What I did for beer today

[CJ-3]

Today I ordered ingredients for my next 2 batches.

Winter Stout
Christmas Ale

 

[CJ-3]

Stupid part is I HAVE a faucet mounted bottle washer and a drying tree right next to it in the utility room but I guess I'm just too damn lazy to use them. That will have to change now. I looked around the local homebrew shops and everyone's out of the bottles I want and the rest cost too much so currently looking into soaking them in bleach for a while. Anyone done that? I have a 45Liter stainless steel sink in the garage I'm not afraid to get markings on but still wondering if it can take a bleach solution and what kind of strength should I be using? From what I've read the water should be cold to avoid gasses emitting from the sink. There also seems to be fruit flies inside several bottles, those darned little flying f***s glue themselves into the inside wall and will not budge, I've chucked dozens of bottles because of them. Hoping the clorine would get tuose out too.

Any tips greatly appreciated! I got sth like 200 stinky bottles to get sparkly clean.

A hot water soak for 15 minutes will loosen up those flies. Then clean as normal.
I've never soaked in bleach so I can't help there .

 

[Zoomzu]

Made Three Floyds Dreadnaught American IPA clone.

Missed my O.G. though First big grain bill, worst efficiency ever.

 

[itsnotrequired]

dry hopped a two hearted clone

 

[pshankstar]

Finally assembled my keg line recirculating cleaning pump. Connected an old picnic tap to it and tested it out in the sink. It will be nice to save on co2 when cleaning my keg lines.

This reminds me that I have two kegs and lines to clean this weekend.

 

[pshankstar]

Made Three Floyds Dreadnaught American IPA clone.
Missed my O.G. though First big grain bill, worst efficiency ever.

You’re still going to make beer, so I’ll chalk that up as a win any day. Cheers!

 

[jiMithing83]

View attachment 588003

Finally assembled my keg line recirculating cleaning pump. Connected an old picnic tap to it and tested it out in the sink. It will be nice to save on co2 when cleaning my keg lines.

This reminds me that I have two kegs and lines to clean this weekend.

I recently got a submersible pump for my wort chiller and am thinking about dual using it for cleaning: are you worried about the pH of your sanitizer affecting the pump? I use starsan, fyi.

 

[pshankstar]

I recently got a submersible pump for my wort chiller and am thinking about dual using it for cleaning: are you worried about the pH of your sanitizer affecting the pump? I use starsan, fyi.

I bought this pump a while ago thinking I could use it to recirculate cold water for my wort chiller. This little pump didn't have enough power to push water through 50ft of 1/2inch copper tubing plus the extra connection lines (in and out). So I bought a submersible pump like you could use for a flooded basement. That one I use to recirculate cold water for my wort chiller and made a setup to clean my kegs with too since it has a lot more force. Normally I do not use sanitizer with the mentioned pump, for I will fill a keg with some sanitizer and shake it really good, connect the CO2 and push some out through a picnic tap or my cleaned faucets. Then I will let the sanitizer sit in the lines and dump out the keg.

This little pond pump will only run cleaner through the tap lines and faucets, then hot water to flush them out. Sanitizer will probably not be used much with it given how I do it now (mentioned above). Even if I have to replace this pump down the road, it's only $10 (+/-), if I get a few years out of it then it only cost me a few dollars a year. From what I have read the cleaner for the tap lines and faucets needs to be recirculating for X number of minutes, whereas the sanitizer can sit and make contact for X number of minutes. This will help me save CO2 since I won't have to fill a keg with cleaner and push it through, then do it again with hot water to flush them out. Just a little CO2 will be used to push some sanitizer into the lines and faucets.

I hope this makes sense. Cheers!

 

[small_b_brewing]

I was on task last night:
2.5 gallons of Scottish Ale is now bubbling away in my fermenter!
Wrested with a keg to get my lemon-wheat serving. Had a hell of a time getting out serving line to get on.... proud of myself for working through the problem rather than just waiting for my husband to solve it!

 

[jiMithing83]

Yesterday I kegged the last 5 gallon batch for tomorrow's party (10.2% modified EdWort's Apfelwein), and checked the carbonation on the APA I kegged on Sunday.

Today I will resist drinking from the keezer, and stick to commercial beers.

 

[BrewMan13]

Yesterday attended my first meeting for a local homebrew club. Should have done this sooner, lots of fun.

 

[jiMithing83]

Yesterday attended my first meeting for a local homebrew club. Should have done this sooner, lots of fun.

I joined my first in January, 6 years into the hobby. Really should have done it sooner too.

 

[BrewMan13]

I joined my first in January, 6 years into the hobby. Really should have done it sooner too.

I actually was in an unofficial one years ago, but stopped going once I started bowling, since they were on the same night. This one is official and AFAIK the biggest one in my area.

 

[allanmorgan]

Drove to my LHBS, 40 minute drive one way. Maris Otter in tow, lots of hops, other grain, WPL007 and a bunch of SingleCut brews. All in, good day!!

 

[Zoomzu]

You’re still going to make beer, so I’ll chalk that up as a win any day. Cheers!

