

The Brewing Network interviewed Ralph Olsen of HopUnion and Ian Ward of the Brewers Supply group on 12/02/07.
The current status of the shortages for Hop and Malt was covered in great detail. If you are interested in knowing what is going on you can download the show in MP3 format from the website on the BN Archive page. Just search for the 12/02/07 show.

I found the show very informative and useful for future planning and you are getting the information directly from two guys most involved with the supply situation.

I still have some EKG and Cascade Pellets in my freezer to hopefully last me through a few sessions next year. (I’d be happy to sell you some for $400 an ounce) But I look forward to trying some newer varieties of hops while the old standards are hard to find. I am particularly interested in looking for some Palisades in the future.

As for malt prices, I think I am going to just have to eat the cost increase. Or try and find some clubs that do bulk purchasing and get in on that to save some money.

I know some homebrewers get friendly with their local brewpub and buy a sack from the brewers large pallet bulk orders. This can give significant savings. Unfortunately, my most local pub has closed/moved… very sad.

Water and Homebrewing

By John Krochune

On December 7, 2007

In General

I was reading more of John Palmer’s How To Brew book last night.

(I have been skipping around and reading chapters out of order. Maybe over the holidays I’ll make a concerted effort to read the whole thing all the way through.)

I flipped through his chapter on water, which is a very important ingredient in beer. Heck, it makes up 95% percent of the finished beer.

It does take a back seat to the other ingredients…well…because….it’s water and water isn’t as fun as say a new strain of yeast.

I’m no chemist so I don’t want to type at great length about ions and parts per million, but if you are beginner and you want to increase your chances of making a good beer the first few times around…you can do what I did.

I bought spring water. I bought five gallons of the cheapest (store brand) spring water I could get at the grocery store.

I know the credo is “if it tastes good enough to drink, then you can brew with it”…so using the water out of my tap probably would have been fine (and it has been) but I wanted to buy as much insurance as possible to make something enjoyable.

I think anytime you start up something new, you want to have some success right away to keep you interested and motivated to keep trying to get better. If you are a beginner, try using spring water. It was the advice of my late uncle and I am happy I took it.

We can get into water additives and getting an analysis of your municipality’s water supply later.

Know Your Water

Amarillo Hops

By John Krochune

On December 5, 2007

In Hops

With a shortage of brewing ingredients upon us, I thought I would take a look at an alternative to Cascade, the popular American hops.

Amarillo hops seem to be gaining wild popularity…to the point where some homebrewers are already over the hype.

Here is some information I have compiled around this hop variety:

Origin: America

Aroma: Citrus-like, More orange than grapefruit, floral

Alpha Acid: 8 – 11% (higher than Cascade)

Typical Usage: Most sources said it should be used as an aroma hop, but there were other sources that stated it could be used as a bittering or a flavor hop. I think it would be safe to say it could be used for multiple purposes.

Beer Styles: Looks like a good fit for Pale Ales and IPAs

Lagering

By John Krochune

On December 4, 2007

In All Grain, General

Getting a Better Bottle carboy would allow me to lager a beer. I have plans to brew a cream ale in February or March and lager it through the cold months using:

A styrofoam box that I got from Mike…looks like it was used for Omaha steaks
Snow and/or ice from the outside
If there isn’t any snow or ice outside, I will freeze half liter water bottles and use them

I think that I can regulate temperature just enough without freezing the beer. Without a spare fridge, I am willing to give this makeshift ice box a try.

Better Bottle

By John Krochune

On December 4, 2007

In Equipment

Hey, it’s the holiday time and what homebrewer doesn’t put a few pieces of homebrewing equipment on their list?

I have been eyeing a Better Bottle Carboy for a while. Here’s a picture of it:

Better Bottle

I probably will still use a bucket for primary fermentation, but for beers that need to be conditioned I will transfer the beer into this vessel. This carboy is made of plastic so it’s lighter and easier to clean than glass. It’s relatively inexpensive too…around 24 bucks.

For twice the money, I could ask for the same carboy but one with a spigot on the bottom of it. Here a picture of what I mean:

Better Bottle With Spigot

The question: Is the spigot really worth twice the money?