How did you get what you're pouring to show up on the KegSmarts? So far it is just an expensive display screen for me....
Thanks!
The heat mat only wraps around 3/4ths of the way. I use the cozy to hold it in place, then wedge the probe between the cozy and the keg, "opposite" the mat in a manner of speaking.
Thanks for the info!
So far, Buffalo Sweat, Cocoa Vanilla Porter and LA-31 Bière Pâle. The first two were good for what they were. The Buffalo Sweat was my first brew ever, in life. So it was good but I think I messed something up as it was a little metallic tasting. But I was so excited that I didn't let it bother me.
The second beer, the porter, kind of fell into the same category as it was the first time I ever force carbonated something in the corny keg and served it through the tap. It was good too but I'm still working on the patience curve. I think I should have left it alone for a few more days before pouring.
The LA-31 was a disaster, I tried to burst carbonate it at 30 psi, then lower it to serving pressure but I messed something up. Even after a few days of sitting at 42 degrees and 11 psi I got glasses and glasses of foam.
I have the Barbarian Red Ale carbonating right now and will be excersizing extreme patience before diving in.
Yet, PicoBrew's recommendation is to wait for force carbonation to be done in what...24hrs?
Personally I never Keged before, I always bottled my beers, and 2 weeks after the priming sugars, they were typically done for most styles. 48hrs in the fridge. I wonder if force carbonation should be the same waiting period?
Hummm indeed. Would it be an overkill to deep clean after each, or second brew?
Pico says to deep clean every three brews, I see no reason to deviate from that yet.
I'm not surprised buffalo sweat was sweet, most milk stouts are and the description describes it as sweet. The metallic taste is new to me, have never heard of that off taste. How high were your temps, and fast or standard fermentation?
Definitely use fast fermentation if you cannot control your temp in the standard range. To me that is the main benefit of the fast fermentation adapter, allowing fermentation at higher temps than the yeast is recommended at, which causes off flavors. They should call it the hot fermentation adapter lol.
Yes, that sticker is a major pain. I put it on a cooled keg and it still left half behind. I now have a razor scraper in my brew tools, takes it off pretty quick. I've seen others recommend goof-off but I don't want to put that greasy chemical on my keg, razor scraper works fine for me. I don't know about reusing because it will be on there during the boil of your next brew, which I imagine is why they give us a new one with each pack.
This is the part you need to covert the regular to ballock.
https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Search.aspx?k=L10
I've barely got 3 batches through my Pico (3rd still fermenting) and I'm already thinking about moving up to a Grainfather for larger batches ipe:
I've barely got 3 batches through my Pico (3rd still fermenting) and I'm already thinking about moving up to a Grainfather for larger batches ipe:
I've barely got 3 batches through my Pico (3rd still fermenting) and I'm already thinking about moving up to a Grainfather for larger batches ipe:
Everything I've ordered has been received within a week. Pico units, extra kegs, and Pico packs are starting to show up on amazon with prime shipping, things are only going to get better.
Me thinks the logical progression is the zymatic. but I've brewed large batches in an e-biab rig I built like the GF in the past. All the extra equipment required, and storing it all, grinding cleaning weighing, just got tiresome. Not to mention the TIME, brew DAYS are now brew while doing other things. My house and wife were happy when the equipment, fermentation chambers, and grain silos were gone, glad I kept the kegerator though! The Pico was absolutely what I needed all along, and I love the batch size, keeps the taps rotating. 5 gallons is a lot of beer, especially when your not crazy about one on tap and have one ready. But that's just my experience.
Here's a picture of my current setup for fast fermentation. 3.5 gallon bucket from meijer, aquarium heater, aquarium pump, and aquarium temperature probe. Surround the fermenting keg with water, heat and circulate. I am on my second batch now and I have found that I can maintain temperature within 1 degree of setpoint. Pretty easy and cheap solution for anyone interested. I purchased the heater, pump and probe on ebay for less than $20 total (with shipping) and I think the bucket was only $3 or $4.
What kind of pump and heater did you get/can you recommend for this kind of setup? Also do you think water circulation is needed?
Here is the heater I bought: http://www.ebay.com/itm/25W-Aquariu...-Adjustable-/262104639039?hash=item3d06a7663f
And pump: http://www.ebay.com/itm/50-GPH-Aqua...-Hydroponic-/251722895695?hash=item3a9bda914f
I haven't tested without the pump so I'm not sure if it's required. However, it works so well with it that I plan to keep using it.
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