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What I did for beer today
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Well got the CO2 refilled but then get a call from the brother in law that he and his girlfriend and their son, who were over last weekend just tested positive for Covid 
and they are all double 
...so needless to say wife is in a uproar, which means I'm in a uproar, running around 4 local cities all day trying to get tested. No dice, had to spend hours on phone with CVS powers that be to get tested tomorrow. So today no beer kegging as planned, no football, no freaking ice cream and raining on me,wife and son only Oktoberfest party I had planned with authentic Schnitzel, bratwurst,knackwurst Speatzel knodel and festbier 
. Covid I hate you. I've been waiting 4 months to keg....
and they are all double ...so needless to say wife is in a uproar, which means I'm in a uproar, running around 4 local cities all day trying to get tested. No dice, had to spend hours on phone with CVS powers that be to get tested tomorrow. So today no beer kegging as planned, no football, no freaking ice cream and raining on me,wife and son only Oktoberfest party I had planned with authentic Schnitzel, bratwurst,knackwurst Speatzel knodel and festbier . Covid I hate you. I've been waiting 4 months to keg....
I brewed an IPA today (one of the three IPAs I nabbed last Spring due to Mr. SeanJWalker). It's the Fresh Squished kit and it certainly was citrusy on its way into the fermenter. It was a nice easy day, hit all my numbers and didn't even spill anything on the floor.
Brewed a Mexican Lager. First time using my new (to me) grain mill, first decoction, first time using Motueka hops. Hit all my numbers exactly as planned and got it into the fermentor in about 5 hours. Good brew day.
edit: also first time using flaked corn adjunct. lots of firsts!
edit: also first time using flaked corn adjunct. lots of firsts!
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Oktoberfest ends tomorrow so I wasn't gonna let the spectre of possibly Covid positive ruin the whole day. I went ahead and made authentic dishes all imported from Germany and made sure I had a decent German Hefe. ProBst !
Getting to be a trend Yesterday did another double brew day, two full volume half size batches(2gals). Two small ones is not much longer than 1 full size 5gal batch as the water heats pretty fast and can over the two to have ready to start after the other is done boiling, Getting better at coordinating the two brews.
Today being entertained by beer they both seem to doing just fine without my help.
Today being entertained by beer they both seem to doing just fine without my help.
I am getting my brew day, boil is almost done. Added some raw rye to invent a Polish IPA in honor of my dad. He needs a boost because the Steelers have been dogging it. A day where I don't have to put out metaphorical fires and just get to do something like make beer is a beautiful day.
Amusingly enough, the family all chimed in on my brew day, "About F****in' time!"
I am apparently unpleasant when I do not get to make stuff. Who knew.
Love the Hop Stopper 2.0!!!!!!
Amusingly enough, the family all chimed in on my brew day, "About F****in' time!"
I am apparently unpleasant when I do not get to make stuff. Who knew.
Love the Hop Stopper 2.0!!!!!!
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The Boddington pre-1970 clone is fermenting away. The Manchester yeast may be doing a number on this one. In my 6 gallon fermenter, there is an inch or so of krausen.But the wierd thing this bug chunks of yeast are rising fromthe bottom and rising to the top. Looks like a slow motion snoglobe. never seen yeasties acting this was before.
Pub does that. Flocculant blobs hitching a ride with CO2 methinks. More fun to stare at than the usual swirling action.
I don't recall that behavior from that yeast but in my notes for the starters I see it is one that flocks heavy like egg drop soup and a note about cottage cheese so that does not surprise me.
edit: forgot a not
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orionol73
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Bottled my batch of Kiwi Express IPA, bottom of the bucket tasted great!
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Did my first Essex ale. Came out decently. Of course, at the same time I also tried using 40% of the grist with Biscuit just 'cause I had leftovers to use up. That was too much biscuit and overpowered the yeast.
Word. Beer to the rescue.
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Kegged a pale. Acquaintance has SIL thinking of commercially growing hops, gave me some to test brew and give feedback.
Feedback was pretty brutal. I think he picked way early and did not dry very well. They were Cascade (he said) with no aroma, gave the beer no flavor, I added 2oz Cascade pellets at FO to try and save 5g of pale. When I checked after 12d there was still almost no hop aroma/flavor so I dry hopped 3d with 1oz ea Cascade and Azacca. When I kegged today it had an really interesting tropical piney stone fruitish almost coconut thing going.
And in my limited 200 batch, 8 yr brewing, was the first ever time I dry hopped anything. (we are not going to discuss the dry hopping i did with the thermometer that time, dropping it through the grommet hole and just leaving it until I bottled)
Feedback was pretty brutal. I think he picked way early and did not dry very well. They were Cascade (he said) with no aroma, gave the beer no flavor, I added 2oz Cascade pellets at FO to try and save 5g of pale. When I checked after 12d there was still almost no hop aroma/flavor so I dry hopped 3d with 1oz ea Cascade and Azacca. When I kegged today it had an really interesting tropical piney stone fruitish almost coconut thing going.
And in my limited 200 batch, 8 yr brewing, was the first ever time I dry hopped anything. (we are not going to discuss the dry hopping i did with the thermometer that time, dropping it through the grommet hole and just leaving it until I bottled)
Put a bulkhead through the hump in my kegerator to move the CO2 outside. Now I can get a 5 gal in front and 3.5 gal on the hump. Also installed a secondary reg so I can run two different pressures inside plus have an open reg outside for purging and carbing in the fermentor.
