South Carolina SC midlands area brewers

[SHAIV]

Hey guys I'm starting this thread for Columbia and Lexington area brewers to meet and discuss all things brewing! How many of you guys are out there?

 

[TravelingLight]

IN! I'll kick things off...I live in the downtown area. Started brewing early 2016 after about two years of planning/researching. Would love to meet some more brewers in the area and kick some ideas around. I only know about two that I keep up with on a regular basis. If we can get a small group of interested people, we could do a meet and greet one day at Conquest or River Rat or something and trade some beers. Looking forward to it. Thanks for kicking this up SHAIV.

 

[SHAIV]

Yeah man. That would be cool! I've been brewing since about may 2015. My buddy got me started, we pretty much been trying to brew as much as possible and meet other brewers in the area. I live in West Columbia on the Lexington side

 

[HealeyA87]

Found it. Yea I got my first brew kit for Christmas 2014, been brewing since. I'm in Lexington/west Columbia

 

[TravelingLight]

How about a "what's everyone like to brew"? I've brewed 8 so far. Never done a kit before. I did two extracts that I designed to start then went to AG after that. I started out with IPAs/IIPAs. Then did a raspberry saison (one of my best), a couple stouts, then a gose. Brewing another saison this weekend for my wedding (April). Probably going to rack this one on blueberries.

 

[GammaRay4130]

I'm in Columbia between 2 notch and decker. Been brewing for around 3 years, brew a lot of different styles depending on what I feel like making. Currently have a munich dunkel and a pale ale on tap with a kolsh fermenting. DIY homebrew on 2 notch was doing monthly homebrew tastings on the last saturday of the month, not sure if they are still going on or not.

 

[TravelingLight]

I'm in Columbia between 2 notch and decker. Been brewing for around 3 years, brew a lot of different styles depending on what I feel like making. Currently have a munich dunkel and a pale ale on tap with a kolsh fermenting. DIY homebrew on 2 notch was doing monthly homebrew tastings on the last saturday of the month, not sure if they are still going on or not.

Last time I went by (December) he was still doing them. Well, he didn't do one in December because of the holidays but he said he was kicking it back up in 2017. I haven't been to one yet because I've always had something going on. But I hope to make it out there for one. DIY is a longer drive for me than BetMar, but I've started getting most of my grains and hops from DIY anyway.

 

[SHAIV]

Oh cool! I didn't even know there was a brew store on two notch. I'm a bit of a hop head so I generally do ipas but me and Healey have brewed other stuff as well

 

[TravelingLight]

I'm pretty booked up the rest of February with moving across town and traveling some. But maybe a few of us could get together in March? Also, anyone heading to Brewvival in Charleston Feb. 25? I'll be there. It's only my second year but this is without a doubt one of the best festivals I've been to.

 

[SHAIV]

Ah I'm going to Columbia beer festival at the fairgrounds i don't think I could do another one especially that far away. That's a long way for a DD and it sounds expensive if you get a hotel

 

[TravelingLight]

Ah I'm going to Columbia beer festival at the fairgrounds i don't think I could do another one especially that far away. That's a long way for a DD and it sounds expensive if you get a hotel

Understandable. I've got inlaws in Charleston. I'm curious how the Cola one is this year. I've never been because I've heard so many bad reviews. But I did see they moved it this year to the fairgrounds which is a great step in the right direction. Something just ain't right about going to a beer festival inside a conference hall.

 

[SHAIV]

I've never been before

 

[TravelingLight]

I've never been before

Should be much better this year. My fiancee has been once before. When I asked her why she wasn't going back, she replied, "I'm not standing in line for a damn Blue Moon!" My kinda girl.

 

[GammaRay4130]

I went to the one in Columbia last year, it was pretty fun. Never been to a beer festival before so I don't have anything to compare it to. There were some long lines but they all moved pretty quickly from what I remember, which reminds me I have to check and see if there are still any tickets available.

