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Ratbones
May 15, 2009
Awesome, thanks for the pointers guys! I'm excited to pursue this stuff further. Just have to decide on what to brew for beer number two!

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James Bont
Apr 20, 2007
do you expect me to talk?
So this porter or whatever is taking loving forever. Over 3 weeks now and still krausen. Should I be worried? I don't know what it is but I guess there's still fermentation going on. OG was like 1.090 so I guess that's probably why it's taking long. Mashed at about 152. Dumped in a pretty healthy sized chunk of yeast from the yeast cake of the previous batch (pale ale, wlp023) for this beer, and like I said the yeast seem to be working just fine. I shook the poo poo out of it to see if the krausen still being there was sort of a fluke, but then a day or two later it had reformed so obviously this beer's not even done. I haven't even bothered with a gravity reading yet since you can SEE there's still poo poo going on.

Anyways enough bullshit, should I just let it finish out in the carboy it started in? Or since I'm nearing 4 weeks here should I rack it in to my bottling bucket prematurely and then when bottling day comes just mix in the priming sugar? or should I put the priming sugar directly in bottles? I dunno, I just want this beer to hurry and finish.

j3rkstore
Jan 28, 2009

L'esprit d'escalier
Brewing outside today, its about 40*.

Anyone know what to do about this? The propane flow has really decreased and it was a "full" tank.

Toebone
Jul 1, 2002

Start remembering what you hear.

Ratbones posted:

One more thing, I didn't have any vodka on hand, so I used gin in my airlock. Was that a terrible idea?

Temperature/pressure changes can cause the airlock liquid to be sucked back into the fermentor, so it might be a good idea to change it out for plain water or StarSan. ~1oz gin in 5 gallons of beer probably wouldn't be too noticeable, but its easy enough to fix that I wouldn't take the chance.

Paladine_PSoT
Jan 2, 2010

If you have a problem Yo, I'll solve it

Daedalus Esquire posted:

Mine should have arrived to one of the people on that list today or tomorrow.

Well I'll be damned. The mail carrier showed up today with a large box of yeast samples!



A 14 IBU 4.6% Weizenbier and an 18 IBU 5% Stout! Took a horifically low quality picture of them in my kitchen window overlooking the Willamette Valley. Tasting notes to follow!

indigi
Jul 20, 2004

how can we not talk about family
when family's all that we got?

James Bont posted:

Anyways enough bullshit, should I just let it finish out in the carboy it started in? Or since I'm nearing 4 weeks here should I rack it in to my bottling bucket prematurely and then when bottling day comes just mix in the priming sugar? or should I put the priming sugar directly in bottles? I dunno, I just want this beer to hurry and finish.
Just let it go til it's finished. No reason to rack off the yeast if it's still actively fermenting and healthy.

PokeJoe
Aug 24, 2004

hail cgatan


j3rkstore posted:

Brewing outside today, its about 40*.

Anyone know what to do about this? The propane flow has really decreased and it was a "full" tank.



Just have to let the tank warm up. The flow decreased because there isn't enough energy to turn the liquid propane into gaseous propane.

Daedalus Esquire
Mar 30, 2008

Paladine_PSoT posted:

Well I'll be damned. The mail carrier showed up today with a large box of yeast samples!



A 14 IBU 4.6% Weizenbier and an 18 IBU 5% Stout! Took a horifically low quality picture of them in my kitchen window overlooking the Willamette Valley. Tasting notes to follow!

Glad they got there! Sorry they were so late.

nesbit37
Dec 12, 2003
Emperor of Rome
(500 BC - 500 AD)

Paladine_PSoT posted:

Secret Saudit!

I have not heard from the following people as to whether they have received their gifts:

Acceptableloss
Nesbit37
Crazyfish
PaladinePSoT
Magua
Imasalmon

If I missed a post saying you got it, let me know! If you received it, post some pictures (or reviews) and let us know! If you have yet to receive something, let us know too, I'm not too worried because there's been a great turnout sofar with some late "it's been shipped"s that are unaccounted for.

