Finally took some pics of a Brew Day

For your viewing pleasure....

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010636&id=1487360331&l=db661f127a

Hope the link works, someday I'll be a premium supporter.

Anyhow, this is my Pale Ale. I hope it comes out good since the last couple have been riddled with infection. But I think going to SS pots for fermenters will have solved my problem.

Cheers

I have to join Facebook and log in to see the pics. What a disappointment.

The Pol said:

I have to join Facebook and log in to see the pics. What a disappointment.

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Sorry, just put a different link in, try again

What were you using for fermentors before?

What were you using to sanitize them?

I have never seen anyone ferment in SS pots before, this should be intersting to see.

Questions:

1. Are you really running that propane burner INSIDE YOUR HOUSE. Do you have a CO detector or am I just paranoid?

2. Are you really fermenting in big stainless steel pots with binder clips holding the lids on? That is simply awesome. How many batches have you done this way and what volume are the pots?

Otherwise, an entirely credulous brew day! Looks fun.

yeah i do run the propane burner in the house, but i do it within a couple of feet of the sliding glass door and run a fan to keep the air moving. Been doing it that way for about a year and a half now. No CO detector. I've never had an issue , so I don't worry about it much. With that said I would never do it that way in a tightly sealed house.

I just started using SS pots for fermenters, so we'll see how it goes. I don't anticipate any issues. I was using a 6.5g bucket before, but then I had about 4 infected batches, so I chucked it along with the rest of my plastic & nylon tubing. I use Iodophor as a Sanitizer. Wilserbrew actually gave me the idea of using SS pots, said he has had great luck with it.

The pot on the left is 6g's(Secondary) and the right one is 7g's(Primary). Got them from Austin Homebrew for $35 and $45 respectively, plus shipping of course.

Yankeehillbrewer said:

The pot on the left is 6g's(Secondary) and the right one is 7g's(Primary). Got them from Austin Homebrew for $35 and $45 respectively, plus shipping of course.

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I am curious as to why you didnt get some cheap carboys are go with a better bottle or an HDPE container for less than half the cost of the SS?

The Pol said:

I am curious as to why you didnt get some cheap carboys are go with a better bottle or an HDPE container for less than half the cost of the SS?

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After my infection issues, I pretty much lost confidence in using any plastic as a Fermenter, and i figure that I will most likely never have to replace these. For me, spending the extra coin for that peace of mind was well worth it. Now whether or not that holds any merit is yet to be seen, but I certainly feel better about using SS. My last primary had quite a few scratches in it(it was also old), and I think something got in there that I couldn't get it out. IMO, I won't have that problem with these SS pots, and i just really like the idea of using SS fermenters. I also like that they are very easy to dry hop in, and are simple to clean.

I see, I understand. I just went back to HDPE plastic, but I NEVER touch the inside of the fermentor. I ONLY soak in Oxy and sanitize with Star San. Also, being HDPE I just transfer my boiling hot wort into the fermentor to cool, which further sanitizes with heat as the wort cools.

I want to see updates here on these pots!

I will definitely keep you posted. I have a Pliney the Elder clone that is still Dry Hopping in the Secondary, it's got about a week to go, then it will probably sit in bottles for at least a month. This Pale ale should be drinkable in about 6 weeks, it will be getting a dose of Dry hops as well.

Pol, with this method, couldn't you just do your 60/90/100?!? min boil in the SS pot, cover it until cool or chill, then pitch your yeast and cover? no need to transfer, seems like a simple plan to me.

Chello said:

Pol, with this method, couldn't you just do your 60/90/100?!? min boil in the SS pot, cover it until cool or chill, then pitch your yeast and cover? no need to transfer, seems like a simple plan to me.

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Theoretically YES. Just use a hop sock.

My only question is what is keeping things out of the wort with that lid? What is keeping the O2 out? When it COOLS and shrinks, it sucks IN... in the HDPE it just sucks in the sides of the fermentor, would this pot just suck in air? Critters?

It seems much more akin to open fermentation..... perhaps the "loose bucket lid" brigade can chime in? Seems like the same concept, with the extra "sucking" boost if you cool in the pot.

Wow, dude don't ypu have room outside .. I can't believe you have the high btu propane burner firing inside,,, be careful man.

In the OP he sayes that he moved the burner outside, and has pics of it.

Moose777 said:

Wow, dude don't ypu have room outside .. I can't believe you have the high btu propane burner firing inside,,, be careful man.

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I heat up my strike and sparge water in the house, it is well ventilated(right next to the slider) and I keep a fan going. Never have had an issue. But I do my boil out on the back porch.

