What I did for beer today

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Transferring my first double decoction beer into the keg. Oktoberfest with all epiphany malts..very tasty. Let it sit on the yeast for ,4 weeks at 34. Now, into the keg until December for more lagering!
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Oh, WY1969 loves doing that. It's like a lava lamp! Great big, golf ball-sized lumps of yeast convecting around the fermenter like a Star Wars asteroid field. Positively mesmerizing! The odd thing is this: I can't find any rhyme or reason to it. Sometimes it does it, other times it won't. Back around '98 I did about 10 re-pitches on the same recipe while I was trying to dial in a dark mild and sometimes I'd get the golf balls, other times it looked like a normal cloudy fermentation with a small chunk here and there. No difference in the finished product, though. Just yeast being their interesting selves, I guess.
Interesting. I've gone gone through prolly 2 dozen yeasties. This is the first one that looked like a snow globe in the fermenter. Certainly, Fullers, notty and other is the stir plate erlenmeyer can look like a snow globe, but never have I ever seen this brownian effect in a primary. Good to know it's not just a mutation in my zip code. ;)
 
Ok, this was Sunday night and it was cyser, not beer, but....
I rigged yup a closed transfer of a cyser that has been sitting in my fermenter for about 6-8 weeks. I put a liquid out QD on the end of my siphon and connected it to an empty keg that I flooded with CO2. Then I got the siphon going , and opened the PRV so liquid would enter the keg.
Only problem is I got greedy and overfilled the keg. I also got some of the sediment transferred over as well. 😔
 
I really believe the extended lagering , at 36° for 4 months, made it really shine. Normally I would have lagered for 2 months but kept having to put off kegging because of health and other reasons. Turned out for the better.

I've experience the same. Last year, to my shame, I kept a CAP on the yeast, crashed to 38F, but still, on the yeast for 172 days because I had to lead a COVID-19 night shift. When I finally found the time and energy to keg that poor beer, it was amazing.
 
I've experience the same. Last year, to my shame, I kept a CAP on the yeast, crashed to 38F, but still, on the yeast for 172 days because I had to lead a COVID-19 night shift. When I finally found the time and energy to keg that poor beer, it was amazing.
I had transferred the Czech off the yeast to a secondary before lagering. I don't use secondary too much like I used to. This batch though didn't even need gelatin clarifying it was like mountain spring water!
 
New carbonation lid arrived today, so instead of waiting another day I kegged off the Citra/El Dorado IPA that I started crashing last night. Wasn't cold enough, didn't chill the keg, but I'm an impatient soul and wanted to see how the lid did. Also the pipeline is dangerously low, with only about a pint left of my delicious Munich Helles, 1/3 keg of American Strong, and the Blackberry Seltzer I did a couple months ago that has nicely mellowed into something very nice and refreshing.
 
I really believe the extended lagering , at 36° for 4 months, made it really shine. Normally I would have lagered for 2 months but kept having to put off kegging because of health and other reasons. Turned out for the better.
This is so true. One month a good brew . 3 months a FANTASTIC brew!!!
 
Got some war treasure at Salvation Army, both of these German crystal beer mugs for a total of $3.50 ! Price tags on the bottom from original
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store were marked $15.99 each. I love being a plundering ex soldier from the peasant masses. The aristocratic wife will scrunch her nose and tisk tisk tisk me. Tisk away ! All is fair in beer and war !
 
Got some war treasure at Salvation Army, both of these German crystal beer mugs for a total of $3.50 ! Price tags on the bottom from originalView attachment 746370 store were marked $15.99 each. I love being a plundering ex soldier from the peasant masses. The aristocratic wife will scrunch her nose and tisk tisk tisk me. Tisk away ! All is fair in beer and war !

The gold isn't even worn off. Somebody loved those and kept them on display. Killer score, sir!

I used to buy nice glasses like that for my friends whenever I traveled. Invariably, their spouses would shove them in the dishwasher and the graphics would start losing color and the gold would fade away.

I especially like the Wieselburger glass, it's a sharp looking label, but the bottom of that glass has all kinds of interesting things going on. I'd enjoy spending some time watching tiny bubbles float up through that glass :bigmug:
 
The gold isn't even worn off. Somebody loved those and kept them on display. Killer score, sir!

I used to buy nice glasses like that for my friends whenever I traveled. Invariably, their spouses would shove them in the dishwasher and the graphics would start losing color and the gold would fade away.

I especially like the Wieselburger glass, it's a sharp looking label, but the bottom of that glass has all kinds of interesting things going on. I'd enjoy spending some time watching tiny bubbles float up through that glass :bigmug:
Trust me I know! I hand washed them soon as I got home. I used to have quite an extensive collection all picked up during my 2 years in Germany. Unfortunately, most of them were broken by the shipping company. The Gov had to reimburse me about $400 which back in 1985 was a lot of glasses ! Well, that and my stereo. I only have 3 left from my tour. I keep them boxed up. I did have 2 of my black Forest beer mugs with the ...unclothed..ladies serving beer but had to give them a burial at sea. For some reason when I got married, they were not welcomed anymore.
 
I about choked while mixing yeast energizer and hot water earlier this afternoon. That stuff is rank…which I ended up not using anyways…

Because..I had dry hop round #1 and I figured/hope that with that drop and a little swirl the yeasties will get on track and back to work!
 
Kegged my IPA today, taste of warm hydro sample was pretty good. Put my golden ale I dry hopped in the keg into the cooler to crash, I will transfer it to another keg in a couple days to get it off of the hops.

Working on a starter of WLP835 Lager X yeast for an upcoming brew day, thinking maybe a Classic American Lager as I have some corn and 6 row wanting to become beer.
 
