Ways you’ve changed as a brewer this year

Ward Chillington said:
I wanna hear about your first brew with wet hops now that you're in hop country....oh...Mecca Grade is not too far ...time for an all Oregon batch!
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I love the idea of making a beer with all locally sourced ingredients. The lhbs doesn’t carry Mecca Grade, but I know I could order some. As for fresh, wet hops - I recently talked to a neighbor who has hops growing, and he seemed willing to share, he just isn’t sure what varieties he has among probably 15 plants. Visiting a hops farm is on my to do list. Wyeast is a local company, and I’ve been eyeing their 1056, since it’s sold at lhbs. And I know that I have very good tap water.
 
Herm brews said:
he just isn’t sure what varieties he has among probably 15 plants
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All the better! Herm's pail Pale....brewed with whatever hops were in the bucket!

This area used to grow a Spelt grain that was highly praised by the brewers in Baltimore but I don't think that's the case any longer and of the grain crops that I see in the field, I'm yet to identify any barley....plenty of soy bean, corn, some sorgum and winter wheat. There was a local hop farm down in the next county but their web site has dropped off the internet and the U of Maryland had a program developing hop production but I think all that wound up in a special edition that Flying Dog made so my sourcing continues!
 
We used to have a nice hops producer in central MN (Mighty Axe) but they went out of business a few years ago. I think there are a few other small hops yards in the state, but I believe they deal directly with area craft brewers.

There's Rahr malting in Shakopee, MN, though I'm not sure if their grains are all sourced from the area. It's a big company, and they might have it trucked in from producers around the region. It's still kind of "local" to me and I have brewed with several of their malted grains. Their North Star Pilsner is really nice. Rahr does mostly base malts and a few caramel malts.

Briess is from Wisconsin, so not quite local to me but close enough.
 
Ward Chillington said:
Isn't that the land of Archer, Daniels, Midland up that way?
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I think ADM has HQ in Chicago, but yeah, they're all over. Cargill might be what you're thinking of, as they have HQ in MN. Rahr is family-owned, but quite large.

Those companies probably have lots of deals between one another. But I'm a city kid, so I could be way off.
 
MaxStout said:
We used to have a nice hops producer in central MN (Mighty Axe) but they went out of business a few years ago. I think there are a few other small hops yards in the state, but I believe they deal directly with area craft brewers.

There's Rahr malting in Shakopee, MN, though I'm not sure if their grains are all sourced from the area. It's a big company, and they might have it trucked in from producers around the region. It's still kind of "local" to me and I have brewed with several of their malted grains. Their North Star Pilsner is really nice. Rahr does mostly base malts and a few caramel malts.

Briess is from Wisconsin, so not quite local to me but close enough.
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I love North Star too. I’m just north of you, near the Mighty Ax. Too bad they went under. I heard it was from storm damage.
 
HighVoltageMan! said:
I love North Star too. I’m just north of you, near the Mighty Ax. Too bad they went under. I heard it was from storm damage.
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That, coupled with the fact they couldn't obtain federal crop insurance. Apparently, USDA will only write policies for hops producers in a few states in the Pacific NW. So in MN, they were without coverage.

I don't know if USDA has since changed that rule, but if not, that remains a big obstacle for up and coming hop farms in other states. No crop insurance and you're flying without a net.

The brew club I was in a few years ago did a huge group buy when Mighty Axe was getting rid of their 2019 inventory. I picked up several pounds each of a few varieties of hops. Still have some vac-sealed in my freezer.

I'm just a few towns down the road from you, in Blaine. Is Lupulin Brewing still going strong? Been a few years since I've been up there.
 
MaxStout said:
We used to have a nice hops producer in central MN (Mighty Axe) but they went out of business a few years ago. I think there are a few other small hops yards in the state, but I believe they deal directly with area craft brewers.
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Back when HBC was in Minneapolis, Tenacious Badger (link) in WI had a booth (and samples). IIRC, at the time, some of the physical home brew stores in the area would stock some of their locally grown hops. I haven't used or looked for their hops for a couple of years (my fault, not theirs).
 
