What I did for beer today

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Picked up my old/new 50lbs co2 with siphon tube!
Had an ancient helium tank that conveyed with my house years ago (abandoned in the garage). Don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner, but for less than $100 I got it hydro tested, used co2 valve installed (with tube), and filled! I’ll still have my 20lbs tank filled elsewhere, but now the 5lbs and all the 20oz bottles can be done at home......... :yes:

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WHERE DID YOU GET THE SIPHON TUBE?
I recently bought a 50lbs steel co2 tank with fresh hydro, but overlooked the siphon tube part. Turning it upside down for fills is doable but not desirable.
 
WHERE DID YOU GET THE SIPHON TUBE?
I recently bought a 50lbs steel co2 tank with fresh hydro, but overlooked the siphon tube part. Turning it upside down for fills is doable but not desirable.


The place I had do the hydro and fill added the tube. He made it sound as if it was a fairly easy process but I’d be lying if I told you what that process was.
A couple of places that only do exchanges said that they would exchange a standard tank for one with a syphon tube for a small fee, but that was assuming a co2 to co2 exchange plus a current hydro (neither of which applied to me).
 
Brewed another try at an IPA. I do feel better about this one, even though I missed my gravity by what seems like a mile. Can't quite seem to boil off enough points in an hour to match my software even though I consistently match or out perform mash efficiency. Usually only miss by a point high or low, but it was pretty glaring on a higher gravity brew. Huff.
 
Just tapped the Orange Coriander Belgian Wit I did last weekend. Not getting a lot of "belgian" out of it, but the orange and spice come through just fine. First pull smells yeasty as poopy but the flavor is nice, light, and just what I was going for. Once I have my ferment fridge back on line I'll try it again.
 
Started cold crashing the Cream Ale I brewed for the Big Brew.

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You got a much clearer beer from 34/70 then I normally do. I use wlp029 for my cream ales but 34/70 seems like a good choice too. I have some flaked corn I need to use and some 34/70 maybe I'll give 34/70 a shoot next time.
I usually use one of the West Coast or California Lager yeasts in a Cream Ale. This was the first time I used 34/70, mostly because I had plenty on hand. I think I’ll use it again.
 
What yeast did ya use?

Dan
BE-256, formerly Belgian Abbaye from Fermentis. After a day in the keg I'm getting some nice belgian-y notes from it. Yeast fermented fast and didn't mind the higher temperature I had it at (around 72, ferment fridge is currently unavailable). No off-flavors, smells a bit yeasty but i don't mind that.
 
Just finished negotiations on offer up for a three-tap kegerator, of COURSE after I had gotten most of the hardware to build one myself. Price is a bit steep at $300 but seller is including a 20lb co2 tank (that I don't really need and will probably sell for $100) so I don't care. It's currently set up for sankes but that's an easy switch to ball locks. Yay I get my ferment fridge back this weekend!! Now what to brew?
 
Today I bottled my centennial pale ale. I think I accidentally made a hazy beer. This beer has been cold crashed for 5 days and it looks like this coming out of the fermenter. It tastes ok, but has a bit of a sharp bitterness at the finish that I hope will mellow out a bit while bottle conditioning.

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Weather blowing cold and wet here today so I did a light cleaning of the brew rig - tubing, pumps, hex and bk in the loop.
Drained the PBW into a bucket and cleaned my SS spider as well. Gonna have to dirty it up soon, the way the weather's going it might be tomorrow or Wednesday...

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Cheers!
Is that a Ruby Red rig?
 
Brought the new kegerator home; seller wasn't flaky, just a bit scatterbrained, NTTAWWT. The co2 tank he threw in (20lb no less) is almost full, but the regulator is crap; fortunately mine is good. Paid $300 for the whole thing; to me it's worth it with the co2 tank. 20lb tanks are going for about $75-100 lately, so if I was so inclined I could sell it if I wanted to. Seller told me the kegerator needed cleaning but it's cleaner than my current one, yes I'm embarrassed to admit. Will post pictures later, need to go get dinner for the parental and myself. When I get home I'll be replacing the co2 lines and the beer lines, fortunately I have plenty of both, and the hardware required. By the time I get done with that it should be cold enough to move my kegs over, so the current kegerator (aka former ferment fridge) can get turned off and go back to doing what it does best; keep my fermenting beers at the right temperature. Great weekend so far!!!
 
So the seller of my kegerator had three sixers in it; they made it look smaller in the pics. Get it home, lines replaced (off topic, is there an EASY way to get beer line on a barb???), and finally got my only two kegs with beer in them, in it...and made a discovery. I can fit SIX CORNIES IN THIS THING IF I WANT TO. Holy crap. Sorely tempted to add just one more tap, which would mean I have to brew more...what a horrible thing. WOOHOO!!!20200516_224125[1].jpg20200516_224133[1].jpg
 
Put the end in some hot water then work quick to get it in place. Heat up the barb to keep it from cooling the tubing too quickly.
Yep do all that, and it still takes about 15 tries to get the damn thing started...not to mention making holes in my thumbs. Arrrgh.
 
Yep do all that, and it still takes about 15 tries to get the damn thing started...not to mention making holes in my thumbs. Arrrgh.

Boiling water, not just hot. Submerge just enough to fit over the barb, leaving the section just beyond solid enough to help push it on.
A little more time soaking is way easier than standing on top of a connector, beating a hose with a 10 pound hammer. If you can’t pinch the tube closed with your fingers, it’s not soft enough yet.
 
Yep do all that, and it still takes about 15 tries to get the damn thing started...not to mention making holes in my thumbs. Arrrgh.
Normally hot water from the tap is enough to soften the plastic. What size tubing and barbs?

If you use flare type fittings you can use a quick disconnect as a handle to help push them on. The force is in the palm and not your thumb.

On a removable tap shank connection end you can heat it up then slam the flat side down on a piece of wood to get the tubing on further.
 
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