GRABASS 1/9 Brewgasm (Cary, NC)

[Barc]

Want us to pick up some water? Or give you a few bucks each to help with the bill? I have no problems with that! Currently on well water here so I could bring maybe 10 - 20 gallons up depending on what I have empty... Or buy some at the store.

 

[Barc]

Put me down for:
2 oz. Cascade
2 oz. Amarillo
2 oz. Columbian
2 oz. Simcoe
2 oz. Kent Golding
2 oz. Panama Red

I think we may have enough EKG to buy a full pound and break even.

The Panama Red might have to be ordered through the LHBS, though.

 

[jmp138]

PM problem fixed, should really pony up for a big boy membership. I don't want to cause any added stress by throwing in one too many set ups, although I am pretty basic with just a 10 gallon cooler and a keggle.

If space just doesn't work out, let me know and I would be more than happy to throw in on a 10 gallon batch with someone, or even brew 10 gallons on my own if someone wanted to throw in. I just received ingredients for a mild ale, two hearted clone, and a light cream ale by fed ex today, so if anyone has any interest in doubling up on those.

In any case, just let me know what works, be glad to be around.

Jason

 

[Walker]

Want us to pick up some water? Or give you a few bucks each to help with the bill? I have no problems with that! Currently on well water here so I could bring maybe 10 - 20 gallons up depending on what I have empty... Or buy some at the store.

It's not the water that ends up as beer. It's the waste from chilling. I've never measured, but with my IC I'm betting I use more than 20 gallons of water to chill the 5 in the kettle. I'm sure the CFC used less, but I really did not pay much attention... The Baron was driving at that point.

If this pumping from the rain barrel doesn't pan out, we're looking at hundreds of gallons of water used to chill, all from the tap.

I think everyone should bring a big-ass bag of ice just in case. If the pump can't cut the mustard (long round trip from barrel to garage and back to barrel) we might have to fill a mashtun with ice water and pump that through chillers.

SPEAKING OF WHICH...

We are going to need to stagger the brews. We can't all be wanting to chill wort at the same time.

 

[Walker]

I don't want to cause any added stress by throwing in one too many set ups, although I am pretty basic with just a 10 gallon cooler and a keggle.

If space just doesn't work out, let me know and I would be more than happy to throw in on a 10 gallon batch with someone, or even brew 10 gallons on my own if someone wanted to throw in. I just received ingredients for a mild ale, two hearted clone, and a light cream ale by fed ex today, so if anyone has any interest in doubling up on those.

In any case, just let me know what works, be glad to be around.

Jason

Hmmmmmm. You got me thinking... What is everyone planning to do as far as a STAND is concerned. I used my ladders with a board across them last week. I can fit two mashtuns on that thing.

Someone could potentially put one on top of the fridge, too.

That's 3. Where are the other tuns going?

I already mentioned that we need to stagger things to avoid competition for the hose... Do we stagger brews far enough apart so that my ladder-stand can be used in two shifts?

Or do we mash at ground level and hoist tuns up as each is ready for sparge?

Anyone prefer to be on a second shift? Gives you freedom to arrive a little later, set up at leisure...

 

[Barc]

Great to see you, Jason! I don't even have a keggle nor a 10 gallon cooler so you're ahead of me, just a 10 gallon kettle and a 5 gallon cooler! I'd be glad to see another guy just show up at Walker's and drink his beer and block his cul-de-sac by parking in the street like someone did Saturday. Just bring a few homebrews to share and the rest will take care of itself. Until Boston starts mentioning his "secret" ingredient... and no, it ain't pumpkin seeds.

 

[jmp138]

Sounds like things are getting a bit hairy with logistics so why don't I just hold back on bringing my rig and instead see if someone wants to man up for a ten gallon joint brewing venture. This gives us the advantage of allowing 2 people to share in the spoils, while only utilizing one rig. Just seems like things could be getting a bit much with 6 folks running seperate set ups.

Hell I'm just happy after a year of brewing to finally meet some other folks who brew, I was telling Barc that up until now it has been a fairly solitary pursuit.

On another note, if anyone is interested in some free deer burger, I just picked up forty pounds that I had processed, just shoot me a pm and I can hook you up with all the meat you want on brewday.

