Hooray Brew Day! Pics!

[fastricky]

I was anxious to 'get back on that horse' so to speak after I burnt a batch a few days ago and had to dump it. So I kicked out a Vanilla Porter today... went well, no unpleasant surprises, decent efficiency (80%) and is fermenting after 4 hours. Nice.

Here's some pics for those of you who brew in cramped apartments to relate to...

1. Protein rest. The towels work to keep the temp stable. Lauter water in pot next to it.

2. Mixin' the mash... love the paddle! It doubles for some interesting activities in the bedroom with SWMBO. Just jivin' ;-)

3. The brewery. (Note luxurious view).

4. Lautering away. It ain't no fancy HERMS set up, but it does the job!

 

[fastricky]

5. Birds-eye view.

6. A twist on the 'ol Vorlaufing... I take one of those 'gold' coffee filters and use it to filter the wort. That way I'm compacting the grain bed without having to recirculate the wort. Works really well (tho' I do have to stop to clean the filter a few times, after which I don't need it anymore).

7. OK, the wort is ready to go so the false bottom gets removed, clean 'er up and she'll be ready to roll shortly.

8. Getting close to a boil. Note my version of a hop bag waiting to get in the game.

 

[fastricky]

9. Sanitizing and wort chiller at the ready.

10. Yay stir plate!

11. OK, wort chiller inserted and doing its thing. Note the hop bag folds over on top of the kettle so I can easily get every bit of goodness out of it. Meanwhile I whirlpool the wort to cool faster (under 10 minutes). Aeration as a bonus.

12. Ah! One of my favorite moments!

 

[fastricky]

13. Oxygenated with pure O2 and the day is done!

 

[Ceedubya]

Nice work! Its all about the end result anyways, right?

 

[llazy_llama]

That's a pretty awesome setup for a small apartment! :rockin:

 

[RobBug]

Exactly what I was thinking. Pretty technical for what you have. Nice job!

 

[Brooklyn-Brewtality]

yup, that's NYC apartment brewing as I remember it.

 

[FlyGuy]

Inspiring! Well done. Space has no limits.

All of us kitchen brewers are in awe. (Or at least, we salute your perseverance.)

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Nice one!

Do you get any complaints about smell from the neighbors?

 

[BargainFittings]

Thats the size of my old apartment kitchen!

Nicer equipment than I used then and now.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

It's all relative fastricky...that's pretty high-tech for me.

Sometimes having everything close like that can work better.

Nice Les Paul.

 

[fastricky]

Thanks gents!

No complaints from the neighbors, but I couldn't see how anyone would complain... it's a good smell (it's not like fish) and not really that strong (again, not like fish).

I've been a long time Les Paul player and that one is my favorite. It's a replica made with old wood and is the best sounding guitar I've ever played.

 

[dagamore]

very nice, where did you get the stirplate from?

 

[Ceedubya]

No complaints from the neighbors, but I couldn't see how anyone would complain... it's a good smell (it's not like fish) and not really that strong (again, not like fish).

thats what I keep tryin to tell SWMBO, but she keeps insisting it stinks

 

[fastricky]

I got that stirplate from Northern Brewer... it's on their website. Go for the 2" stir bar too...

 

[hopdawg]

Nice lookin brew pot. What's one of those beauties worth?

 

[fastricky]

Wuddint cheap... but it was worth it. "Buy it right. Buy it once"

 

[Brooklyn-Brewtality]

Nice lookin brew pot. What's one of those beauties worth?

assuming that it is the 10 gallon Blichmann Boilermaker, it runs about $315

 

[Bulls Beers]

Hey fastricky, What's up man. Are you still on LesPaul Forum??My name over there is BurstBrian..Didn't you start another Les Paul site?


BTW, nice setup..Oh, and the guitar is very nice too....

 

[fastricky]

Hey man! Yup, still on the LPF but not as much since getting the brew bug... didn't start another site... not sure what that is. (Are you thinking of 'MyLesPaulForum'? Not me...)

Cheers!

 

[bluehouse]

If the neighbors complain about the smell tell them it's therapy for the cancer you are being treated for. It will put guilt on them and they will never mention it again except to inquire if you are getting better. When people tell me rude things, I give'em crazy answers, they seem to like it.

 

[Bulls Beers]

Hey man! Yup, still on the LPF but not as much since getting the brew bug... didn't start another site... not sure what that is. (Are you thinking of 'MyLesPaulForum'? Not me...)

Cheers!

Yeah. That's it..Thought it was you..I haven't been on there much either since I started brewing...I'm getting ready to move a few pieces..Giving some of them a nice new home...Welcome to the this site...It's great. I've learned so much..Tons of information...

 

[fastricky]

Thanks man. This is an amazing site for sure...

 

[Cookiebaggs]

That's really cool! Looks like you have a good system with your space constraints. I too salute you!

It's all about the beer!