What I did for beer today

Yakima 728
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Enjoying a well-earned HB Belgian Golden after brewing up first NEIPA with Citra/Centennial/Sabro.

Making my move from Murky to Hazy :mug:


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Cleaned a keg this morning, with the intention of filling it with American Strong that's ready to keg...then had to go in to work for a couple hours, got home, and said to heck with that, it can sit for another week. Trying valiantly to kill the last lager keg so there's room in the kegerator for aforesaid Strong. Oh look, youtube.
 
VikeMan said:
Kegged a Dark Mild. Here's the end of xfer racking sample.
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Nice pint glass, VikeMan. I grew up on TPA (back when it was called The Home of Rock & Roll). In fact, I'm old enough to remember when they were located at 104.1, before WNNK came along. Jammin' Jeff Kauffman, Hawaiian Chris James, Kim Rodkey, Joanna London. Those were the days.
Cheers.
 
Ramped up the temp a little bit on my british strong since I noticed krausen had dropped and a bit of yeast was starting to pool up on the bottom.
Had the stc1000 set on 19.5 at first so the temp was fluctuating between 19-20c, now I set it to 21. Gonna wait 4 days and then take my first gravity reading and taste sample.
 
Yesterday, brewed a Citra golden ale. Today it was chugging along happily.

Also bottled two 1gal batches of best bitter to verify slants (WLP006 beford ale and Brewlabs F40) today. 8 bomber and 2 500mL pet bottles makes for a quick bottling session. Almost caught up with yeast maintenance, one more small batch then a break from small batches for couple months.
 
seanjwalker1 said:
Renewed my subscription to Brew Your Own and put together a few recipes for Doppelbock then trashed them all. I'm torn between Doppelbock and Wee Heavy to brew along with my Czech Premium....decisions decisions.....😳
Click to expand...

Ummm, brew both!
 
Hoppy2bmerry said:
View attachment 721466
Bottle primed a fat tire clone... not sure how close I got, but it tastes pretty good anyway.
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Hint -- you can get colored bottle caps to differentiate among bottle contents...

Meanwhile, I had to design, fabricate and install a mid-shelf support* for the glass shelf on the bottom of my beer fridge. There was so much weight on it from beer (and other fluids) that the back frame cracked and the glass was actually flexing about a quarter inch down.

*It sounds fancy, but basically I cut a 9-inch threaded rod, put two nuts on either end and forced it into place mid-way between the sides and front/back. The shelf is flat again.
 
Dry hopped my American Golden Ale with Centennial. Brewed a batch of Kama Citra IPA. Dried some spent grains from today's brew day. Ate pizza that the wife made, done just in time following brew day clean-up. She used some previously dried spent grains. Washed it down with a pint of home-brewed oatmeal stout. It doesn't get any better that this!

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Yesterday, in keeping with my possibly idiotic rush to have a lager back on tap, set the ferment fridge to crash temperature for the latest one done last weekend. Right now waiting on the gelatin to bloom before adding that to the fermenter as well, since for some reason I want this one perfectly clear. Testing sample yesterday tasted just great and came down to where I needed it. Also finally kegged the American Strong brewed 2 weeks ago, oh look somebody forgot to clean that fermenter. Guess what I'm doing tonight. After baking some salmon the husband got at the QFC yesterday and only just told me on the way home today I get to cook tonight (twas his bowling night yesterday and he got home way after my bedtime). Busy gal, me.
 
BrewZer said:
Broke out the 2 liter erlenmeyer flask, stir plate and accessories to build my starter tomorrow morning for Friday's BIAB pitch.
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Don't leave a brother hanging, man, what yeast are you propagating?

I'm drinking Old Laxey Brewing: Bosun Bitter Clone that's come out well. Currently fermenting an English base malt SMASH comparison with batches of Chevalier and Maris Otter in their respective fermenters. Trying to decide if that's enough or if I should also SMASH Golden Promise and Pearl to have a definitive English base malt experiment. Any recommendations for a US 2-Row that works well for English ales to really round out this brew off?

BTW, I'm using Notty as it has a clean palate and flocs like crazy.
 
kmarkstevens said:
Don't leave a brother hanging, man, what yeast are you propagating?
Click to expand...
Sorry -- WLP051 California Ale V. LHBS didn't have any Wyeast 2112, so I had to improvise and this was the closest I could find in their 'fridge.

