Denny Conn

15,954 reputation

1332

bio	website	dennybrew.com
	location	Eugene, OR
	age	61
visits	member for	2 years, 6 months
	seen	16 hours ago
stats	profile views	237

I have been a homebrewer for over 14 years and 400+ batches. I'm a BJCP National judge and a member of the Governing Committee of the American Homebrewers Assoc.

	15,954 reputation	bio	website	dennybrew.com	visits	member for	2 years, 6 months
1332 badges		location	Eugene, OR		seen	16 hours ago

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416 Comments

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May 16	comment	How to improve freshness bottled beer? They won't necessarily become more carbonated, but that's the usual scenario with infection. Like I said, I'm guessing.
May 16	comment	How to improve freshness bottled beer? Primarily by taste, yes. Also if it continues to become more carbonated.
May 15	comment	Which is the superior air-lock liquid: Vodka or Star-San? I started with vodka and when it ran out I switched to tap water. No problems. I use StarSan if I have some handy, otherwise it's water. Or foil over the top.
May 14	comment	What is the potential of rock candi sugar? There is a persistent idea that inverted sugar is easier for the yeast to break down. While that may hold true from a chemistry perspective, the reality is that yeast has no problem breaking down non inverted sugar. At any rate, the sugar will become inverted in the kettle due to the heat and acids present.
May 14	comment	What is the potential of rock candi sugar? I just consulted Jamil's "Brewing Classic Styles". All the Belgian recipes that use sugar specify cane sugar and/or candi syrup. None that I read use rock candi.
May 14	comment	What is the potential of rock candi sugar? I can't think of any reason why candi sugar would be healthier for the yeast. It's simply regular sugar that has been crystallized. And I'm not aware of any variability on the composition of table sugar. How could it be "almost" inverted? Could you provide some examples? For the best info about using sugar in Belgian beers, refer to "Brew Like a Mink" by Stan Hieronymous.
May 13	comment	How to mash quickly? Look better after the edit?
May 9	comment	Can you mash for too long? I have to disagree that waiting longer after a negative iodine test won't do anything. Longer mashes continue to break down long chain dextrins (which have already been converted from starch) and give you a more fermentable wort. The "myth" of short mash times comes from commercial operations. They may only hold a mash rest for 15-20 min. but they take hours to mash in or sparge and lauter. The grain is at mash temps all through those, so the they're actually mashing for much longer than the rest time they state.
May 8	comment	Can you mash for too long? IIRC, I've gone up to 16 hours and the temp dropped to about the mid 140s. No off aromas, no problems. But like you say, if it smells bad, don't use it!
May 8	comment	Can you mash for too long? Have you ever tried an overnight mash? Say for 10-12 hours? I have and there's nothing wrong with it.
May 7	comment	Can you mash for too long? I know people who do overnight mashes and don't experience contamination, so I had to downvote.
May 7	comment	Using pine in beer @Frustrated - If you think of hops as a flavoring, you're correct. If you think of them as bittering/preservative, then pine likely would not do the same thing.
May 6	comment	Using pine in beer Not in the least.
Apr 26	comment	What is the most important parameter to measure in water You're correct and I missed that. But it IS the most important parameter.
Apr 24	comment	What is the purpose of dry hopping in intervals (multiple additions)? A long time dry hopping will not necessarily give you grassy or vegetal flavors. I typically dry hop for months and have never had problems from it.
Apr 23	comment	What is the benefit of a 3 tier system? Keep in mind that the brewer makes the beer, not the equipment. A 3 tier system can be an advantage for one style of brewing, but it's not an overall advantage. You can make beer just as good as is produced on a 3 tier system with much simpler equipment.
Apr 22	comment	SG and OG quite different to values indicated on can label In my experience, shaking the fermenter does not provide sufficient mixing to get an accurate OG reading after topping up. It may provide enough O2, but that's a different matter.
Apr 20	comment	Airlock: vodka, water, or StarSan can stay good for a long time (years in my experience) if mixed with distilled water.
Apr 19	comment	How do you sparge? That is not true of batch sparging.
Apr 18	comment	Would placing the fermenter tank in a tub of water be a good way to handle hot environments? Agreed. I have been using this method of temp control for years and while crude, it's very effective. As an added benefit, the mass of the water makes it very effective at buffering thermal swings.