What I did for beer today

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i'm curious? so only after 1.060 it becomes a stairway to heaven? (and that's a big one!) :mug:

Lol yeah the yeast were knocking the hydrometer around a bit they must've been really excited!

Edit: Now that I think about it that's when I switched the music from Pachelbels Canon in D to Ronny James Dio Holy Diver. It threw the yeast off their game for a minute.
 
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Brewed a simple pilsner today, just base malt(admiral pilsner malted local to me) and a 60min bitter hop addition. All went pretty well until I was about to remove the chiller and noticed it still looked cloudy. I had forgot to add whirfloc and yeast nutrient as I normally add it with a late hop addition and I did not have one for this beer. It sat for 2hours but still looked cloudy. Hard to tell from the first pic but the second one you can see it looks a little cloudy. Hoping lager will take care of any proteins the lack of whirfloc left behind.
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Brewed a simple pilsner today, just base malt(admiral pilsner malted local to me) and a 60min bitter hop addition. All went pretty well until I was about to remove the chiller and noticed it still looked cloudy. I had forgot to add whirfloc and yeast nutrient as I normally add it with a late hop addition and I did not have one for this beer. It sat for 2hours but still looked cloudy. Hard to tell from the first pic but the second one you can see it looks a little cloudy. Hoping lager will take care of any proteins the lack of whirfloc left behind.
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protein? add some gluco and call it a 'admirable keto lager'! or just tell yourself it's a frosted glass! ;)

edit: at any rate better then fish guts that'sinyourglass.... ;)
 
protein? add some gluco and call it a 'admirable keto lager'! or just tell yourself it's a frosted glass! ;)

edit: at any rate better then fish guts that'sinyourglass.... ;)
never used isinglass but knowing what it is I dont think I want to even though it drops out and you dont drink that part. I was a little disappointed as the wort was looking very pale. If it stays cloudy I will hit with gelatin and see if that will clear it up. I dont like using gelatin either as it smell like cow crap when you heat it up.
 
Ha, not sure what I'm being brave about, but I'll take the compliment :)
Given that I can't easily maintain mash temps on my system, and I was doing a step mash when it was unseasonably cold, that whole process was an adventure and I had to end up doing an impromptu "no-sparge" batch just to get the main mash temp in the 150's. I think it's time to upgrade...
The grodziskie, although I've never had one, I really like the idea of that beer, but I'm not brave enough to tie up 25% of my taps with a full keg of the stuff. I need to think seriously about getting a 2.5 gallon keg for things like grodziskie, barleywines, smoked porters, Burton Ales, and my hibiscus wheat. I'm missing out on a lot of beers that I enjoy, but not 5gallons worth of enjoyment.

Regarding the un-intentional no-sparge mash, provided your numbers got in the ballpark, it's no big thing. I prefer no-sparging anything around 1.043 or under. If you're using software, I think most of them have an "adjust for equipment temps" function, I know Beersmith does. Very handy!
 
Part two of garage cleaning done; went after the floor with plenty of hot water, fabuloso, deck brush, sweat, and swear words. I usually do a mop after a brew day but constantly walking through the garage with less than clean shoes/boots/slippers leaves some nastiness that a quick mop won't get. I'm drenched in sweat and TIRED. Also moved my "exercise" bike (just my road bike mounted on one of them things that turns it into a stationary bike) out here to mock me for not getting enough exercise; maybe I'll use it now that I'll see it several hours a day. And sent a few videos of the dogs playing to the husband in Vegas. A productive day. Oh, and beer drinking.
 
The grodziskie, although I've never had one, I really like the idea of that beer, but I'm not brave enough to tie up 25% of my taps with a full keg of the stuff. I need to think seriously about getting a 2.5 gallon keg for things like grodziskie, barleywines, smoked porters, Burton Ales, and my hibiscus wheat. I'm missing out on a lot of beers that I enjoy, but not 5gallons worth of enjoyment.

Regarding the un-intentional no-sparge mash, provided your numbers got in the ballpark, it's no big thing. I prefer no-sparging anything around 1.043 or under. If you're using software, I think most of them have an "adjust for equipment temps" function, I know Beersmith does. Very handy!
Ah, I see. Yeah, I have a 3 gal keg for stuff I don't want to commit 5 gallons to, but this was a full-go. I only missed my target by 3 points I think, so all-in-all satisfied with that. I love smoke, so no worries there. It's going to lager/condition for a bit before it gets on tap regardless.
 
Like many I’m on a quest to make better, clearer beer. So I bought the BouncerMD w/ screen assortment and a SS QD, I’ll be able to pump filtered beer/wort direct to my fermenter. This is a new step for me. Brewing Monday, only question how fine to filter, game time decision.
 

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Received a group text from my informal brew club that our next group brewday is set for June 4th. We've done four of these so far, each one is a celebration of good friends, brewing, food, sharing our beers, and just a lot of fun. Got a few weeks to decide what I want to brew this time, and shot a challenge to my buddies; each of us brews something we've never done before. For me that would be either a saison or a hefeweizen. Leaning to the hefe because I haul the wort home before pitching yeast, and it won't be warm enough for a saison. Cannot wait!!
 
Never brewed with wheat malt before. Any advice? Seems pretty standard except for the crush.
I have a dumb wheat beer brewing joke. I don't brew many wheat beers, but I do kick out a couple each spring. Each year, I'm geeked about brewing an amazing hefe or wit! Whoohooo! I then start brewing the damned thing. By the time I'm finished I swear I'll never brew another #()$*%&@ wheat beer ever again!!!