It's fresh enough that I prob don't need to build a starter, but I've got the gear now, so I'm going to use it.

ETA: and now the stir plate is stirring, keeping that yeast in suspension while it keeps me in suspense as to how it likes the bath I prepared for it. Here's hoping it bubbles, bubbles, toils and doubles... (sorry, Will!)

As this is my first all-grain, BIAB attempt, I can't really recommend any particular US 2-row. But I'm sure there are plenty here who might...
 
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Took a mental health day today (OMG I needed it) and got the American Strong on tap; spent a few happy minutes after writing it up on the kegerator, staring at it and gloating that I have FOUR beers on tap right now. And yes I have had a few during my "sick" day today, for medicinal purposes only.
20210311_154919[1].jpg
 
Talked one of my ex Army buddies down in Georgia thru his first ever batch of HB beer ever, 2.5 gallon extract Nut Brown ale. Its taken me 6 months to get him to finally brew the gift kit I sent him. I think I've created a monster! A thousand questions 😂😂😂. And he's already chomping at the bit on advise for the equipment for 3 and 4 gallon batches. Slow down brewing padawan!!! I stirred him toward a SPEIDEL 3.5 gal or an Anvil 4 gallon but advised him to hold off until he's fermented bottled and tasted this first batch! He was about to purchase a 5 gallon water container on Amazon to use as a 5 gallon fermenter 😳😳😕 !! Long and hard is the road that leads from no home brew experience purgatory to full kegs and stocked brew fridge Nirvana!!! Patience Padawan!
 
seanjwalker1 said:
Talked one of my ex Army buddies down in Georgia thru his first ever batch of HB beer ever, 2.5 gallon extract Nut Brown ale. Its taken me 6 months to get him to finally brew the gift kit I sent him. I think I've created a monster! A thousand questions 😂😂😂. And he's already chomping at the bit on advise for the equipment for 3 and 4 gallon batches. Slow down brewing padawan!!! I stirred him toward a SPEIDEL 3.5 gal or an Anvil 4 gallon but advised him to hold off until he's fermented bottled and tasted this first batch! He was about to purchase a 5 gallon water container on Amazon to use as a 5 gallon fermenter 😳😳😕 !! Long and hard is the road that leads from no home brew experience purgatory to full kegs and stocked brew fridge Nirvana!!! Patience Padawan!
Click to expand...
If he's going to spend the money, he might as well go big or go not.

I have, in my stack of brewing kettles, a 4-gallon, a 6-gallon, an 8-gallon, and now my new 11-gallon. I wish I'd bought the 11-gallon right up front -- would have saved me all those other bucks I spent.

ETA: I washed my brew bag and new pot to get the manufacturing gunk out of them.
Grain is ready for milling,
Water's ready for spilling,
BIABag is ready for filling, and
Pot is ready for grilling.
 
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Watched some bubbles took a gravity reading, forgot how fast wlp029 works, should be able to keg the golden ale in a couple days.

Started a starter using WLP925 high pressure lager yeast. Plan to slit the batch and do half under pressure warm and the other half cold to compare the results My canned wort inventory was looking pretty sparse so will have to another batch pretty soon.
 
Picked up my 2 new buckets, they are gonna be fermentor and bottling bucket. These look a lot thicker and more sturdy than the old ones.
My 2 old ones are gonna become a new bucket-in-bucket sparging "system". Also came with 2kg Crisp C-150 and 0.5 liter of saniclean, and 4 new spigots.
 

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BrewZer said:
If he's going to spend the money, he might as well go big or go not.

I have, in my stack of brewing kettles, a 4-gallon, a 6-gallon, an 8-gallon, and now my new 11-gallon. I wish I'd bought the 11-gallon right up front -- would have saved me all those other bucks I spent.

ETA: I washed my brew bag and new pot to get the manufacturing gunk out of them.
Grain is ready for milling,
Water's ready for spilling,
BIABag is ready for filling, and
Pot is ready for grilling.
Click to expand...
Yeah I hear you but I don't want him spending a lot for equipment that 6 months or a year later is just collecting dust in a storage room. My other hobby obsession is Astronomy and I've know too many people over the years who come into the field and right away have big scope fever and spend several thousand dollars getting the biggest computerized scope they can afford, thousands on astro cameras and telescope accessories and find out how heavy this stuff is and that yes you actually need to take the time to learn not only the equipment but understand to put it to use. They go out 3 or 4 times then it collects dust in a garage or basement for several years before they decide to sell it for far less then they paid. Just want to make sure he's bitten by the brewing bug and becomes a true home brew convert. 🍻
 
Ordered a Hullwrecker 2-roller grain mill and base to celebrate Pi Day (3.14) a couple days early. Northern Brewer has a $20 off deal for orders over $100, so yes! With discount and tax, it was $115.55. I'll brew all-grain now, buy grains in bulk, and crush it to my specifications. The savings will pay for itself shortly, freeing up more $$$ to buy more brewing stuff to make even better home brew. Oh yea!
 
