Brewing with the Brewpastor

[Brewpastor]

I am trying to build a thread related to my last brew session and a number of pictures from the session.

Please check beck in a little while.

 

[sirsloop]

FIRST!

 

[Revvy]

I was gonna be first.....but I was waiting for an explanation....though I really liked the pic of the hydrometer....Great composition and everything!

*subscribes and twiddles thumbs in anticipation*

 

[ohiobrewtus]

It's been 20 minutes, what's the holdup?

 

[maltMonkey]

I like this flair for the dramatic....I'm going to start putting out a "pre-post" before actually posting anything just to get a positive buzz going....

 

[sirsloop]

great idea!

 

[Brewpastor]

Suddenly it got really busy here at work. I hate when all these people think I am here for them and get in the way of my HBT time. If it wasn't for them I would be a post whore extraordinary!

 

[Revvy]

Suddenly it got really busy here at work. I hate when all these people think I am here for them and get in the way of my HBT time. If it wasn't for them I would be a post whore extraordinary!

Yeah...congregants, you can't live with them, you can't shoot 'em (Though at times I would have liked to!)

 

[Brewpastor]

Well, this is not posting the way it should, so I will continue to try and get the actual pictures up, but until then...

OK, so I brewed yesterday and took a few pictures.


This is my HLT heating up:

HLT ready to pump into the MLT:

Detail of my home made burners. These are under the HLT and there is another set under the kettle. As you can see in the first pictures, they do the job!

I didn’t get a milling picture, but here are the results:

continued...

 

[loopmd]

Wow

My brew sessions don't look anything like that.

Loop

 

[EdWort]

Very nice! What do you do when you have too high a final gravity?

 

[sirsloop]

Suddenly it got really busy here at work. I hate when all these people think I am here for them and get in the way of my HBT time. If it wasn't for them I would be a post whore extraordinary!

gotta love it... instead of just making the thread you made a pre-thread thread then went on to explain why you couldn't just make the original thread to begin with

 

[jdoiv]

Hard to tell from your pics, but how do you get the whirlpool going in the MLT? Do you just stir or do you have the return line set to whirlpool the wort as it's being pumped in?

 

[Brewpastor]

Mash temperature – right on target. I do love my ProMash!

CIP set up for the heat exchangers:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c37/Brewpastor/CIMG0528.jpg

Hot caustic really does the job on stainless steel parts!
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c37/Brewpastor/CIMG0529.jpg

MLT ready to run-off into the kettle while the fires of hell do their work:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c37/Brewpastor/CIMG0531.jpg

 

[New2HomeBrew]

Wow that is quite a set up! Looks like you barely have to work when you brew.

 

[Brewpastor]

First runnings:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c37/Brewpastor/CIMG0534.jpg

Sparge ring on its maiden voyage – it worked well and got trickles all around:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c37/Brewpastor/CIMG0540.jpg

Pre-Boil wort:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c37/Brewpastor/CIMG0541.jpg

Dumped grains in prep for cleaning the MLT for use as a whirlpool:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c37/Brewpastor/CIMG0542.jpg

 

[Brewpastor]

Full boil with the first hops:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c37/Brewpastor/CIMG0545.jpg

Transfer set up from the kettle to the whirlpool
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c37/Brewpastor/CIMG0546.jpg

Transfer nearly complete:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c37/Brewpastor/CIMG0547.jpg

2 zone Heat Exchanger and whirlpool set up:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c37/Brewpastor/CIMG0548.jpg

 

[Brewpastor]

Sump pump and ice bath for the second zone of the heat exchanger:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c37/Brewpastor/CIMG0549.jpg

Chilled wort – 13 gallons from boiling to chilled in less then 8 minutes
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c37/Brewpastor/CIMG0551.jpg

Whirlpool dregs
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c37/Brewpastor/CIMG0554.jpg

The final gravity – too high:

And that is how I do it.

 

[Brewpastor]

Hard to tell from your pics, but how do you get the whirlpool going in the MLT? Do you just stir or do you have the return line set to whirlpool the wort as it's being pumped in?

It is pumped into the MLT where I have a fitting that is simply a long, curved piece of copper tubing that runs from the quick connect at the top around the inside to near the bottom. As the wort is pumped it causes the whirlpool. I recirculate through the heat exchanger as it whirlpools. The copper piece is very much like the piece that runs from the MLT into the kettle.

 

[Brewpastor]

Very nice! What do you do when you have too high a final gravity?

Drink less!

 

[jdoiv]

So it has been cooled before the whirlpool starts then? Just wondering about HSA.

I'm beginning to think that HSA is a huge myth. I will recirculate during HERMS or when direct firing my mash and will have a good 6 to 8 inches of pour between the sparge ring and the grain bed. I'll also start my whirlpool, a la Jamil, when the wort is still boiling. I haven't noticed any off flavors from HSA yet.

 

[Brewpastor]

So it has been cooled before the whirlpool starts then? Just wondering about HSA.

I'm beginning to think that HSA is a huge myth. I will recirculate during HERMS or when direct firing my mash and will have a good 6 to 8 inches of pour between the sparge ring and the grain bed. I'll also start my whirlpool, a la Jamil, when the wort is still boiling. I haven't noticed any off flavors from HSA yet.

I am not worried about hot side aeration. I transfer the boiling wort into the Whirlpool and let it spin, then I swith the hoses around and start chilling. This way I leave some of the crap behind and don't run it all through my heat echangers. I then run it until it is cooled to the point I want and then stop the chilling water and whirlpool for another 10 minutes or so.

I think HSA can be an issue, but I have not picked it up in my beers using my process. In actuality the hot wort does not splash much in my set up.

 

[Pugilist]

Holy crow man! That is some serious equipment. When are you opening your brewpub?

 

[loopmd]

Holy crow man! That is some serious equipment. When are you opening your brewpub?

LoL

I believe he's been there, done that.


Loop

 

[brewhead]

i hate you

 

[SuperiorBrew]

Sweet set up, love brewing pics. How long did it take from start to finish?

 

[farmbrewernw]

I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!!!

 

[Brewpastor]

Sweet set up, love brewing pics. How long did it take from start to finish?

I fired up the HLT at 7:30 and was showered and at the boys school at 2:30.

 

[Danek]

Suddenly I feel deeply inadequate.

 

[CBBaron]

I fired up the HLT at 7:30 and was showered and at the boys school at 2:30.

Now I'm sure your beers are much better than mine and you produce more per batch but with my dirt poor AG system I'm done in time to sit down and have a beer with lunch.
Doesn't seem that a better system buys any time.

Ofcourse I'd brew on that setup in a heart beat. :rockin:

Craig