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March Banter

George BM

By George BM,
in Mid Atlantic

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ErinInTheSky

ErinInTheSky

Posted
Posted
On 3/23/2018 at 12:19 AM, psuhoffman said:

@WxWatcher007

I have no problem with your take. But 2 counter points. 

There are 3 general climates in here. Actually more but to simplify it there is the northern tier hills and western mountains region where snow is fairly common in winter.  There snow can definitely hit early and late. The piedmont in between the blue ridge and fall line.  There snow is somewhat common but definitely more irregular but it can snow big into late march.  And the coastal plain.  Honestly snow is a crap shoot there and even in prime climo it's a long shot.  Up here my odds do go down too this late though. But people should know their climo and adjust expectations accordingly.  There are a lot of people in the first 2 zones and they might want to track.  In a lot of cases I was tracking so it wasn't a waste of time to me.

Maybe some of the extreme agitation is from people who can't align their expectations with reality where they live. I couldn't.  I lived in south Jersey and Herndon VA and it drove me crazy. If I lived in DC or anywhere on the coastal plain I would go nuts. But I realize that and don't live there. Some years here isn't even enough but at least I'm satisfied more then 50% of the time here. But what I don't get is if it's that important to others like it is me (not picking I'm that crazy too) why choose to live where your miserable?  I'm also not taking a shot at choosing to live there. There are advantages but everyone has to decide what makes them happy. If snow is high on that list then choosing to live somewhere with D.C.s climo is a bad decision. If it's no big deal that's fine but it's the people that live somewhere with a pretty crappy snow climo then complain about it all the time that confuse me. 

The other point is I don't blame or bother anyone for checking out. I've checked out lately. I've not tracked since this storm got into short range. Haven't looked at anything in days. I moved on to some stuff I've put off and needs my attention. If a threat presents I'll probably jump back in. But I think it's likely over other then a minor event possibly up here. But I'm not going into the long range thread and telling cobalt or anyone else that wants to keep tracking to stop and their wasting their time. 

Thats the thing. I don't blame anyone for deciding they give up.  That wasn't my point.  But why do they have to come into the discussion thread and take a dump on me or Chill?  Why can't they just check out like some of us do and go silent?  Instead they have to dump all over those of us still tracking and have a temper tantrum and muck up the thread with useless whining and complaints and insist we all stop tracking. It's childish. They can give up. Just don't try to make me. 

I know the probability. I'm not getting suckered. I know how likely each threat is to fail. If I track willingly accepting that it then who is anyone else to say I'm being stupid and should give up. I know it's a 1/10 shot maybe but the 1/10 pays off sometimes so I track waiting for when it eventually hits. I roll with the punches until then knowing it will snow again eventually and don't let each fail get me down too much. 

 

I think for me, I’m realistic about my expectations. I am totally comfortable with Gaithersburg Climo and picked here over closer into DC because of the snow climo. What kills me is being under 50% Climo 2 years in a row.

 

Everything else sounds right though. I love watching your posts in general and am happy when you cash in!

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Fozz

Fozz

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, AfewUniversesBelowNormal said:

Snow melting really fast. It's not like it use to be. There were a few days in December when it was legitimate cold, also the night before the storm, early morning hours with 1st wave

It’s melting as I would expect a late March snow to melt.

I expect patches by tomorrow.

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nw baltimore wx

nw baltimore wx

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, mattie g said:

@nw baltimore wx...

Brewing a NE IPA this weekend - first brewday since October, soon after the second little one was born! Pilsner Malt and 2-row, with some Golden Naked Oats and Honey Malt, loaded with Mosaic, Citra, and Simcoe. Can’t wait!

How’s your most recent brew?

Hey! Nice!! I know you've been antsy about getting back into the brewhouse. It'll be nice in a few years when you have some little helpers running around.