Imhoppy said:
Ordered a Hullwrecker 2-roller grain mill and base to celebrate Pi Day (3.14) a couple days early. Northern Brewer has a $20 off deal for orders over $100, so yes! With discount and tax, it was $115.55. I'll brew all-grain now, buy grains in bulk, and crush it to my specifications. The savings will pay for itself shortly, freeing up more $$$ to buy more brewing stuff to make even better home brew. Oh yea!
Click to expand...
Saw that deal and you are reading my mind. My next hot ticket item on my list is a 2 roller grain mill with Hopper ! Been doing all grain 12 years but always bought it crushed. Last 2 hot ticket items were a 50mm guide scope and monochrome guide camera...my 2nd obsession 😂.
 
Brewing up a random mix of leftover base malts and maybe a 15 minute boil, going to bottle the wort and pasteurize them for use with starters.

My last starter overflowed when I blinked... the wife wasn't/isn't happy with the condition of the stove. Frankly neither am I

On the bright side... easiest bottling day ever!
 
Mr. Vern said:
Brewing up a random mix of leftover base malts and maybe a 15 minute boil, going to bottle the wort and pasteurize them for use with starters.

My last starter overflowed when I blinked... the wife wasn't/isn't happy with the condition of the stove. Frankly neither am I

On the bright side... easiest bottling day ever!
Click to expand...
My worst-ever boil-over resulted in an epic mess, which was followed by an extensive cleaning of the stove. Afterwards, it never looked so good.

Later, when I reported to my wife that I had purchased a new, larger kettle, which virtually assured us of no future boil-overs, she looked at me disappointedly and said, "but who will clean the stove?"

To this day (many years later), "but who will clean the stove?" is overheard in my house after a successful brew day.
 
Imhoppy said:
Ordered a Hullwrecker 2-roller grain mill and base to celebrate Pi Day (3.14) a couple days early.
Click to expand...
I just used my brand new Hullwrecker today. Holy Grist, Batman! That sucker works gr-r-r-r-r-r-eat! Ground it at .020 for BIAB, and I had wonderful efficiency. I was expecting OG of 1.058 I got 1.078!!

seanjwalker1 said:
Yeah I hear you but I don't want him spending a lot for equipment that 6 months or a year later is just collecting dust in a storage room. .... Just want to make sure he's bitten by the brewing bug and becomes a true home brew convert.
Click to expand...
Look at it this way -- if he doesn't want to keep brewing, you could always offer to buy it off him at a slight discount for wear... ;)

Cheers!

As for what I did to beer today -- my first BIAB all-grain experience went great! Ground and loaded about 13 lbs of mixed grains into the strike water, just a bit high, and the grains took the temps down to 154F. The reflectix wrap kept the water above 150 for the whole hour, and the boil went great (except I never got any large raft of foam on top, not even with the hop additions). However, I did learn a few key things.
1. Start with 8 gallons of water vice 7. Between boil off and the bag, I lost almost 3 gallons.
setup.jpg

2. Raise my ladder up another 4 inches so the hanging bag will clear the kettle.
hang.jpg

3. Tighten the chuck on the drill -- the drill was spinning on me, and it wore down a bit of the Hullwrecker drive shaft before I figured that out.

The whole process added about 45 minutes to the brewday, a small price to pay for the wort I got out of it.
OG.jpg

Cleanup was easy -- the bag emptied cleanly and there were just a few stragglers to rinse out of it.

Oh, and I fixed a small leak in my copper IC, so I'm happy about that, too.

I have just over 4 gallons in the fermenter of my Against The Grain APA. I'll let y'all know how it works out. Initial impressions on the OG sample -- sweet, grainy (Asst Braumeister said "honey-oat Cheerios"). I know that'll ferment out.
 
