Kit O' Beer #10 - Motueka Blonde

[BrewTech]

nope. Boil to sterilize sock. Then add em hops, tie it off, drop into secondary. rack beer on top.

Got it... next time you might just want to drop them in directly... and don't be shy! 50g+ would have been fine...

[Glass]

I had a couple of these at the weekend. It's still a bit young and is not currently getting much heat where I have them stored. So carbonation is low. The flavour is nice. It is less intense as the Cascade version but still nice. I think this one has a slight earthiness to it. It's very slight. It also has some nice tropical fruit tones to it.

Having used both Cascade and Motueka together you can see how they contribute their different flavours and aromas. As a result you get the citrus tones and the tropical fruit tones to make a great tasting beer.

I will probably have another go at the LCBA clone now and I think I will reduce the first Motueka bittering addition or skip it altogether and just use Cascade for the first addition and then revert to the regular additions of both for the remainder. I need to try another LCBA clone and see what it is like now. See if that bitterness has subsided. Last one I had I suspected it was.

[Glass]

This one is really not carbonating at this point. Acually not right. Carbing some but no head to speak of. I've got a case stashed elsewhere so we can leave it a bit.

Couple things here. I'm detecting a soapy after taste. I'm not going to bush beat. I think it's residue from when I cleaned the bottles. I did give them a good rinse but I did notice a slight foam when sanitizing them. Or either of the fermenters had a residue. I do use a washing liquid to scrub them, then rinse, dry and sanitize when needed. Will rinse the next batch 1 more time. It could be the hop itself. It has a slight bitter finish.

OR. the lack of carbonation is the screw tops I'm using. I have some crown cap bottles and they carbonate better from my short experience. It could be soap residue or the bottle or both. Need to remember the twist tops were experiment and might need to ditch them.

Nice beer though.

[BrewTech]

This one is really not carbonating at this point. Acually not right. Carbing some but no head to speak of. I've got a case stashed elsewhere so we can leave it a bit.

Couple things here. I'm detecting a soapy after taste. I'm not going to bush beat. I think it's residue from when I cleaned the bottles. I did give them a good rinse but I did notice a slight foam when sanitizing them. Or either of the fermenters had a residue. I do use a washing liquid to scrub them, then rinse, dry and sanitize when needed. Will rinse the next batch 1 more time. It could be the hop itself. It has a slight bitter finish.

OR. the lack of carbonation is the screw tops I'm using. I have some crown cap bottles and they carbonate better from my short experience. It could be soap residue or the bottle or both. Need to remember the twist tops were experiment and might need to ditch them.

Nice beer though.

When carbonating a perfect seal is required. Twist tops are a big no no. Crown corks only.

Depending on the sanitizer, some foam left after the process is usually no big deal, but I try to use low foam sanitizers like Iodophor or even Saniclean. Star-San is an excellent sanitizer, but has high foaming action. The word in homebrewing was "don't fear the foam", but I was never really cool with that, so I did what I could to minimize or eliminate it.

Soapy flavors can be from detergents left in the bottles, or could be a result of other influences:

Soapy
Soapy flavors can caused by not washing your glass very well, but they can also be produced by the fermentation conditions. If you leave the beer in the primary fermentor for a relatively long period of time after primary fermentation is over ("long" depends on the style and other fermentation factors), soapy flavors can result from the breakdown of fatty acids in the trub. Soap is, by definition, the salt of a fatty acid; so you are literally tasting soap.

I should know this, as I have allowed it to happen to me more than once. As a result I now work twice as hard to get beer in my bright tanks out into kegs so I can move beer out of the FV as soon as possible to get them off the yeast.

[Libertytree]

I did my 1st sanitizing test using Star-San in the new unit, the foam was out of control! Way too much even if they do say don't fear it I'm not cool with it either. So the next test will be with the Saniclean for the reason that the foam is supposed to be drastically reduced and if that foams too much I'll then try the Iodophor.

[Libertytree]

When carbonating a perfect seal is required. Twist tops are a big no no. Crown corks only.

Depending on the sanitizer, some foam left after the process is usually no big deal, but I try to use low foam sanitizers like Iodophor or even Saniclean. Star-San is an excellent sanitizer, but has high foaming action. The word in homebrewing was "don't fear the foam", but I was never really cool with that, so I did what I could to minimize or eliminate it.

Soapy flavors can be from detergents left in the bottles, or could be a result of other influences:



I should know this, as I have allowed it to happen to me more than once. As a result I now work twice as hard to get beer in my bright tanks out into kegs so I can move beer out of the FV as soon as possible to get them off the yeast.[/SIZE][/FONT]

Out of the two, Iodophor or Saniclean, which one do you like the best, esp for low foam? It seems they are camparable in results.

[BrewTech]

I did my 1st sanitizing test using Star-San in the new unit, the foam was out of control! Way too much even if they do say don't fear it I'm not cool with it either. So the next test will be with the Saniclean for the reason that the foam is supposed to be drastically reduced and if that foams too much I'll then try the Iodophor.

Technically, Saniclean is a final acid rinse, not a sanitizer, but I know at least one commercial brewer who had good results using it as such. A flawless cleaning regimen is required prior to use, of course. When CIP cleaning fermenting vessels, I use Iodophor (a somewhat weak solution to avoid off-flavor carryover) because the CIP procedure is way too turbulent to use Star-San. I suspect your bottle washer has much the same action. You can't spray it under pressure... it wasn't really designed for that. It's more of a soak or gentle splash type of chemical.

Because I can't CIP my bright beer tanks, I use Star-San on those, basically splashing it up to the top at letting it run down. Any foam I generate just gets scooped out and the residual rinsed out. On both types of vessels, I use Saniclean for the acid rinse after cleaning with a combination of PBW and NaOH.

Here is the PDF for Saniclean:

http://www.fivestarchemicals.com/wp-...cleanTech1.pdf

[Libertytree]

I have read that Saniclean can't be called a sanitizer because of some technical issues about applying/paying for the proper regulatory designation. That though may be myth? There are lots of homebrewers that use the Saniclean as their final sanitizer and are quite pleased with it. It seems you're pleased with it and if a commercial brewer trusts it then, cool. I can't wait till it gets here!

I did run across this...

This is a very good interview with the inventor and owner of 5 Star on these two products (StarSan & Saniclean) and when and where to use these two products and the differences.

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/archive.p...subaction=&id=&

[Glass]

The bottles that I stashed at work have carbonated a little bit better than the ones I kept at home. Getting that conditioning temp right makes a difference. The head has improved to 1 finger. It falls away after a minute or two but the lacing is now present and there is a steady stream of carbonation happening.

I have had a couple of bottles that do not taste of any soap at all. That is a good sign. Must rinse bottles more attention pay do right next time.

Flavour is good, milder than cascade and a bit more bitter on the finish. I thought the cascade was going to be the bitter finish but not the case so far.

[Glass]

I happened to grab one of these without knowing what it was. Not much change. I think the carbonation is consistent. No head retention. thin head some lacing. Has a bit of funk to it now. Motueka needs to be behind something else instead of out front.