Confession Time

[Onkel_Udo]

While trying to reduce the amount of trub into the fermenter, i used a stainless steel scrub pad around my kettle inlet as a strainer. After about a gallon it clogged and i couldnt free it with tongs, paddle, etc. So i just reached in with my unsanitized hairy arm and pulled it out. In the end, i still had a mighty fine tasting DIPA and no detectable infection.

FYI...use at least one oz of whole hops for at least a 30 minute boil and the odds of this happening greatly reduce. This is still my process 20 years after my first plugged dip tube.

Also, clearing a clog by blowing into the drain hose can be just as effective...

 

[DrunkleJon]

FYI...use at least one oz of whole hops for at least a 30 minute boil and the odds of this happening greatly reduce. This is still my process 20 years after my first plugged dip tube.

Also, clearing a clog by blowing into the drain hose can be just as effective...

But be sure that the wort is properly chilled first. I would not want to see pictures of someone with horrible burns all over their face from trying this and having hot wart blast them in the face.

 

[starsman20]

Big time confession. I hadn't brewed in 2 months so I ran some water through my system to be sure all the valves and pumps were working. At the end of the trial I opened a manual over ride valve to pump the water from the BK to the front yard. 90 minutes later at the end of the mash time I start to sparge. I adjusted the outflow from the MT to the BK to match the inflow. 3 minutes later I couldn't figure out where all the wort had gone to. Turns out the over ride valve never got closed and before I realized it 10 gallons of good wort fertilized the front yard. ahhhhhhhhhh

 

[GHBWNY]

I finally have my own brew space. Traded my wife a new laundry room upstairs for her old one downstairs. My problem [confession] is that I haven't had time to brew in it. But I do walk into it every couple of days and *imagine*.

 

[NothingRhymesWithCurtiss]

Turns out the over ride valve never got closed and before I realized it 10 gallons of good wort fertilized the front yard. ahhhhhhhhhh

So you quickly planted hops in the wort-soaked area, right? I mean, hops go in beer, wort turns into beer, it only makes sense...

 

[starsman20]

So you quickly planted hops in the wort-soaked area, right? I mean, hops go in beer, wort turns into beer, it only makes sense...

I was too busy crying to think of that.

 

[Pyg]

...Turns out the over ride valve never got closed and before I realized it 10 gallons of good wort fertilized the front yard. ahhhhhhhhhh

I don't usually laugh at someone else's misfortune, but yeah I laughed hard at this!
Thanks!

 

[VApatriot]

I confess, I'm not fond of dry hopping in a glass carboy. Fortunately I'm placing my order for my 7 gallon Chronical today and future exploits of dry hopping is expected to be much easier. :rockin:

 

[Onkel_Udo]

I confess that has 20+ years of using a hand crank PhilMill 2, and pontificating about how it really is not that hard...I was lying.

I can now admit this as my renter bought me a Cereal Killer so I would brew more, so he could drink more of my beer without being tasked with hand cranking the dinosaur every other batch as payment.

 

[Hamaki]

I confess that has 20+ years of using a hand crank PhilMill 2, and pontificating about how it really is not that hard...I was lying.

I can now admit this as my renter bought me a Cereal Killer so I would brew more, so he could drink more of my beer without being tasked with hand cranking the dinosaur every other batch as payment.

Forced to hand crank every other batch in exchange for free homebrew? The horror!

 

[jcaggiano]

I confess, I'm not fond of dry hopping in a glass carboy. Fortunately I'm placing my order for my 7 gallon Chronical today and future exploits of dry hopping is expected to be much easier. :rockin:

That's not a confession...it's gloating!

 

[jcaggiano]

my second batch was hopped in reverse order of AAU (bittered with low aau, flavored and aroma with high AAU) and it turned out killer after sitting for two months!

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Forced to hand crank every other batch in exchange for free homebrew? The horror!

He does not drink that much of it, takes care of my dogs if I am out of town and does the role of "Team Mom" for 5 adrenaline filled guys on our race weekends. He is a keeper as a renter!

Then he goes and buys me a mill...

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

He does not drink that much of it, takes care of my dogs if I am out of town and does the role of "Team Mom" for 5 adrenaline filled guys on our race weekends. He is a keeper as a renter!



Then he goes and buys me a mill...

Now that's gloating lolol

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Now that's gloating lolol

Yep! But there is a flip-side. I sold him our spare, spare parts car for the race van for the $525 we had in it and I keep it running.

The icing on the cake is I get to feel all self-righteous because I am helping out a Vet recovering from a TBI (15 days at Walter Reed about 4 years ago but he still has a few lingering symptoms) as well as normal 30-years as a service member ailments (trashed knees, terrible hearing, etc).