The recipe we use calls solely for citra hops, but I had 4 oz of locally grown leaf cascade in the freezer that I split into thirds and put in during the whirlpool and two dry hops. This was in addition to the citra, but from what I've read and the advice I've gotten, you can't overdo the hops after the boil. It was so good that the extra cascade is now a permanent fixture in the recipe, and I like that it's local. You do a final hop in the keg, right? One thing I've noticed about my brew is that the flavor profile changes quickly, which is what I expected, but I'm wondering if keeping hops in contact in the keg would help keep the flavor consistent for a longer time. How long do you keep five gallons around and did it change a lot?

But our batch turned out great and it's going to be a regular at Cozy's (our garage). We had some friends over last night for brews and burgers on the grill and both the ne ipa and the oyster stout were well received. The keezer is working perfectly and is just waiting for a third keg which I think will be our Black Eye PA Susan for the Preakness. I'm already thinking of adding a fourth tap for nitro beers before next fall, but we'll see.

Good luck and let me know how this weekend's brew goes!

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CAPE

CAPE

Posted
Posted
16 hours ago, Cobalt said:

This is pretty cool

 

Saw quite a few snow devils- although not as intense as this one- during the January blizzard at Rehoboth, and especially driving back to my house with the combination of wind, very powdery snow, and all the open farm fields. It was taking my attention off the road though lol. Really cool.

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mattie g

mattie g

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, nw baltimore wx said:

Hey! Nice!! I know you've been antsy about getting back into the brewhouse. It'll be nice in a few years when you have some little helpers running around.

The recipe we use calls solely for citra hops, but I had 4 oz of locally grown leaf cascade in the freezer that I split into thirds and put in during the whirlpool and two dry hops. This was in addition to the citra, but from what I've read and the advice I've gotten, you can't overdo the hops after the boil. It was so good that the extra cascade is now a permanent fixture in the recipe, and I like that it's local. You do a final hop in the keg, right? One thing I've noticed about my brew is that the flavor profile changes quickly, which is what I expected, but I'm wondering if keeping hops in contact in the keg would help keep the flavor consistent for a longer time. How long do you keep five gallons around and did it change a lot?

But our batch turned out great and it's going to be a regular at Cozy's (our garage). We had some friends over last night for brews and burgers on the grill and both the ne ipa and the oyster stout were well received. The keezer is working perfectly and is just waiting for a third keg which I think will be our Black Eye PA Susan for the Preakness. I'm already thinking of adding a fourth tap for nitro beers before next fall, but we'll see.

Good luck and let me know how this weekend's brew goes!

That sounds awesome! I can imagine that the Cascade would play nicely with the Citra. Cascade is old skool and definitely isn’t one you see often in “modern” ILAs, but I’d imagine it’s still got its place as an accent hop. That’s pretty sweet that you can bring a little local action to your beer, too. Definitely ups the coolness factor!

I don’t think you can go too overboard with post-boil hops. There’s a point of finishing returns, but you’d have to throw lbs of post-boil hops into a beer to make it unpalatable.

I did keg hop the last beer I made. It had some hop bite, but that may or may not have been due to the keg hops. Once it settled down, it stayed pretty aromatic and flavorful all the way through the 3 months it was on tap! It didn’t change too terribly much other than loaing the bite and maybe getting g a little more earthy. The keg hops definitely help to keep the beer from losing its punch, though I think I’m going to go with only 2oz in the keg for this beer, rather than the 4oz for the last one.

As for the little ones, my 5-year-old loves to help! She likes stirring the “witch’s brew” and I pour the grains into the kettle/bag...and she also likes to eat the “beer nuts!” :lol: She’s really excited for today!

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mattie g

mattie g

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, C.A.P.E. said:

Ha I guess so.

I just looked and it looks like March 30. KBS week at Grand Rapids was March 5-10.

Haha. KBS Day is always earlier than distro, which i figures would be coming up soon.

3 hours ago, nw baltimore wx said:

Holy smokes, has  it already been a year?!?  I still have one from last year. I might as well hold onto it and do a side by side comparison.

I’ve got a couple 12oz bottles and a 750ml. Big boy will be opened in a couple years, but the others probably next year.

