What I did for beer today

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JAReeves said:
Been keeping most of the passionfruit harvest cool until a day could come around; it takes a ton of time to cut them open and scoop out the insides. Today was finally that day, 2 1/2 # of Passionfruit guts safely stored in the freezer for a future cider or beer.
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With the prices of passionfruit up here in Canada, that might be $100 of fruit up here. Which is almost criminal since I absolutely love the flavor of passionfruit. I still recall bags of pulp like this in Peru for a buck or two.:(:(
 
jcfontario said:
With the prices of passionfruit up here in Canada, that might be $100 of fruit up here. Which is almost criminal since I absolutely love the flavor of passionfruit. I still recall bags of pulp like this in Peru for a buck or two.:(:(
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They aren't cheap at the stores here either, $1.50-$3.00 each. We had already eaten and given away a lot, and this bag is the processing of the 10 gallons of whole fruit left over. Considering how fast it grows and how productive the vines are, it is criminal.
 
JAReeves said:
I was able to pick up some random beers from Total Wine and then drop by the LHBS for some non-moldy tubing. Nothing worse than an emergency transfer because a fermenter is leaking and finding out that there is mold in the tubing. I hope I didn't just ruin the booze last night!
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Builds character. :D
 
Just squished the bag on my second ever BIAB batch; this time went much smoother and I am LOVING this method of brewing! Have time constraints today with new appliances being delivered so it behooves me to get done quick; it's 5:35am now, should have boil by 6am, and done by 9am since I way overshot my volume and we got some boiling off to do.
 
Finally got the time to finish the CO2 system for the lagering box. It can hold 3 full size kegs, one itty-bitty one and/or a mountain of hops in the back. And put the kegs on gas while they age and cold crash!
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Pitched Yeast on yesterdays Pre Prohibition Porter brew this morning.

Watched some BrewTube, edited some videos for my own channel.

Trying to plan out all of the next few brews, Thinking Stout tomorrow. Split test batch of Berliner worth to test Lacto during the week or next weekend.
 
So, I finally got the marine pump and gas regulator for a beer engine hack. The LHBS folks were really helpful finding the right parts and correct sized tubes, and should be set. Now just waiting on the plant stand from Amazon (stuck in a warehouse 20 minutes away) to get fully set up.

If I recall correctly, this was originally kicked off by @Schlenkerla ages ago on these boards. Standing on the shoulders of giants I am.

Here;s the BYO write up that I followed. Build a Beer Engine: Projects - Brew Your Own (byo.com)

Will post pics and results once this is fully baked out. That said, the pieces required from gas out to keg out are ready to go. :)
 
Cleaned my fermenter from kegging my Irish stout yesterday. Next brewday isn't for a couple of weeks, but I'm all ready!

Also, ordered a couple more kegs and some miscellaneous hardware from Keg Connection. I'm going to move my CO2 tank outside of my keezer. That should give me room for six kegs: four taps for me, one tap for the kids (soda), and space for one lagering keg.
 
JAReeves said:
Checked the new CO2 system and found the new tank completely empty. Will head to the LHBS for a replacement tank as soon as he opens and will spend some time looking for the leak.
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Missed the 1Q of the SF game, but I think I found the leak. Not sure how common this is, but the connection between the grey gas QD just won't seal. All new parts, so that's disappointing too. Luckily, it's on a 4-tap CO2 splitter and I can only really use 3 of them, so it's a redundancy anyway. Time to have a beer and plan tomorrow's brewday.
 
Kegged a Saison. 82% pils. 8% wheat. 10% corn sugar. Belle Saison yeast. The interesting thing about this brew is that it fermented at the top of the yeasts posted range - 95 degrees. I had wanted to slowly raise the temp a bit but didn't pay attention and when I noticed the next day it was 95. I was worried that it would be a wasted effort.

After my initial, "Oh s÷×+!", and wondering if I ruined it, I found myself looking forward to tasting this 95 degree beer. So upon kegging today I poured myself a warm, flat, 10 oz sample.

