What I did for beer today

[seanjwalker1]

Kegged 5 gals of Pale Ale with nowhere to put it since I'm still waiting for a bulkhead to move my CO2 tank outside the kegerator. Hope it doesn't mind hanging out without temp control for a couple days 'cuz I' m brewing tomorrow!

I've had mine on the back of my kegerator for over a year. Never a problem with carbonation or keg pressure.

 

[BrewZer]

Bottling day at the city house. 2.5 gal of California Common and 2.5 gal of Vienna/Citra SMaSH.
View attachment 744246View attachment 744247

You showed great restraint, 'cause I can think of a few beer names that rhyme with "Mama Cass."

 

[grampamark]

You showed great restraint, 'cause I can think of a few beer names that rhyme with "Mama Cass."

And one of them is made right here in Montana

 

[crazyjake19]

Spending today kegging a cider and a cream ale, and cleaning up the brew room in preparation for a Sunday morning brew day. I've been lazy lately and the brew room is getting a bit messy.

 

[Beerstein]

I cleaned my tap lines; pulled off the spouts, and deep cleaned them.

Planning a new keezer build in the next 1-2 months. I'm looking forward to that.

 

[ba-brewer]

Kegged 5 gals of Pale Ale with nowhere to put it since I'm still waiting for a bulkhead to move my CO2 tank outside the kegerator. Hope it doesn't mind hanging out without temp control for a couple days 'cuz I' m brewing tomorrow!

A few days should not be that bad as long as you have it under constant pressure or keep topping it off so you don't lose the seal.

 

[JAReeves]

Cleaned the brew area a little, hoping for a brewery tomorrow, but first I need to taste the starter. It's a sharp sour odor coming from rejuvenated WL007, and that's not what I remember from the last brewday (May!). May have to scrounge some yeast packets out of the keezer and hope that other harvested cultures will work as well or else I have to postpone until next week!

EDIT: Tasted the beer on top of the yeast cultures. The WL007 definitely went the way of Tart Saison, and in only a week! I did something wrong there, that's for sure. But the S-05 in the fridge tastes clean and neutral, so looks like I have yeast for mañana. Checked on a Belgian culture and got a distinct taste of mustard. That's a new one on me.

 

[csantoni]

A few days should not be that bad as long as you have it under constant pressure or keep topping it off so you don't lose the seal.

Thanks for the tip, I would not have thought to do that.

 

[BrewChem]

Stepped up a WLP099 yeast starter from 750ml to 4.5L. I’m working on getting enough yeast for an attempt at a 20+ ABV beer. Going to step it up again to 5 gal next week.

 

[seanjwalker1]

Cleaned the brew area a little, hoping for a brewery tomorrow, but first I need to taste the starter. It's a sharp sour odor coming from rejuvenated WL007, and that's not what I remember from the last brewday (May!). May have to scrounge some yeast packets out of the keezer and hope that other harvested cultures will work as well or else I have to postpone until next week!

EDIT: Tasted the beer on top of the yeast cultures. The WL007 definitely went the way of Tart Saison, and in only a week! I did something wrong there, that's for sure. But the S-05 in the fridge tastes clean and neutral, so looks like I have yeast for mañana. Checked on a Belgian culture and got a distinct taste of mustard. That's a new one on me.

.... mustard...now I love mustard, just bought some authentic German hot mustard for my knackwurst...but mustard beer

 

[seanjwalker1]

And one of them is made right here in Montana
View attachment 744303

Love it!!!!!

 

[seanjwalker1]

Well got the CO2 refilled but then get a call from the brother in law that he and his girlfriend and their son, who were over last weekend just tested positive for Covid and they are all double ...so needless to say wife is in a uproar, which means I'm in a uproar, running around 4 local cities all day trying to get tested. No dice, had to spend hours on phone with CVS powers that be to get tested tomorrow. So today no beer kegging as planned, no football, no freaking ice cream and raining on me,wife and son only Oktoberfest party I had planned with authentic Schnitzel, bratwurst,knackwurst Speatzel knodel and festbier . Covid I hate you. I've been waiting 4 months to keg....

 

[Bramling Cross]

I brewed an IPA today (one of the three IPAs I nabbed last Spring due to Mr. SeanJWalker). It's the Fresh Squished kit and it certainly was citrusy on its way into the fermenter. It was a nice easy day, hit all my numbers and didn't even spill anything on the floor.

 

[csantoni]

Brewed a Mexican Lager. First time using my new (to me) grain mill, first decoction, first time using Motueka hops. Hit all my numbers exactly as planned and got it into the fermentor in about 5 hours. Good brew day.

edit: also first time using flaked corn adjunct. lots of firsts!

 

[seanjwalker1]

Oktoberfest ends tomorrow so I wasn't gonna let the spectre of possibly Covid positive ruin the whole day. I went ahead and made authentic dishes all imported from Germany and made sure I had a decent German Hefe. ProBst !

 

[ba-brewer]

Getting to be a trend Yesterday did another double brew day, two full volume half size batches(2gals). Two small ones is not much longer than 1 full size 5gal batch as the water heats pretty fast and can over the two to have ready to start after the other is done boiling, Getting better at coordinating the two brews.

Today being entertained by beer they both seem to doing just fine without my help.

 

[JAReeves]

I am getting my brew day, boil is almost done. Added some raw rye to invent a Polish IPA in honor of my dad. He needs a boost because the Steelers have been dogging it. A day where I don't have to put out metaphorical fires and just get to do something like make beer is a beautiful day.

Amusingly enough, the family all chimed in on my brew day, "About F****in' time!"

I am apparently unpleasant when I do not get to make stuff. Who knew.

