Video of My Brewing Setup

[Bassman2003]

Hello,

I just posted a video overview of my brewing setup. I make these in the hopes that others' can see and gain ideas or inspiration for their own builds. This is a system that has been purpose built for Low Oxygen brewing but it is not limited to that approach. Anyway, hope it spurs discussion and helps anyone needing to make decisions. It is not geared towards high dollar spending either. I will be posting brewday videos going forward which will show it in action. (not trying to be a YouTuber though).

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

a video overview

From the video, I see the mash cap when heating strike water and while heating to a boil, but nothing while chilling. A couple of questions:

1. Is there less concern about oxygen pickup while cooling?
2. how much gap around the edge of the mash cap and the inside of the kettle is needed / recommended / too much? A partial screenshot from around 11:06 suggests that it doesn't need to be a "tight" fit, but how "loose" is "too loose"? (I have metal lid from a smaller kettle that might work for a 1st attempt).

​

And thanks for the video!

 

[Bassman2003]

Hello,

Since I use an immersion chiller, I can not use a cap until the chilling is over. I do put the cap on after chilling and am letting the trub settle for 20-40 minutes. Yes, as temperature decreases oxygen ingress slows down. So not as important. But it is also good for maintaining temps and keep leaves out!

Mash caps are best with as small of a gap as you can get and keep it floating. Larger gaps are fine though. It is all about surface area covered. With home made caps like the cap shown for the boil kettle, it is an effort to get close. I made a wood form to bang around but the pie crust effect just could not be avoided with my tools and talent.

I have a brew day video that is coming out soon that shows everything in action. This might clear up some questions.

 

[Climb]

Nice rig! Have you thought about adding check valves to your IC? It seems like you would need them to ensure the correct flow of the chilling water through the pair of coils. That and adding cam locks would the first thing I would change. Other than that, I really like your setup; very well thought out and very compact.
Can you comment on what you use for chilling water? The video did not cover that.

 

[Bassman2003]

Thanks! A check valve would be good. I made the "T"s on both ends to have a unified in and out hoping this would help ensure flow through both chillers. My pump is pushing the water through but it would be good to know. What would you think I would do if I found out both chillers were not getting adequate flow?

I can not use camlocks because the same tubing is used for mash recirc, lauter and chilling. I do not want more weight on the mash cap barb, so camlocks are a no go for me.

For chiller water I use ground water first, then some 3 gallon buckets of chilled water and/or ice recirculation.

 

[Climb]

If you plumbed your chillers in series, instead of parallel, you wouldn't need any check valves. If you want to keep the chillers in parallel, which I think would be more efficient at cooling, use a second pump; i.e. one pump per chiller. The small, cheap solar panel pumps, that use DC motors, should provide sufficient flow and lift (head height).

 

[Bassman2003]

Ok. How would you split the water supply to feed the 2nd pump without causing harm to the flow? I only bring water to the chiller from the Anvil Foundry spigot. Seems like 6 and 1/2 dozen of the other.

 

[Climb]

One option would be to use a submersible second pump that is placed inside the Anvil Foundry. Using a T configuration off the Anvil Foundry spigot might be another option.

 

[huckdavidson]

What model is the portable induction cooktop?

Do you stir the mash when underletting?

What is the measured DO of your mash?

Do you still use MBS, AA and/or BTB?

Have you found the LODO steps on a custom non-proprietary LODO system (vs. Stout) worth your while?

It will be interesting to see an entire brew day on that system.

 

[Bassman2003]

What model is the portable induction cooktop?

Do you stir the mash when underletting?

What is the measured DO of your mash?

Do you still use MBS, AA and/or BTB?

Have you found the LODO steps on a custom non-proprietary LODO system (vs. Stout) worth your while?

It will be interesting to see an entire brew day on that system.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304747087673?epid=21045890521&hash=item46f4578739:g:D6UAAOSwwnVj5iS2
I usually stir once right after the dough in. Maybe one more time right before Alpha or if I have 60%+ of wheat.

I do not have a D.O. meter. I borrowed one for a while to help dial in my system. The best judge is if your pre-boil hot break foam is pure white and if it has any teig/ crusty stuff. Outside of that it is discussion with other brewers and tasting the beer outcomes.

