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What I did for beer today

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Today I sanitized two kegs and I kegged my decocted hefeweizen. The flat sample tasted awesome and I might have really nailed this style now. I have been chasing the elusive perfect hefeweizen, so we will see once it's carbed if I did indeed nail it or not. Wish me luck!

John
 
I took a sample from my Oktoberfest going into week two and down to 1.035 from 1.056 so looks like another week or two. Tasted smooth and was clear though !

i learned a new fact about ocktoberfest, it's a lager! and also in 2017: "Beer Consumption Tops 7.5 Million Liters at Oktoberfest 2017. Oktoberfest 2017 has come to an end, and the statistics are in: a staggering 7.5 million liters of beer was consumed by 6.2 million visitors over 18 days."

had to double check because i was wondering why after 2 weeks it was only half fermented....


i also dropped my immersion chiller in a batch to cool...
 
i learned a new fact about ocktoberfest, it's a lager! and also in 2017: "Beer Consumption Tops 7.5 Million Liters at Oktoberfest 2017. Oktoberfest 2017 has come to an end, and the statistics are in: a staggering 7.5 million liters of beer was consumed by 6.2 million visitors over 18 days."

had to double check because i was wondering why after 2 weeks it was only half fermented....


i also dropped my immersion chiller in a batch to cool...
Yup! This was actually the first lager I've ever made! I finally have a dedicated refrigerator and temp control! [emoji16] I'm going to let it go till it's done. My next one is going to be a dark czech Pilsner
 
Yup! This was actually the first lager I've ever made! I finally have a dedicated refrigerator and temp control! [emoji16] I'm going to let it go till it's done. My next one is going to be a dark czech Pilsner

you need to post that in "You know your a homebrewer when"....Finally got a lagering fridge and first thing you do is make a dark/stout lager in it! sounds good to me! :mug:
 
you need to post that in "You know your a homebrewer when"....Finally got a lagering fridge and first thing you do is make a dark/stout lager in it! sounds good to me! :mug:
True that! The beauty of it is it cost me $29 Hops and all to buy the ingredients All Grain! [emoji3]
 
True that! The beauty of it is it cost me $29 Hops and all to buy the ingredients All Grain! [emoji3]

I remember those days! i just pitched my reused yeast to my $7.85 10gal 1.061SG batch! would have been 38 cents cheaper but i had to add 12oz sugar to get my gravity where it needed to be :(
 
Served two homebrews at a local Farmhouse festival.

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So, i bought a guy's home-brew setup (new baby, changing priorities), and gave it to a co-worker who is going to brew for the first time with me this upcoming Saturday.

So, Home-brew Crazy Nutjobs -1, +1; the universe is still tied.

Oh and today I setup 6 gallons of wild-ferment cider from the Fall Harvest, made a batch of Joe's Ancient Orange Mead, and tomorrow, a Red Rye Ale.

Naw, I'm not obsessed or anything...
 
That is a fitbit, yes. I keep in shape and probably drink less than people think ;)

there's nothing wrong with 'less', just as long as your drinking enough!

i use CRON-o-Meter myself to stay thin and drink. and keep my liver from exploding!

And as far as beer goes, i meditated enough, finished my beer, and got my brewing equip washed and put away. Now for the dishes!
 
After hearing all the horror stories about high dissolved solid levels in RO water sources, I decided to buy a TDS meter and test my local grocer’s RO water. Lo and behold...

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Damn it feels good to be a brewer.
 
Yesterday: brewed up my herbal stout.
Today: frantically switched it to a blow off tube before work. I have a lot of headspace in my fermenter, so this is rarely needed. That wyeast 1728 is churning like a mofo.
 
Went to the feed store to get a bag of barley..they only had one with a rip in it. i told them i didn't care but they insisted on giving me a 2 dollar discount anyway!

So i guess my next 2 batches will only cost me ~6.50 for 10 gals!makes feel even sorrier for the bum i was waiting behind in line, scraping together 5.50 in change to buy a 6-pack of milwaukee's!

went got the mail, which included 1lb of cardamom pods for next brew day. going to try it instead of hops and with them...

and going to dump barley in the malt'n tub to start the week long process of brewing beer the hard way!
 
Picked up a whirlpool kit for my kettle as well as a step drill bit. Then worked up the courage to drill the hole for it.

Everything went great and now I know I don't need to fear putting holes in my equipment anymore.

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i just scooped my wet green malt onto my drying racks, and broke my pots handle doing it so this is what i did for beer....

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a quick spot weld so i can continue brewing beer!
 
Got home just shy of 10pm after working all day and driving 6.5 hours home. Unpacked quickly and tossed a load of laundry in. Then portioned off my starter, part to save and the other part is in the kegerator chilling for tomorrow’s brew day. Measured out my grains too. Tomorrow I’ll get the kids off to school then bring all of the equipment out to the garage and start my American Barleywine and hopefully something else attempting a partygyle beer too.

I would have trucked all of my equipment out to the garage tonight but it’s supposed to be in the low 30’s maybe into the 20’s. I’ll keep it warm inside for now.
 
Just bottled 56 bottles of
"The Juice Is Worth The Squeeze"

Sampled a little bit and I am so stoked.
This is my best yet.
Learned from mistakes and made corrections, plus a lot of face time with books and podcasts and I've picked up some good tips.

Always a learning lesson and it just makes all the time and effort worth while.
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Today I brewed my complex Autumn Vienna Amber Ale and everything went very smooth. But the highlight was when I tapped my German Hefeweizen. I decocted this recipe and I have brewed many hefeweizens over the years and though they were good, I keep trying to make the perfect hef as something was missing. I kept trying different recipes, pitching rates, fermentation temps, and then I tried decocting. I can't believe it, I really nailed it this time! My friend who is a hefeweizen geek freaked out and proclaimed that this is the one! Just like they serve fresh in Germany! Great day today!

Cheers,

John
 
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