What I did for beer today

[MaxStout]

Bottling day for Lagerpalooza -- 5.25 gal of Citra lager and 5.25 of Zappa Kellerbier. Yielded 52 bottles of each.

Taking a break before the cleanup. After that, beers!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

These should last me for a few more years of competitive brewing. I also picked up a tubing cutter to shorten the dip tube in my kegmentor.

 

[ba-brewer]

^ I have started using these after ending up with too many skinny bands left in the assorted rubber band packs after using the few good ones.

https://www.staples.com/staples-economy-rubber-bands-84-1-4-lb-bag-45-pack-28608-cc/product_831636

 

[Rish]

competitive brewing

I'm (obviously) not a competitive brewer so I'm curious about what use these have.

 

[day_trippr]

Holds removable labels on the submitted bottles...

 

[leedspointbrew]

Bottled Irish Red. Pitched 2 gal of Mott's on yeast cake for 1st attempt at cider. Hopefully, I'll have something drinkable for St Pat's.

 

[T Murph]

I kegged my Marzen and put it i a fridge to lager for the next 2 months. And I taped a Brown Ale that I brewed 2 weeks ago. It turned out surprisingly good.

 

[grampamark]

Pulled a gravity sample of the CCC Blonde I brewed a couple of weeks ago and went to the LHBS for ingredients to brew a Brown Ale (Moose Drool clone). Also picked up a new sample cylinder. The old one is so cloudy it’s hard to read the hydrometer.

 

[leedspointbrew]

Pulled a gravity sample of the CCC Blonde I brewed a couple of weeks ago and went to the LHBS for ingredients to brew a Brown Ale (Moose Drool clone). Also picked up a new sample cylinder. The old one is so cloudy it’s hard to read the hydrometer.

View attachment 841367

Would you be willing to post your Moose Drool recipe?

 

[Beekeeper]

I'm (obviously) not a competitive brewer so I'm curious about what use these have.

Banding the brewer identity to the bottle.

 

[grampamark]

Would you be willing to post your Moose Drool recipe?

This is for a 5 gal. batch.

 

[leedspointbrew]

This is for a 5 gal. batch.
View attachment 841410

Thank you, very much.

 

[seanjwalker1]

Found this little beauty on a beer glass treasure hunt at the local Salvation Army store. Authentic made in Germany, not a Japan knock off. I love my little beer glass raids . The bourgeois wife will snort and scoff at my " Love for unwanted cast off trash".. Scoff away madame ! It is Precious to me ! It will sit with honor on my kegerator ! Along with the other cast away trash !!!

 

[JAReeves]

Soon, you will fill it with deliciousness and the universe will be complete.

 

[T Murph]

That's an awesome find @seanjwalker1

 

[BrewMan13]

Forcefully kicked the smoked ale, cleaned the line, and threw the weizenbock on (needed it on to bring to our club meeting tonight). Since I already had it on CO2, it was ready to go right off the bat. Sample was tasting nice!

 

[MaxStout]

Found this little beauty on a beer glass treasure hunt at the local Salvation Army store. Authentic made in Germany, not a Japan knock off. I love my little beer glass raids . The bourgeois wife will snort and scoff at my " Love for unwanted cast off trash".. Scoff away madame ! It is Precious to me ! It will sit with honor on my kegerator ! Along with the other cast away trash !!!

Nice find!

I've scoured a few too many thrift stores and garage sales. I can't help myself. Now I have way too much glassware. I have a cabinet I built for the barware, and it's perched on top of my beer fridge. It was so full I couldn't reach stuff in the back.

Yesterday I sorted out some of the excess and packed them away (not tossing any away...yet).

The cabinet is more manageable now.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Today I made 22 litres of 5 Points Best Bitter.
3100g Maris Otter
300g Munich Light (ran out of MO)
200g Biscuit malt
200g XL Crystal malt
100g Wheat malt
15g Black malt
Fuggles
45g @ 60
25g @ 15
30g @ 85C
Nottingham clone yeast
OG 1042 expecting 4.3% ABV

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

It’s snowing here today, and I don’t need to go anywhere, so I will find something to do for beer.

