Overwhelmed with style/recipe options. Help!!

Biggest thing to me to keep in mind with this, nothing we do will ever perfectly match what someone else gives us for a recipe.
Water differences, grain suppliers, hop suppliers, etc... will cause variance no matter what.

So as you get more comfortable you'll start to eyeball the substitutions more on your own and decide what you're willing to change to accommodate what you don't have handy.
Great advice Hawk!
Nosybear pointed out for me a long time ago that the word clone doesn't really fit in brewing. It is better to refer to something as "inspired by".
 
@Hawkbox just gave some solid advice! Amber and Challenger will do nicely I am sure. When you have limited supplies - you make what you can. :) It'll still be a killer beer!

Something something broke clock twice a day.
 
First thing I do now when I wake up, get home from work and last thing before bed is go to the basement and check on my fermenter. Seeing the airlock bubble away yesterday morning was the next closest feeling to when I first saw my son's heartbeat on the ultrasound (don't tell my wife). So after I do that all I can think about the rest of the day is my next brew!
lol,that describes me,just showed my wife this post and she burst out laughing!
 
We were both surprised that it took a few hours for me to go down to the basement this morning. It's past the heaviest fermentation activity, airlock isn't bubbling anymore. Saturday will be 10 days but I'm thinking I'll wait closer to the 2 weeks on next Wednesday to start taking my next gravity readings and then think about bottling. The waiting is killing me but I want to get it right
 
We were both surprised that it took a few hours for me to go down to the basement this morning. It's past the heaviest fermentation activity, airlock isn't bubbling anymore. Saturday will be 10 days but I'm thinking I'll wait closer to the 2 weeks on next Wednesday to start taking my next gravity readings and then think about bottling. The waiting is killing me but I want to get it right
wow,now thats patience.
i fermented 6 days,bottled tasted after three days,lol,couldnt wait!

But its right to wait it out,i left two bottles(survivors) for full fermentation and conditioning from all my 4 consecutive batches just to taste what i missed.
but alcohol is banned by us due to covid,hence the rapid consumption.....
 
Well I don't have any of that Norwegian super yeast a lot of you guys are using! :D I didn't really know a lot about yeast or that kveik is so much faster. Honestly though I care more about the quality and flavor than just getting alcohol but that's easy to say when I can walk into any supermarket and buy a case anytime. I don't envy your situation with the ban. My main reason on being patient with bottling is not wanting bottle bombs and I'd rather give the fermentation more time before I start taking hydrometer samples because the less beer I have to use for samples the more I can bottle.
 
Well I don't have any of that Norwegian super yeast a lot of you guys are using! :D I didn't really know a lot about yeast or that kveik is so much faster. Honestly though I care more about the quality and flavor than just getting alcohol but that's easy to say when I can walk into any supermarket and buy a case anytime. I don't envy your situation with the ban. My main reason on being patient with bottling is not wanting bottle bombs and I'd rather give the fermentation more time before I start taking hydrometer samples because the less beer I have to use for samples the more I can bottle.
well said.
the kveik yeast i actually ordered by accident because evryone was in a mad rush to order the obvious yeasts.
only when i read up after receiving it i realisd it could reach full fermentation in 7 days with the standard temps.
pushing the max temps of fermentation says 3 days at 40deg celc!
 
I have only used VOSS Kveik, and so far, I love it. It is fast, likes the higher temps (great if you don't have control of ferm temp), and most importantly it ferments clean. It also lends a bit of a tropical fruit flavor (so they say), so it is perfect for New England style IPA's.
 
We were both surprised that it took a few hours for me to go down to the basement this morning. It's past the heaviest fermentation activity, airlock isn't bubbling anymore. Saturday will be 10 days but I'm thinking I'll wait closer to the 2 weeks on next Wednesday to start taking my next gravity readings and then think about bottling. The waiting is killing me but I want to get it right
Good on you for being patient. It is difficult to be patient in the beginning, but well worth it!
 
Well I don't have any of that Norwegian super yeast a lot of you guys are using! :D I didn't really know a lot about yeast or that kveik is so much faster. Honestly though I care more about the quality and flavor than just getting alcohol but that's easy to say when I can walk into any supermarket and buy a case anytime. I don't envy your situation with the ban. My main reason on being patient with bottling is not wanting bottle bombs and I'd rather give the fermentation more time before I start taking hydrometer samples because the less beer I have to use for samples the more I can bottle.

It may be worth getting a refracto meter. You then only need a couple of drops of beer to check.
You'll need to use some tables to get to the right gravity. Although, if you just want to know if the fermentation is finished, then all you need is a couple of the same readings (and not to bother with the tables).
The tables are pretty easy to use though
 
My main reason on being patient with bottling is not wanting bottle bombs and I'd rather give the fermentation more time before I start taking hydrometer samples because the less beer I have to use for samples the more I can bottle.

That is exactly what I do and for exactly the same reason.
 
I've seen the results of unpredictable carbonation with my father-in-law's brews. Fortunately never anything straight up dangerous but it's kinda annoying when the beer just never stops foaming and you have to drink it fast before it all goes to foam. He's a pretty laid back brewer and doesn't use his hydrometer. He pretty much doesn't care if he screws up a batch because he'll drink it anyways. I want to improve my process and make beer I can be proud of. Basically why I come here for advice instead of asking him
 
well said.
the kveik yeast i actually ordered by accident because evryone was in a mad rush to order the obvious yeasts.
only when i read up after receiving it i realisd it could reach full fermentation in 7 days with the standard temps.
pushing the max temps of fermentation says 3 days at 40deg celc!

Kviek is kind of that out of nowhere player that ruins all the betting pools. You got a start player on a 10 year contract for peanuts with it. To badly abuse a sports metaphor.
 
I was thinking McDavid, but I'm sure there is a soc... Football! or Cricket one our SA compatriots can use.
 
It's the closest we have! We trade away everything else!
 

Back
Top