I only use Sodium Metabisulfite and a Brewtan B type substance. Can't go into any more detail.

I do not know much about the Stout systems. I just put together my system with goals in mind.

A hefeweizen video with a decoction (your favorite topic) has been shot. I will try to get it posted before Christmas.

 

[huckdavidson]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304747087673?epid=21045890521&hash=item46f4578739:g:D6UAAOSwwnVj5iS2

I thought you might have one of the bigger 5500W ones but that looks like a nice one.

https://www.amazon.com/Commercial-Induction-Cooktop-Industrial-Abangdun/dp/B0B4NXKZGV/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1XZO2YKH9E5HD&keywords=5000+watt+induction+cooktop&qid=1702486059&sprefix=5000+watt+induction+cooktop,aps,92&sr=8-3

I do not have a D.O. meter. I borrowed one for a while to help dial in my system. The best judge is if your pre-boil hot break foam is pure white and if it has any teig/ crusty stuff. Outside of that it is discussion with other brewers and tasting the beer outcomes.

How are hot break foam color and water that has no oxygen in it related?

I only use Sodium Metabisulfite and a Brewtan B type substance. Can't go into any more detail.

Why can't you go into more detail?

I do not know much about the Stout systems. I just put together my system with goals in mind.

How have you measured that it meets those goals?

A hefeweizen video with a decoction (your favorite topic) has been shot. I will try to get it posted before Christmas.

A nicely decocted 50/50 pils/wheat hefe with loads of caramelly, malty and melanoidany goodness is all the rage. No cheating with any munich, crystal or melanoiden malts!

 

[Bassman2003]

How are hot break foam color and water that has no oxygen in it related?



How have you measured that it meets those goals?



A nicely decocted 50/50 pils/wheat hefe with loads of caramelly, malty and melanoidany goodness is all the rage. No cheating with any munich, crystal or melanoiden malts!

The color is related because the result shows if you did a good job keeping oxygen out of the mash or not. If it is crusty, then the mash was oxidized. If it is white and not crusty, the mash was low in oxidation. This is for pale-ish type beers. I have yet to brew a stout or porter low oxygen, so I can not speak to those style. If you want to see my video on the same channel about 4 mashes there is a clear demonstration of the behavior.

I have not measured the oxygen levels as do not have a DO meter but have been brewing this way for four years and trying to keep track of the changes in the beers I make. Scientific - no. Is there evidence - yes. Do I care - no

But it is not about measurement. It is about flavor and how long the keg lasts. Low oxygen has had a bad rap because the measurement of oxygen was always the focus. The beer flavor and shelf life are the focus for me and I make these videos to show folks how easy it is if one cares to do it.

I am experimenting with decoction to see if I can create some more flavor. My method turned out to be easy so I will do it again but we will see if any flavor impact shows up.

 

[sibelman]

Your setup is truly elegant and amazingly compact, @Bassman2003.

Though quick disconnects such as camlocks might slightly speed hose changes, they add weight, complexity, and a bit of a cleaning concern. I use camlocks, but your video makes it look easy to use your arrangement with barbs and tool-free clamps.

I appreciate seeing an example of a mash cap in action, even though I have not embraced hot-side LODO aside from underletting and minimizing splashing. Your stirrer is also quite cool, and you indicate you see benefit to this. It could be interesting to hear more about that.

Though the imagined ideal for your dual-coil chiller is equal flow through the two coils, this is kinda abstract. To me, it doesn't matter much as long as you're getting good chiller performance. You could disconnect the outputs to visually compare the rates for the two coils (hypothesis: longer coil has more resistance so lower flow). But, really, why?

Thank you for taking the time to produce this video. It came out very well, and really shows off your system's features.

 

[Bassman2003]

Thank you very much. I am glad you liked the video and my system. The creation/building side of the hobby is something I enjoy.

The stirrer began its life as a mash stirrer but has been relegated to just chilling. It helps move the wort for chilling. Thanks for the input on the chiller. I agree. With my setup there is not much more I can do to increase the flow and going to the double coil improved the performance from a single. So I am ok with just letting it be.

 

[huckdavidson]

The color is related because the result shows if you did a good job keeping oxygen out of the mash or not. If it is crusty, then the mash was oxidized. If it is white and not crusty, the mash was low in oxidation.