And finally, since I had the kegerator torn apart, I routed my temp sensor wires through the power cord grommet so the door seals 100% again.
Pretty good afternoon project with minimal headaches. Now I just need to wait another week for my pale ale to carb up.
And finally, since I had the kegerator torn apart, I routed my temp sensor wires through the power cord grommet so the door seals 100% again.
Pretty good afternoon project with minimal headaches. Now I just need to wait another week for my pale ale to carb up.
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Finally managed to squeeze an hour and a half to re lubricate the keg post seals and give the taps and tap lines a good cleaning. Just reattached the airlines to the co2 tank which was refilled a week ago, been completely closed off but it's only showing 1/2 full on my 1 year old Northern Brewer double guage ? Did the soapy bubbles test for leaks and nada so I'm guessing the guage is faulty ? Any way to calibrate the guage needles ??? Freaking hate to fork over for another guage and or tank as these were bought new a year ago!!!
It seem many people's gauges don't work well for identifying the amount of CO2 left. Mine seem to track pretty close.
I would put the cylinder on a fairly accurate scale to see if it matches the gauge before doing anything.
What is “half full”? The high pressure (tank gauge) reads the vapor pressure in the head space, which should remain fairly constant (≈830 psi @ 70° F) until all the liquid has boiled and there is only vapor left. The green “range” on most gauges is just for looks. The only real way to tell is by weight as @ba-brewer mentions above. When you see the pressure needle start to head “south” or it’s in the red “order gas” range, it will be out of gas very quickly.
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When I pressurized the empty tanks, to keep out bacteria from the seals I'm guessing, until I fill with beer, the gauge is barely above the red warning to"refill with gas soon". If I recall the 1st time I did this, the capacity reading was much higher. I've only kegged 4 batches on the 1st co2 fill so I'm no expert.
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And I'm meant to write 1/4 full, not 1/2
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How much should a 5 lbs co2 tank weigh empty vs full ?? Wouldn't it depend on the tank being steel or aluminum?? I have no idea and sorry if I'm off on the wrong track/discussion
The tank will have a tare weight stamped on it, the total will be that plus 5 lbs when “full.” You may find full means 4.5 lbs or so because some places don’t give you good fills.
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Thank you!!
gotta get some kegs soon 
Hell yeah looks great!
Thanks! Going to dry hop with zeus Cascade and Amarillo!
Kegged the Robust Porter I brewed last month, while mashing a Stout. OG .066, FG .014, 6.8% ABV. Beersmith predicted a bit less. The sample tasted really good.
I am really putting my home-built glycol chiller through its paces today. Did a two day free-rise Diacetyl rest. Decided to cold crash and dry hop in the fermenter, bringing it down to 40F. Will hold it for two days and then closed-transfer into a purged keg.
I washed the balloon out with starSan and filled it with CO2 from the tank. Hopefully this works like I plan. May need to invest in cold-crash guardian.
EDIT: one balloon fill emptied by the time the temp hit 50F. Refilled the balloon, so we’ll see if it absorbs it all before it hits 40F.
I washed the balloon out with starSan and filled it with CO2 from the tank. Hopefully this works like I plan. May need to invest in cold-crash guardian.
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Mad scientist stuff beyond my realm of reality
Brewed a Mosaic/Simcoe IPA today. A nice straightforward brew day, even got a few extra efficiency points so I did not have to add sugar.
A few days back I went to refill my CO2 tank and there was sign taped to the door saying "no CO2 today". Luckily the next day they had it again as I was down to about half pound of CO2. They said it was national thing, anyone else seeing places out of CO2?
A few days back I went to refill my CO2 tank and there was sign taped to the door saying "no CO2 today". Luckily the next day they had it again as I was down to about half pound of CO2. They said it was national thing, anyone else seeing places out of CO2?
It was a beautiful fall day to brew a porter!
They said the same thing at my place too running thin on the CO2.
I had not notice anything about so I thought it was strange. I did google it but could not find anything obvious but some older things from the UK, Never really thought about where the CO2 comes from but in the UK story they said it is a by product from fertilizer production.
I first thought I should start spunding or natural carbing to save on CO2 but I think a smaller spare cylinder might not be too bad to have just incase.
Oh, and I dumped my stir bar into my fermenter.
Trying to find the sweet spot between how cold my glycol needs to be in order to get to and hold temp for the cold crash.
If I can get this dialed in on my ales, then I should be able to do a proper lager.
If I can get this dialed in on my ales, then I should be able to do a proper lager.
BrewMan13
Whole Nother Level Brewing
Been there, done that!Oh, and I dumped my stir bar into my fermenter.
Had to buy a new stir bar for the next batch just because of it....
Finally kegged my fantasy draft beer for The Homebrew club. Dry hopping with Cocoa puffs or "dry puffing" did the trick for the Cocoa puffs flavor, and the sabro also complimented it haha. My base was a Belgian beer with Belgian yeast. It actually tastes like Cocoa Puffs and it's a pretty decent beer honestly I wasn't sure what would really happen haha.
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