 

[Homercidal]

So I'm brewing a Scottish last night. Got all prepared. Waited for my friend's daughter to come over to help. I measure out the strike water salt additions and add to the RO water, and pour the tap water in and heat it up. While it's heating I measure the sparge water salt additions.

This is when I realize that I misread the spreadsheet. I read across the chart instead of down, so I put in CaCl equal to the sparge addition of Gypsum. Oh well, I aimed a bit high for pH, so it will be fine...

After the strike water is in the cooler for a bit I check temp and decide it needs to heat up some more so I pour it back into the kettle and right on top of the sparge water salt addition that I already put in the kettle in anticipation of adding sparge water.

Yes, it's going to be one of those days.

In the end I got good conversion and hit volume and gravity. Mash temp was ab it low for a Scottish, but we'll have to see how it tastes to know if it's going to be too thin.

Next up: Märzen. Surely I can't screw that one up, right?

 

[sremed60]

I hate my ex wife...
There, I said it.

 

[CGVT]

I hate your ex wife too.

 

[sremed60]

Who doesn't?

 

[mongoose33]

Forced to hand crank every other batch in exchange for free homebrew? The horror!

The horror?

Where do I sign up??????

 

[Jimbodaman]

I confess I've never made a beer without Maris Otter as the base malt, unless you include wheat beers, then the base is 50/50 MO, wheat malt. But still I assume that's abnormal

 

[Relampago]

More than once I was pre occupied with drinking and forgot my flameout additions

 

[BBQB]

I am preoccupied by drinking

 

[enokidaki]

I built my mash tun and did my first all grain batch... Then didn't take a gravity reading. Too tired, too lazy, excuses excuses.

 

[CGVT]

I don't worry about expiration dates on dry yeast

 

[ThatVideoKid]

I don't worry about expiration dates on dry yeast

I often buy expired dry yeast on sale, especially Belgian/hefe strains. All else fails, less yeast = more stress = more character, right?

 

[m1k3]

Waited for my friend's daughter to come over to help.

Seemed like a good premise but turned into a boreing Confession Time about salt additions.

 

[ThatVideoKid]

Seemed like a good premise but turned into a boreing Confession Time about salt additions.

I thought he was going to miss some hop additions because he was...preoccupied.

 

[biochemedic]

I like Leinenkugel's summer shandies....

 

[Onkel_Udo]

I like Leinenkugel's summer shandies....

Not sure I could say that in empty, soundproofed room aloud...I certainly could not commit it to permanent record.

 

[bendog15]

I make starters by boiling DME in a stainless steel pot, then I just throw the lid on it and leave it in the fridge overnight. In the morning I pull it out and pour it into the flask with the yeast, then put it on the stir plate.
Lazy but it seems to work fine.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

I have stopped using an airlock. I just drain the wort into my 20 gallon HDPE barrel, pitch the yeast and set the lid on it and slap it in the fermentation chamber. The gasketed lid has a locking ring I just don't use...why bother?

 

[EtchyLives]

I use pellet hops for dry hopping. Whole hops absorb too much wort. I feel bad each time I do it but I'm not going to change.

 

[cyanmonkey]

I use pellet hops for dry hopping. Whole hops absorb too much wort. I feel bad each time I do it but I'm not going to change.

Why do you feel bad? I don't know anyone who uses whole hops for dry hopping.

 

[SeraW]

Yesterday, I undersparged and didn't notice until I was already in the carboy and was under volume by almost a whole gallon (on a 3 gallon system!). So I sparged the grain bag again with cold tap water, boiled for 10 minutes unhopped, cooled in an ice bath, and recombined them...here's hoping I didn't dilute too badly.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

I don't know anyone who uses whole hops for dry hopping.

Now you do.

 

[ThatVideoKid]

Why do you feel bad? I don't know anyone who uses whole hops for dry hopping.

I've heard it a lot. Not really a flavor thing though so no reason to feel bad. More of an ease thing. Easier to rack off cones than pellets. Less particulate gets through

 

[Onkel_Udo]

I've heard it a lot. Not really a flavor thing though so no reason to feel bad. More of an ease thing. Easier to rack off cones than pellets. Less particulate gets through

If you dry hop in the keg, in my experience, there is a significant advantage to whole. It is very hard to keep hop debris from pellets out of our pours especially if (as I do) you leave the hops in the bag, in the keg until the keg kicks.

 

[rtracer]

I squeeze my sack, oh and I have yet to find a reasonably priced freezer so I am constantly fighting with my fermentation temps.
Oh, and I kinda really like squeezing my sack.....been that way since before I started brewing....well that's a different story for a different forum

 

[ryancrook]

I don't boil my starter, I just get the temp between 175-200 and hold it there for 10-15 minutes, turn off the heat and let it cool to pitching temp on its own.