What I did for beer today

moved my lager from the cold room to the warm room for a diacetyl rest.

Took a three day weekend so spent this morning racking my Two Hearted clone and bottling my American Wheat.

Brewing up a 5.5 gallon batch of a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone! Heating up the sparge water now for the second runnings.

Today I worried about my airlock not bubbling fast enough for my liking

What I did for beer Saturday... Waited 5 hours in an endless line for Pliny the Younger. Damn fool thing to do...

I remembered my HBT password.

sirmichael said:

Today I worried about my airlock not bubbling fast enough for my liking

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In my experience. Doesn't matter how many brews you've brewed. The sound of glup, glup, glup airlock activity in the beginning of fermentation is pretty sweet!

But also have come to know glup, glup, glup or lack thereof doesn't mean a whole lot. Specific gravity readings from a hydrometer will explain what's really going on and it is best to not disturb the yeast god's while they are working.

Ensure the yeast are comfortable, the temps not to warm or cold. Take a reading around a week or so into fermentation so you know everything is ok and then let them go.

Patience is one of the keys to making beer.

gave my boss a bottle of old foghorn.
i'm still a few days out from dry hopping

Cleaned and de-labled some empties from the bottle depot and day dreamed my next batch.

changed out the ice in my ghetto fabulous swamp cooler where my altbier is happily fermenting away.

I ordered the grains from Northern Brewer for my next 2 batches, a pale ale that I will hop to with in an inch of its life and a low abv saison I want to make using locally produced honey along with some other stuff. I also received my grain mill today for Adventures in Hombrewing, haven't had a chance to try it out yet but I will buy some grain this weekend so I can mess with the setting. And I finally decided to order a portable kegging set up for taking beer parties and family gatherings using my birthday money.

Brewed a Racer 5 clone today. Everything went smooth.

Completely dismantled the manifold in my mash tun to clean out all the nooks and crannies

Went to LHBS and talked to owner about a big a Barley Wine brew day in April. He also hooked me up with some old bottles he cleaned out of a trailer. Also talked about getting a grain order for a friend and I. Posted on HBT and hopefully helped a few newbies.Talked with Friend about Home Brew Competition here in town in April and what brews to get going or stop drinking to have for it.

KEG
Coffee Stout
Bourbon Barrel Aged Black Imperial IPA
Wheat
Irish Red
Blackberry Cobbler Ale
Applewood Smoked IPA

Bottle
everything in keg + Wit, Cherry Choc Milk Stout, Robust Porter, German Rye, Dark Saison

Primary
10gal Flanders Red
10gal Barley Wine
3.5gal Small from Barley Wine

Secondary
Heavy Brown Ale aged on Spanish Cedar

Sniffed my airlock and dreamed of filling my keg it can't come soon enough!

Bottled my first batch tonight. Good times! Cant wait to pour the first one into a glass...

Decided to brew an IPA this week, sampled my bourbon barrel stout, delabled some bottles from Superbowl festivities and caught myself wishing my life away hoping February 17th would come faster so I can RDWHAHB. I'm waiting for my English Brown Ale to condition and reach it's yummiest. It's my first, you see.

Brewed a 5gal extract of what I call Caiden Shuffle. It is basically a Belgian Wit with some tweaks. The current one in the fermenter has White Labs 400 for yeast. I also have a Wyeast smack pack for the next batch. Curious to see the difference. This is everyone's favorite so if it appears that I brew this one a lot, it is because it disappears pretty fast.

Organized mineral wool and materials to construct insulation for mash tun keggle tomorrow. Researched threads on mash tun screens DIY.

Nadda other that a quick peek at my Dick Trickle IPA..........smelled like heaven after a rainstorm. Can't want to get it bottled and carbed.

Brewed the SWMBO's favorite for her birthday next month. She still haven't noticed. Hopefully it will be a pleasant surprise.

NB AG breakfast stout

Cleaned labels off of 40 new (to me) pints. Man I love Oxyclean.

Just kegged a blonde ale and washed some yeast.

First step of an attempt to harvest Bell's ale yeast.

i assembled a 10 g cooler mash tun.

Killed my keg...

stepped up some yeasts I am bottle harvesting/ growing from white labs tube bottom.

Pacman from Captain something ale
from Founders Dirty Bastard
From bells two hearted ale
California
Burton
English
Some German dark wheat beer

I received my portable faucet in the mail as well as a secondary fermenter lid for my keg I am getting. I also used a gift certificate I got for my birthday at one of my favorite liquor stores. Picked up some DFH Noble Rot, Six Point Resin, DFH World Wide Stout, and Lost Abbey Red Barn Ale. I am sad World Wide Stout won't be brewed this year so I am trying to accumulate enough to have one bottle a month.

kegging, racking, bottling, drinking, pizza-ing

stbnj said:

I received my portable faucet in the mail as well as a secondary fermenter lid for my keg I am getting. I also used a gift certificate I got for my birthday at one of my favorite liquor stores. Picked up some DFH Noble Rot, Six Point Resin, DFH World Wide Stout, and Lost Abbey Red Barn Ale. I am sad World Wide Stout won't be brewed this year so I am trying to accumulate enough to have one bottle a month.

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+1 on the noble rot. was kind of melancholy over the fact that the keg was kicked at the local tavern. samischlaus is still raging though...

Samichlaus... Oh, lord, has that beer wrecked a few evenings for me. It always SEEMS like such a good idea to start a night of heavy drinking with such a great quality beer. Then after you switch to something more survivable, the sledgehammer drops!

LHBS run, and making a couple starters now.

Piratwolf said:

Samichlaus... Oh, lord, has that beer wrecked a few evenings for me. It always SEEMS like such a good idea to start a night of heavy drinking with such a great quality beer. Then after you switch to something more survivable, the sledgehammer drops!

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our beer bar dropped four locos for joose and now they don't even have that!- if i don't want to stumble to a place that serves liquor, my sledge is a ball peen, at best!! but you are correct to start with the good stuff, my good sir...

Picked up ingredients for my Saison and a weldless kettle valve at the LHBS then bottled an IPA to free up a carboy. Brew day is next weekend.

Well went to plumbing supply house, got all parts for a in line water heater to boost hot tap to 160 for mash. Then threaded all the pipes and fittings together at end of day. Dropped off HB to guys at local beer store. Posted to a few great Threads. enjoyed 5 brews so far. Pic before and After.

Buying a Keggle today - Yay!

Transferred my lager to the secondary. All I need now is some way to keep it cold when it isn't already cold outside.

Lightly dry hopped my AAA.

Insulated my mash 13.3 gal keggle with 1.5 inches of mineral wool with aluminum flashing while consuming multiple cream ales.