Is there a scientific explanation or is this just something you're observing?

I have not measured the oxygen levels as do not have a DO meter but have been brewing this way for four years and trying to keep track of the changes in the beers I make. Scientific - no. Is there evidence - yes. Do I care - no

But it is not about measurement. It is about flavor and how long the keg lasts. Low oxygen has had a bad rap because the measurement of oxygen was always the focus. The beer flavor and shelf life are the focus for me and I make these videos to show folks how easy it is if one cares to do it.

So you're using sensory evaluation to validate the changes or upgrades made to your system?

I am experimenting with decoction to see if I can create some more flavor. My method turned out to be easy so I will do it again but we will see if any flavor impact shows up.

What is "your" method?

 

[Bassman2003]

Yes, there is a scientific explanation for everything in brewing, especially low oxygen brewing. I can not properly represent it here nor do I feel like I need to as I am not trying to convince or convert etc... I believe it is polyphenols that are used up in the mash by ROS. A low oxygen mash keeps these reactions from taking place.

Yes. Without a DO meter it is all I have along with discussions with other brewers.

No problem to discuss but you ask a lot of questions! I don't know if I want to take any bait here unless I can see you are not throwing spears.

 

[huckdavidson]

I can not properly represent it here

Is there a place where it is properly represented?

I believe it is polyphenols that are used up in the mash by ROS. A low oxygen mash keeps these reactions from taking place.

The hypothesis that mash polyphenols used up by the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in the same medium enable white hot break foam - may be part of the equation as well as Tieg formation, pH, grind size, dough in practices (underletting vs stirring), malt properties (analysis) such as protein and beta glucan contents, boil strength or velocity, etc...

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=32953.0
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7569455/

No problem to discuss but you ask a lot of questions! I don't know if I want to take any bait here unless I can see you are not throwing spears.

Those who present information should expect questions. The internet has enabled the presentation of speculation at random. In other words, people posting things for fun tends to add to the chaos and the need for clarification.

If you are going to present your decoction methods in the public domain expect some praise and some criticism but don't expect a nice melanoiden, malt and caramel laden wheat beer made with base malt only.

 

[Red over White]

Sensory can be a wonderful tool for judging hot side progress, if your cold side practices are constantly excellent. Some keg purging procedures are much, much better than others and closed xfers are a must. For example, even with trimmed gas tubes and a keg filled 99.99% full of starsan/sani clean there is oxygen left in the keg from the sanitizer that contained oxygen when pushed out using bottle gas that may contain some oxygen albeit tiny (the pros are very aware of this when packaging). Using the entire duration of the ferment to push out the sanitizer and completely purge the keg is a premium method that should be heavily considered. Honestly, I think homebrewers might have a slight advantage when kegging over the pros with this regard.

 

[Bassman2003]

Is there a place where it is properly represented?



The hypothesis that mash polyphenols used up by the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in the same medium enable white hot break foam - may be part of the equation as well as Tieg formation, pH, grind size, dough in practices (underletting vs stirring), malt properties (analysis) such as protein and beta glucan contents, boil strength or velocity, etc...

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=32953.0
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7569455/


Those who present information should expect questions. The internet has enabled the presentation of speculation at random. In other words, people posting things for fun tends to add to the chaos and the need for clarification.

If you are going to present your decoction methods in the public domain expect some praise and some criticism but don't expect a nice melanoiden, malt and caramel laden wheat beer made with base malt only.

Lets take a step back here. I have no idea how much you know to want to know nor your intentions, positive or negative. I am not here to dump facts about low oxygen brewing. The topic is an overall negative on this website and I am not presenting myself as an expert. Just sharing what I do and what little I know.

Clearly you already know a lot about the topic. By your list it seems you may be gaslighting a bit trying to set up some gotcha situations. Not what I am interested in.

The video I posted has nothing about decoction. The next video I will post shows me doing a decoction. I am not presenting a peer reviewed study to the Journal of Medicine... As I said, happy to discuss but the approach as if I owe you all the answers to a barrage of questions is a bit "internet-y" imho.

Yes there is a place and it is listed at the end of my video. No worries and lets keep talking, but it seems a bit one sided from my view.

