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I found an article about making tinctures using a sous vide. 3 hours at 135F to produce a finished product (supposedly). On the left is a oak tincture and the right is cinnamon.
What I did for beer today
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Ordered more Clarity Ferm....probably gonna pull the trigger on a 1L bottle after the first of the year, as the 10mL homebrew vials are dumb. Also, got my ingredients for my Belgian Golden Strong, just need to pencil in a brew day by the end of the month. 1388 is currently spinning up in preparation.
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Yesterday…
Kegged up the Festivusbier brewed 3 weeks ago. Fermented half with 34/70 and half with Cellar Science German. Finished at the same gravity and taste/look identical.
Then…. Brewed a dark mild.
Today…. Dry hopped the WCIPA/Hazy(ish) Pale I brewed last weekend.
Kegged up the Festivusbier brewed 3 weeks ago. Fermented half with 34/70 and half with Cellar Science German. Finished at the same gravity and taste/look identical.
Then…. Brewed a dark mild.
Today…. Dry hopped the WCIPA/Hazy(ish) Pale I brewed last weekend.
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BrewMan13
Whole Nother Level Brewing
Kicked the pumpkin, so officially tapped the oatmeal stout & barleywine (the latter definitely fermented some in the keg, but doesn't taste infected). Prepped to brew over the weekend, but stuff happened and I never got to it. It's just as well, as the yeast is taking a long time to wake up in the starter. Also sent in my entry to a Belgian style only competition.
Score high and take a ribbon!
Well not even my best beer( @grampamark Alt recipe) won anything, but it did do pretty well with a score of 38. It is kind of funny sometime, I have had a beer score in the 40s without a ribbon then another beer with a lower score wins a ribbon. Just depends what is in mix at a particular contest sometimes. I am always happy if any of my beers win a ribbon, but a "I would like to drink a few pints of this beer" comment is almost as good as a ribbon too.
My beer task today:
Later tonight I will drink the extra bottles I filled when filling the contest entries and see if I can corelate the comments. No ribbons but all did advance to mini BOS rounds in their judging so they were at least up for consideration.
Just a while ago cranked the ferment fridge up to 68° to help the latest WF lager finish out; krausen dropped after only 3 days. Overpitching much? maybe. Using the heat lamp to get it where I want it, then will switch to the heat mat because reasons. Also waiting impatiently for results of latest competition; judging was Sunday. This is a Pro-Am that I am keenly interested in. And finally made the decision to at least attend a homebrewclub meeting; the one run by the owner of the LHBS I go to. Might join, might not; but it's about time I did something. There are three within comfortable driving distance, and I have friends/acquaintances in all three; and all three have encouraged me to join. I'm not a 'joiner'. Kinda shy, self-conscious to a fault, and tend to be a wallflower even at competition ceremonies where I know I've won. I can do some mediocre comedy here on HBT but get me in front of people I don't know in person, and I....melt into the background. We'll see how I do this Friday.
I started doing the extra bottle thing a few comps ago; usually by the time I get the scores, the beer is long gone and nothing but a memory. The night I got my state fair scores I got pretty tipsy with four bottles to go through. And it is super fun to sip on a beer and read what BJCP judges think about it. Woody? Sip. don't taste it. Oxidized? Sip. Where was this in the flight? Crisp and delightful (actually got this one for a blonde)? Damn straight. But I do read all the comments and try to taste the beer from their standpoint. Wanna be a judge someday.
BrewMan13
Whole Nother Level Brewing
Thanks! Out of my hands now, but fingers crossed. This is only the 2nd time I've brewed this beer (with a couple small changes this time), but I got a gold the first time so not out of the question!
Cropped and roused a brown ale. Smells like those liquor filled chocolates.
Added in my 5 gallon kettle in Beersmith and paired down the Raging Irish Red recipe to 2.5 gallons.
Received my updated Wards Lab Water report today and added that in to Beersmith 3 and TDS, hardness, and sulfate have went up a bit but still more than acceptable. I'll test again in the spring to see how it's changed.
I also ordered a bag from brewingabag for the 5 gallon kettle. Going to pair down some more recipes and see how the stovetop biab treats me so I can brew inside in the winter. Looks like most recipes should work fine in the kettle as long as they aren't high abv brews. I already have a 3 gallon glass carboy that should work perfectly also.
I've also been using some scratch paper to make the beer math automatic so I can build recipes by hand with a pencil just because it's fun to have that stuff nailed down.
Here's the little itty bitty guy.