Yes I did.
Hoping to get a couple bottles of the "real" stuff to compare.

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

I just added the following to my first kettle sour:
4oz dried hibiscus
4oz dried lemon peel
1tsp coarse salt
The zest of 1 lime
6oz table sugar and
A whole bunch of wild blackberries, frozen, thawed then puréed.

And now I'm pondering if this could be my first competition entry and what category would a hibiscus blackberry sour with lactose fall under? Probably just submit it as a fruit beer and call it a day.

I also registered to staff/steward a competition. Only home brewing (drinking) can turn me into a social being.

 

[seatazzz]

Sipping on what should be the last sample of my Peach Milkshake IPA before it gets kegged on Saturday. Tastes great, could be peachier, but it's time for it to be on tap. Was super bitter the other day, it's settled down now and tastes terrific. Crashing it now, sample is pretty clear but I don't care about clarity, just want the yeast down and out. Dunno if I'll save it, was BRY-97 that started super slow, but I've read that further generations of this yeast will do better. Going to squeeze the heck out of the peach bag when I keg it to get as much peachiness as I can. Can't wait to see the husband's reaction to it on first taste since this one was his idea. He can't stand what he calls 'unfinished' (read: not carbonated) beer, so he has no idea what he's in for.

 

[itsnotrequired]

cleaned three kegs

 

[Zoomzu]

cleaned up a mess. The hose wasn't plugged. Lid was on tight.

 

[seatazzz]

Cleaned, sanitized, and put on co2 the keg I will fill with my Peach Milkshake IPA tomorrow. And, since I don't feel like jarring up the yeast from it, tomorrow will brew up an experimental IPA using the Legacy hops I just got the other day, and ferment on that. I don't NEED to brew, but I WANT to, so I'm gonna.

 

[BikerMatt]

Preparing for an epic brew day, cannot for the the of me, find my dang mash bag!!!

 

[seatazzz]

And it's effing delicious. For anyone who hasn't brewed a Milkshake yet and is considering it, go higher on the lactose if the recipe calls for less than 1/2 pound. I used a whole pound at 10 minutes for a 5 gallon batch, and it seems to be right. This is also the first batch that I've filtered going into the fermenter, and what with that and an extended cold crash it's going to be perfectly clear.

 

[seatazzz]

Preparing for an epic brew day, cannot for the the of me, find my dang mash bag!!!

I couldn't find my campden this morning, finally said the heck with it and started. 15 minutes into the mash and the damn container I keep them in is staring me in the face from my table, under a book, where I didn't look. First brew in 2 years that I haven't used it. I know we have good water so I'm just going to run with it.

 

[BikerMatt]

Luckily I don`t have to deal with stuff like that as Finland is told to have THE purest tap water in the world, AND I happen to live on the bank of an ice age gravel ridge which is in itself a huge filter of impurities so our water is about as clean as it gets without laboratory grade equipment.

Brew one in the fermenter, brew two mashing, "lunch" break (coming 7pm).

 

[jiMithing83]

Yesterday was the Housewarming With Home Brew party, I drank a bunch and spent the day showing people my keezer, how it works, helping them decide which beer they'd like the best, and explaining how home brew is made. It was tons of fun!

 

[pshankstar]

Cleaning two tap lines and kegs. The recirculating pumps are doing their job while I wait and drink a beer. Once they are done, I run them again with hot water and wait for the timer to go off.

 

[seatazzz]

Just finished up brewing a Cascade/Legacy IPA that will ferment on 2nd gen BRY-97 yeast (because it's what I have, and I'm cheap). I chilled some of the wort from the IPA not long after boil started, and dumped that on the BRY-97 slurry from which I had just racked off my Peach Milkshake IPA. Not 45 minutes after pitching, at a respectable 72 degrees, that yeast is going like gangbusters. If I don't get any off-flavors (and I don't think I will) this might just be my new 'house ale' yeast. I've got lager yeast saved for my WF lagers, but I like to have a variety in the wings as it were. Damn I love being a homebrewer.

 

[Sparkncode]

Kegged my all grain sawmill pale ale clone that had been cold crashing for about 3 days.

I was going to keg saturday but my bad knee was extra bad so went back to bed to rest it after filling the 19L and a 10L keg with sodium percarbonate to soak.

Today the kegs got the rinse and starsan sanitise and finally kegged it. Carrying the 19L back into the house to purge and carbonate really pushed my knee over the edge... sharp nasty pain walking and aching. A bit of colourful language as I carried it in...

Not good when the cartilage is dissappearing rapidly and the last lot of cortisone isnt working to reduce the inflamation. Next injection of cortisone on friday but my knee seems so inflamed it might take a week after that to settle :-(. At least then I can start brewing up a storm in the two months when its working.

I had to get this beer kegged as the pipeline was running low and when I brewed it my knee wasnt so inflamed.
I really wanted it off the dry hops and in the keg.

 

[BrewMan13]

Brewed a brown ale and kegged an oatmeal stout; gravity sample was very nice.

 

[fourfarthing]

Brewed, cleaned, bottled (different beer), cleaned, Cleaned, cleaned....