21 replies to this topic

[Nick Bates]

Im planning on brewing with in the next two weeks, im gonna do a smoked APA the question I had was about using the wood chips im going to add them to the Secondary and let it sit for a week im guessing I will need to sanatize the wood chips? also how much should I add to the secondary? I want to have a hit of smoked flavor nothing to over power the hops or overall taste of the beer. This will be a 5 gallon all grain batch. Second question is im looking for the best way to clean my brewpot, I have a stainless steel 9 gallon pot the bottom has some black dots and gunk looking stuff, ive read it might be beerstone my brewstore told me to use PBW and boil it for a good 30mins im just wondering what you guys do to clean your brew pot and how much PBW should I use if I go that route and how much water should I add? Thanks

[tag]

If you can reach the bottom, I would recommend Bar Keeper's Friend cleanser (or any other stainless steel cleanser) and a scrubby.

[Nick Bates]

If you can reach the bottom, I would recommend Bar Keeper's Friend cleanser (or any other stainless steel cleanser) and a scrubby.

should I let it soak for a little while?thanks Tag

[Flashman]

should I let it soak for a little while?thanks Tag

I've never had anything in my kettle that BKF wouldn't take care of...it's good stuff. I guess if it's really dirty you could let it soak in oxyclean or PBW and then hit it with the BKF.

[BlKtRe]

3rd the BKF. Make a paste out of it then scrub. The boiling of PBW can work as well. I use BKF after every brew day.Your timing is right on the oak. You can buy the oak in the little saks and that is about the right amount for a 5g batch. I usually soak the chips in starsan just for a few minutes. I add them to a hop sak. Tie some fishing line to the hop sak so it can easily be retrieved. You can do this in keg easily.

[Nick Bates]

3rd the BKF. Make a paste out of it then scrub. The boiling of PBW can work as well. I use BKF after every brew day.Your timing is right on the oak. You can buy the oak in the little saks and that is about the right amount for a 5g batch. I usually soak the chips in starsan just for a few minutes. I add them to a hop sak. Tie some fishing line to the hop sak so it can easily be retrieved. You can do this in keg easily.

so do you throw your oak chips in the keg? or secondary?

[BlKtRe]

so do you throw your oak chips in the keg? or secondary?

Both, but with a caveat. If I do it in secondary, I make sure the yeast has fallen clear before adding oak. Nothing worse than having your beer over oaked and still have yeast suspended. I feel the same way about dry hopping too.

[Spoon]

If you are doing a Rauche-esque beer wouldn't you want to add smoked malt as opposed to chips? I guess a heavy char would impart some smoke but more of an oakiness? I would think the smoked malt would do better.I don't know just guessing, really. Good luck.

[BlKtRe]

If you are doing a Rauche-esque beer wouldn't you want to add smoked malt as opposed to chips? I guess a heavy char would impart some smoke but more of an oakiness? I would think the smoked malt would do better.I don't know just guessing, really. Good luck.

Good catch. I agree that you not going to get smoke from chips alone. The use of Char will be closer, but the only way to get smoke flavor into your beer is with smoked malt of some sorts. There are a few different ways to do that but can be explained if its something you really are researching vs the use of oak.

[Deerslyr]

I've never had anything in my kettle that BKF wouldn't take care of...it's good stuff. I guess if it's really dirty you could let it soak in oxyclean or PBW and then hit it with the BKF.

Why create work for yourself with scrubbing? Oxy will take it off just fine. My BK was getting a bit on the nasty side and I loaded it up with hot water and Oxy-free and let it sit for a week. Just took some light scrubbing with a sponge to get the last remnants off.

[Nick Bates]

well thanks guys for all the advice, as far as trying to get a smoked flavor I just figured the oak chips would be kinda cool to use (ive never used the before) as far as the recipe I put together its below, would anyone add or take anything away? Ingredients:10.00 lb American 2-row0.50 lb Crystal 600.25 lb White Wheat Malt1 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min0.50 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 45 min0.50 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 30 min0.50 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 15 min1.0 tsp Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min0.50 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 1.0 minOak Wood Chips - added dry to secondary fermenter

[Spoon]

Unless you use the heavy toast you may only get an oaky flavor which can be overwhelming, a little 2 row in a pie pan tossed in the smoker or Weber might get you to where you want to be, just my .02 though.

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

well thanks guys for all the advice, as far as trying to get a smoked flavor I just figured the oak chips would be kinda cool to use (ive never used the before) as far as the recipe I put together its below, would anyone add or take anything away? Ingredients:10.00 lb American 2-row0.50 lb Crystal 600.25 lb White Wheat Malt1 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min0.50 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 45 min0.50 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 30 min0.50 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 15 min1.0 tsp Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 min0.50 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 1.0 minOak Wood Chips - added dry to secondary fermenter

The recipe looks fine. I'd change the hop additions from 45,30,15,1 to 15,10,5,0. Don't use more than an ounce of oak chips. I wouldn't want any smoked malt in this beer, but that's MO.

[ANUSTART]

Why create work for yourself with scrubbing? Oxy will take it off just fine. My BK was getting a bit on the nasty side and I loaded it up with hot water and Oxy-free and let it sit for a week. Just took some light scrubbing with a sponge to get the last remnants off.

I've found that Starsan works the same for cleaning the kettle. The problem with oxyclean is you have to thoroughly rinse it out, which can take time.

[Deerslyr]

I've found that Starsan works the same for cleaning the kettle. The problem with oxyclean is you have to thoroughly rinse it out, which can take time.

I fill the BK about 1/3 full, take a sponge and wipe down the sides and bottom, dump the water and spray with a high pressure nozzle. So Starsan will clean it up too? I suppose I could try that, but the oxy is cheaper (at Big Lots).

[Flashman]

Why create work for yourself with scrubbing? Oxy will take it off just fine. My BK was getting a bit on the nasty side and I loaded it up with hot water and Oxy-free and let it sit for a week. Just took some light scrubbing with a sponge to get the last remnants off.

The main reason is time...I prefer a couple of minutes cleaning with BKF over letting it soak.

[Nick Bates]

The recipe looks fine. I'd change the hop additions from 45,30,15,1 to 15,10,5,0. Don't use more than an ounce of oak chips. I wouldn't want any smoked malt in this beer, but that's MO.

Thanks I just may change that up on the hop additions, thanks for the heads up on the oak chips.

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

Thanks I just may change that up on the hop additions, thanks for the heads up on the oak chips.

Some guys in my brewclub added 6 oz of oak chips to a 5 gallon batch. Tasted like a 2x4. It was a shame since the base beer was pretty good.

[BlKtRe]

Some guys in my brewclub added 6 oz of oak chips to a 5 gallon batch. Tasted like a 2x4. It was a shame since the base beer was pretty good.

6oz is a little much, but time is the most important.

[ANUSTART]

6oz is a little much, but time is the most important.

I'd say time is equally as important as amount. From my experience you get a different flavor with more oak for a short time vs less oak for a long time. You need to experiment to find the right balance. That said, I can't think of any amount of time that 6 oz would be good in 5 gals... maybe if the oak was in a randall or something.