What are you brewing/bottling/kegging?

[mashani]

Natto is very much an acquired taste. It is very good for you though. I think you can even get Natto ice-cream in Japan.

[bpgreen]

I've eaten it before and made more using the servings that I bought as a starter. I kept it going for a while but I think I had a project that required travel and then ran out of the store bought natto and couldn't remember where the store was.

So I know what I'm in for. I don't mind the taste, but the smell and texture take some getting used to.

[bpgreen]

I used my dehydrator to keep the temperature at the right point.

But I forgot to account for the fact that that meant it would be drying things out. I added some water this afternoon, but there were a few spots that dried out. But it definitely fermented and created a big batch of natto.

I also ordered a bunch more soybeans for future batches.

[mashani]

Probably an instant pot on the yogurt setting would do a good job and keep it moist. That's how I make all sorts of fermented rice batters (Dosa, Vadi, Uthappams, Idlis, that sort of thing).

Oh, and I bottled my Scotch Ale.

[mashani]

I brewed a really big Doppelbock. It called for 19.5# of grain. That no way, now how, nada, eh eh, and so on and so forth fits in a Mash & Boil.

So, I mashed 6# as an oven mash in my old school pot I probably last used for brewing when I had LBKs, and the rest in the M&B. I boiled down the worts and then combined them once I thought it would all fit together.

And *whallah* ! It be beer! I hope.

[bpgreen]

I brewed a really big Doppelbock. It called for 19.5# of grain. That no way, now how, nada, eh eh, and so on and so forth fits in a Mash & Boil.

So, I mashed 6# as an oven mash in my old school pot I probably last used for brewing when I had LBKs, and the rest in the M&B. I boiled down the worts and then combined them once I thought it would all fit together.

And *whallah* ! It be beer! I hope.

Sounds amazing!

What's the expected ABV?

Don't you usually do low ABV beers for carbs and hydration?

[mashani]

Sounds amazing!

What's the expected ABV?

Don't you usually do low ABV beers for carbs and hydration?

Yes, I normally do low ABV with the exception of some Belgians, but in winter I sometimes make strong beer of other styles to sip on. I have lots of low ABV in my pipeline, so I can let a big beer like this age, and they stay good for a long time.

OG was like 1.087... I think it will end up ~1.018ish and ~9%, but that's just a guess.

[bpgreen]

I'll have to Google those other fermented foods you mentioned. I'm not familiar with them, and I'm trying to increase the diversity of bacteria in my gut.

I've done a few 16+ lb grain bills in the m&b. But efficiency seems to suffer if I push too hard. Maybe I'll consider doing a combo like that if I do it again.

Only marginally related to your posts (because you rehydrate with low anv beer), I'm doing adn indoor triathlon this weekend. It's a bit of an odd duck, imo. It's all based on time. 15 minute swim, 25 minute spin cycle, 20 minute indoor track. But it's the first one the doctors would let me do.

Bonus: The cycle is draft legal (I think I was the only one who chuckled at that in the meeting).

[Beer-lord]

I tried 2 things for the first time today....not earth shattering but I have high hopes. Did 11 gallon batch of an IPA and did a hop mash (Chinook) then split the bath into 1 with Imperial Flagship and the other with Omega Star Party which is the Thiol version of Chico. Did some reading about thiol and it can get confusing so I figured I might as well try it to figure it all out. I prolly used a bit more elaborate grain bill than needed but we'll see in a few weeks.
It's suggested by many to NOT dry hop when using Thiol yeast. Why? Have no real idea but if 'they' say so, I figure I'll not dry hop. It seems mash hopping helps when using this yeast so I'll also get to see what it does to the standard Chico yeast.

[mashani]

That's interesting. I've never really gotten anything out of mash hops, *except* in those Nordic farmhouse style no-boil beers I made a while back. I'm interested to know your thoughts when done.

[Beer-lord]

The fermenter smells normal so far but it appears to be finished. Gonna let it sit another 10 days then see if there's magic there.

[mashani]

I bottled that Dopplebock, it's so smooth... it' going to be awesome, but also it's going to mess me up, the smoothness hides the fact that it's near 10% ABV.

So for my last beer of the year, I brewed a 6-gallon German SMASH "IPA" to use up stuff I have around that needed to get used up. 14# of Munich + 8oz Kohatu hops (hey they are descended from Hallertau right?) + K97 yeast.

I mashed that for a full 90 minutes and threw in some amylase enzyme for good measure, as the Munich can just barely self-convert.

[TonyKZ1]

Today I Brewed 5G of Superior Christmas Ale, it's a 5G Extract w/steeping grains recipe from Midwest Supplies. The grains, ginger root, cinnamon sticks, and the malt extract made the house smell great! This is an "imperial" / high ABV strength recipe, high enough that it required 2 bags of S-04 yeast. I've made strong brews before, but not ones that required 2 bags of yeast. So this recipe will be interesting to see how it ferments and what it tastes like.

[berryman]

The grains, ginger root, cinnamon sticks, and the malt extract made the house smell great!

I didn't get a chance to brew a beer like that this year and have almost always done atleast one. I love that smell........

[Beer-lord]

I tried 2 things for the first time today....not earth shattering but I have high hopes. Did 11 gallon batch of an IPA and did a hop mash (Chinook) then split the bath into 1 with Imperial Flagship and the other with Omega Star Party which is the Thiol version of Chico. Did some reading about thiol and it can get confusing so I figured I might as well try it to figure it all out. I prolly used a bit more elaborate grain bill than needed but we'll see in a few weeks.
It's suggested by many to NOT dry hop when using Thiol yeast. Why? Have no real idea but if 'they' say so, I figure I'll not dry hop. It seems mash hopping helps when using this yeast so I'll also get to see what it does to the standard Chico yeast.

It's been long enough for me to make a judgement on my recipe with the Start Party yeast. The quality of the beer is fine but it's tastes too much of something I can't exactly describe. I like and wouldn't dump it but I def don't need 4 1/2 gallons of it. It's almost a tad sour in taste but not in a 'pucker' sour way. Maybe a bit like over ripened fruit???? It gets much better when it warms a bit and I have already noticed this flavor subduing a bit as it sits.
The regular Chico version is exactly what I wanted and I love it except both came in almost 3/4 of a % higher ABV as they got a number of points lower than expected.