 

[Barc]

It's not the water that ends up as beer. It's the waste from chilling. I've never measured, but with my IC I'm betting I use more than 20 gallons of water to chill the 5 in the kettle. I'm sure the CFC used less, but I really did not pay much attention... The Baron was driving at that point.

If this pumping from the rain barrel doesn't pan out, we're looking at hundreds of gallons of water used to chill, all from the tap.

I think everyone should bring a big-ass bag of ice just in case. If the pump can't cut the mustard (long round trip from barrel to garage and back to barrel) we might have to fill a mashtun with ice water and pump that through chillers.

SPEAKING OF WHICH...

We are going to need to stagger the brews. We can't all be wanting to chill wort at the same time.

Skee and I are probably looking at a 90 min boil simply due to the Pilsner malt... Then, we're looking at a 10 - 20 minute "rest" time for some 0 minute hop additions so we're probably going to be last in line for the chillers. If everyone brings a bag of ice, I think we should be OK. I think the CFC probably used half as much as did the IC so, what, 10 gallons each? Times 5... We should be OK if the pump will handle it and the CFC doesn't decide to crap out. But, I like the idea of a bag of ice per person "just in case." If nothing else, we can throw it at neighbors and cops who drive by looking for "the guys making meth."

Can folks use the bar at the back of your garage for their tuns? It was pretty long, if memory serves, but only like 3' high. You should be able to get a few back there. And, in my experience, a little longer in the mash-tun won't hurt anything so long as we're not looking at hours longer. If "high-up" space is a premium, we can always do a first running, pull it out of the way and add the sparge water on the ground while the next one in line does his first running until we get back to the sparges and do them the same way. An extended sparge won't hurt anything and probably extract a point or 2 in efficiency.

 

[skeeordye11]

+1 to all Barc said.
Worst case senario, I can set my MLT on top of my keggle and drain it into my fermenter (I'd like to measure volume in that matter anyway) then just move the tun to the ground and pour the wort into the kettle and repeat until sparge is complete. Plenty of people to help move stuff around if need be.
I would just like to thank Jason (jmp138) for my CFC courtesy of the HBT pay it forward thread, and I look forward to at the very least having a beer with him.

 

[Walker]

Can folks use the bar at the back of your garage for their tuns? It was pretty long, if memory serves, but only like 3' high. You should be able to get a few back there. And, in my experience, a little longer in the mash-tun won't hurt anything so long as we're not looking at hours longer. If "high-up" space is a premium, we can always do a first running, pull it out of the way and add the sparge water on the ground while the next one in line does his first running until we get back to the sparges and do them the same way. An extended sparge won't hurt anything and probably extract a point or 2 in efficiency.

I just went out and accessed the situation in the garage and driveway again. You are correct on a couple points, and beat me to the posting.

Here's the deal: we can do 6 rigs if the weather is good.

I am going to do my best to clear out the one side of the garage where all of my junk is piled up. We can put two boil stations along that side and two along the opposte side. The driveway has only the slightest slope at the top, so if the weather is not crappy, two more boil stations can go right outside the door on the driveway.

There is a workbench along the back-wall of the garage. It's waist-high and long enough to put 4, maybe 5 tuns on. I also have a sturdy table on the deck out back where I usually brew that could hold a couple of tuns if needed. But, if we are staggering things, then I don't think all 6 tuns will be active at the same time (which brings up the point that 2nd shifters could conceivably re-use a mash tun that has already been vacated by a 1st shifter.)

So, we have three boilers on the east and three boilers on the west and a long, low mash station at the back of the garage. There will be a good clear space in the center of the garage for people to mill about and move from place to place.

We'll have to heft the kettles w/ runnings from the back of the garage to their propane burners after mashing, but I think that shouldn't be a big deal. There will be plenty of helping hands around, and 6 gallons of wort isn't really THAT heavy, eveni n a steel keggle. If necessary, the 10-gallon batches could use the ladder-stand closer to their boil station instead of the workbench to avoid lugging 12 gallons of hot wort from the back of the garage to the front.

6 rigs is a go. jmp, if you want to claim that 6th slot, it's yours.

 

[Walker]

a couple more thoughts...

I am seriously considering buying a plate chiller right now. They are $90 from AHS.

I will not have enough homebrew to serve all you f*ckers. Please bring beer. I can hook up kegs to my CO2 if you bring beer packaged that way.

