What I did for beer today

[Tony B]

Brewed my first SMASH ale this morning. I wanted to make an inexpensive batch and use some hops I had in the freezer. I went with Briess brewers malt and El Dorado. Pretty hoppy at an estimated 60 IBU.
I pitched a 1L starter of WLP-521 Hornindal that I made from a frozen vial.

Another first for me was using the natural CO2 to purge the keg it will be packaged in.
It has been pretty mind blowing.
I pitched at about 1:30pm. I used the airlock until I saw activity at around 4 pm. I then replaced the airlock with a gas post and used a gas to gas jumper to a keg full of Starsan solution and used a liquid to liquid jumper to an empty keg with my spunding valve turned all the way down.
By 6:30 pm, the first keg was empty!
That Hornindal is a hungry beast!

 

[HM-2]

Once I've got my little one down for her nap I'll be pulling a gravity sample of my 6 day old Brut IPA to see if it's time to dry hop yet.

Fermented with WHC Old English which I consistently get 80% attenuation and a hint of orange marmalade out of. Double dosed Amyloglucosidase 300, 30 minute enzyme rest at 60°C before mash out and another dose in the fermenter just to make sure. Triple dose of yeast nutrients.

Hopped with Luminosa, Strata and Tango for tonnes of passion fruit, pineapple and tangerine and hopefully a little touch of resin/pine to finish. 4oz in the whirlpool and 7oz in the dry hop.

 

[stamandster]

All Comet American Pale called "Comet Down Now" -- Recipe
https://brewgr.com/recipe/116255/comet-down-now-american-pale-ale-recipe

 

[Cameronl]

I rebuilt my brewing table. The original was over-built, too tall, and had a plywood top that was getting gross. I've been wanting to replace the top with a laminate surface. A barely used studio benchtop at work was finally being disposed of (after being left in the hallway for about 5 years!) and I grabbed it. I wasn't going to just slap it on the old table, so I took the opportunity to completely rebuild it. I used smaller brackets, ripped the 2x4s in half, made it 6" shorter, and took a couple inches off the width and depth so there's a bit of a lip. Can't wait to take it out for a test brew.

Here's the before:

I also plan on removing the pump and plate chiller from the separate stand and mount them to the table.
I originally put them on the stand so I could easily move them to the basement during the winter, because I worry about any water in them freezing and causing damage. But I've replace the Chugger in the picture with a Riptide, and I can easily remove the head that's held on with a tri-clamp and bring that part in. The plate chiller I plan to rig up with some sort of quick release so I don't have to unbolt it. That also means I can move the controller to the side instead of having it in the way in front of everything.

 

[leedspointbrew]

Calibrated Rapt Pill for next Sunday's Bucktoberfest round #2.

 

[BrewMan13]

Kegged my porter, and sampled 1 part of the marzen split. Also helped out bartending at a local brewery since they were short staffed for their Oktoberfest. And I got a decent score in a recent competition, but no medal.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Today I bottled 26 x 50cl of Red X IPA. ABV a bit low at 5.6% but that’s ok.

 

[T Murph]

Got a starter going for Brewsday Tuesday tomorrow. Brewing a Modelo clone sort of.
6 lbs bohemian Pilsner malt
2 lbs flaked corn
1/2 oz home grown Nugget leaf Hops and
4th generation 34/70 yeast repitch.
I know it strays from most clone recipes for Modelo but the Nuggets are a substitute for Galena which is a substitute for Northern Brewer and 34/70 is a good lager yeast that lends itself well in pilsners also. So I'm hoping it turns out close.

 

[seatazzz]

Not technically for beer, but stopped at the store after work and bought 4.5lbs of raspberries; they're thawing out now. Once thawed, half of them will go in the mead I made last week, and racked to secondary yesterday. Yes I know some may say too soon, but it was plenty done and tasted great. The berries will stay there for a week or so. The other half will get made into raspberry syrup, for further flavoring/backsweetening said mead that will be my first melomel. It's only 2 gallons so I hope it's enough berries. Not looking for huge raspberry flavor, just enough to taste good. The honey was raspberry honey from our local apiary.

