Tasting a 115 Year-Old Beer (That is not a typo)

First post by PistolPatch, 9 years ago

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Today I had that experience. I'm busting to write about it but, I've been up for twenty hours and, would be fascinated to hear what you think a 115 year-old beer would smell/taste like. (It was a 1902 King's Ale supplied by our member, sinkas.)

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It certainly was wonder-full Jamato!

mally, spam PM sinkas until he answers :lol:. He did spend a long time looking for one in good condition though and I believe he finally found this one two years ago on eBay.

Alcohol addition?

First post by DanIAm, 11 years ago

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I tried a fat yak clone.

About 4kg main grain, 1 Kg of Specialty. My og was 1. 04 where it Should have been 1. 050 Vicinity.

I have a few inklings as to where to fix this in the future, main Culprit is that the difference is the difference if I excluded Specialty grains, Ididn't even look, went straight into kettle, I Suspect it wasn't / inadequately milled.

Without enough maIt to start with, there are a few issues that I will just have to deal with until I improve with the next brew....

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Thanks Joshua and Thughes

In the clear light of day and having a drink of it, while it is light, it is quite a refreshing drop. First time that I've used the hop Nelson Sauvin and it's quite a unique little critter.

Better yet, while hops are around the $70/kg to $80/kg mark here, they were on sale at $35/kg (grain and grape if you live in Oz) and demanded to be played with. I gather, there had been big brewery orders in recent years, coupled with more and more plantings to accomdodate, now...

Hop freshness

First post by kaiserben, 12 years ago

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It's currently Craft Beer Week where I am in Sydney, AUS. A few nights a go I went to an event/talk about hop freshness.

We were given a test: the same beer (a BrewCult Hop Zone IPA ) at 1 week old, 5 weeks old and 60 weeks old (we were not told which was which until we guessed the order of freshness) - basically to note how the hop character changes over time (and how much better it is fresh).

The brewer of that beer is advocating drinking beer as soon as possible after it comes out of a...

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Thanks J. I thougth that wqas the case but got a bit worried lol.
Sorry for hijacking your post kaiser.

Beers getting more carbonated

First post by adrianryan, 12 years ago

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I have found my beers become way over carbed and find a few become gushes after sitting in the garage for a few months. I am thinking that it is the heat of the afternoon sun that could be doing it as everything else is fine. What do you guys think, does the hot temps increase carbonation levels after a few months conditioning....

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Just an update
I did a quick check of my temp control box probe. It was telling me the temp was 5 degrees warmer than what the actual temp is, therefore I think the beers were not fermenting out. Time for a new stc 1000

Beer Judging Methods - Something not quite right?

First post by PistolPatch, 12 years ago

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Am just approaching Section J of the BIABacus help.

Section J is based on the BJCP beer appreciation method. Other organisations have similiar structures. None of them agree (of course, like every other measurement in brewing :roll:) but the basics they rely on are the same and I think they are wrong . Let's look at Section J of the pre-release BIABacus... 1.0 - Section J.jpg Forget what judging system you use, whether the beer is being judged out of 20 or 50 points in total, they all fix a...

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Just had a quick google and the only beer tasting courses I could see in Sydney weren't running at the moment.

I have also completed a good wine tasting course which ran for a full day. From the outset the trainer stayed he wasn't planning on turning people into wine wankers but wanted everyone to be able to identify characteristics they enjoyed in wine so they were able to buy wine that they wanted to drink.

With the emergence of craft beer I'm surprised there is no beer equivalent. I'm...

Thin Watery Beer

First post by brewdave, 12 years ago

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I'm hoping someone can help me identify the cause of my current problem, I've recently made 2 batches of a Bass clone (recipe from G Wheeler's book, and BIABacus posted here )

My 1st attempt fermented out tasting a little thin and watery; I decided that this could be due to not getting the same evaporation rate as the BIABacus default and being left with a few litres more at the end of boil than I'd expected. It was decent beer but not what I was expecting after my earlier Maxi-BIAB attempts...

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Hi Yeasty,

Mash temperature was going to be my first thing to check, i've ordered a digital thermometer, it will be interesting to see if it reads very different to my other 2.

The Welsh Water site suggests that my water has changed from this:

to this:

The only part of that I understand are the words Soft to Slightly Hard :) so I don't know if it's relevant, or how to correct it if it is..