I'm actually starting to plan for building a brewhaus. A buddy of mine has a 20x20 steel building that has been dismantled and just sitting around. So, he's going to give it to me.

Not telling you what to do... but given that the porch is RIGHT there, why not heat the strike and sparge water out there? I'm just thinking about the worst-case scenario, you catch the house on fire - how you could probably justify using that burner on the porch but no way in hell are they going to compensate you if you're using that indoors.

Fermentation is underway, I've got a nice Krausen going. One thing I might try to do with these SS pots, is put some kind of food grade rubber gasket on the lid, and put some other type of clamp on there to hold the lid on. Then drill a hole for an airlock so I can see when the fermentation has begun. This way I won't have to take the lid off until I rack to secondary.

Minor update for those who care. I bottled my Pliney the Elder clone tonight that had been sitting in the Secondary for a month. Took a taste sample and didn't detect any off flavors, but this is a super hoppy brew so take that FWIW.

I cracked open the first bottle of this Pale Ale, and I couldn't be happier with the result. It's very well balanced and clean tasting. It has a very nice,smooth caramel taste as it hits the tongue, and finishes nicely with just the right amount of citrus from the Centennial.This is the first batch that used the SS kettles as Primary and Secondary. It's a little early to tell, but this could quite possibly be the best tasting beer I have made yet. It's just a couple days under 3 weeks in the bottle, and needs to carb up a little more.

Yankeehillbrewer said:

Been doing it that way for about a year and a half now. No CO detector. I've never had an issue , so I don't worry about it much.

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Unfortunately the issue that you would have is that you'd die. Just wanted to point that out.

edit: Just realized this thread was a few months old, so I guess the comment was aimed at anyone else reading this if you've moved everything outdoors already.

Glad to hear that your infection problems are gone.

And please don't die.

Yankeehillbrewer said:

Fermentation is underway, I've got a nice Krausen going. One thing I might try to do with these SS pots, is put some kind of food grade rubber gasket on the lid, and put some other type of clamp on there to hold the lid on. Then drill a hole for an airlock so I can see when the fermentation has begun. This way I won't have to take the lid off until I rack to secondary.

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I was just reviewing your pictures and agree that adding a foodgrade gasket and drilling a grommet hole would be a great idea. I would also suggest a second hole and grommet. The reason for this is: I would use one hole for the airlock of course, but the second hole would allow you to purge the pot or primary using co2 of any O2 if you had to remove the lid for any reason. This could be sealed up with an additional airlock or sometype of valve.

I would not use extreme pressure to purge, maybe .5 or 1 psi and let it run a few minutes, but it would ensure no O2 exposure when the lid was replaced.

Just my $0.02 worth.

Nice job overall though. I liked the pictures.

Salute!

bmckee56 said:

I was just reviewing your pictures and agree that adding a foodgrade gasket and drilling a grommet hole would be a great idea. I would also suggest a second hole and grommet. The reason for this is: I would use one hole for the airlock of course, but the second hole would allow you to purge the pot or primary using co2 of any O2 if you had to remove the lid for any reason. This could be sealed up with an additional airlock or sometype of valve.

I would not use extreme pressure to purge, maybe .5 or 1 psi and let it run a few minutes, but it would ensure no O2 exposure when the lid was replaced.

Just my $0.02 worth.

Nice job overall though. I liked the pictures.

Salute!

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I like that Idea. Thanks

I understand the concern everyone has with using the burner indoors. I'm not trying to be a smarta$$ here, but has anyone heard of someone dying from using one of these burners in a well ventilated area?

Carbon monoxide (CO) is the number one cause of poisoning deaths in the United States. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, "there are approximately 2,100 unintentional deaths from carbon monoxide (CO) every year in the U.S. and the use of CO Alarms could potentially prevent many of these fatalities." In addition, more than 10,000 CO injuries occur annually from this colorless, odorless and tasteless poison.

Carbon monoxide (CO) can be produced when burning any fuel: gasoline, propane, natural gas, oil, wood and coal. It is the product of incomplete combustion. Carbon monoxide can kill in minutes or hours depending on the level of CO in the air.

If CO is inhaled at damaging levels it can lead to breathing difficulties, impaired judgment and memory, damage to the nervous system, cardiac trauma, brain damage, coma and even death.

Personally, I know of some CO poisoning. Two years ago we had a huge windstorm that knocked out a lot of power on my area, and a guy ran his generator in his garage with the door completely open and the backdraft blew in through the door that went between the garage and the house, which was firmly closed. Out of a family of 5, ALL of them had to be hospitalized for CO poisoning.