 

[Deadalus]

This has been more multiday but Saturday I picked up these items, 10 lb CO2, modified mini fridge, Italian and Torpedo half kegs, Taprite CO2 regulator, Perlick flow control faucet, and the two valve manifold-$75. He mentioned having some bottles, got my interest when he said flip-tops. Another $20 and I had 18 one liter bottles, a couple 16s, and the clear tote. Soaked the kegs, manifold, and faucet Saturday night. Cleaned the kegs Sunday, reassembled them yesterday. Tried reassembling the Perlick but I'm not sure about all the gaskets, I may have lost one. (I have Intertaps and now two Nukataps.) The exploded view wasn't quite enough I think I need to watch a video. I had this stuff bookmarked because of the great price. I didn't need any of it particularly but one of my regulators has been acting up so I drove the hour and a half. Previous owner punched through the side on the fridge and was using it as a two 2.5 gallon kegerator.

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

Brewed my second stout since switching over to all RO/distilled water... The first one had a bit of a sour tang to it, so for today's brew, after adding baking soda to get my mash pH up to 5.5, then, once the boil was complete, added more baking soda, so that the HCO3 of the finished wort should be around 240 ppm (as estimated by brewersfriend). It was only an extra 3 grams into a 3 gallon batch. Can't say I could taste any difference in the before/after taste.

 

[Skeeter686]

Cleaned 8 kegs, then sanitized and purged with CO2. Now I just need to fill them!

 

[Deadalus]

I rebuilt my brewing table. The original was over-built, too tall, and had a plywood top that was getting gross. I've been wanting to replace the top with a laminate surface. A barely used studio benchtop at work was finally being disposed of (after being left in the hallway for about 5 years!) and I grabbed it. I wasn't going to just slap it on the old table, so I took the opportunity to completely rebuild it. I used smaller brackets, ripped the 2x4s in half, made it 6" shorter, and took a couple inches off the width and depth so there's a bit of a lip. Can't wait to take it out for a test brew.
View attachment 857937

Here's the before:
View attachment 857939

I also plan on removing the pump and plate chiller from the separate stand and mount them to the table.
I originally put them on the stand so I could easily move them to the basement during the winter, because I worry about any water in them freezing and causing damage. But I've replace the Chugger in the picture with a Riptide, and I can easily remove the head that's held on with a tri-clamp and bring that part in. The plate chiller I plan to rig up with some sort of quick release so I don't have to unbolt it. That also means I can move the controller to the side instead of having it in the way in front of everything.

Here's something I did with my Therminator, a shelf made out of a cutting board and drawer slides. The bracket was from Lowes, over near the joist hangers. I didn't need a nut on the posts it stayed put. I've since switched to using a CFC. I flipped the sliding shelf over and attached it to the underside of the table top. The CFC hangs down from shelf. Unfortunately I have a slight bow in the SS tabletop plus the floor slopes a small amount. This causes the shelf to slide from the hanging weight of the CFC. Just an idea for you.

My controller I have on a computer screen mounting arm that clamps to the table. A little hard to see with the stuff on the table but it clamps near the corner. I like your table cart though. What are the dimensions on the new tabletop? And then what year is the bug?

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Today I brewed 21 litres of Calabria IPA ( it’s American IPA but got the recipe from a brew pub in Calabria).
4700g Pilsner malt
300g Carapils
12g ea of Amarillo & Simcoe at 60 minutes
12g of Amarillo & Simcoe at 15 minutes
28g Citra at 80C for 15 minutes
Yeast a US05 clone
I will dry hop with 25g ea of the 3 hops after 4 days in the primary and leave for 3 or 4 days.

 

[HM-2]

I'll be kegging up my Brut IPA today if I get some chance between meetings, if not tomorrow. Fermented down to 1.002 so exactly where I wanted it to be. Will carb it up to 3.5 volumes.

I'd quite like to pull a little sample of my "all the Brett's" solera keg to see how it's getting on. Aroma wise I've got some pretty aggressive cherry, tropical fruit and a bit of barnyard funk.