Thanks for the pointers, it all helps!
David

Undrinkable beer - multiple batches with same bad taste

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First post by dke, 12 years ago

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I haven't begun BIAB yet, but figured somebody may have run across this problem I am having. My process: I currently brew extract full volume 60 minute boil batches using Briess light DME and steeped flavoring grains, pelletized hops, dry Safale ale or lager yeast. I bottle. All ingredients are properly packaged and refrigerated. 2 weeks primary, 2 weeks secondary, 4 weeks in the bottle. All at 66 degrees or less.

At some point this season my beers went from OK to bad. They have not returned....

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DKE and 2Trout, If you have problems with Starsan, I did too.

I, now, and for 4 years, use Iodophor (see and have NO infections at all.

If you can find 4oz. Bottle to try.

Commercial Beer Quality Variation.

First post by PistolPatch, 12 years ago

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I've noticed a heap of major problems in commercial beers recently. Here's a few things/thoughts/beers to get you going...

ORIGIN - Australia - Western Australia

Little Creatures IPA - Beautiful on tap locally. Absolutely awful in the bottle locally.

ORIGIN - Australia - New South Wales

Balmain Pale Ale - Beautiful in the bottle locally. Awful in bottle where I live (other side of country).

ORIGIN - Scotland

Brewdog (Single Punk?) IPA - I'm pretty sure that all four bottles should...

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Anyway, I had a Founders Centennial IPA on a fresh palate, before the LCPA. It wasn't awful like some of the above I listed but it wasn't great.

Founder's Centennial IPA is a beer that I never understood the hype, as it is mediocre at best. I've had it fresh on tap, and in bottles on multiple occasions trying to convince myself that maybe it was just a bad pour, old bottle, etc ...

Nope, at this point it's pretty reasonable for me to write it off completely. Perhaps it's a decent gateway to...

Tales of oxidisation?

First post by Dski, 12 years ago

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Since BIAB brewers, or no chill brewers at least, seem to be questioning what we know about oxidisation of hot wort etc...

Do any of you have specific stories about oxidised beers, and the resulting off flavours/aromas? Care to speculate about what might have caused the oxidisation?

I know Bob Stempski has done some great blind tasting experiments of wort left in the cube for a long time. Hear the results as a podcast over at Basic Brewing Radio...

JP describes faults from oxidisation as wet...

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Dski,

41C That's mid-summer temps here. On Sunday and Monday the nighttime temps will be about -34C The daytime will high's will be -26C. I am not a fan of the cold. 41C might be just what I need? Send some heat over (slowly) so the ice melt won't drown us. Keep brewing!

WTF.... Infection again

First post by adrianryan, 14 years ago

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Guys,

I have just copped my third infectin in 3 brews. Total bummer and waste of money. I did everything as normal, cleaned and sanitised with Starsan then No chilled into cubes. Left them for a couple of weeks then noticed that they started to swell, major stink, almost like tomato sauce. Do you think i have left the no chill too long???

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I pull my ball valve, weldless thermometer and pick up tube off the pot and clean them after every brew. I never used to but you'd be surprised where things can hide.
I also,After decanting the wort into fermenter and kicking it off. Soak the cube straight away immediately.
I tend/try not to drink much while brewing as the clean up is a pain in the ass after a few beers.
Another is always use hot water with napisan if you don't already.

I've recently taken to rinsing my cube immediately, then...

Green Apple Smell

First post by jrodie, 14 years ago

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I brewed a Black IPA awhile back with US-05 that had a strong green apple smell appear after kegging it. After some research I found that the beer was green and should have been allowed to sit in the fermentor for a few more weeks. I had never experienced this before and was surprised it was an issue since it was one of my first times to use a fermentation fridge and keep the beer fermenting in the low 60s. I recently brewed a pale ale with white labs 001 that had the same smell just not quite...

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Re: Starter question:

If you reserve a bit of wort from your brew session and use it to make the starter, I would say that the benefit is strictly financial.

+1 thughes

If you have a favorite yeast that seems to treat you right than just reuse the yeast cake. I have pitched two bags of yeast for a lager and it came out fine. I reused that lager yeast three times or so and I came out ahead financially. Numerous healthy yeast make good beer. Weak and to few yeast struggle and make bad beer....

