Death of Creativity? And a cooling question.

[aamcle]

I have noticed that since the advent of cheap GrainFather type systems the number of build posts and probably the number of new builds has dropped right off. I have a GF and haven't cut a hole in a pot for years.

However I finding 23litre of beer to a batch to be a bit boring, other than some I give away I drink what I brew. I have the small batch pipework I can brew small easily enough but it's still a 4 - 5 hr time commitment from mash in to clean up.

As a result I thinking of a small highly automated 3V systen , probably gravity draining and using pinched silicon tubing as hygienic valves. I have a lot to think about before I decide to build, if I decide to build, but I have a question about cooling.

I have No Chilled a number of batches and it works But beers with a high hop load change and I'd like to avoid that.

Am I right in the belief that I just need to get the wort under the isomerisation temperature of hop acids to stop further changes to the flavour profile?

For example quickly get it down to 60°C (140°F) then let it cool slowly to pitching temperature.

Thanks All.


Aamcle

 

[Franktalk]

Yes, you could do that, but depending on how long it takes to get to pitching temps, you run the risk of oxidation, which might negate much of the hop flavor and aroma that you gained in the whirlpool (hot steeping of hops).

 

[aamcle]

Good point, when I have no chilled I forced all the air out of the container.

More though needed......

Aamcle

 

[Mike_kever_kombi]

Good point, when I have no chilled I forced all the air out of the container.

More though needed......

Aamcle

Depending on the styles you brew, have you checked out some of the Kveik yeast strains. Can tolerate higher pitching and fermentation temps.

With gravity fed system, you could probably put a long length of coiled hose in a bucket of ice water between boil pot and fermenter. As the wort travelled through the coil of hose submerged in ice water it should cool enough to get to Kveik pitching temps. Kveik strains start active fermentation within hours, so there is very little lag time.

People have also had good luck with just immersion chillers if you have access to one.

 

[mongoose33]

Is there a death of creativity? I don't think so. But I think the directions in which that creativity points might have changed somewhat.

Would those who have chosen GF type systems have, in the absence of those systems, done some creative builds? Maybe some, but I believe there are two types of brewers: those who will try nearly anything, and those who are more focused on convenience and out-of-the-box systems.

I see people reporting on builds of brew spaces, bars, and even specific brew scupture setups. And they vary, depending on resources and space available.

I've never seen anyone else with the kind of setup I have. It's evolved over time as I learned to use my equipment, and eventually I was able to get it to the easiest and most convenient setup, for me in my space with my limitations.

I think, too, that as vendors like Spike have offered up terrific equipment with holes already drilled and welded, there's less need for "creativity" in building one's own system.

Seems to me this is more an issue, not of creativity, but of one's tendency towards Do-it-Yourself or not.

 

[aamcle]

One of the biggest DIY chains in the UK is struggling people seem to be doing less.


Aamcle

 

[dwhite60]

New Wegman's grocery store opened in town.

They have a HUGE prepared food are that seems to be very popular. Seems less and less people are actually cooking at home and they can stop and get a whole dinner spread at Wegman's on the way home.

I love cooking! I've got nine loaves of stollen to make this week along with the annual Christmas figgy pudding. You can buy stuff in the store but it ain't the same. I KNOW what's in what I make too.

I will say some of the younger generation, those 23 to 30, are starting to get more do-it-yourself. I've got a niece who loves gardening and cooking. My son likes cooking too.

All the Best,
D. White