Christmas Presents!

[jpar345]

Booze-related gifts:

Moose Drool brown ale clone, currently in its second week of fermentation.

Chimay gift set, the chalice is what I was really after but the three bottles are nice.

Three bottles of Iron Hill's Winter Wheat Wine...

Liquor store gift card for my other vice (good bourbon).

 

[Toga]

I got a weldless bulk head fitting, ball valve, and dip tube to finish my keggle, enough beer caps to last me a couple years, and a bottle tree from the other half. I'm stoked about the keggle. No more boil overs for 5 gallon batches and I can do 10 gallon batches if needed

 

[BillyBroas]

I found a 10 gal Boilermaker under the tree!

 

[crazybluerider]

Girlfriend got me a 5lb CO2 tank, regulator, gas and beer line. The parents got me 4 ball lock cornies and an assortment of fittings.

I put it together with a few parts I have collected over the last month or so to make this yesterday.

I can fit just barely squeeze 4 cornies and a 5lb CO2 bottle onto the bottom shelf. That leaves lots of room for bottled beer on the top 2 shelves and other brewery supplies that need to be frozen/refrigerated in the rest of the fridge.

 

[daksin]

Awesome! Seems like everybody got me NB gift certs, but my folks went in together and got me a bigger kettle and a kegging system!!! I went out and ordered a freezer and temp controller which will both be here friday. Can't wait- Yoop's house pale will be the first beer to grace the new keg!

The gift cert money goes towards the temp controller, and expanding the new kegging system (new keg/lines/taps plus a manifold) as well as a few other goodies like a huge spoon and vinator.

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

I'll throw in some more post whoring here.

Santa brought a stir plate with a 2000l flask, 3 piece ball lock valve setup for a cooler mash tun, and a 20 ft IC, along with a half dozen new pint glasses and a growler!

 

[david_42]

Since Kellie's birthday is early January and mine is in Feb., we save the presents for then. But the Xbox w/Kinect is on sale at Freddy's AND it's old F@rts day (10% off) AND we get 15% because she works there AND there's a $75 gift certificate included; she's getting an early present.

She is demanding that I finish the new kegger by my birthday and is paying for parts, so I guess that's mine. Four taps and an ice machine for cooling will be the biggest expenses.

 

[baddad]

Got a beergun , NB cert , AHB cert , 50# 2 row UK love my girl

 

[rlr]

I LOVE my Xmas present: A Mr. Beer kit with hopped extract. Although I've been brewing all grain for the past few years, it was the Mr. Beer kit that started it all. I never did get anything drinkable out of it, so that's why I'm anxious to see what it tastes like now that I (should) know what I'm doing. "West Coast Pale Ale" at 3.7 ABV! I'll bet it tastes like water so I may dry hop after tasting it.

 

[C-Rider]

Fired up the burner to see what the boil off rate will be on my new 5 gallon SS kettle. Well it's .75 gallons in an hour.

But how much of a boil do you need? I could turn up the heat and get a really rolling boil but 212* is 212* right?

 

[dizzle]

Used gift certificate to buy a brew hauler for my glass carboy and a book "San Diego's Top Brewers".

 

[barrooze]

The wife and I just went in together on one gift. Opened it early on the 22nd

That's the best present there is. Congrats!

 

[mikeysab]

Fired up the burner to see what the boil off rate will be on my new 5 gallon SS kettle. Well it's .75 gallons in an hour.

But how much of a boil do you need? I could turn up the heat and get a really rolling boil but 212* is 212* right?

3/4 gallon in an hour, I wish. I lose 2g in an hour. Time for a new BK

 

[Brewskii]

Fired up the burner to see what the boil off rate will be on my new 5 gallon SS kettle. Well it's .75 gallons in an hour.

But how much of a boil do you need? I could turn up the heat and get a really rolling boil but 212* is 212* right?