Received my updated Wards Lab Water report today and added that in to Beersmith 3 and TDS, hardness, and sulfate have went up a bit but still more than acceptable. I'll test again in the spring to see how it's changed.
I also ordered a bag from brewingabag for the 5 gallon kettle. Going to pair down some more recipes and see how the stovetop biab treats me so I can brew inside in the winter. Looks like most recipes should work fine in the kettle as long as they aren't high abv brews. I already have a 3 gallon glass carboy that should work perfectly also.
I've also been using some scratch paper to make the beer math automatic so I can build recipes by hand with a pencil just because it's fun to have that stuff nailed down.
Here's the little itty bitty guy.
Pulled an FG sample of the Dunkelweizen I brewed last month. This was fermented in the keg as an experiment, since I have more kegs than fermenters. I put 4.5 gallons in the keg, planning on 4 gals clear beer. It looks like that’s what I’ll end up with.
HB schwarzbier and brewing a american lager
Even if you do have a beer on tap the bottles can be a little different. I started doing because I was sure they were mixing up my beers with someone else's beer(some were winning beers too). I think it has help me identify some of the subtle flavors/aromas by drinking the beer while reading the results.
I wish you well in pursuing being a judge. It is a bit of work and I am glad there are people doing it. I did the online prep thing and all was going well until the timed test. Getting too old to be rushed.
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Finally got around to cleaning a keg that had kicked a little over a week ago.
Also replaced RO faucet that had been crustified with gunk due to hard water in the area. And since I use that water to brew…that does count in my book!!
Also replaced RO faucet that had been crustified with gunk due to hard water in the area. And since I use that water to brew…that does count in my book!!
Made a yeast starter for a NEIPA I hope to brew this weekend
Brushwood Brewing
Cast your bread upon the waters
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Turning up the temperature of my sous vide fermentation bath, about 10 days in. They are three 1 gallon hop samplers (SMASH with DME). This is the first of three sampler sets I'll do this winter. I'm trying to determine what hops I want to plant next year. This batch is Chinook, Columbus, and Cluster.
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Ah.... after reading various folks' mumblings about bottling & considering the expense of kegging, I bottled 2 cases of a summer bitter. Way too simple a batch, but at least there'll be be in the fridge while I research the next batch.
Slow & methodical, with only the unspoken verbal noise in my head, things came off without a hitch.
Now that those are waiting birth from the glass, it's time to plan the next one. Likely a dunkel or something else more wintery?
Slow & methodical, with only the unspoken verbal noise in my head, things came off without a hitch.
Now that those are waiting birth from the glass, it's time to plan the next one. Likely a dunkel or something else more wintery?
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after 20 years, and once a week sessions...i want to start a new thread, "what i did to get OUT of brewing today" i just did a sugar cane extract batch...
12lbs sugar topped up with 9 gallons volume water, added a cup of yeast...in a week it'll fill two kegs with a 1/2 gallon of oj a piece....not to bad really, and WAY easier then having to haul a 70lb mash tun to the garden to dump!
12lbs sugar topped up with 9 gallons volume water, added a cup of yeast...in a week it'll fill two kegs with a 1/2 gallon of oj a piece....not to bad really, and WAY easier then having to haul a 70lb mash tun to the garden to dump!
This morning brewed up a batch of the house Blonde on Lutra while working from home. For once everything went without a hitch, even got all the cleaning done without missing anything at work. Then turned down the ferment fridge on the WF lager from last week to get it started crashing, hoping to keg this weekend.
Cellar_Dweller
Well-Known Member
Last night I started setting up a 5 cu ft chest freezer to long term age our big beers. We've been making so much quick turn stuff lately, we want to get back to aged, high-ABV sippers. We'll probably make a quad and our imperial pumpkin pie ale to start. Definitely want to do a big imperial stout as well.
Also went through and polished all the stainless steel in the brewery and wired in a couple more LED tube lights overhead. Probably half dozen more of those to do the whole space under the house.
Should be taking delivery of about 75 lbs of various malts by EOD, as well as a 5 lb bucket of alkaline brewery wash, which I'm starting to use over PBW lately.
Also went through and polished all the stainless steel in the brewery and wired in a couple more LED tube lights overhead. Probably half dozen more of those to do the whole space under the house.
Should be taking delivery of about 75 lbs of various malts by EOD, as well as a 5 lb bucket of alkaline brewery wash, which I'm starting to use over PBW lately.
