Brewing a Bavarian Helles

[KenLenard]

Thank you. Is the link on your FB page? I will check it out. I have been thinking of ways to make adjustments.

[Bilsch]

That's funny.. I to used to be the poster child for for high O brewing. If there was a way to get more oxidation in the mash, I used it. Then I joined this forum.. and everything changed. I know it's hard to let old habits go in this case spend the money and upgrade.

Maybe make a brewery lampshade out of your old copper chiller so it can still be useful to your brewday.

[Bryan R]

It's right here Ken.
viewtopic.php?f=49&p=2173#p2173

[KenLenard]

Thanks for that Bryan. Earlier today I was thinking that a video would be perfect. It will either help pave the way so I can make these adjustments or it will prove to me that I'm too far removed from this and convince me to take up gardening. Thanks and cheers.

EDIT: You guys may have to rename this idea "The Earth-Is-Round Society" because there are already a bunch of naysayers and I'm not just talking about Denny!

[Brandon]

Ken, I suspect you are where Bryan and I were last summer. We could brew great beers, but they lacked that fresh touch. This all fixes that. And I agree, you're not far from doing that.

[Bryan R]

Here's the deal with this Ken, or to all that need to hear it. We not out to change the world, there is nothing in it for us (monetarily or bragging rights). For the better part of a year we worked on this a minimum of 12hours a day 7 days a week(this is not inflated by any means) because our beer could not hold a candle to a REAL German beer, and that was just not good enough for us. So what did we do? Well since we all did the same things every time with the same results it was time for a change. We reached out to every brewery we could, spoke with maltsers and anyone we could..You know what? None of them would give us the time of day. Then what? We went out and purchased books, books that they use as course materials at TUM to teach these brewmasters this elusive skill. Low and behold, we started to see a common thread in these books.. Oxygen..But how, where and why? In order for us to truly understand, we had to forget the dogma that has been pounded in our head for eons. Once we let that go, and you start back at square one, it all started to become clearer. We then feverishly started the experiments with limiting oxygen exposure, each time going up 1 notch in flavor, only for it to fade on us. It wasn't until we discovered active protection (SMB) that the fireworks started to happen, its like a drug once you get your first taste of it.
We then took this new found knowledge and found candidates, and said: Follow these rules, and let us know what happens. Everyone who did, NEVER had experienced what they did that day. Ask any of them, they will all tell you..."It's life changing". We pondered what to do with this for quite some time, do we keep it for ourselves, or give it out there? It was the case for a lot of discussion, but in the end we chose to let it be free in the spirit of openness.
So the "naysayers" ask about testing... Well we have all our DO readings and notes, but in the end does it really matter? Because this, this method is that life changing we said, its night and day. So you all have the option and as I said before we have nothing to gain from releasing this text. We are not going to duke it out in some internet battle online,its not worth it. You either try it or you don't, its really as simple as that. Either way the LI will be here with our mugs of glorious mugs of Helles waiting.

[KenLenard]

Okay, good stuff. I plan to try it and I plan to do the best possible job that I can to lower or eliminate (probably not realistic) O2 to the lowest possible level. I will get an SS chiller. I will get the SMB (anyone have a source on this? Is it available at most suppliers?) and I will change my process (although I need direction on recircing and running off... I still need to watch the video) and I will do all of this while making a helles and I will report back on what happened on brewday and how the beer comes out. Not sure why I'm the only one on my board who is excited about this but I do have unending optimism.

[Bryan R]

Ken- we would love to help you. We have taken people "off the street" and they have made world class beers first go round. You need no real new equipment. Smb is campden and available at all lhbs's. Make sure you got the sodium variant and not potassium.

[Bilsch]

This is where I got it.

http://www.amazon.com/Sodium-Metabisulf ... B00XJF7QFU

[pietro]

It's truly amazing in the homebrew community that when it's one person's way, the ultimate Trump card is "well this way works for me and my palette" but when someone else presents something in opposition to it, that person is a heretic who should be burned at the stake unless he can present a readout from a gas chromatograph (stike that, not even sure a GC would convince some of these people). Great work you guys. Thank you from a brewer who brews beer at home.

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