 

[SHAIV]

I've been to brew at the zoo in 2015 but other than that I've never been. Last year we ended up brewing the day of the Columbia beer fest, I always think, man I could brew 5 gallons of beer for the money I'd spend on the tickets

 

[Poopsmitherson]

I'm out in Lexington, and I've been brewing for close to six years now. Currently drinking the first iteration of a red IPA in trying to perfect this year. I could use some knowledgeable tasters to help me improve it. I would definitely be down for a meet up and swap one day.

Seems I'm a little late to this party too. Those who go to the Two Notch store (that I didn't know existed), why is that your preference over Bet Mar? What's better about it?

Last time I went by (December) he was still doing them. Well, he didn't do one in December because of the holidays but he said he was kicking it back up in 2017. I haven't been to one yet because I've always had something going on. But I hope to make it out there for one. DIY is a longer drive for me than BetMar, but I've started getting most of my grains and hops from DIY anyway.

 

[GammaRay4130]

I go to the shop on two notch because it is closer to me. I think they had a bit better of a grain selection as well, but don't hold me to that since its been a couple years since I've been to Bet Mar.

 

[TravelingLight]

Seems I'm a little late to this party too. Those who go to the Two Notch store (that I didn't know existed), why is that your preference over Bet Mar? What's better about it?

For me it's just product availability. I feel like BetMar caters more to wine makers. Also, DIY on Two Notch always has a much better selection of hops. Otherwise, grain prices are roughly the same. DIY just usually has a bigger selection. Case in point: I went by yesterday to get some pils, vienna, and wheat. He had german pils and belgian(?) pils. BetMar just has "pilsner."

 

[SHAIV]

Well I'm not a big fan of bet mar I just thought it was the only hbs around. I need to go check out diy. The guy at bet mar has told me wrong a couple times now and I'm kinda like do you really know what you're doing? Oh and you guys know bottles on ft Jackson blvd sells homebrew equipment? Me and Healey went there to get a c02 tank swap. I think it was the only place open on saturday to get c02

 

[SHAIV]

Anyway how bout everyone post a picture of their brew setups! I'll startView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1486838860.603725.jpg
This was my setup from two weeks ago. I feel like that cooler lost a lot of heat so I returned it now I'm in the market for a cooler mash tun or a boil kettle. I'm starting to think I should go back to mashing in my stainless kettle and get a 10 gallon aluminum kettle to boil in. I have a 7.5 gallon aluminum kettle as a HLT in that picture but I was using it as boil kettle

 

[TravelingLight]

Well I'm not a big fan of bet mar I just thought it was the only hbs around. I need to go check out diy. The guy at bet mar has told me wrong a couple times now and I'm kinda like do you really know what you're doing? Oh and you guys know bottles on ft Jackson blvd sells homebrew equipment? Me and Healey went there to get a c02 tank swap. I think it was the only place open on saturday to get c02

I knew bottles had supplies now and I've gotten some random things like stoppers and muslin bags. But I did NOT know you could swap tanks there! How much was it? I'm getting fed up with Airgas and Praxair in Cola because there is no consistency whatsoever to their pricing. I swear they charge whatever they feel like when you walk in.

 

[Poopsmitherson]

Here's my brew setup. Simple cooler mashtun with a pvc sparge arm under the lid. A 3.5 gal HLT, which isn't quite enough, but it was free. And then my frustratingly small 7.5 gal kettle that I thought would be large enough when I started brewing 6 years ago (I've had to find workarounds to avoid boilovers and now thatnive got that system down, it works fine--also I'm cheap).

 

[SHAIV]

I don't remember exactly but I felt like it was comparable. We took an old tank and traded it for a full tank I do remember there is a 50$ deposit if you don't trade a tank in. I think it was like 25$ for the swap. I can't remember I called them one day and asked because I heard they sold homebrew stuff. You could call and ask them but I feel like they are probably serviced by air gas they don't fill tanks there just swaps but they are open on Saturday so that's the main thing hat helped me out

Nice setup poopsmitherson! Is that a 5 gallon cooler? Have you had any problems with heat retention? I had a 10 gallon for like a week and I lost a lot of heat but I probably don't need a 10 gallon really. And all the headspace plus View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1487013330.993282.jpg
This hole and the grooves in the lid I felt like were the culprit to the heat loss I felt like it needed a gasket around the top and that hole plugged. I realized I don't want to do all that and I don't think I really need a 10 gallon mash tun so I returned it

