What did you learn this week?

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I learned that I need a bottle tree, might as well get a vinerator as well.
No matter how hard I try I stilll forget to empty the last of the starsan out of halfy bottles before filling them. :0
 
I learned, yet again, you let the yeasties do their thing, and it turns out good even with poor sparge, missing mash temps, etc.
grem135 said:
No matter how hard I try I stilll forget to empty the last of the starsan out of halfy bottles before filling them. :0
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Interesting way to carbonate.
 
Epimetheus said:
I learned, yet again, you let the yeasties do their thing, and it turns out good even with poor sparge, missing mash temps, etc.Interesting way to carbonate.
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I usually do 2 squirts with my spray bottle in each bottle so its not much. Just a brain fart mostly. Lol
 
I learned that the expensive all-grain kits are really just Home Deport weekend projects I can make for so much less, which is propelling my urge to go all-grain this summer.
 
nvrstck said:
one of my favorite lessons is about making a starter: don't try to add the DME to 1.5L of boiling water in a 2L flask unless you want to show your kids how to make a volcano. Same goes for the stir bar. Put it all in their before it boils! and add some fermcap-s foam inhibitor before boiling!
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This! I learned this the hard way to.
 
When I started my auto siphon, and went off to the garage to pick up some hops, I learned that 6 gallons of beer doesn't really fit in a 5 gallon keg.
 
I learned that you never feel quite so good as when other employers are doing their damn hardest to head hunt you:mug:
 
grem135 said:
I learned that I need a bottle tree, might as well get a vinerator as well.
No matter how hard I try I stilll forget to empty the last of the starsan out of halfy bottles before filling them. :0
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I got the 82 bottle tree for Christmas but cant seem to get the vinerator to fit on top with the atachment supplied??

However both are great!! i was a bit sceptical regarding the vinerator but it's a good peice of kit.
 
I learned that I apparently syphon at the third grade level...

When trying to rack to my bottling bucket with my auto syphon it stopped with about a gallon left. I could not for the life of me get it started back up. I tried tilting the carboy, holding the syphon off the dry hops/trub, everything I could think of. It seems like it would just immediately lose suction when trying to restart it. To complicate things further my outflow hose was a little on the short side. It never came above the water line, but I only had about two inches below the bottom of the carboy. I'm going to get some longer tubing for next time.
 
I got both the vinator & 45 bottle tree from Ferrari,so the vinator fits on top. Not sure about it fitting other manufacturers stuff.
Also that thinsulate lined hunting coats are great for wrapping the MT in with biab mashing. Actually gained 1 degree over the 1 hour mash rather then the expected 5 degree loss.
I also learned that 18" x 32" paint strainer bags are made to fit over the rim of a taller skinnier BK,not the shorter,wider BK I have. Still worked fine with a cake cooling rack in the bottom of the kettle though.
 
AVLbrewing said:
I learned that I apparently syphon at the third grade level...

When trying to rack to my bottling bucket with my auto syphon it stopped with about a gallon left. I could not for the life of me get it started back up. I tried tilting the carboy, holding the syphon off the dry hops/trub, everything I could think of. It seems like it would just immediately lose suction when trying to restart it. To complicate things further my outflow hose was a little on the short side. It never came above the water line, but I only had about two inches below the bottom of the carboy. I'm going to get some longer tubing for next time.
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I don't know your process, but make sure that the fermenter is above the liquid level of the bottling bucket. That will stop a siphon in its tracks.
 
I learned that i should NOT take my blow off tube off after only 3 days
 
Don't overfill the airlock the night before,& check it first thing in the morning. I had vodka in the bottom of the stem,blocking gas flow. That was a new one. Poured off some of the vodka down to fill line & got the liquid out of the stem. It's bubling slow-n-steady now.
 
The Costco by my work has a small section with some Rogue, Anderson Valley and Allagash pints. And back by where they have the 24 pack cases they have Mendocino Brewing 6 bottle sample packs.

Any other Costco's in the USA carrying the local brews?
 
To check my O2 tank two or three days before I brew, while I'm working on my starter. Smoothest brew day I've ever had today, on and imperial stout no less, and when I went to oxygenate I found my regulator fully open instead of fully closed. I'm glad it was a sober brew session.
 
...which reminds me not to get drunk while brewing. Messed up on the boil with flavor hops,but not too bad. At least it'll smell great & be a bit more golden. The German yeast was one hell of a steady fermenter. At a medium pace...;)
 
I learned that there is a BIG difference between commercial brewers and craft brewers...and its not just the beer. Worked for a big brewer for 20 years....just accepted a position with this craft brewery this week. This is the owners and employees at the new place....wow....I'm going to like it here.
 
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I learned you apparently aren't supposed to mill Barley Flakes with the rest of your grains. Oops.

Hopefully my first Partial Mash comes out OK.

I also learned that it is possible to smack a "Smack Pack" too hard. The guy at the store said to slam it down on the counter, you can't break the seal on the outer package.


Guess I don't know my own strength.
 
anti foam in the yeast starter and a bonus lesson, priming sugar needs more attention, over carbed sucks
 
I learned that I can use my left over, stockpiled priming sugar to boost my ABV, and I learned that the term "dry out your brew" means to lower the gravity.
 