I have been away for the last week and just got back today with a big box of beer waiting for me! Not certain who sent it though...

Ratbones
May 15, 2009
How should I go about mixing up a tiny amount of Star San for use in my fermenter airlock? Should I use the same dilution of 1oz per 5 gallons just on a tiny scale? I dumped out all the Star San I had mixed up upon finishing the brew last night.

Daedalus Esquire
Mar 30, 2008

Ratbones posted:

I dumped out all the Star San I had mixed up upon finishing the brew last night.

Don't do this. I'm sure someone here can give you the appropriate pH, but as long as its in a certain range, StarSan is supposed to be reusable.

withak
Jan 15, 2003


Fun Shoe

Daedalus Esquire posted:

Don't do this. I'm sure someone here can give you the appropriate pH, but as long as its in a certain range, StarSan is supposed to be reusable.

I think it is good to reuse until it turns cloudy.

tesilential
Nov 22, 2004

by Fluffdaddy

James Bont posted:

So this porter or whatever is taking loving forever. Over 3 weeks now and still krausen. Should I be worried? I don't know what it is but I guess there's still fermentation going on. OG was like 1.090 so I guess that's probably why it's taking long. Mashed at about 152. Dumped in a pretty healthy sized chunk of yeast from the yeast cake of the previous batch (pale ale, wlp023) for this beer, and like I said the yeast seem to be working just fine. I shook the poo poo out of it to see if the krausen still being there was sort of a fluke, but then a day or two later it had reformed so obviously this beer's not even done. I haven't even bothered with a gravity reading yet since you can SEE there's still poo poo going on.

Anyways enough bullshit, should I just let it finish out in the carboy it started in? Or since I'm nearing 4 weeks here should I rack it in to my bottling bucket prematurely and then when bottling day comes just mix in the priming sugar? or should I put the priming sugar directly in bottles? I dunno, I just want this beer to hurry and finish.

It's probably been done for a while now. You need to take an actual gravity reading and then at least one more a couple days later to make sure the beer is done. Thames valley yeast is a pretty active and fast strain, but it is one of the worst flocculators so it stays cloudy and looks active forever.

When you say you shook the hell out of the beer, I assume you mean you gently rocked it back and forth, right? Don't disturb your beer much because you can easily oxygenate it or re-suspend all the trub and yeast.

Bottom line, you need to use a hydrometer to see how far along your beer really is, I had a 1.084 RIS finish in less than 30 hours.

If it is really still fermenting (doubtful), let it warm up to the mid 70's to speed it along. You wont get off flavors at this point.

For bottling, put your priming sugar solution in the bucket and rack the finished beer onto it, then bottle immediately.

tesilential fucked around with this message at 08:58 on Jan 1, 2012

Jo3sh
Oct 19, 2002

Like all girls I love unicorns!

Daedalus Esquire posted:

Don't do this. I'm sure someone here can give you the appropriate pH, but as long as its in a certain range, StarSan is supposed to be reusable.

It's good to reuse as long as pH remains under 3.

Jo3sh
Oct 19, 2002

Like all girls I love unicorns!

Toebone posted:

Does the strainer bag contain pellet hop sludge, and you need to keep the bag suspended to keep from melting?

Sorry, forgot to respond to this from the last page.

Yes, it contains pellet sludge with no issues.

No, there have not been any melting issues. The liquid in the pot doesn't let the bottom get very hot in the first place; and second, there's enough churning and swirling that the bag tends to rise in the kettle.

Ratbones
May 15, 2009
Airlock activity for my brew has already slowed to a bubble every twelve seconds or so. I bucketed the wort and pitched the yeast late Friday night and it was bubbling a lot more frequently all day Saturday. Is this pretty normal? If it matters, the bucket has been at a pretty steady external 68-70 degrees.