 

[Cameronl]

Here's something I did with my Therminator, a shelf made out of a cutting board and drawer slides. The bracket was from Lowes, over near the joist hangers. I didn't need a nut on the posts it stayed put. I've since switched to using a CFC. I flipped the sliding shelf over and attached it to the underside of the table top. The CFC hangs down from shelf. Unfortunately I have a slight bow in the SS tabletop plus the floor slopes a small amount. This causes the shelf to slide from the hanging weight of the CFC. Just an idea for you.

My controller I have on a computer screen mounting arm that clamps to the table. A little hard to see with the stuff on the table but it clamps near the corner. I like your table cart though. What are the dimensions on the new tabletop? And then what year is the bug?
View attachment 858116
View attachment 858117

very cool. I like the plate chiller slide. I'm going to think about that.
As for my top, it's 19" deep and about 56" long IIRC. Definitely 50-somthing inches.

 

[Deadalus]

very cool. I like the plate chiller slide. I'm going to think about that.
As for my top, it's 19" deep and about 56" long IIRC. Definitely 50-somthing inches.

I went too wide and my SS table is 72". I would like to drop it to 60"at some point as I could use the extra foot, my garage is small. I used to have three keggles but switched out the MT to an Infussion, still about the same size though.

 

[Cameronl]

I went too wide and my SS table is 72". I would like to drop it to 60"at some point as I could use the extra foot, my garage is small. I used to have three keggles but switched out the MT to an Infussion, still about the same size though.

I wanted it as short as possible, as I have to wheel it in and out of the garage every time because the VW is in the way. It doesn't run. It's a '62, BTW.

 

[Deadalus]

I wanted it as short as possible, as I have to wheel it in and out of the garage every time because the VW is in the way. It doesn't run. It's a '62, BTW.

A six volt then? Most of mine didn't run well either, predominately vans but my first VW was a '72 bug. Bad luck mostly and then problems too expensive to fix.

I've recommended five foot before and thought four would be too short if considering whole feet increments so I figured I'd ask since you customized yours. Unfortunately I can't saw mine shorter but may sell it and go shorter. I used to wheel mine outside too but squeezed out a spot for my rig once I built a hood. My garage is so small I question it was built to park a vehicle in! A motorcycle maybe...

 

[BikerMatt]

Haven`t been brewing almost anythinh all summer as my time/attention/workspace has be otherwise occupied (namely motorbike building), the coming weekend neither boy will be home so got some time to myself so thought why not whip up a batch. Started searching for ingredients and discovered a microbrewery two towns over is going tits up and is having an everything-must-go type sale so figured I`d go in to see what they got. Miiiight have gone a wee bit overboard as I came home with 48x 0.33L bottles, 32kg malts and Centennial, Fuggles and Goldings hop pellets totaling nearly 5 kilograms XD. Just borrowed a vacuum sealer from my neighbor and gonna start bagging the hops into 100g bags. That`ll last me til the end of days LOL.

 

[day_trippr]

When I built my current brew rig 12 years ago I used full locking casters with expanding stems. Recently I noticed the casters were looking a bit "bow legged" and when I removed one of the caster assemblies I found the expanding polymer insert had majorly broken down.

Fortunately the polymer inserts are available separately for a couple bucks each so I ordered a set of four which arrived two days ago while I was up north fishing. So this morning I stripped everything off the rig, rolled it into the adjacent carpeted family room, flipped it on its side and started replacing the inserts.

Here's a bad one accompanied by a new one.

Eventually I found they had shipped me one undersized insert, shown on the right of the proper sized insert. It's a subtle difference, roughly an 1/8"D difference, but it would not expand enough to provide a solid grip.

After giving castercity.com a peeved phone call to arrange for a correctly size replacement to be shipped pronto, I took the best two of the old inserts and trimmed them on my table saw to make one correct length insert, and was able to get that to work for now. Got the rig all put back together, and if I had any empty kegs I'd get set up for a brew tomorrow, but I don't, so it'll have to wait. That's a high class problem for sure

Cheers!

 

[Deadalus]

When I built my current brew rig 12 years ago I used full locking casters with expanding stems. Recently I noticed the casters were looking a bit "bow legged" and when I removed one of the caster assemblies I found the expanding polymer insert had majorly broken down.