 

[jmp138]

Im in, 6th station is manned for 5.5 gallons of IPA, appreciate the hospitality walker, and I do look forward to meeting skee and having a beer. Excited about a big get together!

 

[jmp138]

Ill bring a keg as well, should have a honey imperial porter and a cream of three crops primed and ready to go!

 

[Chad]

Good thought on stands. I've got a catering table I can bring. It's not heat proof, so it would have to be mash tuns only, but it could probably accommodate four, possibly five.

If you haven't already placed the order, put me down for 3oz of Bramling Cross as well. I've always been curious about that hop, and it would go nicely with the Mild I'm planning.

I don't have the mash tun capacity to do a 10 gallon batch, but I do have a full keg kettle. If anyone else is planning an English Mild or Ordinary Bitter I can adapt my recipe and we could do a combined boil.

With the pump, horizontal distances shouldn't be a huge stress on the system. It's vertical push that becomes a problem. I generally use a big rectangular cooler filled with ice water to do the final (<100°) chill. I second the suggestion that everyone bring a 20lb bag of ice. My pump has an NPT/garden hose connector on the output, the part that connects to the immersion chiller. The other stretch of the run, from the output of the chiller back to the rain barrel or cooler, will be determined by the chiller output connection. Mine, for example, has a relatively short bare hose. I normally put the cooler with the pump right next to the brew stand, so it's not a problem. If we need to pump water any significant distance back to to the containment vessel, we might have to standardize on one chiller with a long (or extendable) output.

Summary:

• Catering table can hold 4 mash tuns
• Add 3oz Bramling Cross IF the order has not already been placed
• Chad can NOT split 10 gallon batch unless there is another mash tun involved
• Everyone brings 20lbs ice
• We might need to move the rain barrel or add hose
• Barring that, we'll need a big cooler for the pump. I can bring one if necessary.
• I'll be brewing an English Mild or Ordinary Bitter and would be willing to adapt or adjust a recipe if someone wanted to double up on my kettle.

Did I miss anything?
Chad

 

[Walker]

Current Status of AHS Order

GRAIN
(I am assuming "unmilled" for all of these, send me a message if you want yours milled)
100lbs of 2-row (25 to Frink, 25 to Boston, 25 to Walker, 25 unclaimed)
20lb Premium Pilsner (Barc)
2lb Aromatic (Barc)
2lb Carapils (Walker)
2lb Victory (Walker)
2lb Munich (Walker)
2lb Crystal 40 (Walker)
1lb Biscuit (Walker)
1lb Chocolate (Walker)
1lb Crystal 20 (Walker)

HOPS
(I am assuming pellets for all of these, send me a message if you want whole hops instead)
10oz Kent Golding (2 to Walker, 6 to Barc, 2 to Boston)
7oz Simcoe (5 to Skee, 2 to Boston)
5oz Columbus/Zeus/Tomahawk (Walker)
4oz Cascade (2 to Walker, 2 to Boston)
3oz Amarillo (2 to Walker, 1 to Boston)
3oz Bramling Cross (Skee)
2oz Riwaka (Barc)
2oz Sterling (Barc)
2oz Yakima Golding (Barc)
2oz First Gold (Barc)
2oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker (Barc)
2oz Styrian Goldings (Barc)
1oz Fuggles (Walker)
1oz Northern Brewer (Barc)

BARC: you want that hydrometer flask added?

 

[skeeordye11]

Walker, you missed Chad's 3oz of Bramling Cross.
Which by the way Chad, were fantastic in a PM oatmeal stout I did probably a year ago. I did the recipe again AG and it wasn;t as good, so now I'm ready to do it one more time AG with the BC hops.
For beer, I'll bring at least a gallon or 2 (I have a buttload of growlers here)
We have covered ingredients, water and beer. Do we want to discuss food yet?
PS- I love this thread

 

[Walker]

Summary:

• Catering table can hold 4 mash tuns
• Add 3oz Bramling Cross IF the order has not already been placed
• Everyone brings 20lbs ice
• We might need to move the rain barrel or add hose
• Barring that, we'll need a big cooler for the pump. I can bring one if necessary.

Did I miss anything?
Chad

• We do not need catering table. We're set there.
• I will add your hops to the order
• Ice is good. I like ice.
• Billy's CFC and my IC both can have garden hoses attachments on their output ports. Billy is not brewing, but has agreed to bring his CFC. I have never actually attached anything to the output of my IC, but the connector is there.
• Need a big cooler for the pump?! There are going to be FIVE 10-gallon mashtuns and your (apparently puny) mashtun! We can put icewater in mine. I've no issue with that.

