Jump to content
Mr.Beer Community

Diane B.

Community Members
  • Content Count

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Community Reputation

1 Neutral

About Diane B.

  • Rank
    Brewmaster in Training

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Not Telling

Recent Profile Visitors


  1. For those prominent banana esters you want a wheat as a base, so I would use the Bavarian Weissbier, While the Cerveza can lend some subtle banana/clove flavors it's the wheat that really brings them out. The good news is that the Bavarian Weissbier comes with a true wheat yeast so you don't have to acquire one! Bananas do not ferment and should not be used in beer, as Rick said it's the yeast (and the wheat).
  2. You can use any type of whisky you like Bourbon, Irish, Canadian, Rye, even Scotch if that's your preference. Bourbon is what we were aiming for, but didn't want to discourage using any of the others. Fireball might be pushing it, though. And yes less for other bottles sizes or depth of flavor preference is acceptable. I concur with Nickfixit about being judicious with the amount in favor of keeping the yeast alive.
  3. Usually good for that time. The yeast companies say 1-2 weeks, but I've used them after 4 weeks and still had good success in low ABV beers.
  4. Thanks for the back up Sam, I couldn't get a post to take...
  5. I always had this same problem too, Oly. And for years threw more and more pumpkin at it, then with cutting the amount last year to alleviate all the excess gunk to have to bottle around we were tried to strip it back to retain the pumpkin flavor but reduce the gunk. We found that as little as a cup per gallon still yielded the same flavor, so we went looking for other alternatives to pump (as it were) up the flavor, and stumbled on this. I also read an article about a certain type of pumpkin and cooking it from scratch but can't find the article or the type, but the thing that did stick was it was essentially the same method for prep, and this seems to be the key. it makes sense with the caramelization being the catalyst. Let us know how yours comes out!
  6. Ask for the expiration date on the can before you buy it. It may be darker than you think with the age it likely is, and use it soon for the best result! You'll still have all the equipment to use for future batches.
  7. I vote for Defibrillator Doppelbock! It comes on surprisingly quick for how big it is. A big IPA works too! And our Golden Nut Brown should fill the bill as well: http://www.mrbeer.com/product-exec/product_id/1143/nm/Defibrillator_Doppelbock1 http://www.mrbeer.com/product-exec/product_id/1239/nm/API_IPA http://www.mrbeer.com/product-exec/product_id/1360/nm/Golden_Nut_Brown_Ale1
  8. When we reformulated our pumpkin recipes last year we cut down on the amount of pumpkin used so you wouldn't have all the trub that the older recipes produced. instead of using 1 can per batch 1 cup to 10 oz still added the pumpkin punch but alleviated all that gunk on the bottom to try to bottle around. One thing that has made a distinct impact on the pumpkin recipes we've been testing this summer has been how you prepare the pumpkin. This is the paragraph from the original article in "Serious Eats" that fostered the change: "One thing that most brewers agree on is that the flavors come out the best if the pumpkin is cooked and caramelized. Whether you're chopping and mashing the pumpkin yourself, or you get it out of the can, it should be spread in a thin pan and baked for at least 60 minutes at 350°F. This will allow the sugars to start to cook, and give the beer the pumpkiny character that we're aiming for." Give this method a try and see if it wrings all that great gourd flavor into your beer.
  9. Diane B.


    Try our Sunday Morning coming down. Coffee Stout. http://www.mrbeer.com/product-exec/product_id/1242/nm/Sunday_Morning_Coming_Down1 I like the KT's too on a frosty morning. http://www.mrbeer.com/product-exec/product_id/1310/nm/KT_s_Caramel_Apple_Graff_NEW_1
  10. Be careful with some import beers, Samuel Smith's for example have a different collar size and capping them can sometimes be a bit more arduous as the caps don't fit really well, I've also encountered some Belgians with that issue. I agree that it's fun to make empties to add to your bottle stock. I like having a digital thermometer as well and one that registers a min/max that you have to manually reset helps me ALL the time, it lets me know what happened while I was away and not just what's going on right now as the stick on's will do. Although my house is pretty consistent while I'm there temps usually spike up or down in middle of the day of night and I want to know what my range really is. I also am a firm believer in ice chests for temp control so the digital works well to let me know what's happening inside there without having to pull out my LBK to see what the temp is on the side.
  11. Hi JBoo, Welcome to the forum! We all here to help you, the folks here will help you and hopefully keep you entertained as well.
  12. Our DME is sized for for our 2 gallon batches, so a bag of it or the LME will be a reasonable equal trade for the booster. It will provide more flavor and body retention to your beer as well and that's always a good reason to use malt over a more simple sugar.
  13. I know I went through a period when my last bottle bottled was the one most likely to explode. I actually began numbering the bottles in order to test the theory. That little bit of cloudiness you get into can transfer to the last bottle when you're working so hard to get ALL your beer. Over carbonation and a progressing infection can also be culprits of blowing bottles, so like the others I like a bomb box or bag (in my case I prefer an ice chest for the added temp control/stability and the handles that make it easy to carry to the tub for any needed clean up) as long as my beers are carbonating or unrefrigerated.
  14. Good catch Rick on not boiling the HME, I had that question too.
  15. If you disturb the sediment during your pour there can be a bitterness that is perceived as a result. so letting the beer condition for 2-3 weeks longer can mitigate this flavor adn allow the more mature flavors to develop. Time and patience will resolve this issue for you.
  • Create New...