What I did for beer today

[Yesfan]

Well, the MoreBeer Flash Brewing Hefeweizen kit is in the fermenter. Took about 20 minutes with all the sanitizing (since there wasn't any hot side, I wanted to be extra sure everything was not just sanitized, but SANITIZED!). Other than that, we did everything exactly as specified in the directions included in the kit.

The second water addition did a lot of the mixing I thought I'd have to do by hand.

I think I'll call it Frankenweizen's Monster owing to the exbeerimental nature of the brew -- to me, anyway. I'm sure more than a few of MoreBeer's employees tested this mix out before they marketed it. I hope, anyway...

On the plus side, the new fermenter harness worked like a charm! I'll be strapping one of my Inkbird recording temperature sensors to the side as soon as it warms up to room temperature (it was in the garage freezer).

I watched a YT video on that. In the comments section, Vito mentioned one of these types of batches scored high in a recent beer judging. I don't know which kit it was.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested, so keep us posted on your results.

 

[jcav]

Made a yeast starter today for a Vienna Hefeweizen that I am brewing on Thursday. Using my favorite Hefeweizen recipe and just swapped out the pilsner malt for Vienna to go with the wheat malt. Hopefully it will be a toasty compliment and make different but really good Hef.

John

 

[day_trippr]

Did a recirculated hot PBW cleaning of my BK, pumps, and hex, then disassembled all of the ball valves on the wort path and cleaned the parts individually. Way less crud than I expected...

Cheers!

 

[Wigglebutts Brewery]

Installed a glass rinse on utility sink. Half price so $15 on Amazon!! It's really powerful and reasonable to install. Big win with caskerator as spout is immersed on pour. Also figured out sink isn't level, problem for another day

 

[day_trippr]

With the underlet strike I'm brewing my 4th batch of my raspberry hibiscus wheat beer brew...

My attempt to rehab my Cereal Killer mill gave poor results - the rollers are just too worn down - so the whole mill thing is back up in the air. Rats!

20 minutes post strike and this wort is nearly bright already!

Forward!

Fly sparge started. So far zero issues [cue "Jaws" theme music ]

On to the boil!

Boil almost done, pre-boil gravity was +3 points Checked it twice, looks legit, I'll see if they're still there at the end of the boil...

Meanwhile, took the spent grains next door for the neighbors chickens...

Chillin'...

...and fillin'...

All pitched and gassed up and ready to roll, next to last week's Fantastic Haze...

All three bonus points made it to the carboys. My bet is my mill work left it set a bit tighter than usual. Have to check that...

Cheers!

 

[ClaudiusB]

With the help of an Altbier, I fixed a leaking pump hose.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Yesterday I put myself though a double brew day, probably not going to do that again.

I woke up to this. The good news is it already smells like beer.

 

[Dgallo]

Have two beers going, so today I took a FG sample of a hazy ipa and looks like I’m good to start soft crashing and prepping for dryhoping. Also checked in on a dark Mexican lager (my personal negra modelo clone) and looks like it’s time to raise the temp to start clean up

 

[Bramling Cross]

I brewed an Australian Sparkling Ale for the first time in maybe fifteen years? I have no idea why I stopped brewing them, I just did. Maybe when White Labs made the Australian strain difficult to get? I don't know, really.

Hit my numbers, hit my additions, and wound up with a clean floor--can't ask for more.

 

[ba-brewer]

I brewed an Australian Sparkling Ale for the first time in maybe fifteen years? I have no idea why I stopped brewing them, I just did. Maybe when White Labs made the Australian strain difficult to get? I don't know, really.

Hit my numbers, hit my additions, and wound up with a clean floor--can't ask for more.

WLP009 is getting released in October as a seasonal if the current yeast you used comes up short. They have another Australian yeast WLP059 Melbourne Ale that get released less often I like that better as it has slightly more esters than WLP009.

I have only brewed a couple Australian Sparkling Ale but I brew it's cousin the British golden ale using a light hand with North American hops quite often.

How were the pride of ringwood hops you found? The first time I brewed a sparkling ale I got some pride of ringwood hops but they were very cheesy so I did not use them. The last time I brew one I used a combination of comet and EKG, not sure how it compares to POR but the beer tasted good.

 

[flipster]

Two weeks ago I toasted some Pilsener to get some biscuit malt for a California Common in my 5ltr system.

Three days ago I woke up the yeast I harvested from the Kiwifornia Common experimental beer and enjoyed a brewday the day after that.

This time I applied also the high gravity procedure, so I ended up with 6ltr in the fermenter bucket. I used some chilled spring water, that made it easier to get down to pitching temp at the end, as chilling in an ice bath takes a lot of time and ice while having 30°C+ around - also our tap water is warmer as usual at the moment.
I'm very curious, how the self toasted malt turns out within this try.

Instead of recommended Norther Brewer hops I used some Hallertauer Tradition, this one I had at home.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Noticed that 2 of my 3 active fermentations are bubbling in synchronicity. Little one gallon mead is keeping time with the American strong. Mount Vesuvius the other day is about done. That was Nottingham.