Still mostly an extract brewer but have made several changes.
Mostly 30 minute boils.
Most hops (other than bittering) are added in the last 10 min., or at shutoff, and 3 days before bottling.
Batches are smaller, dropping from 5.5 to 4 and 4.5 gal.
More time in the ferment and less rushing to the bottle.
Only 7 batches this year, down from ~24 per year.
Biggest change - better beer!
 
Daniel Parshley said:
Still mostly an extract brewer but have made several changes.
Mostly 30 minute boils.
Most hops (other than bittering) are added in the last 10 min., or at shutoff, and 3 days before bottling.
Batches are smaller, dropping from 5.5 to 4 and 4.5 gal.
More time in the ferment and less rushing to the bottle.
Only 7 batches this year, down from ~24 per year.
Biggest change - better beer!
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I've been using Gordon Strong's suggestion to add bittering hops late, like at 15-20 minutes in the boil. You need to use more, but I think it reduces the harshness. Maybe you've noticed the same with bittering in shorter boils?
 
MaxStout said:
I've been using Gordon Strong's suggestion to add bittering hops late, like at 15-20 minutes in the boil. You need to use more, but I think it reduces the harshness. Maybe you've noticed the same with bittering in shorter boils?
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Interesting idea, time in the boil = harsher bitterness. I’m not sure I agree because there are so many variables, but it definitely gives me something to think about.
 
Megary said:
Interesting idea, time in the boil = harsher bitterness. I’m not sure I agree because there are so many variables, but it definitely gives me something to think about.
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I've noticed smoother bitterness in my beers since I started doing that, but that's anecdotal and perhaps some confirmation bias. Give it a try and see.

I still do 60 minute additions when using low-alpha hops, as I've encountered problems with polyphenols (chill haze and astringency) from using so much hops. But for higher alpha hops, a 20 minute addition does the trick for me.
 
Zefram said:
I'm still trying to wrap my head around it, but paying more attention to mash pH has been a focus for me this year. I've also been playing around with different English yeasts in different ale recipes, trying to figure out which I like best for bitters, porters, etc.

Next year's goals are to build a proper stand for my setup (milk crates on top of bookcases just doesn't seem ideal) and to take advantage of the brew session feature on this site (I use it more building recipes, but I still just use a composition notebook for brew day stuff).

Cheers all!
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I switched up from my composition notebook to using my computer and then storing my notes in the cloud so I have them with me wherever I am at. It really comes in handy when someone is trying one of my beers and wants details. I do use the brew session feature as well, but the notes come in handy.
 
MaxStout said:
I've been using Gordon Strong's suggestion to add bittering hops late, like at 15-20 minutes in the boil. You need to use more, but I think it reduces the harshness. Maybe you've noticed the same with bittering in shorter boils?
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Yes, a lot less harshness and more forgiving when I want lots of fragrance and flavor.
 
I am constantly learning every time that I make a beer. I hear of things that others are doing and either try them myself and/or pass them off to our members of our homebrew club. One thing that I did differently this year was adding fruit to a beer after I cold crashed it. I get a lot more of the fruit flavor this way rather than fermenting it out.
 
MaxStout said:
Is Lupulin Brewing still going strong?
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Yes. Their two types of customers. Those who love and adore them and those who hate them, I guess I fall somewhere in between, indifferent. They have a reputation of arrogance. But their beer is pretty solid and they won some big awards, so I guess there is reason for their pride.
 
HighVoltageMan! said:
Yes. Their two types of customers. Those who love and adore them and those who hate them, I guess I fall somewhere in between, indifferent. They have a reputation of arrogance. But their beer is pretty solid and they won some big awards, so I guess there is reason for their pride.
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I seem to remember the staff being not so friendly when we were there a few years ago (and it wasn't terribly busy). Their beers are good, but so are the beers in many other places. You can't throw a rock in MN without hitting a brewery. If I don't feel welcome at a place I don't come back. Too many other choices. We've been alternating between Forgotten Star in Fridley and Pryes in Mpls.
 
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