What I did for beer today

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Working a starter of wlp835 Lager X up from a slant, about half way there. I normally do a Marzen for October drinking, but I am going to do a festbier this year. I see there is contest about that time so I might enter it if it tastes good.

Canned 4gal of starter wort, 14 quarts, 7 pints, 7 half pints and 7 quarter pints.

The last time I bought corn sugar it was about 2 dollars per pound so I did 1.5 pounds of invert sugar using table sugar in the pressure cooker while I was canning the wort.
 
for 4 gallons, i'd probably just drop a corny keg in a boiling water pot with a spunding valve.....push out as needed...but i gotta say impressive! :mug:
Sort of a interesting idea not sure you need a spunding valve, but the keg would be taking up space in a cooler displacing beer. The sterile jars can sit on shelf in the garage. I want/need sterile wort for the first few steps(small jars) to give the desired yeast a fair chance to grow.
 
Sort of a interesting idea not sure you need a spunding valve, but the keg would be taking up space in a cooler displacing beer.


just need a extra keg for canning in, and a spunding valve would be like a loose lid in a mason jar? just take it off after heating so it can vacuum seal? now that i think about that, not sure the seal from below lid would work with that, maybe hit it with 30psi of co2 after 'canning'....and if you leave your jars in the garage, why not the keg?
 
just need a extra keg for canning in, and a spunding valve would be like a loose lid in a mason jar? just take it off after heating so it can vacuum seal? now that i think about that, not sure the seal from below lid would work with that, maybe hit it with 30psi of co2 after 'canning'....and if you leave your jars in the garage, why not the keg?
The jars are heated to 245F via boiling at 15psi so they dont need refrigeration. A sanitized keg of wort would need to be refrigerated to food safe temps down around 37F. Not sure the shelf life in the fridge but pretty sure it would be less than sterile jars. The last batch of canned starter was close to 5 months ago, I still have half the small jars left.
 
The jars are heated to 245F via boiling at 15psi so they dont need refrigeration. A sanitized keg of wort would need to be refrigerated to food safe temps down around 37F. Not sure the shelf life in the fridge but pretty sure it would be less than sterile jars. The last batch of canned starter was close to 5 months ago, I still have half the small jars left.



245f? i think you can get away with just bringing it to a boil with spunding valve releasing pressure? then seal the keg off with some co2...

i mean normal canning isn't done at 250f, and 15psi just steam and a boil isn't it? loose lids, then tighten them as they cool down to create a vacuum?
 
245f? i think you can get away with just bringing it to a boil with spunding valve releasing pressure? then seal the keg off with some co2...

i mean normal canning isn't done at 250f, and 15psi just steam and a boil isn't it? loose lids, then tighten them as they cool down to create a vacuum?
If you are canning low acid products you need to get the temp up.

There might be a faster less work way of doing it but I would prefer to not have to worry if it is good enough.
 
This is a combination "what I did for beer today" and "mishaps blah blah afraid to admit all friends here" post. So I'm gearing up to add the fifth tap to the kegerator; got the wood backing piece cut (after clearing a whole bunch of stuff off my table saw, aka place to set random brewing stuff and new angle grinder that I'm not brave enough to use yet). Hole drilled in the kegerator door with my trusty hole saw. Cannot find bottle of glue anywhere, that my tiny little brain insists I used for the last tap add. Turned house upside down, nothing. So decided to use silicone, yeah I'm too impatient for that. Sitting here thinking well here's another trip to HD for glue, when it hit me; I OWN A GLUE GUN. With GORILLA GLUE STICKS. Which is what I used to add the wood backing for the last tap. Said glue gun is now heating up to affix the wood backing. Sometimes I'm amazed I manage to dress myself every morning.
 
Brewed an Amber Ale today. Predicted OG was .053. Close enough.
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More shenanigans. After my previous (very hilarious, come on guys need more likes) post, discovered that I ordered not only the wrong duotight connectors, but also the wrong size duotight for the end of the shank once I get that installed. This is what I get for thinking I know what Amazon is saying. Quick order to brewhardware.com (thanks @Bobby_M for having those premade ball-lock w/tubing and shank duotights!) , and the correct fittings (as well as new false bottoms for both the BK and the MT) will be winging their way to me later next week. And I mowed both lawns, changed out the furnace filter, and about to go get kitchen ready for dinner. Later I might mill grain for brewday tomorrow. Yep I like to keep busy.
 