You hit 212 and stop because the available energy goes into breaking the wort to steam...'more energy ='more steam ='more evaporation.
A nice rolling boil is what you want, give it enough gas to get it rolling nice and try and keep it in the pot. There are a lot of variables that will make that harder or easier so it will fluctuate a little. As long as you are consistent in how you control the boil you'll develope a feel for if you are ahead or behind your target OG

 

[brew2enjoy]

I got a mash tun! 10 gallon Rubbermaid cooler. I already had the guts waiting for it. It was put to use immediately!

 

[kpr121]

My brother gave me a five gallon carboy!

Then I used an amazon gift card to buy the $30 6 gallon carboy deal.


Then my uncle showed everyone up in the secret santa ($25 limit) that our family does every year by getting me this:

He proceeded to tell the family that he actually didnt pay a single cent for the neon, because he got it from a friend who owns a bar. Then he handed me 25 cash, the family was thrilled let me tell you.

The cash went toward an Amarone Wine Kit that I just put into primary last night.

 

[Aschecte]

A bunch of gift certificates that I put to good use. I bought a 50# bag of briess 2 row a about a dozen 1# bags of chocolate , brown, Munich, Vienna, and crystal. Also bought my first better bottle figured I'd give it a try. Also bought from Bobby m a selfless sightglass/Thermo combo and ss ballvalve which I installed the other night , finally added a kettle screen also to finish it off. Santa was very good to me : )

 

[dale1038]

Fired up the burner to see what the boil off rate will be on my new 5 gallon SS kettle. Well it's .75 gallons in an hour.

But how much of a boil do you need? I could turn up the heat and get a really rolling boil but 212* is 212* right?

You just need the wort to be turning over. I used to boil off a ton. When I hit .75 in an hour I think it is perfect.

 

[stbnj]

I got the Oxford Beer Companion, a ss ball valve, and a thermometer for my kettle. I need to order the weldless parts as my family just got me the valve sans any weldless fittings or bulk head, same for the thermometer. I also got the Ommegang gift set and the Mad Elf gift set. I used my Christmas money to buy the cereal killer mill as I would like to buy my grains in bulk. I know this spring I will go through a 50 pound bag in no time. But my favorite gift is the set of 4 pint glasses my wife had made with my breweries logo and name on them.

 

[lemmiwinks]

Got the Brewers Best start up kit and a gift card to LHBS. Spent that on my first kit (DIPA) and some hops.
Also had a $200 gift certificate to a Brew on Premises/HBS that's about an hour from. It was originally to do BOP but spent on supplies. Got a 5 gallon kettle, 6.5 gallon carboy (I have 2 now as one came with the start up), scale, hydrometer test tube, bottle tree and a couple cases of bombers since I was only able to collect about 2 cases of bottles thus far.

It's been an awesome Christmas season.

 

[kpr121]

Got the Brewers Best start up kit and a gift card to LHBS. Spent that on my first kit (DIPA) and some hops.
Also had a $200 gift certificate to a Brew on Premises/HBS that's about an hour from. It was originally to do BOP but spent on supplies. Got a 5 gallon kettle, 6.5 gallon carboy (I have 2 now as one came with the start up), scale, hydrometer test tube, bottle tree and a couple cases of bombers since I was only able to collect about 2 cases of bottles thus far.

It's been an awesome Christmas season.

Good call on the supplies over the BOP! I think those are all good items to have, the only thing I would say is maybe go bigger kettle than 5 gallons, but its not that bad if you are doing partial boils.

 

[BryceL]

I just got a barley crusher last month for my birthday (haven't used it yet). For Christmas I just got a nice storage container and a couple gift cards to the LHBS. I just used that to buy a 50# sack of two row, hops, a scale and an oxygen system! It will be nice to be buying in bulk now. I'll be testing out all the new equipment on Monday brewing up another batch of my IPA. Can't wait!

 

[DoubleAught]

I'm a week late but I got an 11 gallon SS brew pot, and a propane burner! AG here I am!

 

[Aschecte]

3/4 gallon in an hour, I wish. I lose 2g in an hour. Time for a new BK

Not to hijack here but if you lower the flame a bit while still maintaining a rolling boil you may be able to do better than 2g loss. I found on my new much wider kettle I boiled alot more off but I was ableto control it with the flame.