Yesterday after work was done set up a quick 3g batch of mead; it started working within a few hours. The blond I brewed yesterday morning? On Lutra? Krausen DROPPED like a rock overnight, haven't tested/tasted yet but it's got to be the fastest I've ever seen that yeast work. Hoping it's okay, letting it sit for a few days before taking a sample. Later I'll get the grain milled for my next batch of American Strong that will get bourbon-soaked oak cubes in the keg, to sit for several months until spring. Busy gal this week.
Moved the quick ‘n’ dirty keezer from the garage to the house. Couldn’t come up with a simple way to keep the faucets from freezing. With only minor rearranging of furniture it fit just fine in the space behind the couch.
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It didn't rain Hell Fire on you ?? When I put my kegerator from the garage into the basement entertainment room 2 years ago, same reason, to keep lines from freezing...like any normal sane brewer would do...I got hit by the wife with a preemptive nuclear strike. It wasn't pretty. It's still here in the basement...but so are the high radiation levels.
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Went to a this new to me LHBS I didn't know existed. About 15 miles from the house but only 3 miles from where the wife works so kinda works out. Picked up the fixings for my spiced White Christmas Ale and a few other goodies for after New Years brews plus some dark dry malt extract for hot chocolate.
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Am I seein' things, or is that a cheese grater repurposed to a drip tray????? I could be seeing things.
he'll just have to wait till that wood counter catches a few splaters like the bathroom does!
didn't even notice that! just was wondering how it came off to clean?
Actually, it was my wife’s suggestion to put the keezer in the living/dining room/kitchen (it’s a small house with no basement). She’s a quilter which is a pretty expensive hobby compared to homebrewing. We’re both pretty tolerant of the other’s hobbies.
It’s actually 2 cheese graters from the Dollar Store, with the handles cut off and the graters riveted together, crimped into a shallow pan I bent up out of some sheet metal. Attached to the keezer with a bunch of little magnets. It won’t support the weight of a full beer; it’s just to catch drips.
Kegged a coconut Porter:and filled the growler works nitro growler. It is pretty tasty, but I think I lost about a half gallon in the coconut and dry hops. Of course, there is cleaning to do.
WestMichiganSteelheader
Well-Known Member
Today, for beer, I drove 45 miles round trip in a blizzard with snowpacked and icy roads to pick up 65 bomber bottles for $20.
You gotta do what you gotta do sometimes. I've heard it builds character!
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Checked on my iced-coffee stout, lagering in the shed (38 degrees ambient, last I checked). Updated some recipe spreadsheets.
Had a minor scare yesterday; ferment fridge did NOT want to cool. Could have been the controller falling down after I knocked into it, could have been a glitch in the matrix. Have my WF lager in there that needs to be kegged asap. Finally just unplugged the fridge, told echo to remind me in ten minutes, then plugged it back in. Compressor fired up, started getting cold, and it's sitting at 45.5° right now. After I'm done with my latest sewing project (really cool tunic top) I'll get the stuff set up for kegging. Was supposed to brew today but just didn't feel the vibe, will try again tomorrow.
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Cleaned the 3 gal keg out line just to be sure even though I cleaned both kegs 3 weeks ago. Glad I did cause for some reason had what looked like tiny black mold flecks 
. Don't know why I used beer line cleaner and starsan last time I cleaned. So did it again. Put these new filters on the fluid out lines which already have floaters on them. Then I transferred the 3 gal Honey Brown. Should be ready by Thanksgiving with the quick carb micro stone. By the way thanks @seatazzz for the MaGuyver tip of using a coin on the keg lid feet for more tension ! It's working !!! Saved my $45 quick carb lid from being a damn you to hell worthless piece of crap !! 
. Don't know why I used beer line cleaner and starsan last time I cleaned. So did it again. Put these new filters on the fluid out lines which already have floaters on them. Then I transferred the 3 gal Honey Brown. Should be ready by Thanksgiving with the quick carb micro stone. By the way thanks @seatazzz for the MaGuyver tip of using a coin on the keg lid feet for more tension ! It's working !!! Saved my $45 quick carb lid from being a damn you to hell worthless piece of crap !! Attachments
Turned the gas back on to my kegerator after being gone for 5 days. Not a big deal, really, but I wasn’t greeted by the slightest hint of C02 flowing into the kegs. All 3 beers are still perfectly carbed. Anyone who manages a multi tap serving appliance can relate…
Didn't do much for beer today other than ogle the mead fermenting away. Waiting on the husband to finish getting ready, then going to dinner before heading to a competition ceremony where I don't know if I won anything yet. Will be happy with a bronze for this one, it's a dark only comp and mine is not a stout or a porter. It's also the first pro-am I've entered, have no chance of that but there are a TON of sponsors, hoping to get a door prize or something.
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