Love the Hop Stopper 2.0!!!!!!

 

[kmarkstevens]

The Boddington pre-1970 clone is fermenting away. The Manchester yeast may be doing a number on this one. In my 6 gallon fermenter, there is an inch or so of krausen.But the wierd thing this bug chunks of yeast are rising fromthe bottom and rising to the top. Looks like a slow motion snoglobe. never seen yeasties acting this was before.

 

[DBhomebrew]

But the wierd thing this bug chunks of yeast are rising fromthe bottom and rising to the top.

Pub does that. Flocculant blobs hitching a ride with CO2 methinks. More fun to stare at than the usual swirling action.

 

[ba-brewer]

The Boddington pre-1970 clone is fermenting away. The Manchester yeast may be doing a number on this one. In my 6 gallon fermenter, there is an inch or so of krausen.But the wierd thing this bug chunks of yeast are rising fromthe bottom and rising to the top. Looks like a slow motion snoglobe. never seen yeasties acting this was before.

I don't recall that behavior from that yeast but in my notes for the starters I see it is one that flocks heavy like egg drop soup and a note about cottage cheese so that does not surprise me.

edit: forgot a not

 

[orionol73]

Bottled my batch of Kiwi Express IPA, bottom of the bucket tasted great!

 

[kmarkstevens]

Did my first Essex ale. Came out decently. Of course, at the same time I also tried using 40% of the grist with Biscuit just 'cause I had leftovers to use up. That was too much biscuit and overpowered the yeast.

 

[BeerAndTele]

He needs a boost because the Steelers have been dogging it.

Word. Beer to the rescue.

 

[balrog]

Kegged a pale. Acquaintance has SIL thinking of commercially growing hops, gave me some to test brew and give feedback.

Feedback was pretty brutal. I think he picked way early and did not dry very well. They were Cascade (he said) with no aroma, gave the beer no flavor, I added 2oz Cascade pellets at FO to try and save 5g of pale. When I checked after 12d there was still almost no hop aroma/flavor so I dry hopped 3d with 1oz ea Cascade and Azacca. When I kegged today it had an really interesting tropical piney stone fruitish almost coconut thing going.

And in my limited 200 batch, 8 yr brewing, was the first ever time I dry hopped anything. (we are not going to discuss the dry hopping i did with the thermometer that time, dropping it through the grommet hole and just leaving it until I bottled)

 

[csantoni]

Put a bulkhead through the hump in my kegerator to move the CO2 outside. Now I can get a 5 gal in front and 3.5 gal on the hump. Also installed a secondary reg so I can run two different pressures inside plus have an open reg outside for purging and carbing in the fermentor.

And finally, since I had the kegerator torn apart, I routed my temp sensor wires through the power cord grommet so the door seals 100% again.

Pretty good afternoon project with minimal headaches. Now I just need to wait another week for my pale ale to carb up.

 

[seanjwalker1]

Finally managed to squeeze an hour and a half to re lubricate the keg post seals and give the taps and tap lines a good cleaning. Just reattached the airlines to the co2 tank which was refilled a week ago, been completely closed off but it's only showing 1/2 full on my 1 year old Northern Brewer double guage ? Did the soapy bubbles test for leaks and nada so I'm guessing the guage is faulty ? Any way to calibrate the guage needles ??? Freaking hate to fork over for another guage and or tank as these were bought new a year ago!!!

 

[ba-brewer]

Finally managed to squeeze an hour and a half to re lubricate the keg post seals and give the taps and tap lines a good cleaning. Just reattached the airlines to the co2 tank which was refilled a week ago, been completely closed off but it's only showing 1/2 full on my 1 year old Northern Brewer double guage ? Did the soapy bubbles test for leaks and nada so I'm guessing the guage is faulty ? Any way to calibrate the guage needles ??? Freaking hate to fork over for another guage and or tank as these were bought new a year ago!!!

It seem many people's gauges don't work well for identifying the amount of CO2 left. Mine seem to track pretty close.

I would put the cylinder on a fairly accurate scale to see if it matches the gauge before doing anything.

 

[camonick]

been completely closed off but it's only showing 1/2 full on my 1 year old Northern Brewer double guage ?

What is “half full”? The high pressure (tank gauge) reads the vapor pressure in the head space, which should remain fairly constant (≈830 psi @ 70° F) until all the liquid has boiled and there is only vapor left. The green “range” on most gauges is just for looks. The only real way to tell is by weight as @ba-brewer mentions above. When you see the pressure needle start to head “south” or it’s in the red “order gas” range, it will be out of gas very quickly.

 

[seanjwalker1]

What is “half full”? The high pressure (tank gauge) reads the vapor pressure in the head space, which should remain fairly constant (≈830 psi @ 70° F) until all the liquid has boiled and there is only vapor left. The green “range” on most gauges is just for looks. The only real way to tell is by weight as @ba-brewer mentions above. When you see the pressure needle start to head “south” or it’s in the red “order gas” range, it will be out of gas very quickly.

When I pressurized the empty tanks, to keep out bacteria from the seals I'm guessing, until I fill with beer, the gauge is barely above the red warning to"refill with gas soon". If I recall the 1st time I did this, the capacity reading was much higher. I've only kegged 4 batches on the 1st co2 fill so I'm no expert.

 

[seanjwalker1]

When I pressurized the empty tanks, to keep out bacteria from the seals I'm guessing, until I fill with beer, the gauge is barely above the red warning to"refill with gas soon". If I recall the 1st time I did this, the capacity reading was much higher. I've only kegged 4 batches on the 1st co2 fill so I'm no expert.

And I'm meant to write 1/4 full, not 1/2