I learned just how expensive it is to set up a 3-faucet keezer, especially if you buy the good stuff (like Perlick 525SS faucets and stainless shanks).:mug:
 
BigFloyd said:
I learned just how expensive it is to set up a 3-faucet keezer, especially if you buy the good stuff (like Perlick 525SS faucets and stainless shanks).:mug:
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I'm in the process of building one myself, I got the same faucets/shanks.


The good news is I had budgeted for a brand new 7.2 CF chest freezer but scored one on Craigslist for $50. I am debating adding nitro as well.
 
DougK said:
I'm in the process of building one myself, I got the same faucets/shanks.


The good news is I had budgeted for a brand new 7.2 CF chest freezer but scored one on Craigslist for $50. I am debating adding nitro as well.
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Nice find. My upright freezer that i use for fermenting was a CL buy. The chest freezer (soon to be keezer) was already in the family and sitting unused. All I have to do is "re-purpose" it. I just added the collar (2x8 pine) today and will be working on the rest of the woodwork (in re-purposed oak) as time allows.

I ordered my regulator and other hardware from Birdman Brewing last Friday after talking with Brian, the owner. He's a super-nice guy who obviously loves home brewing. He's also an HBT vendor.

:mug:
 
I learned that holding the hydrometer too tightly while trying to dry it off can result in a exploding hydrometer. Thankfully I had turned away from the kettle before learning just how fragile those things are!
 
I learned that employees will complain about "too much work", but they won't give you the data to do capacity management for fear of micromanagement. oops...wrong forum. I learned that the hardest thing I've ever done was to not drink the beer I brewed.
 
hi guys... this week i may have learned a reason to use secondary fermentation.

if you happen to have a job that will take you away from brew stuff for kind of a long time (like 3 months), it might be a good idea to get the brew off the cake in primary if you get a little time somewhere in there.


any guess how i learned this?


btw... i'm just going to assume that three months in a fermenter isn't going to hurt anything except my feelings.

:)
 
dadshomebrewing said:
hi guys... this week i may have learned a reason to use secondary fermentation.

if you happen to have a job that will take you away from brew stuff for kind of a long time (like 3 months), it might be a good idea to get the brew off the cake in primary if you get a little time somewhere in there.

any guess how i learned this?

btw... i'm just going to assume that three months in a fermenter isn't going to hurt anything except my feelings.

:)
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That is actually good to know. I've never been traveling for more than 5 weeks, but a longer trip could certainly happen. It was actually one of the bigger hurdles preventing me from getting into brewing. I though leaving a new in the fermentor for more than a month would ruin it. Now I know better.
 
i don't do really long trips, but i do them on very short notice (like a couple hours), and wind up working a lot of weekends.

i wound up leaving these batches in the jugs for a very long time.

i don't think it hurt anything, they taste good, and the FG's are good, but it's probably not smart to do, either, to leave them on the trub that long.
 
i also learned that darker, heavier, beers (like a porter or stout) are more forgiving than lighter beers (like a cream ale) for the occasional mis-step.

but the cream of three crops ale from the recipe section is an amazing brew.

highly recommended.
 
dadshomebrewing said:
i also learned that darker, heavier, beers (like a porter or stout) are more forgiving than lighter beers (like a cream ale) for the occasional mis-step.

but the cream of three crops ale from the recipe section is an amazing brew.

highly recommended.
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I will have to check if out. My pipeline is going to be full for a few weeks now though. My fermentors are all going to be full for a couple weeks.
 
Have that recipe kegged. It's okay. Quaffable. Would have suited my tastes well when I was in college, but not a big fan on it these days.

I keep it on hand for BMC-loving friends, but would much rather have an APA or porter or something.
 
seems to me it will be a nice lawn mower beer, right about the time i pull the lawn mower out of storage. in April
 
I learned that with a little oil a wing capper is not actually a complete pain in the butt to use. After a year and a half of jamming and pushing one handle against my chest, pulling the other handle up and making sure the bottle didn't go flying just to open the capper, I was staring at a six pick of uncapped beer and a completely stuck capper. Thought "maybe I'll just try oiling it. Surely it won't help because this thing has sucked since I started brewing and surely it just sucks because why would I have had to oil anything coming out of the box?"

I guess I also learned that assuming something should work correctly out of the box is a bit optimistic.
 
nelven34 said:
I learned that with a little oil a wing capper is not actually a complete pain in the butt to use. After a year and a half of jamming and pushing one handle against my chest, pulling the other handle up and making sure the bottle didn't go flying just to open the capper, I was staring at a six pick of uncapped beer and a completely stuck capper. Thought "maybe I'll just try oiling it. Surely it won't help because this thing has sucked since I started brewing and surely it just sucks because why would I have had to oil anything coming out of the box?"

I guess I also learned that assuming something should work correctly out of the box is a bit optimistic.
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I found it works best to push the handles down until the jaws grab the bottle and then pick the whole thing up to complete the capping, holding the capper like you would if you were breaking a stick.

I broke a few bottles pushing the handles all the way down with the bottle on the counter. I didn't break any when capping this way though.
 

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