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seanjwalker1 said:
Yeah I hear you but I don't want him spending a lot for equipment that 6 months or a year later is just collecting dust in a storage room. My other hobby obsession is Astronomy and I've know too many people over the years who come into the field and right away have big scope fever and spend several thousand dollars getting the biggest computerized scope they can afford, thousands on astro cameras and telescope accessories and find out how heavy this stuff is and that yes you actually need to take the time to learn not only the equipment but understand to put it to use. They go out 3 or 4 times then it collects dust in a garage or basement for several years before they decide to sell it for far less then they paid. Just want to make sure he's bitten by the brewing bug and becomes a true home brew convert. 🍻
Click to expand...

seanjwalker1 said:
Saw that deal and you are reading my mind. My next hot ticket item on my list is a 2 roller grain mill with Hopper ! Been doing all grain 12 years but always bought it crushed. Last 2 hot ticket items were a 50mm guide scope and monochrome guide camera...my 2nd obsession 😂.
Click to expand...

I have the astronomy bug too. Have a tabletop Star Blast 6i (6" F5). Also have all of the parts and schematics worked out to build a 16" f4.5 obsession style dob once I get a couple of projects finished up for the wife in my garage/shop.

Beer wise I'm also looking at changing out my single tap draft tower on my kegerator to a dual tap and getting some new kegs for it as well but it may be a while before I do this as I'm enjoying bottling right now.
 
seanjwalker1 said:
I think I've created a monster!
Click to expand...

You have. I have several of them and it makes life a lot more complicated than it should be. I'm not bellyaching, I wrote the previous sentence with a big smile on my face. It's a joy spreading the hobby :)

Don't waste your money sending them books. Why bother reading when they can just hit you up.

Just wait until your buddy starts getting a handle on things and starts hitting you up with the, "You said this, but I read on the internet..." questions. Then you've got the guy that refuses to give up goop brewing and refuses to switch to all grain that likes to point out that, "You said it would be cheaper!"

Yeah, you've created a monster. But it'll be fun!
 
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BrewZer said:
I just used my brand new Hullwrecker today. Holy Grist, Batman! That sucker works gr-r-r-r-r-r-eat! Ground it at .020 for BIAB, and I had wonderful efficiency. I was expecting OG of 1.058 I got 1.078!!


Look at it this way -- if he doesn't want to keep brewing, you could always offer to buy it off him at a slight discount for wear... ;)

Cheers!

As for what I did to beer today -- my first BIAB all-grain experience went great! Ground and loaded about 13 lbs of mixed grains into the strike water, just a bit high, and the grains took the temps down to 154F. The reflectix wrap kept the water above 150 for the whole hour, and the boil went great (except I never got any large raft of foam on top, not even with the hop additions). However, I did learn a few key things.
1. Start with 8 gallons of water vice 7. Between boil off and the bag, I lost almost 3 gallons.
View attachment 722008
2. Raise my ladder up another 4 inches so the hanging bag will clear the kettle.
View attachment 722009
3. Tighten the chuck on the drill -- the drill was spinning on me, and it wore down a bit of the Hullwrecker drive shaft before I figured that out.

The whole process added about 45 minutes to the brewday, a small price to pay for the wort I got out of it.
View attachment 722010
Cleanup was easy -- the bag emptied cleanly and there were just a few stragglers to rinse out of it.

Oh, and I fixed a small leak in my copper IC, so I'm happy about that, too.

I have just over 4 gallons in the fermenter of my Against The Grain APA. I'll let y'all know how it works out. Initial impressions on the OG sample -- sweet, grainy (Asst Braumeister said "honey-oat Cheerios"). I know that'll ferment out.
Click to expand...
Good ol' American ingenuity! Improvise , Overcome , Adapt !
 
Bramling Cross said:
You have. I have several of them and it makes life a lot more complicated than it should be. I'm not bellyaching, I wrote the previous sentence with a big smile on my face. It's a joy spreading the hobby :)

Don't waste your money sending them books. Why bother reading when they can just hit you up.

Just wait until your buddy starts getting a handle on things and starts hitting you up with the, "You said this, but I read on the internet..." questions. Then you've got the guy that refuses to give up goop brewing and refuses to switch to all grain that likes to point out that, "You said it would be cheaper!"

Yeah, you've created a monster. But it'll be fun!
Click to expand...

Just had a convo with an ex-coworker, who is moving in a few months, asking me what recipes I have ready on deck-he wants to do at least one brew day before he leaves town. I'm good with that kind of monster.
 

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