Nothing wrong with this beer at all. Now I'm looking forward to tasting it clear, cold, and carbed.
 
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So this is how I spent 1.5 hours this morning. Cleaning the beer fridge. A month or so ago I went into the garage to pull another glass for my guest and found a small puddle of beer on the floor in front of the fridge. Opening the door I found that one of the picnic taps had opened when I closed the door earlier. Maybe a couple of gallons of IPA on the shelf, in the two drawers, and on the bottom of the unit. "I can't deal with this now, I have company."
Six weeks later I'm on my hands and knees dealing with dried beer stuck to everything. It wasn't horrible, Oxi did it's thing. But it took me an hour and a half; it probably would have taken 10 minutes if I dealt with it immediately.
No 'before' pictures, but I'm guessing most of you know what it looked like.
 
I don't remember who from HBT suggested this to me, but I bought caps for the ends of the stainless cooling coils, and cut 1/4" tubing to connect the two ends of the cooling lines. Now I can easily pick up and move the fermenter to where I need to clean it, as opposed to trying to do it where the cooling hoses limit out, without spilling glycol solution everywhere!

I mean, dang, that stuff is...well...it is NOT cheap. 5 gallons of glycol cost almost as much as the A/C unit I bought to make the glycol chiller! Plus I got to use my grandfather's metal files (yes, I know, a Dremel would have cut brass like butter. But, I miss the old man and it was calmingly meditative to cut the tubing by hand).
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Pulled a gravity sample of the Porter I brewed about 10 days ago. This is the batch where I might have accidentally switched the FWH hops with the 10 minute addition. It does have a slightly bitter taste, but more of a dark chocolate bitterness than than a hoppy or roast bitterness. I might call this “Bob Ross Porter” after all.
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I also kegged the Fizzy Yellow Lager which has been in primary for a month, the last two weeks in the cellar at 40°. I hit the keg with 40 psi and put it back in the cold room for another week, or so.
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wetmk said:
Opening the door I found that one of the picnic taps had opened when I closed the door earlier.
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This is why my kegging system has become more primitive over time. I'm okay with using a single cobra head and moving it from keg to keg as necessary. This is also why I've stopped keeping my kegs on constant pressure and simply "pulse" them as necessary to maintain carbonation and dispensing pressure.

Yeah, it's a pain in the butt, but I've decided that the alternative is worse.
 
grampamark said:
I might have accidentally switched the FWH hops with the 10 minute addition.
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It kinda depends on your recipe, but I've always found that porters need to rest a bit in the keg, Most chocolate malts need some cooling off time and brown malt really needs a bit of time to relax.

You're an excellent brewer and you already know this stuff. I'm just trying to ease your mind.
 
I exacted my revenge on my Christmas beer today and made a proper West Coast....hoppy beer. Hopping levels are consistent with an IPA, but the gravity is more of a big pale ale. I stunk my apartment up but good with Cascades, Amarillo, and Citra. Four hours after flame out and the place still reeks :rock:

I'm looking forward to this one, it's been a long while since I've made a W.C. hop bomb.

I also kegged the W.C stout I made 8 days ago. I had a solid terminal gravity on it, but I got a bit of acetaldehyde and diacetyl in the sample I stole. Today's brew was already running off, so more time wasn't an option. It likely needed a couple more days, but with a solid TG, I figured I was good to go. It was the first time I used MoreBeer's CALI yeast. I was under the impression that it was just repackaged US-56? I've used that yeast with great success at 64F and have never known it to throw unhappy yeast compounds. Anyway, it's in the keg. I thought about maybe leaving the keg out at ambient for a few days, but I know that yeast should work way down in the 40s. We'll revisit it in three weeks and see what's up. It'll be fine.
 
Spent the day cleaning and organizing the brewery. Got rid of a ton of bottles and started taking pictures of extra stuff I am planning on listing tomorrow. Gave some pints to the neighbors. Tomorrow, I am hoping to make another batch of my Polska Piva Rye IPA. My dad wants a special beer for Super Bowl Sunday.
 
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