Ranting

[brewmcq]

This should prolly be in the "Fermenting" forum, but I'm just whining.

I need to get a better hold on my ferment temps, and need to quit pitching so hot. I've been able to get away with it with my darker beers, but the "light ale" I brewed just plain sucks. My efficiency was crap to begin with on that batch for whatever reason (I was experimenting with my process), so now I have what basically looks and tastes like seltzer water flavored with .

Not looking forward to opening 50 bottles and dumping it, but I'm 99% certain even time isn't going to heal this one.

I guess we'll see.


What other sort of rants do you guys and gals have?

 

[Hang Glider]

That sux, man...

Fermentation temp control (and pitching at 65F) totally changed my beers. I recommend you spend time fixing your process, and go BREW AGAIN !!! Get back on that horse!

 

[brewmcq]

No problem getting back up on that particular horse... in fact, it's getting ridden hard on Wednesday... ;-)

I need to be more patient when brewing.. I'm fine once it's in the fermenter and doing its thing, but I wind up racing to get it from BK to carboy and I need to stop that. Granted, it would be different if I had better control dialed in on my CFC... tap water up here stays under 40F, even in summer time, so I've been screwing around with that stupid thing and winding up with 85F wort in the carboy.

This time I'm going to just turn it on and let it cool all the way down to whatever it's going to chill to, toss in the yeast and stick it in my 62F-64F basement and forget about it for a month.

I dislike beer.

 

[Hang Glider]

OMG, I would LOVE 40F tap water!!!
I've got to hook up a pre-chiller after I knock the wort down to about 100F - 'cause tap water is almost 80F here!

Thrumometer, by Blichmann - Midwest Brewing, among others...

this little thing inserted between your CFC and the line to your carboy is pretty handy...I've had mine for years. Adjust your valves and you're draining into the carboy at 64F if you want.


oh, and if you have a cool basement - you can "force" your bucket/carboy to hold better temps just by filling a tub with water (basement temps - 65F) and setting the vessel into the tub - as the basement temps push on the water to hold 65, it will extract heat from your fermenter to hold it there. Probably very little "work" on your part to hold those temps in check.

 

[brewmcq]

If it's any consolation, I have a long laundry list of things I would love to have too.. ;-)

I've looked at the Thrumometers, but can't justify the cost at the moment... especially when I can just slap one of those $3 crystal thermometers on some of the exposed copper tubing coming out of my CFC.. ;-)

I had been using one of my digital thermometers to monitor cooled wort temps... I seem to have a digital system though... the wort coming through is either 55F or 90F (okay, or still near-boiling, but that doesn't count... lol). Even with my garden hose turned almost completely off, the line between 50F wort and 90F+ wort is almost non-existent.

This week I'm going to experiment with filling a 10 gallon tub with water from the hose, then using my sump pump to push it through the CFC, and recirculate it into the tub. Maybe it will average out.. maybe not.

Or maybe I can do the first 3 or 4 gallons at a lower temp, then top it off at a higher temp. Who knows. lol

Now I'm rambling, instead of ranting.

PS. Oh, and I'll be able to use the tub as as a swamp cooler.. that has been on my list of things to use.

 

[Hang Glider]

The last time I was fighting the water/wort temps, I had hooked up my CFC backwards -

Cold water in thru the bottom, wort from boil kettle into the top - When the cold enters at the top - it's hell to control!

I'm such a doofus I actually labeled my CFC so I wouldn't forget again.

 

[brewmcq]

Maybe I should run mine backwards... that's a good thought...

Thanks for the idea!