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Search your feelings.....Luke...I am your Brewmaster!!!!
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Disassembled, cleaned, and sanitized 3 kegs. One of them had been neglected for months and had that nice crusty brown s#@t stuck to the bottom. As I was working on them, I thought, "You know, these would look awesome if you just polished the outside. " Yeah right. I've had that thought for decades and never acted on it; apparently I just care about the inside! Kegged a Belgian pale. Cleaned 2 fermenters and called it an afternoon.
 
Tapped the WF lager I kegged yesterday (yes I'm impatient). This one is my take on Widmer's Dreifecta; I had to change up the hops since I couldn't get any Tradition or Calista hops, so I used Sterling for bittering, and both Hallertau Blanc and Mittelfruh as late additions. Very nice light lager. Used Lallemand Diamond lager yeast for the first time, and must say I'm impressed with this one in a WF lager; very clean profile, gives that nice lager "bite", and nothing off. It will improve with some age on it, if it lasts that long.
 
Had an awesome brewday going; planned to finally drop the hammer on some Kveik yeast in a Bodhizafa clone. Had a brain fart and turned off the hose too early, now fermenter is in the kegerator chilling down to 90 so I can pitch. Yes I know this yeast does best at high temperatures but I just can't bring myself to pitch at over 100 degrees, it's sitting at 104 now and should drop down to 90 within an hour or so. If anyone else has experience pitching kveik (using the Kveiking blend as that's all I could get) at high temps I'd love to hear about it. I don't care about the super-fruity esters it will throw since I really want them in this ale.
 
Had an awesome brewday going; planned to finally drop the hammer on some Kveik yeast in a Bodhizafa clone. Had a brain fart and turned off the hose too early, now fermenter is in the kegerator chilling down to 90 so I can pitch. Yes I know this yeast does best at high temperatures but I just can't bring myself to pitch at over 100 degrees, it's sitting at 104 now and should drop down to 90 within an hour or so. If anyone else has experience pitching kveik (using the Kveiking blend as that's all I could get) at high temps I'd love to hear about it. I don't care about the super-fruity esters it will throw since I really want them in this ale.

Pitch at 90°, let it free rise.
 
Pitch at 90°, let it free rise.
Just pitched, it was probably at 95. Fermenter is in the house wrapped in a blanket and a towel, this will be a fun experiment and if nothing else I'll get a fruity hop bomb, which is pretty much what I want. Original recipe (done on Notty) won me a silver & gold in February at an all-IPA competition so looking forward to seeing what this yeast does. Also I'm an avid yeast saver (albeit I only save slurry, not slants) so if this yeast works past a few generations it will be very worth the $12.50 I spent on it.
 
Finally insulated my collar of keezer. Should have done this from the beginning given its in a North Carolina garage lol.
 

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I've been working on my Friends of Carl Oregon Trail Sourdough starter and pumpernickel rye bread. Instead of tossing the leftover bread to the chickens, I saved up nearly two pounds. Today I cut those leftovers into slices, combined with a pound of 6row and 1/4 flaked rye (just cause I have it), mashed that up for an hour, doing a 30 minute boil right now with 10gm Tettnanger and will have maybe a 2 gallon batch at 12 IBU. Will pitch in the morning when cooled with the Sourdough starter. Not sure if I should also use a bit of s-04 'cause it's on the stir plate. Will figure it out in the sober light of day. ;)
 
Rigged a blowoff tube for my secondary right after this pic... I added 3lb of cherries and a bit of light toasted oak spiral to this co-soured base and it took off again. Pretty sure this one is going to be real good...
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it looks a lot less like tomato juice in person, it’s almost purple.
 
Rigged a blowoff tube for my secondary right after this pic... I added 3lb of cherries and a bit of light toasted oak spiral to this co-soured base and it took off again. Pretty sure this one is going to be real good...View attachment 682944

it looks a lot less like tomato juice in person, it’s almost purple.
I thought it was y big bloody mary. Just kidding
 
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Borrowed my big boiling pot, burner and thermometer (and donated off my old 15L pot) to my neighbor to brew a batch of sahti, came back with this homemade mahogany mash paddle! It's a bit on the raw side as I'm supposed to put the finishing touch to it myself and TBH that makes me like it even more!
 