Today was like Xmas. I made a mistake when I ordered my kegerator with three taps. Why would I need anymore than three? Well today I fixed my mistake. I now have a four tap
:+1:

Also gave me the opportunity to reorganize the interior. I soaked the new EVA barrier beer lines in hot water long enough to remove it's memory of the tight bends, labeled the lines every 10" or so and made cut the lines the correct length. The added bonus is the four tap tower is taller which makes for filling larger growler easier. BTW temperature is 64 degrees 'cause I just turned it back on after the upgrade. Cheers:bigmug: Oh that is my Fresh Squeezed clone in the IPA glass my son gave me for Father's Day.
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Today was like Xmas. I made a mistake when I ordered my kegerator with three taps. Why would I need anymore than three? Well today I fixed my mistake. I now have a four tap
:+1:

Also gave me the opportunity to reorganize the interior. I soaked the new EVA barrier beer lines in hot water long enough to remove it's memory of the tight bends, labeled the lines every 10" or so and made cut the lines the correct length. The added bonus is the four tap tower is taller which makes for filling larger growler easier. BTW temperature is 64 degrees 'cause I just turned it back on after the upgrade. Cheers:bigmug: Oh that is my Fresh Squeezed clone in the IPA glass my son gave me for Father's Day.View attachment 773159
Does the kegerator hold 4 cornies inside? If so thats awesome. Mine will hold 3. And I have 2 taps which I still think is good for me. I use the space for the third keg to lager.
 
Today was like Xmas. I made a mistake when I ordered my kegerator with three taps. Why would I need anymore than three? Well today I fixed my mistake. I now have a four tap
:+1:

Also gave me the opportunity to reorganize the interior. I soaked the new EVA barrier beer lines in hot water long enough to remove it's memory of the tight bends, labeled the lines every 10" or so and made cut the lines the correct length. The added bonus is the four tap tower is taller which makes for filling larger growler easier. BTW temperature is 64 degrees 'cause I just turned it back on after the upgrade. Cheers:bigmug: Oh that is my Fresh Squeezed clone in the IPA glass my son gave me for Father's Day.View attachment 773159
Darn you! Now you've got me thinking about moving from bottles to kegs... and it won't be cheap!
 
Today was like Xmas. I made a mistake when I ordered my kegerator with three taps. Why would I need anymore than three? Well today I fixed my mistake. I now have a four tap
:+1:

Also gave me the opportunity to reorganize the interior. I soaked the new EVA barrier beer lines in hot water long enough to remove it's memory of the tight bends, labeled the lines every 10" or so and made cut the lines the correct length. The added bonus is the four tap tower is taller which makes for filling larger growler easier. BTW temperature is 64 degrees 'cause I just turned it back on after the upgrade. Cheers:bigmug: Oh that is my Fresh Squeezed clone in the IPA glass my son gave me for Father's Day.View attachment 773159
Very nice. I love the black taps! Merry Christmas, or whatever you want to call it!
 
Finished the small cabinet I built, mostly out of leftover wood and plywood, to put on the wall of my garage above the quick ‘n’ dirty keezer. I only had to buy the hardware and a 2’x2’ piece of plywood for the door panel. It holds some glasses and the shallower top shelf will hold the usual assortment of small bits necessary for maintaining a draft system.
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Darn you! Now you've got me thinking about moving from bottles to kegs... and it won't be cheap!
If you don’t have any keg equipment at all then the first thing you need is kegs and a CO2 bottle and regulator. You can find used kegs (which most of them are.) I think the going rate for 5 gallon kegs is $30 or $35 each. I haven’t priced a CO2 bottle and regulator for awhile. Maybe $125 for both, new? Or this is something maybe you can pick up used. Then you need the hoses and the fittings that go on the keg posts to put CO2 in and get liquid out. Those shouldn’t be more than $7 or $8 each. Buy a set of new gaskets for each keg. There are 5 - one inside each post, one on the outside of each post, and the big one that goes under the lid.

Then you can buy a built kegerator or make one out of a freezer chest. The freezer chests are less money. You need an Inkbird or other controller for the temp because you don’t want it to freeze. Plenty of articles that show how to make a collar to attach and put faucets through so you don’t mess up the chest. The thing with the freezer chests though is they open at the top. So you have to lift your kegs up high to get them in and out. Built kegerators are like a small refrigerator with a door that opens front to make things easier. And freezer chests are made to freeze. People put a controller on them for beer so they don’t freeze. They are not made to work like that and my understanding is that its hard on the compressor. That said, I know guys who have converted freezer chests they’ve been using for years and years.

I searched and I searched and I haven’t seen any dorm type refrigerators that are deep enough to hold a carboy for fermenting or a couple kegs. They are all too shallow inside, not deep enough. And they have door shelves and beer can holders inside the door that protrude inside. Most of them also have a small freezer inside at the top that would be in the way. All your kegerators have a door that is completely flat on the inside and no freezer.

I figured if I wanted a kegerator for beer then it was best to just buy a kegerator built for beer instead of messing with less than ideal solutions.

People sell kegerators, both built kegerators and home made ones, on places like CraigsList. But you never know how well they work or how long they had it.
 
