What I did for beer today

[IslandLizard]

I just call them lid locks

Then you must have some real choice names for them when they fail that one simple task...

 

[seanjwalker1]

Then you must have some real choice names for them when they fail that one simple task...

Wouldn't be proper to repeat what call them !

 

[tracer bullet]

Went to the LHBS for the 3rd time for yeast for a single 2.5 gallon batch of Pale Ale.

Brewed Thursday morning
Pitched the yeast (#1) in the fermenter just before transferring the wort on top
Realized I hadn't emptied out the gallon of sanitizer solution, oops
Went and got more yeast (#2) right away, and threw it in right away (no smack / swell, just go)
Waited about ~ 48 hours, until late this morning, no activity whatsoever (clear fermenter)
Went to the store again, bought more (#3), pitched that in

And of course I went from zero yeast activity to some clear bubbles starting to form the beginning of a krausen, like, while I was literally out of the house this morning running errands, and so I was probably fine after all.

 

[Civilian]

Brewed a Chocolate Milk Stout, without any major mishaps, think this is the first time i didn't drop the outlet hose of my immersion chiller sending hot water on the kitchen floor.. Overshot OG by .004 so thats good.

 

[T Murph]

I put a case of Bell's Robust Porter in the beer fridge. Yeah I'll be having one of those later during the Auburn game.

 

[seanjwalker1]

Today is a sad sad day in the Walker World of home brewing...went to my fave LHBS to gather my Christmas Ale fixings... which to me is hands down by far the best LHBS in these parts of S.E Michigan. Sign on the door said closed permanently !!!! I'm devastated!!!! I did post about 4 months ago the young owner passed from cancer out of nowhere. But 2 of the guys who worked there were trying to take it over and keep it going...alas it was not to be. Bottles up to you Andy and my lost LHBS Cap N Cork !!! . Leaned how to do so much from those guys at that great place. 30 years...end of an era.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Spent some time stewarding at a competition, then sampled various beers at the beer expo at the same venue, before learning the results and collecting my 2nd place for ….
Russia Is Not Borg - porter with beet root, lol. I will be making a donation to World Kitchen as they continue to help feed Ukrainians.

 

[seanjwalker1]

They're the little white or gray things on the legs that go against the keg when you flip the handle over to seal the lid (photo below). I had to use needle-nose pliers to get them off. I've read posts where people have used solder to fill the gap but I don't currently have any solder (nor any earthly idea where my soldering iron is). Was thinking ratshot (or similar bb shot) would work as well, also something I don't have handy. Even a small piece of wire might work, just make sure it's not sharp enough to pierce the plastic.

*edit And I do hope this works for you, love reading your posts!! This is what HBT is all about, helping each other.

View attachment 786108

By the way thanks for the tip Seatazzz. I'll try the coin method next I keg this coming week.

 

[seanjwalker1]

Needed a pick me up after the kick in the stomach of having my LHBS close plus the 1st day of snow .. So went to Total Wine and more and what do you know ? My fave goto ale during my 3 trips to England, Fullers London Pride ! And Sam Smith Winter Welcome. So a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dreary sad day. cheers

 

[leedspointbrew]

Checked on yesterday's coffee stout - S04 seems to adjust to the cold temps in my shed like Lutra in a nice room-temperature kitchen - it is bubbling away like crazy. The way the weather is looking this week in south Jersey (and everywhere else), it's going to be an iced-coffee stout.

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

I found an article about making tinctures using a sous vide. 3 hours at 135F to produce a finished product (supposedly). On the left is a oak tincture and the right is cinnamon.

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

I found an article about making tinctures using a sous vide. 3 hours at 135F to produce a finished product (supposedly). On the left is a oak tincture and the right is cinnamon.

Turns out this is a technique used by the cannabis trade.

 

[Civilian]

Sunday brewed a batch of Bourbon Barrel Porter.
Today, read some articles about wood aging, decided to use Blackend Whiskey.

 

[KeizerBrewr]

Ordered more Clarity Ferm....probably gonna pull the trigger on a 1L bottle after the first of the year, as the 10mL homebrew vials are dumb. Also, got my ingredients for my Belgian Golden Strong, just need to pencil in a brew day by the end of the month. 1388 is currently spinning up in preparation.

 

[Deric]

Yesterday…

Kegged up the Festivusbier brewed 3 weeks ago. Fermented half with 34/70 and half with Cellar Science German. Finished at the same gravity and taste/look identical.

Then…. Brewed a dark mild.

Today…. Dry hopped the WCIPA/Hazy(ish) Pale I brewed last weekend.

 

[BrewMan13]

Kicked the pumpkin, so officially tapped the oatmeal stout & barleywine (the latter definitely fermented some in the keg, but doesn't taste infected). Prepped to brew over the weekend, but stuff happened and I never got to it. It's just as well, as the yeast is taking a long time to wake up in the starter. Also sent in my entry to a Belgian style only competition.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Kicked the pumpkin, so officially tapped the oatmeal stout & barleywine (the latter definitely fermented some in the keg, but doesn't taste infected). Prepped to brew over the weekend, but stuff happened and I never got to it. It's just as well, as the yeast is taking a long time to wake up in the starter. Also sent in my entry to a Belgian style only competition.

Score high and take a ribbon!

 

[ba-brewer]

May your best beers win!

Well not even my best beer( @grampamark Alt recipe) won anything, but it did do pretty well with a score of 38. It is kind of funny sometime, I have had a beer score in the 40s without a ribbon then another beer with a lower score wins a ribbon. Just depends what is in mix at a particular contest sometimes. I am always happy if any of my beers win a ribbon, but a "I would like to drink a few pints of this beer" comment is almost as good as a ribbon too.


