What did you learn this week?

[DougK]

I learned you apparently aren't supposed to mill Barley Flakes with the rest of your grains. Oops.

Hopefully my first Partial Mash comes out OK.

I also learned that it is possible to smack a "Smack Pack" too hard. The guy at the store said to slam it down on the counter, you can't break the seal on the outer package.


Guess I don't know my own strength.

 

[scrapes]

anti foam in the yeast starter and a bonus lesson, priming sugar needs more attention, over carbed sucks

 

[BrewMasta]

I learned that I can use my left over, stockpiled priming sugar to boost my ABV, and I learned that the term "dry out your brew" means to lower the gravity.

 

[BigFloyd]

I learned just how expensive it is to set up a 3-faucet keezer, especially if you buy the good stuff (like Perlick 525SS faucets and stainless shanks).

 

[DougK]

I learned just how expensive it is to set up a 3-faucet keezer, especially if you buy the good stuff (like Perlick 525SS faucets and stainless shanks).

I'm in the process of building one myself, I got the same faucets/shanks.


The good news is I had budgeted for a brand new 7.2 CF chest freezer but scored one on Craigslist for $50. I am debating adding nitro as well.

 

[BigFloyd]

I'm in the process of building one myself, I got the same faucets/shanks.


The good news is I had budgeted for a brand new 7.2 CF chest freezer but scored one on Craigslist for $50. I am debating adding nitro as well.

Nice find. My upright freezer that i use for fermenting was a CL buy. The chest freezer (soon to be keezer) was already in the family and sitting unused. All I have to do is "re-purpose" it. I just added the collar (2x8 pine) today and will be working on the rest of the woodwork (in re-purposed oak) as time allows.

I ordered my regulator and other hardware from Birdman Brewing last Friday after talking with Brian, the owner. He's a super-nice guy who obviously loves home brewing. He's also an HBT vendor.

 

[LoloMT7]

I learned just how expensive it is to set up a 3-faucet keezer, especially if you buy the good stuff (like Perlick 525SS faucets and stainless shanks).

I know what you mean they are expensive just got mine on Monday and installed them in my upright fridge.. supper happy with these perlick that i ordered though http://www.williamsbrewing.com/PERLICK-FORWARD-SEAL-FAUCET-WITH-STAINLESS-SHANK-P2162C65.aspx

 

[Feem74]

I learned that holding the hydrometer too tightly while trying to dry it off can result in a exploding hydrometer. Thankfully I had turned away from the kettle before learning just how fragile those things are!

 

[cageybee]

I learned that employees will complain about "too much work", but they won't give you the data to do capacity management for fear of micromanagement. oops...wrong forum. I learned that the hardest thing I've ever done was to not drink the beer I brewed.

 

[thadius856]

I know what you mean they are expensive just got mine on Monday and installed them in my upright fridge.. supper happy with these perlick that i ordered though http://www.williamsbrewing.com/PERLICK-FORWARD-SEAL-FAUCET-WITH-STAINLESS-SHANK-P2162C65.aspx

Related, I learned that the flow control model, while still only available in chrome, allows you to have shorter line lengths and reduces the need for secondary regulators.

 

[dadshomebrewing]

hi guys... this week i may have learned a reason to use secondary fermentation.

if you happen to have a job that will take you away from brew stuff for kind of a long time (like 3 months), it might be a good idea to get the brew off the cake in primary if you get a little time somewhere in there.


any guess how i learned this?


btw... i'm just going to assume that three months in a fermenter isn't going to hurt anything except my feelings.

 

[DougK]

hi guys... this week i may have learned a reason to use secondary fermentation.

if you happen to have a job that will take you away from brew stuff for kind of a long time (like 3 months), it might be a good idea to get the brew off the cake in primary if you get a little time somewhere in there.

any guess how i learned this?

btw... i'm just going to assume that three months in a fermenter isn't going to hurt anything except my feelings.

That is actually good to know. I've never been traveling for more than 5 weeks, but a longer trip could certainly happen. It was actually one of the bigger hurdles preventing me from getting into brewing. I though leaving a new in the fermentor for more than a month would ruin it. Now I know better.

 

[dadshomebrewing]

i don't do really long trips, but i do them on very short notice (like a couple hours), and wind up working a lot of weekends.

i wound up leaving these batches in the jugs for a very long time.

i don't think it hurt anything, they taste good, and the FG's are good, but it's probably not smart to do, either, to leave them on the trub that long.

 

[dadshomebrewing]

i also learned that darker, heavier, beers (like a porter or stout) are more forgiving than lighter beers (like a cream ale) for the occasional mis-step.

but the cream of three crops ale from the recipe section is an amazing brew.

highly recommended.