Dumb joke, to be sure, but there is a kernel of truth within it.

Regarding actual advice, it depends on your system, sparging technique, and the percentage of wheat you're using. When I brew a wheat beer I like to go 60% wheat, so I find that rice hulls are helpful. They aren't necessary, though. Just take it easy on your runoff. You get into trouble when you try to push it.
 
View attachment 767753Bottled my first stout. I’m looking forward to pouring a bottle in a week or so, for the sake of testing the result, you know.
I'm usually a IPA Ale drinker but brewed (sorry) Russian Imperial Stout Old Rasputin clone and have brewed it again a couple times since. Very good. Bottled it too as I do extended condition it in bottles I still have 6 500 ml bottles left I bottled it 12/04/21.
 
I'm usually a IPA Ale drinker but brewed (sorry) Russian Imperial Stout Old Rasputin clone and have brewed it again a couple times since. Very good. Bottled it too as I do extended condition it in bottles I still have 6 500 ml bottles left I bottled it 12/04/21.

No need to be sorry, a Russian Imperial Stout is a fantastic BRITISH style they created for the King's cousin, the Czarina Catherine the Great and her court. ;)
 
Yeah, it's hard to brew outside when the rate of rainfall exceeds your boil off rate. It's proper lousy out there. I feel cheated that I'm going to have to buy my first bag of ice of the year to get down to 50F. On a day like today? Not fair!
Yeah, and it’s too windy to use a pop up and tough it out.
 
It's only brew day #3 so far this year. I am hoping that as things around here calm down, more can be on the schedule. Beer #3 is a 50/50 Wheat/Maris Otter Saison with Agave Nectar, Hibiscus Tea and Pink Peppercorns. I used Napoleon and the cultures from 4 decent to good saisons (Russian River, Allagash, Dupont and the super-famous, I Forgot and Threw Away My Notes Brewing), so I am hoping for tart and peppery. It was only supposed to be 4%, but efficiency was really good and it will be over 4.5%; the struggle is real.
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Also grabbed a taste of the Wild-Fermented Passionfruit Cider aging in the Rum Barrel. It was an old barrel, so not much character, but the cider is super tart and smooth. The Muscats are going nuts this year, also.
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Yesterday was a busy day. Brewed my American Strong in the morning, during the boil I bottled three of the entries for a competition coming up. Then I got a wild hair and went to local casino, with some money I had left over from last week; walked in with $200 and walked out with $2000. This never happens to me! Gave husband some to keep him quiet (something tells me there will be two new bowling balls in the house later this week), and tomorrow will go to LHBS to get more grain, and possibly another SS 15g kettle to replace my keggle. Keggle is perfectly fine, but another kettle like the one I already have will make my brewstand look more symmetrical. Hoping one of my brew buddies will give the keggle a good home.
 
It was only supposed to be 4%, but efficiency was really good and it will be over 4.5%; the struggle is real.



yeah i hate that too!, i'd throw a kombucha scoby on it to get that ABV down! :mug:

wish i could say i did something out of the oridinary, just got some barley soaking. i wouldn't mind if it's 9%, but probably only 8%...
 
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Stopped at LHBS to drop off three of the five entries for upcoming competition; last two need bottles, which I am working on providing right now (burp). Bought grain, and a few small things I needed like some hop bags, CaCl, starsan, a fermonster lid wrench, and a new spray bottle. He no longer carries the exact 15g kettle I have, so I bought something else that I've wanted for a while; a 2.5g corny keg. First brand new keg I've ever bought, all of my 5g kegs are pre-owned (and look it). I want to start making smaller test batches, hate bottle-carbing, and I also don't like having 5g of cider tying up a keg for months. And it is adorable, so short and squat. Still looking online for another 15g kettle; morebeer has one that might work since it will only be used as an HLT. Don't need a thick one for that, their cheap $169 one will do just fine.
 
I assume, since you are sterilizing everything, you don't need to refrigerate the wort?
I wonder if it would be feasible to:

1) Make a higher gravity wort and later dilute with distilled water when making a yeast starter (eg 1.080 1quart jar diluted with equal-ish amount of distilled to have a 2qt starter between 1.036-1.040). Hey, I just invented “Propper” Starters :)

2) Waterbath process the jars (like canning tomatoes, etc) instead of using a pressure cooker. SWMBO would be none too plussed w/ another kitchen contraption filling the cabinets.

Also curious about shelf life. Might have to do a smell test

Cheers and thx for the idea!
 
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I wonder if it would be feasible to:

1) Make a higher gravity wort and later dilute with distilled water when making a yeast starter (eg 1.080 1quart jar diluted with equal-ish amount of distilled to have a 2qt starter between 1.036-1.040). Hey, I just invented “Propper” Starters :)

2) Waterbath process the jars (like canning tomatoes, etc) instead of using a pressure cooker. SWMBO would be none too plussed w/ another kitchen contraption filling the cabinets.

Also curious about shelf life. Might have to do a smell test

Cheers and thx for the idea!
I believe you really need to pressure can it to get the wort up to 245 to kill botulism spores.

I did some stronger wort and diluted it down with spring water and that worked fine. It is easier for me to can at the desired gravity than to mess around with diluting wort.
 

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