 

[Professor Frink]

I'll bring a growler of my stout. I'm also willing to do the second shift if you need to stagger, since it'll take me a bit longer to get to your place.

 

[Barc]

BARC: you want that hydrometer flask added?

Nope! Found out Santa has a stocking stuffer for me and it probably contains one. Good thing, too. My make-shift plastic tube the hydrometer came in just sprang a leak tonight. Thanks, though! :rockin:

 

[Barc]

I'll bring a growler of my stout. I'm also willing to do the second shift if you need to stagger, since it'll take me a bit longer to get to your place.

Hell, I'm an hour away. I plan on being there when Walker gets up. I'll be the creepy guy outside drinking at 6.

 

[jmp138]

This thread does sort of destroy all others.

 

[Walker]

If any of you have a garden hose that you can easily throw in your car and bring with you that day, please do so. We might not need it, but I'd like to not find us a few feet too short to implement some crazy idea that we have.

Bring a towel.

Bring an iPod if you want.

Also, here are some things you will probably NOT need to bring with you (basic stuff I have that can be shared):

• grain mill (*see below)
• iodophor or starsan (I have both)
• big bucket (and smaller containers) for mixing up sanitizer and soaking things
• scale (it goes to 12lbs, I think)

Earlier in this thread I mentioned that I have a MaltMill. I have a cordless drill that I drive it with. The drill is cheap and will not last more than 2 batches for sure.

Bring your drill if you want to use the mill and don't want to hand-crank it. (Hand cranking isn't that bad, but the drill is much faster.)








We'll discuss food another day.

 

[jmp138]

Do we have any sort of basic time frame that we are thinking for mash in, just looking to get this rolling on the earlier side of things.

 

[Walker]

This thread does sort of destroy all others.

Jason gets 10 bonus points for being a Dead Head, too.

Jason, tell me you play a banjo, mandolin, harmonica, or something? Boston and I are looking to turn our Duo into a Trio.

 

[Walker]

Do we have any sort of basic time frame that we are thinking for mash in, just looking to get this rolling on the earlier side of things.

I am usually awake by 7. I might get myself rolling early (mashed in by 9). Boston is an early riser and early brewer, too.

But.. I just made sure that SWMBO has no issue with people rolling in throughout the morning and getting started whenever they get started. She said she doesn't care if this lasts into the early evening (no loud partying after the kids go to bed.)

So... I would say that as long as the last guy is mashed in by noon, we're golden.

 

[jmp138]

Ill bring you an ipod chocked full of some good listening, but alas, I am remiss in the area of actual musical talent. Could bring my pops along with the guitar, the man loves to pick, but I just didn't pick up the gene. Glad to know the heads will be well represented however, now we have 2 things to talk about!

 

[Walker]

we have 2 things to talk about!

Do you like chicks with big ****? We might have three things to talk about....

 

[Barc]

I'll bring up my cordless drill. It is 19.2V and basically brand new. It should last several batches before crapping the bed but I'll bring the hour charger, just in case.

I can bring up my small scale for up to 11lb if you think we may need another? It is not much bigger than a TV Guide but if it isn't needed, I won't bring it.

I haven't asked when Skee wanted to show up but we could probably be mashed-in not much later than you guys provided everything goes as planned. Or we could do the 2nd Shift, no biggie to me. I'll be there early, either way, to help get setup and probably stay late enough to help get cleaned up. That reminds me, I should probably bring my yeast with me.

Summary:
*Bringing my cordless drill
*Will bring my small scale if necessary
*Will start on either shift
*Boston needs to bring Krispy Kreme

 

[skeeordye11]

If there's one reason to get up early on the weekend, it's to brew! I can get there early-ish. I wpuld rather get started early and as I mentioned earlier, point and make fun of everyone else! I'm not sayin' I'm just sayin'.

 

[Barc]

I wpuld rather get started early and as I mentioned earlier, point and make fun of everyone else! I'm not sayin' I'm just sayin'.

We can point and make fun of everyone else, regardless! Have you never learned that the easiest way to cure your problems is to ignore them and focus on someone else's?

EDIT:

Early is fine so long as Walker is OK with it...