 

[Bramling Cross]

WLP009 is getting released in October as a seasonal if the current yeast you used comes up short. They have another Australian yeast WLP059 Melbourne Ale that get released less often I like that better as it has slightly more esters than WLP009.

I have only brewed a couple Australian Sparkling Ale but I brew it's cousin the British golden ale using a light hand with North American hops quite often.

How were the pride of ringwood hops you found? The first time I brewed a sparkling ale I got some pride of ringwood hops but they were very cheesy so I did not use them. The last time I brew one I used a combination of comet and EKG, not sure how it compares to POR but the beer tasted good.

Thanks for the heads up about the release schedule of 009 and bringing the Melbourne strain to my attention--I had no idea there was such a thing. You've got me really interested in the Melbourne strain because, like you, 009 always struck me as being not particularly noteworthy. For this iteration, I figured Imperial's version of the Whitbread dry variant was plenty close enough. I will keep my eyes peeled for the Melbourne strain, it sounds much more interesting! Thank you.

Let's just say that whenever I use Pride of Ringwood, I always cut the bag open with some trepidation followed by many cautious sniffs. I can't imagine they've had an easy life prior to arriving at my LHBS and I'm quite sure they've had a very sedate and relaxing life once there. I'm certainly no expert on Pride of Ringwood, but yesterday's ounce smelled like hops. They were listed at a whopping 10.8% AA. I'm sure they were at some point, but I didn't bother to correct Beersmith's 9% assumption. I'm eager to give them another try now that I have much better oxygen mitigation systems in place.

Thanks also for reminding me about UK Golden Ale, that's another style that I really should circle back to.

 

[Boleslaus]

I remembered Australian Sparkling Ale.

Twenty years ago, that was a summer favorite and for whatever the reason, I just sorta stopped brewing the style and eventually forgot about it. No clue why, it just kinda happened along the way.

Anyway, that'll soon change. Wheels are in motion, gears are turning, and Pride of Ringwood Hops have been located. I'm not going to bother with the Cooper's strain--it's a real shame it's not a year round strain anymore. I've got plans for Whitbread and it's a good enough proxy if I run it around 70F.

I've actually never had an Australian Sparkling Ale but as part of studying for the tasting exam I'm doing some style flights and yesterday I picked up some Cooper's Sparkling Ale. Kind of excited to try it (and some other new to me beers/styles). Yesterday myself and a few friends tasted through 8 Belgian styles and it was a fun night.

For my own homebrew, today I also chilled and decanted a starter of 3522 for a Belgian wheat stout I'm brewing as part of a challenge brew with my local club.

 

[BrewZer]

Opened the first test bottle of Summer 48 after one week in the bottle. Nice psst when the cap came off, and it's starting to carb up nicely, with some bubbles and even a little head as I poured it into two sampling glasses.

Starts off bready, goes kind of neutral in the middle, and finishes with just a slight touch of hops and (gulp!) a tiny but noticeable bit of sourness in the finish. I hope that's not a trend for the rest of the bottles, and that it's just the rawness of being only one week in the bottle. Next week we'll open #2 and see.

As for Frankenweizen's Monster, it's happily fermenting at upper 60's in the cool, dark space afforded by the CoolBrew bag. The bag smells wonderful, every bit as nice as the opening whiff of a bottle of Hofbrau Hefeweizen in a German biergarten.

 

[Yesfan]

Nothing major for me, just a bit more organization. I got tired of having to unpack/repack all my measuring items from/into their original boxes on Brew Day. I got one of those Pelican style dry boxes from Harbor Freight for $14. I can pack all those small items into it instead of their original boxes. Both my small scales, ph meter & solutions, refractometer, thermometer, measuring spoons for brewing salts, etc can fit into one box now instead of their individual boxes. It makes setup/breakdown on brew day much easier and packs into my 5 gallon kettle next to the kettle's false bottom, a stainless cooling rack from Amazon for $20.

Cheap and easy, the way I like it.

 

[Bramling Cross]

Nothing major for me, just a bit more organization. I got tired of having to unpack/repack all my measuring items from/into their original boxes on Brew Day. I got one of those Pelican style dry boxes from Harbor Freight for $14. I can pack all those small items into it instead of their original boxes. Both my small scales, ph meter & solutions, refractometer, thermometer, measuring spoons for brewing salts, etc can fit into one box now instead of their individual boxes. It makes setup/breakdown on brew day much easier and packs into my 5 gallon kettle next to the kettle's false bottom, a stainless cooling rack from Amazon for $20.

Cheap and easy, the way I like it.

Good on you! Organization is one of the most overlooked and cost effective brewery upgrades available. It makes the day much more pleasant and your beer better because you're never thrashing around desperately trying to find that thing that really you needed five minutes ago.

 

[lumpher]

Brewing an English Pale Ale while drinking a Hefeweizen while cutting grass in Texas. All over the Western world today...

 

[Bramling Cross]

I took a gravity reading on the Australian Sparkling Ale that I brewed on Thursday. I pitched unleashed a second generation pitch of Imperial's version of the Whitbread dry strain. May the Great Pumpkin help us all if this stuff ever gets a hankering for human flesh. No, this was not an overpitch. UK yeast is terrifying.