Forced Wort / Wort Stability Test

First post by BrickBrewHaus, 14 years ago

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Over the past couple of days I've heard/read about forced wort tests twice (once while listening to a Brewing Network podcast, and today in the latest issue of BYO). I'm thinking its the brewing gods telling me I should look into it...

Has anyone ever done this? Can you give your experience and tips?

Here's what I'm thinking
-I don't really know what to look for. In the little bit of research I've done, a sample, if contaminated, will turn cloudy around 72hrs after chilling. Cloudy is a bit...

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Highly recommending the book, YEAST, The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation , by Chris White (of White Labs) and Jamil Zainasheff. Page 220 starts an in-depth discussion on Forced Wort Testing. This book is amazing, but I've had to read it several times to let everything sink in... sorta. :scratch:
But yea, I agree with you. Unless there is hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake -- skip doing this. Time would be better spent just reading this brewing masterpiece.

Awesome alien growth!

First post by brewmcq, 15 years ago

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I've posted this a couple other places.. apologies if you've seen it before...

It was suggested this might be an acetobacter infection and after popping the airlock cap off to give it a sniff, I got a face full of vinegar-y smell... not being super happy about the prospect of losing a batch, I ran some errands, came home and sniffed it again... zero vinegar-y smell. In fact, it smells pretty darn good.

This floating, almost pulsating, mass started out looking like a big ol' dumpling sitting...

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I'd never heard of this term before so just looked it up. 'Copper finings' are the same thing as 'kettle finings' from the old days when the kettle was referred to as a copper. You learn something new every day :P.

Sour Beer

First post by shibolet, 15 years ago

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I was invited to a tasting held by a local group of Rate Beer enthusiasts.
the topic was Sour Beers. i had never had a sour beer before and i was flabbergasted.
the beers were incredible. some better than others, but none too offensive that i couldn't finish my pour.
what an experience.
here's a list of what we tasted:
1. Freigeist Abraxxxas Berliner weisse
2. Shibolet Bret beer (my contribution)
3. Cantillon Zwanze 2010
4. Alvinne Oak Aged Kerasus
5. 1 Door Flemish Style Sour Ale
6....

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shibolet,

The beer I made was a Belgian Sour that was not really formulated to be a sour. In fact I made two batches of the beer with the second batch being really sour. The first keg was very refreshing but not that tart. Here is what happened. I brewed this beer I brewed the beer per the instructions. After the primary was completed I brewed another Identical beer and reused the yeast cake. The first brew was kegged and served within weeks. The second brew was kegged and used 5 months...

Nice poster for the Bar

First post by Yeasty, 15 years ago

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I stumbled across this poster and thought some of you guys might like it for the bar/brew room
:shoot:

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Here you go!

BJCP Course

First post by texasranger, 16 years ago

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Hi All,

Just interested to know if anyone has sat and passed the BJCP exam, based on the information available on the web, a few good books and going through the styles :?:

Thanks in advance,

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TR/PP,
this thread really caught my eye as the BJCP course would be one of the long-term goals of the forming of our club. how far through the book have you gotten TR and do you feel more confident about a sit down exam and blind tasting? Since I have already been through that wringer on the wine side, I am not as intimidated as maybe I should be...overconfidence usually is the beginning of most tragic efforts!
I have always had an intense interest in all of the many styles of beers that I have...

Beer is Cloudy

First post by redlegger, 16 years ago

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Hey guys, thought i'd post this one here as to me this one is a fault as out 8 BIAB's this is the only one that is still cloudy after a long period in the keg......

I brewed the Smurto Golden Ale a few months back, and it has been in the keg now for at LEAST 10 weeks, this is third time i have brewed this recipe.....problem is.. it is still cloudy, i didnt gelatine this one when i kegged, so i initially thought that this was why it was still cloudy.... but as far as i understood, gelatine only...

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Hey RL, Tis the yeast I tell you!

If your using US05 I found its a pain to clear in this brew unless you use some of the voodoo products. Not familiar enough to know whether No.5 always behaves like this or just for the GA (with wheat etc) - i'm sure I could make reference to colloids here if I was a bit smarter... :?

My 1st 2 batches of the GA were cloudy like yours but still tasted great - refused to clear naturally after several months. I just kegged another last week by first chilling...