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I double brewed last night and into early this morning, an English Brown and a Best Bitter. The brown came in at 1.050 and the bitter at 1.052. The yeast was a repitch of 002 English Ale from my English Mild that was the second runnings of my Imperial Stout. The Mild is tasting fantastic now that is slightly carbonated.

The hopping for both were simple. I used UK Phoenix for both. 5/8 oz. went into the brown for 60 minutes and 28 IBUs. The bitter had a half oz at 60 minutes and another half ounce at 15 min for a little over 30 IBUs total. These should both be easy drinking session beers.
 
Still trying to kaizen the Cali Schwarz towards my mental goal. Last couple batches weren't quite there. M54 and Northern Brewer hops this time. Might be weird; might be great.
 

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Getting ready to mash in on a WF lager, with this girl as my brewdog for the last time. Tomorrow she's crossing the bridge, it's time. She's been with us for 12 years since she was a puppy, and has been the best, goofiest, cuddliest, goodest girl. She's having some bad heart/breathing issues that medication just isn't helping anymore. Love you my Sabrina.
 

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ran to wallyworld for honey
As a beekeeper, this hurts. I know it's cheaper than real raw local honey, but they heat it up so much and filter it so finely that it's really not honey anymore.

Anyway, I apologize for sticking my nose into your business. I hope your mead-making helps to distract you from the loss of your fur-baby.
 
As a beekeeper, this hurts. I know it's cheaper than real raw local honey, but they heat it up so much and filter it so finely that it's really not honey anymore.

Anyway, I apologize for sticking my nose into your business. I hope your mead-making helps to distract you from the loss of your fur-baby.
Thanks for that. There is a local honey farm not far away that I've thought about going to, but their cheapest is about $25/3lbs. Right now just can't justify $50 for a 3g batch of mead, at least not until I get better at it.
 
Brewed a Hopfenwiesse today. Total nightmare, crush on the wheat was FAR too fine and it burned onto the bottom of my Brewzilla twice, triggering the boil dry protection. Had to drain it, clean it, then baby the thing up to pre-boil using just the 500W element, took all bloody day to get it into the fermenter.

Hit my numbers in the end though, 1.075 OG. 27g of Mandarina Bavaria in the boil, and 20g more plus 40g each of Vic Secret and Necteron in the whirlpool. Two packs of 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen.

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Last WF lager that was done under pressure is seriously meh, if not ick; so since my wonderful new job is allowing me to stay home tomorrow, as we have a new dog to get acclimated to our house, I'm going to brew another one. This one with fresh yeast, and THIS time let it sit in the fermenter for at least 6 days before crashing. Also most of the ports are closed tomorrow, so they won't miss me too much.
 
Last WF lager that was done under pressure is seriously meh, if not ick; so since my wonderful new job is allowing me to stay home tomorrow, as we have a new dog to get acclimated to our house, I'm going to brew another one. This one with fresh yeast, and THIS time let it sit in the fermenter for at least 6 days before crashing. Also most of the ports are closed tomorrow, so they won't miss me too much.
And in a strange twist of fate (or maybe the brew goblins switched kegs on me) the lager actually tastes a LOT better today, and should only get better; so doing a quick blonde on Lutra. Remember kids; don't give up on a beer too soon!
 
Thanks for that. There is a local honey farm not far away that I've thought about going to, but their cheapest is about $25/3lbs. Right now just can't justify $50 for a 3g batch of mead, at least not until I get better at it.
Wanted to let you know that I finally hit up our local honey farm today, and bought 6lbs of their raspberry honey for a small mead batch later today. Just tasted it and cannot wait to see what it ferments into; delicious honey flavor with some raspberry notes. Only $46 so I guess I can afford it....
 
Took advantage of my 3 day weekend to brew a batch of a West Coast Pilsner (a hoppy Pilsner featuring American hops). I decided this pack of Lallemand NovaLager would be a good excuse to try pressure fermenting in a keg. Also, a good chance to see if I could make 3.5 gallons of wort in my 5 gallon kettle (BIAB, but I did a dunk sparge with 1 gallon). Overall it was a very smooth brew day and I pretty much hit my numbers (less volume, probably due to losses to hops, but higher gravity, so I was able to top up the fermenter to hit both targets exactly).

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With my ferm fridge out of commission lager is back to how I did it back in the day. Instead of fermenting indoors and cooling; I'll ferment outdoors and heat.
 

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I commend your wort:kettle volume ratio.

I condone your propane tank location. Use the full length of that hose to get the tank away from the flame.
The tank was almost empty and covered with frost, so I put it near the burner to eke out the last fumes. I replaced the tank shortly after this photo and positioned it far away!
 