Edited so it doesn’t appear like I’ve already been bringing. Just coffee, honestly.

 

[seanjwalker1]

Nice find!

I've scoured a few too many thrift stores and garage sales. I can't help myself. Now I have way too much glassware. I have a cabinet I built for the barware, and it's perched on top of my beer fridge. It was so full I couldn't reach stuff in the back.

Yesterday I sorted out some of the excess and packed them away (not tossing any away...yet).

The cabinet is more manageable now.

View attachment 841667

Now that is SWEET ! I've just over the last few years started finding beer glasses after I had stopped for many years. Many moons ago, I was in the Army stationed in Germany and I had a field day collecting beer mugs and steins from all over Germany, Austria and even 2or 3 from France. Unfortunately for me, when my personal goods were shipped by the Army to my next duty station, every single glass was shattered, including my stereo cabinet glass, tv screen , my curio cabinet glass. Everything that had glass was shattered. 2 years of exploring many cities and towns for beer mugs up in smoke ! So I guess the shock and awe of having my collection unceremoniously destroyed by some crappy moving company knocked the wind out of my beer mug collection desires. That and I'm getting on in years. But now and again, I get the fire burning and just can't help going into a knick knack shop with my reader searching for that elusive cast away authentic European beer mug. Cheers

 

[MaxStout]

Now that is SWEET ! I've just over the last few years started finding beer glasses after I had stopped for many years. Many moons ago, I was in the Army stationed in Germany and I had a field day collecting beer mugs and steins from all over Germany, Austria and even 2or 3 from France. Unfortunately for me, when my personal goods were shipped by the Army to my next duty station, every single glass was shattered, including my stereo cabinet glass, tv screen , my curio cabinet glass. Everything that had glass was shattered. 2 years of exploring many cities and towns for beer mugs up in smoke ! So I guess the shock and awe of having my collection unceremoniously destroyed by some crappy moving company knocked the wind out of my beer mug collection desires. That and I'm getting on in years. But now and again, I get the fire burning and just can't help going into a knick knack shop with my reader searching for that elusive cast away authentic European beer mug. Cheers

Damn, that's heartbreaking. Uncle Sam's lowest-bidding movers. If you're ever in Minneapolis, look me up. I'll give you some of my excess glass.

I did score some snazzy Czech Budweiser stem glasses when I was in Germany in the '80s. In a bar in Nurnberg, and after having a few pilsners, I asked the bartender if he'd sell me a few. Gave him 20DM (about $5), and he handed me a carton of 4 new glasses. Then he pocketed the money.

They all survived the trip home, but not the years since. I still have 2 left.

My "trophy" Bierstein, I bought at a shop in Munich. Think I paid around DM200. I wrapped it in t-shirts and took it home carry-on. I didn't trust the mail.

 

[Deadalus]

Nice find!

I've scoured a few too many thrift stores and garage sales. I can't help myself. Now I have way too much glassware. I have a cabinet I built for the barware, and it's perched on top of my beer fridge. It was so full I couldn't reach stuff in the back.

Yesterday I sorted out some of the excess and packed them away (not tossing any away...yet).

The cabinet is more manageable now.

View attachment 841667

I've got one of those Samuel Smith glassed, a longtime fav. Also a Guinness like it. Recently acquired, it was my step-dad's.

 

[seanjwalker1]

Damn, that's heartbreaking. Uncle Sam's lowest-bidding movers. If you're ever in Minneapolis, look me up. I'll give you some of my excess glass.

I did score some snazzy Czech Budweiser stem glasses when I was in Germany in the '80s. In a bar in Nurnberg, and after having a few pilsners, I asked the bartender if he'd sell me a few. Gave him 20DM (about $5), and he handed me a carton of 4 new glasses. Then he pocketed the money.