BTW...just finished brewday. OG Reading of Sunshine Superman came in at 1.073:

053E1F21-8691-45F0-A4C4-7765852FFFC6.thumb.jpeg.9611b8cd90bd49c11ac13a58cdd8f3b4.jpeg

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nw baltimore wx

nw baltimore wx

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, mattie g said:

Haha. KBS Day is always earlier than distro, which i figures would be coming up soon.

I’ve got a couple 12oz bottles and a 750ml. Big boy will be opened in a couple years, but the others probably next year.

BTW...just finished brewday. OG Reading of Sunshine Superman came in at 1.073:

053E1F21-8691-45F0-A4C4-7765852FFFC6.thumb.jpeg.9611b8cd90bd49c11ac13a58cdd8f3b4.jpeg

Well done, sir! What's your fermentation and hop schedule?

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AfewUniversesBelowNormal

AfewUniversesBelowNormal

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, Jandurin said:
19 hours ago, AfewUniversesBelowNormal said:
Snow melting really fast. It's not like it use to be. There were a few days in December when it was legitimate cold, also the night before the storm, early morning hours with 1st wave

Do you not remember the first 2 weeks of January

There was a time in the Dec 9-27 period where the jet stream was south. This isn't 20s or 50s temps. It's a literal feel of latitude. This Winter was not good on this angle.

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mattie g

mattie g

Posted
Posted
18 hours ago, nw baltimore wx said:

Well done, sir! What's your fermentation and hop schedule?

I use Wyeast 1318 at about 68F. I don’t a fermentation chamber, so I use a swamp cooler in my basement, which is about 60F this time of year. I add an aquarium heater to get the temperature up to where I need it. I then increase the temp by about 1F per day as fermentation slows down, until I get to about 73F, then I let it ride. I don’t fine or cold crash my NE IPAs.

For dry hopping, on day 2 of active fermentation (right near high kräusen), I add my first dry hop. Then about four days prior to racking, I add the second dry hop. Here’s my hop schedule for this beer:

- Hopstand (160F): 3oz Citra / 3oz Mosaic

- Dry hop 1: 2oz Citra / 2oz Mosaic / 2oz Simcoe

- Dry hop 2: 1oz Citra / 1oz Mosaic / 2oz Simcoe

- Keg hop: 0.5oz Citra / 0.5oz Mosaic / 1oz Simcoe

 

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nw baltimore wx

nw baltimore wx

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, mattie g said:

I use Wyeast 1318 at about 68F. I don’t a fermentation chamber, so I use a swamp cooler in my basement, which is about 60F this time of year. I add an aquarium heater to get the temperature up to where I need it. I then increase the temp by about 1F per day as fermentation slows down, until I get to about 73F, then I let it ride. I don’t fine or cold crash my NE IPAs.

For dry hopping, on day 2 of active fermentation (right near high kräusen), I add my first dry hop. Then about four days prior to racking, I add the second dry hop. Here’s my hop schedule for this beer:

- Hopstand (160F): 3oz Citra / 3oz Mosaic

- Dry hop 1: 2oz Citra / 2oz Mosaic / 2oz Simcoe

- Dry hop 2: 1oz Citra / 1oz Mosaic / 2oz Simcoe

- Keg hop: 0.5oz Citra / 0.5oz Mosaic / 1oz Simcoe

Sounds good. I looked up the sunshine superman recipe and It looks good!

I've got the same issues with basement fermenting, but I think I might invest in a beverage cooler. Without kids I've got to spend the little money I've got on something.

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Fozz

Fozz

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, North Balti Zen said:

I know a lot of you REALLY enjoy cold, but, damn. I am beyond ready to turn the heat off and open windows and enjoy an actual spring. This is crap, how long the cold has hung on.

We have 50s and 60s in the forecast. Spring is finally here.

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showmethesnow

showmethesnow

Posted
Posted
47 minutes ago, supernovasky said:

Just curious - would anyone be opposed to a severe thread for the severe season? Does someone usually post those? Severe and tropical are my favorite types of weather... I know they aren't as common up here but I always watch the chaser feeds and spc every day, probably more than I watch snow models.

They do them each year. Handful or two of people that really get into it.

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