My next brew is a Bling Pig clone from Austin Brew Supply. I got my brothers Shock Top clone there and he loved it. My OG is spot on at 1.058 and all went well. Pitched the yeast and it is in the closet getting happy. Next weekend we will dry hop and add some additional oak chips or flavor I guess. LOL. My next idea is to create a recipe on my own. After a bit of research I have found my base malt to be 8lb of 2 row, 2lb of Vienna malt and 1lb of caramel. Now, I just need to fool around with the hops and see what comes of it. I might try a British Ale yeast as I have read they impart a bit of a citrus flavor to the brew, but I digress. I have a five gallon fermenter going and will hopefully have beer in a few weeks.
Thanks to all who have helped me so far, you guys rock!!!
re: oak chips and flavour (its for a shock top clone? if so i’d advise against oaking it?) as denny said - change one variable at a time and keep track of the process, then you can determine if that variable was a positive or negative
Yup, that’s the one. It is sold by a brewery called Russian River which is about a two hour drive from me. It is a cool place and I like their beers. Thankfully the local Wine and More now sells it
Update: It has been in the closet bubbling away since Saturday afternoon. I have noticed the bubbling has decreased, and per the instructions, that is what is supposed to happen. The instructions state that within 5 to 7 days, the bubbling slow significantly, and the gravity at this point should be within 3 to 4 points of the final gravity of 1.012. I am going to check that when I get home tomorrow and see where I am. If it is there, I will clean and sanitize my secondary bucket and move the beer to the secondary and dry hop with the hops and wood chips they provided. I had about a quarter ounce of the Apollo and Amarillo that I might add just to see what happens, but my thought is I should stick with the recipe on this one to make sure I have it right. That will be a game time decision based on how I am feeling and how many beers I have had before I do all of this. LOL.
Any input on what I am doing would be most appreciated, I am still learning, but damn this is fun stuff.
There is no real reason to transfer to a secondary fermenter for this beer. Just keeping it in the primary will result in less oxygen exposure and less chance of contamination or infection. A secondary is only needed if the beer will be there for many weeks. It sounds like it is doing well and should be done on schedule.
I was wondering if I could use the same bucket, but don’t I have to somewhat stir or agitate the bucket to mix in the dry hop pellets? If I can use the same bucket, heck I am going to dump the dry hop pellets in now. I guess it really cannot hurt anything.
Just got home from work and gave it a quick check. A bubble or two every 10 seconds or so. The gravity as I read it was 1.011. After looking at the instructions again, it said the final gravity should be about 1.012, so I think I am close. I am thinking of just dumping the dry hop pellets, including the 1/4 ounce of Apollo and Amarillo that I have left over, and see what I come up with. I am a bit concerned as it is pretty close to the FG and it still has the dry hop to go. I am hoping I did not screw something up, but I will find out in a few weeks. My plan is to let the dry hops run for a week, as the instructions say. Keg it and let it carbonate and sit in the kegerator for a few weeks before I try it. The instructions say it is best 5 weeks after packaging, but I am not sure I can wait that long. LOL.
Anyway, thanks to all who replied, I appreciate it. RR
Everything is fine. The dry hops can go in after the yeast have finished and you have reached FG. For NEIPA sometimes the dry hops are added during active fermentation but for most beers there is no real interaction between the hops and the yeast so the dry hops can go in anywhere late in the fermentation. Some people worry that if you put them in too soon the hop aroma will be blown out with the CO2 bubbles, but too late is not a problem. I usually dry hop only for a few days and find that more than that doesn’t add anything, but with the oak chips you probably do need a week. I would try a taste after 2 weeks in the keg to see how the carbonation and foam are doing. If you like it, there is no reason to wait for 3 more weeks.
This conversation has me wanting to go to the store and buy a Blind Pig. I like that beer.
Great, thank you for that info. I am guessing that since the instructions said the FG should be around 1.012 and I am at 1.011 it is about done, correct? I am going to just drop the pellets and the oak chips in. How much more do you think a quarter ounce of Apollo and a quarter ounce of Amarillo will add to the party? I don’t want to screw it up, but my inner DIY is starting to show and I am thinking of dropping them in as well.
You in the San Francisco Bay area? If so, where you at, I would love to meet up and maybe you can give me beer a try and give me some feedback. I think it is pretty good so far, but I would welcome another opinion.
Thanks for the input, it is very much appreciated.
Yeah, 1.012 and 1.011 are pretty much the same, so it is done. I personally wouldn’t add anything more than the recipe calls for the first time. If you think it needs something more the next time around, then go for it.
I’m in Palo Alto. I will be having surgery on my left hand tomorrow so I will be out of action and not brewing for a few weeks, but I expect that I can still drink a beer with my right hand as long as someone opens it and pours it for me :D. Send me a message next week, after the worst part of my recovery is over.
Cool. I will give you a holler. Hope the surgery goes well for ya.
Ok update 3:
I left everything as is until this morning. Took another reading, holding steady at 1.011 to 1.012, so I figure we are good to go. Sprayed Starsan on the scissors, hop packs and wood package and off into the bucket they went. Seems to be a lot of stuff floating in the beer, but I will see how it drains into the keg in a week. It was very aromatic and smelled very good, so I am hopefull. Now, I wait a week, keg carbonate and wait another week or two to see how it goes. I decided not to put the other leftover hops in, I wanted to follow the recipe and see how it goes. Next time, though, I might give it a try just for the heck of it. I might fill a few bottles and keg the rest just to see what, if any, difference there is. And then I can bring some to my mom’s so I have it there too. Next update will hopefully be a taste test next to an actual blind pig and see how close I get.
I am thinking of trying Cider now. Done some online research and it looks fairly simple, just takes time I guess. And, with any luck, a BIAB will be in the future as well. Bigger things to come. LOL
Thats pretty much what I have found out. My daughter said she would like to try it, so I think something simple to start out with might be kinda fun for us. RR
As is always with what I do, things just did not work out. My plan was to bottle about 6 or so, then keg the rest. The damn bucket was so full of crap the bottle thingie got clogged up and I could not get it unclogged. So, to hell with it, all went into the keg. What an absolute mess. I am so disappointed right now. I will let it sit in the keg for a week or so and see what happens, but I am not holding hope on this one I think this was a two week waste of time. Next time, I put it into a secondary bucket before I dry hop. Hopefully that will take care of all the crap that was plugging everything up. I am not very happy at all about this one. Check back in a week. RR