 

[huckdavidson]

Lets take a step back here. I have no idea how much you know to want to know nor your intentions, positive or negative. I am not here to dump facts about low oxygen brewing. The topic is an overall negative on this website and I am not presenting myself as an expert. Just sharing what I do and what little I know.

Clearly you already know a lot about the topic. By your list it seems you may be gaslighting a bit trying to set up some gotcha situations. Not what I am interested in.

The video I posted has nothing about decoction. The next video I will post shows me doing a decoction. I am not presenting a peer reviewed study to the Journal of Medicine... As I said, happy to discuss but the approach as if I owe you all the answers to a barrage of questions is a bit "internet-y" imho.

Yes there is a place and it is listed at the end of my video. No worries and lets keep talking, but it seems a bit one sided from my view.

I'm sorry to hear you feel that way. Feel free to not answer my questions if you find them offensive. Questions are often the basis of conversations or redirections to resources that offer answers. A simple internet search provides some answers, which I've posted but quite often a good banter will help suss things out.

 

[Bassman2003]

I have answered your questions. I already know your negative stance on decoction from your recent other thread. I have only done one so far and that beer is not on tap yet. So there is not much to share.

Just curious, what are looking to suss out?

Banter is great, but I know nothing about your brewing or knowledge etc... Your questions are not offensive, it is the approach that is kind of off putting. Not much sharing going on. You will not get a technical debate about decoctions or low oxygen brewing from me. As that is what I see your questions leading up to. If I am wrong, please accept my apology and show your positive intentions.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

going back to reply #3

Mash caps are best with as small of a gap as you can get and keep it floating. Larger gaps are fine though. It is all about surface area covered. With home made caps like the cap shown for the boil kettle, it is an effort to get close. I made a wood form to bang around but the pie crust effect just could not be avoided with my tools and talent.

Thank you.

I have an approach for a mash cap in mind and will give it a try in a up-coming batch (probably this weekend).

 

[Bassman2003]

Just make sure it floats. Side walls of 2" are convenient which is why I like the SS baking pans for this use. But they are hard to find in larger sizes.

 

[huckdavidson]

I have answered your questions. I already know your negative stance on decoction from your recent other thread. I have only done one so far and that beer is not on tap yet. So there is not much to share.

Just curious, what are looking to suss out?

Banter is great, but I know nothing about your brewing or knowledge etc... Your questions are not offensive, it is the approach that is kind of off putting. Not much sharing going on. You will not get a technical debate about decoctions or low oxygen brewing from me. As that is what I see your questions leading up to. If I am wrong, please accept my apology and show your positive intentions.

You're a good man Bassman, keep up the good work.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

(mostly of topic, but didn't see a 'better' place to mention this): for my last batch of the year, I decided to give YOS, OxBlox, and my "Mac Gyver"d mash cap a try (the mash cap floated all the way through to the end of chilling). 1.75 gal into the fermenter with a half package of WLP001 (dry) at 67F. For the mash cap, I have an 11" diameter lid that fit inside the kettle (12" inside diameter) - I was able to make it float by using aluminum foil (12" wide) to create a 0.5" side wall around the kettle (yes, 2" side walls would have been safer and felt better).

 

[Bassman2003]

Great. Glad it worked but we need photo evidence next time!

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

we need photo evidence

12" diameter 4.0 gal kettle, 11" diameter lid (with handle!) from a different kettle, and aluminum foil (12" wide) to make the lid float.

So far, the 0.5" side walls, with an abundance of caution/care/patience, are working. So far.

The current batch is a 2.5 gal (into the fermenter) brown ale.

 

[Bassman2003]

Good improvisational skills! Search for "Team Far" baking pans on Amazon. That is what I purchased and it came in a set of three different sizes. One might fit your kettle.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Single use roasting pans (thick aluminum foil) are currently a "close out" item in a number of physical stores. I should be able to make a re-usable "boat" (with almost 2" sides) out of the 12" x 16.5 x 2.5 sized pan.

The "mash cap" helped with temperature control during YOS and mash. No loss of temperature in either step - normally I would expect to lose a couple of degrees for a 20 min YOS or a 60 min mash. Up next, I'll give the "mash cap" a try during a 30 min hop steep to help control temperature.

 

[Bassman2003]

It does help with temperature. Have you checked www.webrestaurantstore.com ? They have a lot of SS pot lids which can work if they match your kettle size.