Got some war treasure at Salvation Army, both of these German crystal beer mugs for a total of $3.50 ! Price tags on the bottom from originalView attachment 746370 store were marked $15.99 each. I love being a plundering ex soldier from the peasant masses. The aristocratic wife will scrunch her nose and tisk tisk tisk me. Tisk away ! All is fair in beer and war !

Just for clarification, the right glass is from an Austrian Brewery, not German. ;-)

Lukas
 
Just for clarification, the right glass is from an Austrian Brewery, not German. ;-)

Lukas
Ja ja Wieselberg Austria. I visited Austria while stationed in Germany in the 80s. Depending on who you talked to back then half the Austrians claimed Austrian the other half claimed Austrian of German decent. Grosse Deutschland and all that. Austria at that time was still trying to distance itself from the nightmare of being so intertwined with Germany and all the horrible things that happened but for some those ties run deep.
 
Trying out the azacca hops from the AHA. Yesterday I brewed a pale ale that will get dry hopped next week, and today I brewed an American wheat. I got poor conversion on the wheat ale for some reason, I have some theories tho. I also kegged a beer for the first time. I transferred a Munich Dunkel to the keg, purged the headspace and let it sit on 10 PSI for a couple hours, and now it's sitting and lagering waiting to be drunk in a couple of weeks. This is a really great hobby :D :mug:
 
Did a yeast starter...pretty boring.

Bigger accomplishment..FINALLY got my buddy to agree to brew w/me on the same damn day. We both got into brewing last November or so, and he has only managed to do 3 batches. Lots of bugging..poking..Tuesday the 26th is the big day. We'll see if it actually happens. Picked the All Together IPA to do, seemed appropriate.
 
Trying out the azacca hops from the AHA. Yesterday I brewed a pale ale that will get dry hopped next week, and today I brewed an American wheat. I got poor conversion on the wheat ale for some reason, I have some theories tho. I also kegged a beer for the first time. I transferred a Munich Dunkel to the keg, purged the headspace and let it sit on 10 PSI for a couple hours, and now it's sitting and lagering waiting to be drunk in a couple of weeks. This is a really great hobby :D :mug:
Congrats on your first kegging!!! You are on another level now! I was so excited about my 1st keg almost 2 years ago. Like going from high school to a university or from pvt to Sgt! No one else may give a hoot but take pride! You are a Kegger of beer!!!
 
Congrats on your first kegging!!! You are on another level now! I was so excited about my 1st keg almost 2 years ago. Like going from high school to a university or from pvt to Sgt! No one else may give a hoot but take pride! You are a Kegger of beer!!!
Thanks :) I managed to get the posts off and sanitized without losing parts and back on without a leak, so I'm pretty pleased! I even remembered to put lubrifilm on the gaskets!
 
Finished out the 2-week notice on the job today at 1pm; got a nice surprise lunch & cake from my co-workers. This is for beer because now I have two weeks to pump up the pipeline and get the brewery in spotless order. And brought home a beautiful young German Shepherd/Pit Bull mix from the shelter tonight, black with a white chest whose name is now Shelby (original was Hazel, that's a horrible name for a dog in our opinion). Now begins the long process of teaching our older dog to get along with her; she was NOT amused when we came home. Had to get a crate for the new dog to keep her safe from the psycho hellhound our normally docile older dog has turned into. Couple hours later and the frantic barking and posturing (all on the part of the older dog, the young dog is mellow beyond belief) has calmed down; we've been down this road before and a few days should see them if not friends then tolerant of each other.
 
Used the Tapcooler counter pressure beer bottler for the 1st time. Failure and success. No matter what I did I could not get the tap adapter to seal well in my Perlick 650ss taps. Kept getting leaks around the seal. So next time I will put in new washers, they give you an extra set. So I took off the tap adapter and connected the valve/keg connector and that worked like a charm. Bottled up some Czech pils and Irish Red for the brother in laws birthday tomorrow. 🍻
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Bottled the remainder of the Perry that was in the keezer to make room for the keg of Crabapple Lambic for the 12 Beers of Christmas bottle share. As the Lambic wasn't as sour as I had hoped, I added about 1/2 gallon of the 18 month old Flander's Red, which also made it to a keg (what was left of the carboy, that is). Tomorrow I brew another batch of the Flander's Red to go straight on top of the existing culture and let that sit another 8+months.

Tasted the mid-1800's style British IPA, and it was remarkably good. But it wasn't done yet. It was only at 1.015, it should drop off at 1.010-1.012, so I will let it ride until mid-week or next weekend. When I keg it, it is going in on a 5oz blend of Fuggles and EKG, plus oak to give it a classic flavor. Hope it works, as I am not planning on waiting a year and/or sending it around the world on a container ship.
 
Today I’m sampling my 2/13/21 batch of Olympia Beer 1912 recipe and comparing it to the recently discontinued 2021 production, not sure if Irwindale or Milwaukee. Anyway, all are currently unavailable. We’re comparing dinosaurs here.

Leopold Schmidt started it all in 1896 as Capital Brewing featuring Olympia Beer. Later this was changed to Olympia Brewing. In the Clint Eastwood and Dustin Hoffman inspired 1960’s-early 70’s they commanded about 25% of the West Coast market, long, long ago.

For this batch I even researched the Tumwater Sand Aquifer and found the water specifications for Tumwater artesian water. “It’s the Water” was the tag-line.

How does the 1912 recipe on the left compare to the mid-2021 recipe on the right? Pretty darned close!

There really isn’t much difference between these two quaffers. Color came out right-on, similar flavor, similar head, the newer has slightly more lacing. These two adjunct lagers use rice (mine used Minute Rice) in the mash. This lager took longer to clear than usual, even with gelatin, I think I was picking up something maybe from the rice.

Anyway, I’d call this success, making beer sure is fun!

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