 

[Poopsmitherson]

Nice setup poopsmitherson! Is that a 5 gallon cooler? Have you had any problems with heat retention? I had a 10 gallon for like a week and I lost a lot of heat but I probably don't need a 10 gallon really. And all the headspace plus
This hole and the grooves in the lid I felt like were the culprit to the heat loss I felt like it needed a gasket around the top and that hole plugged. I realized I don't want to do all that and I don't think I really need a 10 gallon mash tun so I returned it

Thanks! And yeah, it's 5 gal. I haven't had much heat loss, and the loss I've had (a few degrees over the course of an hour at most)
I chalk up to the hole I cut in the top to have my sparge arm on the inside. My thought process was that keeping the lid on while sparging would help with heat retention. Things I didn't think through: cutting a hole in the lid is counterproductive. But I toss a towel or two over the top and that helps.

I also preheat the cooler by tossing in a small amount of strike water, closing it up, and letting it sit for a minute or two. Then I toss in my grains and the rest of my water. This helps prevent some of the initial loss, I think.

 

[Morrey]

Greetings. I am from Darlington and would enjoy meeting some of y'all if something gets put together. TravelingLight and I are online friends and have shared some recipes, techniques and such. I like the idea of meeting at a micro brewery, and would be fun if a tour could also be arranged.

There are no LHBS's near me in Darlington. The closest is DIY in Elgin on Two Notch. Kevin Deaton is the new owner and has been active in the home brew scene many years, so he is a great source of information. He is building his inventory and is stocking items demanded the most. I use his shop over BetMar mainly since DIY is closer and has better beer specific inventory. The owner of BetMar really is not very savvy on beer ingredients as evidenced by the following: I was buying grains and a new brewer was asking questions about hops, then he asked what kind of noble hops do you have in stock? The owners response was, "What are noble hops"? Darn, you got to be kidding...the man who owns the shop doesn't know what the general classification of noble hop means? Whoa

Off my rant, anytime we can meet is great for me. DIY has activities and tastings scheduled frequently, so that may also me a fun place to meet and talk brewing, or River Ratz is small but friendly.

 

[SHAIV]

Thanks! And yeah, it's 5 gal. I haven't had much heat loss, and the loss I've had (a few degrees over the course of an hour at most)

I chalk up to the hole I cut in the top to have my sparge arm on the inside. My thought process was that keeping the lid on while sparging would help with heat retention. Things I didn't think through: cutting a hole in the lid is counterproductive. But I toss a towel or two over the top and that helps.



I also preheat the cooler by tossing in a small amount of strike water, closing it up, and letting it sit for a minute or two. Then I toss in my grains and the rest of my water. This helps prevent some of the initial loss, I think.

Yeah I preheated the 10 gallon with strike water emptied it heated back up and dumped it back in. I had 16 lbs of grain I believe and a little over 5 gallons water. I went from like 151 to 147 in an hour and only got 47% efficiency so I ended putting in a lb of dme on top of the 2 lbs candy to try to make up for some of the loss. Not a whole lot of unfermentables in there I just put it in secondary and it was about 1.005 so it's about 9.5% now. Haha

 

[SHAIV]

Greetings. I am from Darlington and would enjoy meeting some of y'all

Hey man, welcome, my buddy Healey is in the army and works in Darlington he said there's a brew pub there that he goes to sometimes

 

[Morrey]

Hey man, welcome, my buddy Healey is in the army and works in Darlington he said there's a brew pub there that he goes to sometimes

Ask him the name of the place he goes in Darlington. There are a couple of decent places in Florence...Seminar and Southern Hops.

 

[GammaRay4130]

Yeah I preheated the 10 gallon with strike water emptied it heated back up and dumped it back in. I had 16 lbs of grain I believe and a little over 5 gallons water. I went from like 151 to 147 in an hour and only got 47% efficiency so I ended putting in a lb of dme on top of the 2 lbs candy to try to make up for some of the loss. Not a whole lot of unfermentables in there I just put it in secondary and it was about 1.005 so it's about 9.5% now. Haha

I have a 10 gallon cooler and I typically heat my strike water at least 10 degrees hotter than needed and empty into the tun and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then I'll open it up and stir it until it cools off to strike temp then add the grains. I typically lose a degree or two over an hour mash and that's with batches that range from 1.040 to 1.075, all 5 gallon batches. All systems will probably react a little differently but maybe it's worth a shot.