My beer task today:
Later tonight I will drink the extra bottles I filled when filling the contest entries and see if I can corelate the comments. No ribbons but all did advance to mini BOS rounds in their judging so they were at least up for consideration.

 

[seatazzz]

Just a while ago cranked the ferment fridge up to 68° to help the latest WF lager finish out; krausen dropped after only 3 days. Overpitching much? maybe. Using the heat lamp to get it where I want it, then will switch to the heat mat because reasons. Also waiting impatiently for results of latest competition; judging was Sunday. This is a Pro-Am that I am keenly interested in. And finally made the decision to at least attend a homebrewclub meeting; the one run by the owner of the LHBS I go to. Might join, might not; but it's about time I did something. There are three within comfortable driving distance, and I have friends/acquaintances in all three; and all three have encouraged me to join. I'm not a 'joiner'. Kinda shy, self-conscious to a fault, and tend to be a wallflower even at competition ceremonies where I know I've won. I can do some mediocre comedy here on HBT but get me in front of people I don't know in person, and I....melt into the background. We'll see how I do this Friday.

 

[seatazzz]

Well not even my best beer( @grampamark Alt recipe) won anything, but it did do pretty well with a score of 38. It is kind of funny sometime, I have had a beer score in the 40s without a ribbon then another beer with a lower score wins a ribbon. Just depends what is in mix at a particular contest sometimes. I am always happy if any of my beers win a ribbon, but a "I would like to drink a few pints of this beer" comment is almost as good as a ribbon too.


My beer task today:
Later tonight I will drink the extra bottles I filled when filling the contest entries and see if I can corelate the comments. No ribbons but all did advance to mini BOS rounds in their judging so they were at least up for consideration.

I started doing the extra bottle thing a few comps ago; usually by the time I get the scores, the beer is long gone and nothing but a memory. The night I got my state fair scores I got pretty tipsy with four bottles to go through. And it is super fun to sip on a beer and read what BJCP judges think about it. Woody? Sip. don't taste it. Oxidized? Sip. Where was this in the flight? Crisp and delightful (actually got this one for a blonde)? Damn straight. But I do read all the comments and try to taste the beer from their standpoint. Wanna be a judge someday.

 

[BrewMan13]

Score high and take a ribbon!

Thanks! Out of my hands now, but fingers crossed. This is only the 2nd time I've brewed this beer (with a couple small changes this time), but I got a gold the first time so not out of the question!

 

[DBhomebrew]

Cropped and roused a brown ale. Smells like those liquor filled chocolates.

 

[Civilian]

Spent half an hour reading "How to Brew Like a Monk".
Also left a picture of an 11 tap kegerator available on Craigslist to catch the wifes reaction.

 

[hout17]

Added in my 5 gallon kettle in Beersmith and paired down the Raging Irish Red recipe to 2.5 gallons.

Received my updated Wards Lab Water report today and added that in to Beersmith 3 and TDS, hardness, and sulfate have went up a bit but still more than acceptable. I'll test again in the spring to see how it's changed.

I also ordered a bag from brewingabag for the 5 gallon kettle. Going to pair down some more recipes and see how the stovetop biab treats me so I can brew inside in the winter. Looks like most recipes should work fine in the kettle as long as they aren't high abv brews. I already have a 3 gallon glass carboy that should work perfectly also.

I've also been using some scratch paper to make the beer math automatic so I can build recipes by hand with a pencil just because it's fun to have that stuff nailed down.

Here's the little itty bitty guy.

 

[grampamark]

Pulled an FG sample of the Dunkelweizen I brewed last month. This was fermented in the keg as an experiment, since I have more kegs than fermenters. I put 4.5 gallons in the keg, planning on 4 gals clear beer. It looks like that’s what I’ll end up with.

 

[Ren06]

HB schwarzbier and brewing a american lager

 

[ba-brewer]

I started doing the extra bottle thing a few comps ago; usually by the time I get the scores, the beer is long gone and nothing but a memory. The night I got my state fair scores I got pretty tipsy with four bottles to go through. And it is super fun to sip on a beer and read what BJCP judges think about it. Woody? Sip. don't taste it. Oxidized? Sip. Where was this in the flight? Crisp and delightful (actually got this one for a blonde)? Damn straight. But I do read all the comments and try to taste the beer from their standpoint. Wanna be a judge someday.

Even if you do have a beer on tap the bottles can be a little different. I started doing because I was sure they were mixing up my beers with someone else's beer(some were winning beers too). I think it has help me identify some of the subtle flavors/aromas by drinking the beer while reading the results.

I wish you well in pursuing being a judge. It is a bit of work and I am glad there are people doing it. I did the online prep thing and all was going well until the timed test. Getting too old to be rushed.

 

[Knightshade]

Finally got around to cleaning a keg that had kicked a little over a week ago.

Also replaced RO faucet that had been crustified with gunk due to hard water in the area. And since I use that water to brew…that does count in my book!!

 

[camonick]

Made a yeast starter for a NEIPA I hope to brew this weekend

 

[Brushwood Brewing]

Turning up the temperature of my sous vide fermentation bath, about 10 days in. They are three 1 gallon hop samplers (SMASH with DME). This is the first of three sampler sets I'll do this winter. I'm trying to determine what hops I want to plant next year. This batch is Chinook, Columbus, and Cluster.