Fortunately the polymer inserts are available separately for a couple bucks each so I ordered a set of four which arrived two days ago while I was up north fishing. So this morning I stripped everything off the rig, rolled it into the adjacent carpeted family room, flipped it on its side and started replacing the inserts.

View attachment 858224

Here's a bad one accompanied by a new one.

View attachment 858225

Eventually I found they had shipped me one undersized insert, shown on the right of the proper sized insert. It's a subtle difference, roughly an 1/8"D difference, but it would not expand enough to provide a solid grip.

View attachment 858226

After giving castercity.com a peeved phone call to arrange for a correctly size replacement to be shipped pronto, I took the best two of the old inserts and trimmed them on my table saw to make one correct length insert, and was able to get that to work for now. Got the rig all put back together, and if I had any empty kegs I'd get set up for a brew tomorrow, but I don't, so it'll have to wait. That's a high class problem for sure

View attachment 858227

Cheers!

Bummer I just looked that site up. I had a wheel deteriorate and was looking for a single wheel. Wasn't finding a spare one on Amazon. Looks like they would have had one. Might just order it anyway and perhaps use the new ones in the future as I am thinking of getting a shorter table. I also wanted to shave an inch off in height.

 

[day_trippr]

The folks at Caster City have actually been easy to work with, someone in the shipping department just messed up a bit on this. It'll work itself out eventually They have the biggest selection of casters I found available at retail and their prices are pretty good...

Cheers!

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

Dropped off a 4-pack of bottles for a co-worker this morning, it was a 12% bourbonized imperial stout that I was really proud of. Just now got a text saying it was fantastic, she and her husband (who is a big beer nerd) both loved it!

My little secret: Well of course it was awesome, I don't share the "meh" ones...

 

[flipster]

I planted three hop seedlings this year in May (Fuggles, Tettnanger, Cascade). I didn't expect much from it in the first year... The Tettnanger barely made it a metre above the ground, the Fuggles looked well grown and reached almost 3 metres. After four days of catastrophic continuous rain (thankfully only annoying in my region but not dangerous like at our neighbours in AT and CZ), the provisionally extended climbing frame gave way under the weight of the Cascade.

After looking into countless posts on the subject of hop harvesting and the right time, I simply chose the one that best suits the state of my hops. So I was able to pick about half a kilo of cones. They will now be drying on my kitchen table for the next few days. I'm out of town for the weekend, so the sun filled kitchen is best place I guessed.
- I'm really excited and have already been thinking about a 5-litre batch of DMaSH Helles (I guess I always end up with "duo malts" ... without sour malt my water is just too hard).

 

[HM-2]

Should be kegging my Brut IPA but extreme lightning and horizontal rain have put play to that sadly.

 

[MograhmDeadbraid]

Got the ingredients to brewing Bock beer for Halloween. Pretty stoked on this one as this is a lead in to a short ferment Winter Warmer.

 

[Cameronl]

I need to do this for my hop addition cups. More than once I've had them lined up on the table and bumped it, knocking them over, or mixing up the order. I could line them up like a beer flight and add a spot to label the timing.

And so I did. I used my CNC to cut out the holes for the hop and water treatment cups as well as recesses for some whiteboard material so I can write the times for the various additions. The the CNC was able to cut the whiteboard to fit.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Checked FG and tasted my Scottish ale. Fermentation apparently stalled, pitched another packet of yeast. Did the same for my English barley wine. Yum.

 

[balrog]

So I blew my shoulder end of June, rotator cuff, haven't considered brewing since. Couple of tennis buddies came over 9/2 because they always wanted to see the 5 hours of boredom punctuated by 3-4 brief periods of sheer panic. We made a Citra/Vista whirlpooled Kveik 95F quick pale ale so chilling to 95 was like 5 minutes with tap water. Since I had an Altbier and a @Miraculix English ale in kegs already, we may have had a few also. Yesterday I kegged it. Lifting 5gal is still prolly not advised, but I know none of you folks will snitch me out to my shoulder surgeon.