 

[GammaRay4130]

Oops double post

 

[SHAIV]

Ask him the name of the place he goes in Darlington. There are a couple of decent places in Florence...Seminar and Southern Hops.

I think it's southern hops. That sounds familiar

 

[SHAIV]

I have a 10 gallon cooler and I typically heat my strike water at least 10 degrees hotter than needed and empty into the tun and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then I'll open it up and stir it until it cools off to strike temp then add the grains. I typically lose a degree or two over an hour mash and that's with batches that range from 1.040 to 1.075, all 5 gallon batches. All systems will probably react a little differently but maybe it's worth a shot.

That's a good idea. I guess I'm just use to mashing in my 8 gallon stainless kettle. I just wrap it with a towel for the mash then uncover and turn on the flame for a mashout. I also like the size of the 8 gallon kettle. I might just try to get a 10 gallon aluminum boil kettle if I can

 

[TravelingLight]

That's a good idea. I guess I'm just use to mashing in my 8 gallon stainless kettle. I just wrap it with a towel for the mash then uncover and turn on the flame for a mashout. I also like the size of the 8 gallon kettle. I might just try to get a 10 gallon aluminum boil kettle if I can

I just got a new mash tun. One of the 10 gallon Igloo round orange ones, with a FB. I'm starting to realize, while I don't lose a ton of heat, I am losing heat through the empty headspace and/or the lack of insulation in the lid. I need to remedy this. I've seen some people cut a round piece of foam wrapped in foil or something like that to put directly on top of the mash inside the MT to hold heat in. I'm considering that since nobody has luck using spray foam inside the lids.

 

[TravelingLight]

Anybody use pumps (chugger/march) in their brewing? I plan to add a pump in 2017. But there are SOOOOO many different ways of doing it. And I'm a "learn by seeing" type of guy. I'd love to see someone's setup if any of y'all use pumps.

 

[GammaRay4130]

No pump here but that and a whirlpool arm are probably next up on my list of upgrades.

 

[TravelingLight]

No pump here but that and a whirlpool arm are probably next up on my list of upgrades.

Yeah man. I've got so many projects I want to knock out this year. Everything is pretty much on hold for now until after my wedding in April. Brewing some beers for the wedding too so I'm just rolling with it until after the honeymoon.

 

[GammaRay4130]

Here's my latest, a pale ale I brewed about 2.5 weeks ago. It's all carbed up but could use a little more time in the keg to clear a bit more. Planning on brewing and altbier this weekend, just need to keg my kolsch to make room in my fermentation chamber. What's next up for y'all?

 

[SHAIV]

Hey man your attachment didn't work. I just bottled this one gallon zombie dust cloneView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1487243388.141862.jpg
Omg smelled like amazing tropical fruit, good ol citra!
I also have a simcoe hopped apfelwein in my keg that's overcarbed and needs to be emptied so I can keg my session IPA. That IPA probably needs to be dry hopped soon but I dunno if 2 oz will fitView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1487243555.963095.jpg
I may put an oz in the carboy then put the other as a keg hop. Does anyone have any experience keg hopping? I've never done it before

 

[Poopsmitherson]

What's next up for y'all?

Next up for me is the continuation of nailing my red IPA recipe. I'm actually only brewing iterations of this beer this year to try to really get it where I want it to be. I'm blogging about it too (to give myself some accountability for when I inevitably want to brew something else), so, shameless self plug, if you guys want to check it out you can go here: http://brewublog.wordpress.com

I just posted about iteration 1 and will be brewing iteration 2 on Monday.

 

[SHAIV]

I love ipas. I actually brewed my own amber IPA recipe in December with the rest of my homegrown hops from last year. It turned out great for an extract and it was my first recipe design I'm interested in your recipe