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Turned the ferment fridge down from 87° to 68°, to let the Lutra Blonde I brewed yesterday morning finish out. Had high krausen 90 minutes after pitching some proven slurry, was mostly down this morning, and I'll probably set it to crash on Wednesday. Love that yeast. And dropped my work laptop on my foot, getting it set up, after my coworker texted me that something needed my urgent attention that in the five minutes it took to get the bleeding to stop was already handled. Now my toe hurts.
 
While I've never used real fruit in my beer (I've kicked the idea around a time or 2) you could probably make a killer summer Shandy wheat beer or a hard lemonade. I've really thought of using real lemons in a wheat beer or even a dark bock. I add sweet lemonade to 80% of my beers anyway! Habit I picked up in Schweinfurt Germany decades ago. Sounds crazy I know and I thought the same thing as a 19 year old soldier. I was like Germans are crazy! Who on God's Earth puts lemon in their beer?!? I tried it...been hooked ever since. It's basically just a Shandy which I been drinking since 1984 that didn't catch on over here till decades later. Just a thought 😊. I'm sure you will find good use for your lemon gold mine.
Great story! Being new to all of this, do you mind if I ask you when/how much you add to the beer? In the primary or secondary? Thank you!
 
I supplied the beer for a work happy hour event. This is the first time I've shared my beer with anyone other than friends and family. It was a big hit and truly gratifying. I'm especially pleased with my chocolate porter as it was my first time making anything darker than an IPA and it really turned out nicely.
 

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Second of a 2 -step shaken-not-stirred starter of WLP001 Cal Ale yeast. Over-building it so I'll have a big pitch in my 2.5 gal house IPA I'm brewing later in the weekend, plus 100b cells to put back in the fridge for next time. Step 2 goes apesh!t very quickly, this pic was less than 3 hours post-pitch.

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One-week gravity check on the Lawn Mower Ale. FG 1.012, ABV 6.69 (so it's a bit higher than I expected). Color perfect, still a bit hazy, malty start, bready middle, slightly grapefruit finish.

Two weeks to go in the fermenter, then (if I decide to get all keggy about it) I'll either force carb or (if not) I'll bottle with corn sugar.
 
One-week gravity check on the Lawn Mower Ale. FG 1.012, ABV 6.69 (so it's a bit higher than I expected). Color perfect, still a bit hazy, malty start, bready middle, slightly grapefruit finish.

Two weeks to go in the fermenter, then (if I decide to get all keggy about it) I'll either force carb or (if not) I'll bottle with corn sugar.
Damn!!! Hope you don't have a riding mower with a lawn mower beer coming in just shy of 7%!
 
Heading down to my mentor's brewpub in about an hour, to bring back the keggle I bought from him 4 years ago (I got a new SS kettle for my HLT). In the many years I've known him he's gone from running a tiny brewpub out of his garage, to a very nice place in downtown Auburn with pretty shiny new big conicals, and he just recently set up his system so he can start the water remotely. We used to get started at 5am and were going until 4-5pm for ONE 3bbl batch, just texted to make sure he's still brewing today and he's just now getting up. By the time he gets to the pub the water will be at strike temp. When I get home I'll get my Lutra Blonde kegged, and decide what I'm brewing tomorrow morning.
 
YVH had a flash sale on 2021 Mosaic this week, I scored 2lbs. Might have to try it in my House APA recipe, I usually just use it for IPAs. Intriguing!
Yeah, my house APA is usually 100% Citra. I wanted to try something different, and Mosaic should be in the same ballpark as Citra but different enough to make it interesting. I'll let you know how it turns out!
 
My mentor buddy recently started making hard seltzer (yah I know, everybody is doing it), had some yesterday during my visit and it's better than anything you can get from the store; so giving it one more try. Had it done and in the ferment fridge in less than an hour; and some may scoff but I'm going to ferment it on Lutra. HBFL did a video on hard seltzers back in 2020, they tried three different yeasts (distillers, champagne, and Lutra) and the Lutra by far turned out the clearest, and according to them, pretty tasty. This one probably wont' be clear, since I didn't have any fresh and had to use slurry; but it's only a 2.5g batch, if it tanks nothing much lost but my time and 1.75lbs of mixed white and brown sugar. Sitting pretty at 90° in the ferment fridge. Going to the Mariners game today for husband's birthday, bet it takes off before we leave. Also pulled the PRV on the Blonde I kegged yesterday, hope to have it ready to tap by the time we get home tonight, to share tomorrow during the quiet (all fireworks banned in my town) festivities.
 
... and he just recently set up his system so he can start the water remotely. We used to get started at 5am and were going until 4-5pm for ONE 3bbl batch, just texted to make sure he's still brewing today and he's just now getting up. By the time he gets to the pub the water will be at strike temp.
 
I made a cream ale yesterday. I was supposed to make this a couple weeks ago but decided to hold off because I wanted to radically reevaluate my approach to light colored water. Although I’m really happy with where my water is now, I think it’s good practice to sometimes reset what you’re doing and go back to your old baseline to see if the improvements you’ve made actually are improvements.
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