 

[MrClint]

1g experimental extract Amber Ale brew, 40min boil, cluster hops, and air temp cool down (no ice bath). Voss Kveik yeast. Hoping for a "less is more" type of brew here in blast furnace hot So Cal.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Set up a nylon bag with dry hops and magnets. I’ll probably be able to drop them in a few days or sooner.

 

[DonT]

I transferred a RIS to secondary on top of nibs and vanilla beans for a week, for a club barrel aging project.

 

[HM-2]

Ordered the ingredients for my Imperial Rice Lager. Quite excited for it though I've had to change up the hops due to a lack of availability of Sorachi Ace.

5kg of Utopia x Warminster Czech Style Pilsner
2kg of Crisp Flaked Torrified Rice
2 packages of Lallemand NovaLager
200g BarthHaas Tango T90 pellets
20g dried Yuzu peel

 

[Wigglebutts Brewery]

Saturday was our club’s (Foam on the Range) picnic. It was brutally hot (high 90s) and smoky… you could see one of the Front Range fires. Fortunately we had a pavilion with shade and a breeze. Eight beers from Iron Brewer were entered in popular vote competition. Steve was the winner with a nice Irish Red. One vote per attendee and all entrees got at least 3 votes… so good brews to sample. Food was yummy for the 35+ attendees, not much for leftovers at the end.
Overall a great success!!!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Bottled my Hefe.

 

[ba-brewer]

A couple days back I kegged my last three beers I brewed. Two of three were under attenuated or I would have kegged them a week or more sooner. Longer time did not help attenuation but did give slightly cleared beer.

Brewed a citra golden today. Almost mashed in when I remember to double check the mash temp. The temp controller said 152 but the temp was really 164. i normally mash in at 152 and let the wort cool down into the mid 140s for 20 or 30min before heating back to 152. Pretty sure this is the source of my last few beers that have been under attenuating.

The actual problem was the temp control assembly becomes unseated from it's outer shell and needed to be removed and reseated.

 

[T Murph]

Did an experiment with 8 gallons of Brown Porter. I split it into two fermzillas with 4 gallons each. One fermenter was pitched with a fresh packet of dry US 05 yeast and the other received a slurry repitch of Chico 1056 11th generation. Both were pitched at approximately 5 pm yesterday. By 7 am this morning the fermenter with the US 05 had no activity while the 1056 was bubbling away. Both fermenters are sitting side by side at the same temperature 70*. Both received pure medical grade oxygen at 3 psi for 3 minutes.

My intention is to determine if the resulting brews will display any noticeable differences. IME short of doing a side by side test like this I have not been able to identify any significant difference in a finished brew that was brewed with either of these two yeast strains.

I have been using 1056 for over 30 years with consistent good results. Additionally I like the cost savings of saving slurry as Chico 1056 cost over $10 per pouch. But I also like the ease and convenience of simply opening a packet of dry yeast and sprinkling it on top of prepared wort. And at only $6 per packet it is easier on the wallet.

I don't think I will stop saving and repitching yeast anytime soon. I simply want to learn if there is a detectable difference with the performance and resulting taste of the two yeast. And I will continue to keep US 05 on hand for those brews I simply say, ahh let's just toss in some 05 for this one.

Does anyone have experience with these two yeast that can offer their results?

 

[lumpher]

Ordered the ingredients for my Imperial Rice Lager. Quite excited for it though I've had to change up the hops due to a lack of availability of Sorachi Ace.

5kg of Utopia x Warminster Czech Style Pilsner
2kg of Crisp Flaked Torrified Rice
2 packages of Lallemand NovaLager
200g BarthHaas Tango T90 pellets
20g dried Yuzu peel

That's gonna be a lager with a kick...

 

[HM-2]

That's gonna be a lager with a kick...

That's my hope, yeah. Somewhat inspired by Rogue Morimoto Imperial Pilsner.

 

[Bramling Cross]

I really confused myself for beer today.

I made a batch of generic green bottle lager with a fresh 55lb sack of Barke Pils. It's an established recipe (9lbs of pils, 1lb of light Munich) and the numbers were dead on the nose. Mash pH was 5.44 and I corrected my entire pre-boil runnings to my normal pH 5.25. Gravity numbers were exactly as expected. A completely normal brew day.

Then this happened.

That's the hot break material that I skimmed while it was coming up to the boil. I've seen grey break material, tan material, even brown material. Can't say that I've ever seen grape bubble gum purple break material. Aside from the hot break material being a freak show, everything else was as expected and the wort looks and tastes normal going into the fermenter. I'm more bemused than anything else.

I thought you guys might get a kick out of this, I sure did.

Edit: With the wort happily racked and pitched, I now have a clearer idea of what's going on here. I think this sack of Barke has an absurdly high protein content. The cold break was phenomenal. There was a ton of it and it packed like concrete at the bottom of the kettle. My poor Hop Stopper 2.0 never had a chance. It plugged solid at 3.5/6.75 gallons into the fermenter. It nearly bent when I attempted to remove it from the kettle. Still no idea why the hot break was purple, though.