Recently bought a used keg for using as a fermentation vessel. Gave it a thorough clean today (it came cleaned, but still!), and swapped out the dip tube for a floating one. Also did a gravity check and taste test on my nordic pale ale with spruce tips. Spruce tips didn't really come through strong enough, will add more next time, but the beer itself tastes great!
 
Bottled a Best Bitter 30 min ago. Going to let the slurry settle while I brew an 80 shilling and then put some of it in. The bitter was brewed right on top of a bitter i obviously like session British beers.
 
Bottled a Best Bitter 30 min ago. Going to let the slurry settle while I brew an 80 shilling and then put some of it in. The bitter was brewed right on top of a bitter i obviously like session British beers.
I have 5 gal left of a wonderful Scottish Export I brewed about 6 weeks ago. It is a very drinkable beer.
 
Drinking some while gloating over the nearly perfect fermentation I have going on the Irish Death clone I brewed yesterday. If this one turns out well, as well as the IPA I did on Saturday fermenting on Kveiking, I'll have five great ones in a row and an almost full kegerator. Pretty damn proud of myself.
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Kegged 10 gals of my cali common recipe last night and put it on CO2 to let it carbonate over the next week or so.

Pulled a small sample this morning and man... I've missed having this beer on tap.
 
Just pitched, it was probably at 95. Fermenter is in the house wrapped in a blanket and a towel, this will be a fun experiment and if nothing else I'll get a fruity hop bomb, which is pretty much what I want. Original recipe (done on Notty) won me a silver & gold in February at an all-IPA competition so looking forward to seeing what this yeast does. Also I'm an avid yeast saver (albeit I only save slurry, not slants) so if this yeast works past a few generations it will be very worth the $12.50 I spent on it.
You should be able to reuse it for a very long time. Kveik: The Ancient and Modern Way to Brew
 
Recently hit the LHBS for grain for my Red Rye and Stout. Planning to brew soon, the only thing in the kegerator is a Huell Melon SMaSH, which just isn’t bitter enough for me.

But I learned about a hop I had never used before, so it’s still a win.

Probably should move the Red Flanders sour into the keg and make another batch of that as well.
 
Just got done pitching the yeast into a starter I am making for brew day on Friday. Gonna make an American Pale Ale for the fourth of July that I call "Nearly Nevada" as it is a pretty spot on clone of Sierra Nevada.

John
 
Tapped the Orange Coriander Wit that I kegged on Sunday, after doing some readjusting of the disconnect (didn't get the line on far enough and wanted to leak). Needs a bit more carbonation but I'm really happy with this one. Super orange flavor, subtle spiciness, and very refreshing. And for the first time since I started kegging, I have THREE BEERS ON TAP yes I'm a bit excited about that! Forgot to get a cap for the tap last time at LHBS but a plastic pipette fits for now to keep the ever-present fruit flies out of it. Soon going to go test the IPA I did on Kveiking Saturday, dropped the dry hop Sunday night and hoping to keg it on Thursday. I'm rich!!! In beer at least.
 
prepping To brew today. Using a Pilsner recipe but Kveik Voss. So I guess it’s a Pilsner Pale Ale? :) Doesn’t matter it should drink good and get done fairly quickly. Also putting a bottle or two in the fridge for tomorrow since that batch should be bottle conditioned today (3 weeks)
 
do you like it better than Zymurgy?
I will have to have a chance to peruse several publications before I have a solid set opinion but I know over the years I've read several good articles online from BYO that I really liked that led me to want a subscription. I've read a few online articles by Zymurgy but not nearly as many as BYO so I can't give an honest opinion about it.
 
I will have to have a chance to peruse several publications before I have a solid set opinion but I know over the years I've read several good articles online from BYO that I really liked that led me to want a subscription. I've read a few online articles by Zymurgy but not nearly as many as BYO so I can't give an honest opinion about it.
I have only had my AHA membership that includes Zymurgy for a few months but I’ve read back as far as 2011 online. I’m a teacher so I’ve obviously had a lot of time on my hands. I’ve learned a lot and used tips and a few recipes. I’ve also learned a lot from BYO seeing articles on Pinterest.
 
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