Brewed a Hopfenwiesse today. Total nightmare, crush on the wheat was FAR too fine and it burned onto the bottom of my Brewzilla twice, triggering the boil dry protection. Had to drain it, clean it, then baby the thing up to pre-boil using just the 500W element, took all bloody day to get it into the fermenter.

Hit my numbers in the end though, 1.075 OG. 27g of Mandarina Bavaria in the boil, and 20g more plus 40g each of Vic Secret and Necteron in the whirlpool. Two packs of 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen.

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Show me "entirely predictable and expected things which happen every time you brew with Wyeast 3068 but which you always forget about":


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Well, at least it smells great.
 
Show me "entirely predictable and expected things which happen every time you brew with Wyeast 3068 but which you always forget about":

Well, at least it smells great.
Definitely had that happen. This was day 8 of fermentation, when I thought I was safe enough to finally put the lid on. Nope!
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Thursday morning - Cold IPA on w/ simcoe and citra because I want to convince my wife that simcoe is better than what she thinks.
Today - Red lager to get conditioning so it can get in the back of the line for its space in the keezer
Tomorrow - Basic test saison for Bootleg Biology's Saison Parfait

Noticing several King Juniors. Let me add one more into the mix.

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First of four, as I try once again to determine whether I can taste the difference between Pilsner malts. Today the Pilsner is Sugar Creek, tomorrow Crisp Hana, and then Weyermann Barke and Floor-Malted Bohemian.
Also, Alexkay you've got a nice little BIAB setup there. Is that the 5.5 gal SS Brewtech kettle and a wilser bag? I approve 😂

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Also, Alexkay you've got a nice little BIAB setup there. Is that the 5.5 gal SS Brewtech kettle and a wilser bag? I approve 😂

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Yep! Your countertop is a lot cleaner than mine, though. I also use a JaDeD chiller in it, but a Mantis ... is that a Scylla?

That's my kettle for 1 and 2.5-gallon batches. For half-gallon batches I do this.
 
Yep! Your countertop is a lot cleaner than mine, though. I also use a JaDeD chiller in it, but a Mantis ... is that a Scylla?

That's my kettle for 1 and 2.5-gallon batches. For half-gallon batches I do this
I just finished a brew day and cleanup. That's as shiny as it gets 😂 Yeah, it's a Scylla. It juuuust barely works in that kettle. Holy cow is it a combination, though. Drops so quick it's actually pretty tricky to go to just 180 for a hopstand or something. Blink your eyes and you're at 130...

That other setup you linked^^^...you're too much, man :D

Sounds tasty! My money is on the Willamette
Mine is on the Czech Saaz, but that's me
 
Took advantage of my 3 day weekend to brew a batch of a West Coast Pilsner (a hoppy Pilsner featuring American hops). I decided this pack of Lallemand NovaLager would be a good excuse to try pressure fermenting in a keg. Also, a good chance to see if I could make 3.5 gallons of wort in my 5 gallon kettle (BIAB, but I did a dunk sparge with 1 gallon). Overall it was a very smooth brew day and I pretty much hit my numbers (less volume, probably due to losses to hops, but higher gravity, so I was able to top up the fermenter to hit both targets exactly).

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Cannot wait to get my hands on that yeast; our LHBS doesn't have it yet, but I know a few customers have asked him to stock it. Eager to see how it turns out for you.
 
About to finish up on a clone recipe for a beer the husband brought home this week. Nothing but Comet hops; the ones I had are a bit old (smelled a bit cheesey) but I'm running with it anyway. Very light grain bill of 9.5lbs pale and .5lb Munich, FWH, bittering, and 10 minute addition of Comet, fermented on fresh Notty yeast. Anxious to see how it turns out.
 
Cannot wait to get my hands on that yeast; our LHBS doesn't have it yet, but I know a few customers have asked him to stock it. Eager to see how it turns out for you
I made a pretty basic lager with it and left some notes in the warm lager thread if you're interested. Here's the link. No sulfur at all, as advertised, and it cleaned up really quickly. The esters are there but not too heavy. It's pretty much as promised. Passed it around at the last club meeting and got nothing but good feedback. Really looking forward to how it works for @CascadesBrewer in a cold IPA too :)
 
In Mexico for work this week. Back Saturday for a few days before a vacation. Planning to get a brew day of an IPA Saturday. Getting short on home brew in the house but hopefully have enough to get me through a brew day. (Have another one conditioning but won't be ready)
 
Four packets of Novalager yeast winging their way to me from Ohio (labelpeelers had it for fairly cheap), slated to arrive on Saturday; so going to make my house WF lager on Sunday and see if this yeast lives up to the hype. Going to pitch with one packet after a vitality starter and see what I get. Been using 34/70 for a while now after my love affair with S23 went south.
 

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