BeerBorg

I have a mixed 12 pack that includes Slow Ride, plus Fat Tire, Snap Shot, and Ranger IPA. I like them all and I've not had a beer by New Belgium that I didn't enjoy. As far as tropical IPAs go, Jai Alai by Cigar City is a tropical explosion, but far from a session beer at 7.5% ABV.

If you can put your pot in the oven, then when you have the grain/water at mash temps in the pot then put it in there, heat the oven to whatever your lowest possible temperature is

Thanks for the tip, i would have never thought of that. I have spent all day reading How To Brew by John Palmer. With the small batch kits i was talking about, do you think that i should do a double fermentation? I have never done so with any of the MrB kits. And/or....do you think it's a good idea to siphon out the beer from the carboy into my 2gal MrB keg, with the sugar solution for bottling purposes (for ease of pouring into the bottles). Do you guys find it better to use corn sugar or cane sugar for bottling?

Ibasterd wrote:I've not had a beer by New Belgium that I didn't enjoy.

I would have agreed a week ago, but there is a first time for everything. I didn't like Skinny Dip much at all. It's the first New Belgium beer that I really don't ever want to drink more of.

pengins27 wrote:

If you can put your pot in the oven, then when you have the grain/water at mash temps in the pot then put it in there, heat the oven to whatever your lowest possible temperature is

Thanks for the tip, i would have never thought of that. I have spent all day reading How To Brew by John Palmer. With the small batch kits i was talking about, do you think that i should do a double fermentation? I have never done so with any of the MrB kits. And/or....do you think it's a good idea to siphon out the beer from the carboy into my 2gal MrB keg, with the sugar solution for bottling purposes (for ease of pouring into the bottles). Do you guys find it better to use corn sugar or cane sugar for bottling?

Just make sure you turn the oven off. Although it probably isn't a disaster if you forget, IE it's doubtful your mash temps will rise more then a few degrees even if you leave it on, if it's only 160-170. An oven on low doesn't do a great job heating water in a pot with a lid on it.

I think using the LBK as a bottling bucket is a good idea.

I personally would not rack it into a secondary fermenter. I don't think it's needed.

Corn vs. Cane sugar for priming - it doesn't matter. If I bottle prime, I use Dominos Dots which are cane sugar, and the beer can be good to drink at 2-3 weeks (I pitch lots of yeast, and have careful process, so I don't normally have off flavors that need to clean up). But if using it as a brewing adjunct though then corn sugar (dextrose) cleans up quicker because the yeast can eat it as is. Most of what we call "Cane sugar" (even though it isn't always from sugar cane) yeast has to split into other sugars (IE fructose and glucose) using an enzyme. With age you won't notice the difference, but when a beer is young you might get a cidery taste from the cane sugar that you won't get from dextrose. But for bottling purposes, it's such a small amount you likely won't notice anything.

Acid levels can break the glucose and fructose bond, as can heat, so it is also recipe specific too. Invert sugar (candy syrup, candi sugar) is pretty much sugar where those bonds are pre-broken.

That's more of an answer then you needed, but I'm covering all the bases for ya.

Damn, that's a great reply. mashani didn't leave anything for the rest of us to add. Enjoy your brew!

You guys rock. Just got the kit today, i cant wait for the weekend to dedicate an hour or more to myself! Thanks a ton guys!