Comments for Beer Brewing Blog

Comment on This is what happens in the secondary by dumbwhore

dumbwhore — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 18:11:58 +0000

I had temperature issues when I was in an apartment too. If I had to do it over again I think I would just have broken down and made a small closet for the carboys and installed a tiny window AC unit. Not cheap, but at least it works. You have to figure a way to eliminate/redirect the condensate too.

Comment on Onward and Upward with the Belgians by Joel

Joel — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 03:52:57 +0000

Wow. You seem to have quite an operation going! I just brewed my first batch of home brew and I would love to get some feedback from someone as experienced as you. I’ve been blogging about the process: http://www.beerutopia.com/?p=13. My goal was to keep it as simple as possible and not spend a lot of money on equipment until I got the hang of it. I definitely made some mistakes and better equipment probably would have helped but I learned a lot.

Comment on Pumpkin Ale and Dunkelweizen by beerriot

beerriot — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 19:18:52 +0000

Hey - I just found this site while looking for a dunkelweizen recipe. I’m using a combination of the one you posted, and a few I found scattered elsewhere. Thanks for posting it. I like your recipe format by the way - did you make it up yourself, or find it somewhere else?

In addition, I thought I’d sling you a couple of tips for Pumpkin Ale. I have brewed the style a couple of times, though never all-grain. The reviews I’ve heard of my attempts hav been positive. In any case:

- I use about five pounds of pie pumpkin (i.e. not jack-o-lantern) for a five gallon batch.

- To prepare the pumpkin, I first cut it in half and scrape all the seeds out. Then, I place the halves on a baking sheet skin-side up (so the seed cavity forms a pocket with the sheet). I bake this at 400-450F for 30-45 minutes (until it feels soft when you poke it with a fork).

- I find that adding a shallow layer of water to the baking sheet before puting the pumpkin halves on it keeps the pumpkin much more moist, and prevents it from sticking to the sheet so much.

- I’ve only ever added pumpkin to boiling wort. This is mainly due to the extract nature of my recipe, but it works, and I’ve never had any unwelcome vegetable flavors from it.

Other than that, my recipe is basically the one at . No guarantees on that link, btw - it’s from a place that used to, and may or may not still be, called Modern Brewer.

Anyway, I hope your latest pumpkin attempt turned out better for you. Keep writing!