They all survived the trip home, but not the years since. I still have 2 left.

View attachment 841680


My "trophy" Bierstein, I bought at a shop in Munich. Think I paid around DM200. I wrapped it in t-shirts and took it home carry-on. I didn't trust the mail.

View attachment 841688

Very nice ! I was there in the 80's too. Schweinfurt mostly , 3rd ID medic and Wurzburg Army hospital. Made it to Nuremberg a few times, raising Cane at Monsters of Rock and Club Jacko lantern, getting chased by local gestapo and German shepherds the size of ponys' through the bahnhof...a thousand years ago.

 

[Skeeter686]

Very nice ! I was there in the 80's too. Schweinfurt mostly ...

I read that as "Schweinfurz" initially. I almost sorted beer through my nose!

 

[day_trippr]

Don't even have any empty kegs but I have an empty chamber and a brewin' jones going on and need to brew something tomorrow!
Started by firing up my RO controller to fill the brew rig (LCD screen doesn't photograph well)...

....and I kegged my latest batch of Juicy Bits clone to free up a chamber.

While the rig was filling and the keg contents were transferring I got the grains measured out for tomorrow's batch of Fantastic Haze neipa clone...

Measured out the water salts to be added to the kettles in the morning while the empty carboys soaked their krausen rings.

All set for the morning!

Cheers!

 

[Rish]

Don't even have any empty kegs

Looks like it's time to get another one!

 

[day_trippr]

Nah, my 16 five gallon cornies have served me well over the many years. I'm just jumping the gun on my brewing schedule because the weather isn't conducive to anything outside, really, and I've run out of indoor winter home projects. And I recently found out that I'm going to need another knee surgery to fix what didn't get fixed a year ago May, and when that happens - likely in March - I'm going to be off line for probably a couple of months...

Cheers!

 

[Bramling Cross]

Nah, my 16 five gallon cornies have served me well over the many years. I'm just jumping the gun on my brewing schedule because the weather isn't conducive to anything outside, really, and I've run out of indoor winter home projects. And I recently found out that I'm going to need another knee surgery to fix what didn't get fixed a year ago May, and when that happens - likely in March - I'm going to be off line for probably a couple of months...

Cheers!

This is smart.

Prior to doing the kidney donation, I realized that I had a rare opportunity to have my brewery, fermenters, and kegs idle for...erm, an undetermined amount of time.

Unfortunately, kidney donation doesn't happen on a hard schedule. Everything is fluid and dependent on the prior test. There are no hard dates and the whole thing can come crashing down at any point. You simply can't make any plans.

And then the next thing you know...

You're stuck in Oregon for three months wondering WTF just happened?!

I sure wish I had brewed a nice big Baltic Porter before I left, that's been a decades-long dream of mine. Unfortunately, because of the way kidney donations work, I had no clue when anything was going to happen so I wound up coming back to a couple of kegs that were about to kick.

Would that I could've done it differently.

 

[day_trippr]

Heck, in contrast to what you did, what I need doing is (I think) not as complicated and definitely has none of the nobility.
I'm hoping things will play out favorably for you soonest

 

[day_trippr]

I won't bore y'all with the play-by-play on this batch - you've seen my stuff lots of times already But I did brew my Fantastic Haze neipa clone today, and aside from missing the OG by a point it went great, capped by perhaps the best kettle lautering experience with my Hop Blocker V2 to date.

We start near the end - the whirlpooling just below 170°F - and comparing my 2 foot long Thermoworks digital against the Blichmann BrewMometer. I'll take that correlation

Post kettle-lautering with the mass of hop sludge left behind...

Brilliant wort!

Gassed up and in chamber 3, as chamber 1 is full of filled kegs, and the overflow two kegs from yesterday's filling went in chamber 2...

Next mission: kill a couple of kegs!

Cheers!