 

[DougK]

i also learned that darker, heavier, beers (like a porter or stout) are more forgiving than lighter beers (like a cream ale) for the occasional mis-step.

but the cream of three crops ale from the recipe section is an amazing brew.

highly recommended.

I will have to check if out. My pipeline is going to be full for a few weeks now though. My fermentors are all going to be full for a couple weeks.

 

[thadius856]

Have that recipe kegged. It's okay. Quaffable. Would have suited my tastes well when I was in college, but not a big fan on it these days.

I keep it on hand for BMC-loving friends, but would much rather have an APA or porter or something.

 

[dadshomebrewing]

seems to me it will be a nice lawn mower beer, right about the time i pull the lawn mower out of storage. in April

 

[nelven34]

I learned that with a little oil a wing capper is not actually a complete pain in the butt to use. After a year and a half of jamming and pushing one handle against my chest, pulling the other handle up and making sure the bottle didn't go flying just to open the capper, I was staring at a six pick of uncapped beer and a completely stuck capper. Thought "maybe I'll just try oiling it. Surely it won't help because this thing has sucked since I started brewing and surely it just sucks because why would I have had to oil anything coming out of the box?"

I guess I also learned that assuming something should work correctly out of the box is a bit optimistic.

 

[DougK]

I learned that with a little oil a wing capper is not actually a complete pain in the butt to use. After a year and a half of jamming and pushing one handle against my chest, pulling the other handle up and making sure the bottle didn't go flying just to open the capper, I was staring at a six pick of uncapped beer and a completely stuck capper. Thought "maybe I'll just try oiling it. Surely it won't help because this thing has sucked since I started brewing and surely it just sucks because why would I have had to oil anything coming out of the box?"

I guess I also learned that assuming something should work correctly out of the box is a bit optimistic.

I found it works best to push the handles down until the jaws grab the bottle and then pick the whole thing up to complete the capping, holding the capper like you would if you were breaking a stick.

I broke a few bottles pushing the handles all the way down with the bottle on the counter. I didn't break any when capping this way though.

 

[plainbrad]

I learned that SImpson's Extra Dark Crystal (~160L) will make my ordinary bitter darker than beersmith2 thought it would.

 

[dadshomebrewing]

maybe it was just dumb luck for me, but my red, two handled, bottle capper is just about the easiest thing to use of any of by home brewing toys

 

[DougK]

maybe it was just dumb luck for me, but my red, two handled, bottle capper is just about the easiest thing to use of any of by home brewing toys

It is easy enough to use, but it also does not take much to break a bottle if you push down the handles onto a stationary bottle. Just a little side load or a little too much pressure on one handle and it will break the bottle.

It will work this way, but I broke a few bottles doing this way as well. Once I got into the habit of picking the whole thing up once the capper was attached to the bottle I didn't break any more.

 

[dadshomebrewing]

like i said, it might be pure, blind, dumb, luck (because it surely isn't knowledge or experience), but i've never had those issues.

heaven knows i have my share of other problems, just not that one.

 

[DougK]

like i said, it might be pure, blind, dumb, luck (because it surely isn't knowledge or experience), but i've never had those issues.

heaven knows i have my share of other problems, just not that one.

It could also just be pure bad luck on my part. Or maybe since they were recycled bottles they were weaker. I don't know.

 

[m1k3]

I learned not to drop my glass hydrometer in the bottom of the glass flask.

I think I've learned this before.

 

[Mostly_Norwegian]

I've learned that no matter how many times you read the recipe, you should read it again just to make sure you're doing it "right."
I've also learned, it's good to be more careful with muslin hop sacks. I had one start to catch on fire because it wasn't knotted to the brew kettle and I had another one get knotted up in my infusion blender.

 

[scrapes]

I learned that all capable bottles aren't the same. I was saving Dos Equis bottles then a friend pointed out the collar. Its very close to the rim and may not cap as easy. I've moved on to Sam Adams.

 

[adiochiro3]

I learned that chocolate nibs are notorious for infecting wort if added after the wort is cool. I'm pretty sure that's what got my 2nd batch of chocolate stout. I got lucky on the first batch; I added at flame out, which would sterilize them, but I'm pretty sure I did not do that for the second batch.

I guess a corollary lesson is: take REALLY good notes on every single procedural detail!

 

[Mutt98]

I've learned that nothing makes me lose more sleep at night than the thought of nearly a gallon of beer dripping through the boards of my deck. But the other four happily fermenting away makes it a little better.

 

[stpug]

I learned that even though you *think* your back is getting better, it might not be