 

[day_trippr]

Already "doing for beer" this morning, had a cup o' java then went down to check out how yesterday's batch was doing. Decent krausen happening and plenty of bubbling going on.

Then I look closer at the LCD strips and they're sitting at 62°F - and that ain't right. I check the chamber's BrewPi controller and notice it has the heater on, but the fridge was running as well and was down around 48°F. I took the controller to the shop, verified it had a stuck-on "Cool" relay, grabbed a spare dual relay module, swapped it in, and verified no more "hot Cool".

Plugged it back up to the chamber and it's doing normal stuff again.

Have to say I'm impressed my brave 1318 wee beasties were hanging in tough while their world turned chilly. I usually start them off at 66°F for 4~5 days then bump up a couple of degrees 'til it's time to soft crash. This time things went in an opposite direction but they still managed a good looking head after just 10 hours.

Onwards!

 

[seanjwalker1]

Nah, my 16 five gallon cornies have served me well over the many years. I'm just jumping the gun on my brewing schedule because the weather isn't conducive to anything outside, really, and I've run out of indoor winter home projects. And I recently found out that I'm going to need another knee surgery to fix what didn't get fixed a year ago May, and when that happens - likely in March - I'm going to be off line for probably a couple of months...

Cheers!

Been there done that my friend. My left knee replacement was the worse pain of my life and I've been putting off replacing the right for 3 years. Wouldn't wish that on anyone. Good luck

 

[day_trippr]

Ran up to one of the Last Standing LHBS's within driving distance to pick up some random stuff, then came home to do even more for beer!

Started by swapping out a pair of kicked kegs in the keezer - my Juicy Bits clone and an original recipe All Your Citra [Are Belong To Us] (packed to the rafters with Citra) both neipas...

Fired up the Mark II and cleaned both kegs...

Decided my keezer's drip tray needed some love. After 4 years of use our hard water deposits had added up to "a lot".
Attacked it with a BKF paste, a scrubby and a toothbrush...

Not bad but needs more love than I had time for today. I'll hit it again when I get a chance, clean up that west end, and remove the rinser head to really get under it...

Cleaned and polished up the tower and faucets and got everything brightened up. It'll do

Cheers!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I haven’t done as much as some of you have, but I did package a cider including 2 bottled for comp entrees, cleaning the fermentor now and will package the mead I’m sending tomorrow morning. Dosed a couple bottles with terpenes - Pineapple Express and Gelato. Meh,

 

[day_trippr]

Brewing my 1.107 OG chocolate stout today. Always a bit of an adventure mashing 46 pounds of grains in a 20 gallon mlt. Can barely reach the bottom with my big spoon to give the underlet dough in a good stir...

Onwards!

[edit] The lautering begins. Goes in clear, comes out black! Magic! And almost an hour to chill...

Ever onward!

[wrap up] Had to boil two extra quarts of wort pulled from under the FB as I missed my original pre-boil gravity by two points. But I had nothing better to do than spend an extra 20 minutes boiling and with that the OG came in dead nuts on at 1.107 with 11 gallons to the carboys.

Having had four back surgeries including the last one - a three unit lumbar fusion - I have to be hella careful moving this MFer!

Carboys pitched, gassed and stuck in the chamber next door to last Thursday's neipa...

Gear cleaned up and stashed away, with a celebratory pour to end the session...

Cheers!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

This. I did this for beer today.

 

[day_trippr]

A martyr to the cause!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

A martyr to the cause!

LOL, yeah it’s not like a bad carboy incident or serious encounter with boiling wort. Have any idea which finger is cut? Should I show you?

 

[ba-brewer]

LOL, yeah it’s not like a bad carboy incident or serious encounter with boiling wort. Have any idea which finger is cut? Should I show you?

If was me I would have already showed it to the pipe cutter

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

If was me I would have already showed it to the pipe cutter

It’s the pipe cutters fault! While I was reaming the cut end the blade folded (because it is really too big for that tube) and something got me. Probably the jagged cut end. It’s not operator error!