Imasalmon
Mar 19, 2003

Meet me in the Hall of Fame

Ratbones posted:

Airlock activity for my brew has already slowed to a bubble every twelve seconds or so. I bucketed the wort and pitched the yeast late Friday night and it was bubbling a lot more frequently all day Saturday. Is this pretty normal? If it matters, the bucket has been at a pretty steady external 68-70 degrees.

Yes. Also, bubbling isn't really a good way to tell whether fermentation is complete. You'll want to take a sample and measure it with your hydrometer. Do this a few days apart until the reading doesn't change.

SoftNum
Mar 31, 2011

Docjowles posted:

For future batches, think about doing the primary in the carboy and just racking into the bucket to bottle.

Assuming the Carboy is 6.5 gal and not 5 gal like comes with most kits, yeah. I wouldn't primary a 5 gal batch in a 5 gal carboy.

withak
Jan 15, 2003


Fun Shoe
I make 5-gallon batches in a 5gal carboy all the time. Just make sure you rig a blowoff tube from the start.

tesilential
Nov 22, 2004

by Fluffdaddy

withak posted:

I make 5-gallon batches in a 5gal carboy all the time. Just make sure you rig a blowoff tube from the start.

And expect more like 4-4.5 gal in the keg.

indigi posted:

I was going to do my Helles today but woke up really early with a 30-minute coughing fit for reasons I'm still unsure of and have a sore throat. I passed back out in bed and now it's 2:30, not sure if I'm gonna get to do it today. Not an auspicious start to my brewing new year :(

drat man, that happened to me 2 Fridays ago. Got really sick for 2 days and still have a persistent cough with phlegm in the lungs (bronchitis). That shits all over the country right now.

I had trouble just executing a couple large dry hops last week, brewing was a definite no go.

My next brew might be either a chocolate porter or a hallertau pils, in a couple weeks or so.

tesilential fucked around with this message at 20:47 on Jan 2, 2012

indigi
Jul 20, 2004

how can we not talk about family
when family's all that we got?
I was going to do my Helles today but woke up really early with a 30-minute coughing fit for reasons I'm still unsure of and have a sore throat. I passed back out in bed and now it's 2:30, not sure if I'm gonna get to do it today. Not an auspicious start to my brewing new year :(

withak
Jan 15, 2003


Fun Shoe

tesilential posted:

And expect more like 4-4.5 gal in the keg.

I usually get a little less than 4.75, including what gets left behind with the yeast sludge after the siphon runs dry.

fishbone
Sep 25, 2003
Anybody know why you can't buy clear food grade buckets for brewing? This would be the greatest thing ever. Better Bottles are great, but they kept the shape of a glass carboy which makes cleaning a bigger pain that it needs to be, and they're not easy to lug around without a brewhauler.

Take a white plastic 5 or 6 gallon bucket and mold it with clear food grade plastic with a handle and an accompanying lid, and you could make millions...or at least hundreds.

Jo3sh
Oct 19, 2002

Like all girls I love unicorns!
Cambro makes clear polycarbonate tubs up to 22 or 24 quart, I think. Both square and round. Check restaurant supply stores.

SoftNum
Mar 31, 2011

fishbone posted:

Anybody know why you can't buy clear food grade buckets for brewing? This would be the greatest thing ever. Better Bottles are great, but they kept the shape of a glass carboy which makes cleaning a bigger pain that it needs to be, and they're not easy to lug around without a brewhauler.

Take a white plastic 5 or 6 gallon bucket and mold it with clear food grade plastic with a handle and an accompanying lid, and you could make millions...or at least hundreds.

Because HDPE is the cheap food-grade plastic, and it's never clear (Milk jugs are about as clear as it can get). You can get PET and other such food-grade plastic sorts, but they tend to be pricey (Read: Better Bottles)

fishbone
Sep 25, 2003

TenjouUtena posted:

Because HDPE is the cheap food-grade plastic, and it's never clear (Milk jugs are about as clear as it can get). You can get PET and other such food-grade plastic sorts, but they tend to be pricey (Read: Better Bottles)

Right, but my point is that the Better Bottles are carboy shaped (which is a pain for the reasons listed in my original post). I want that same material, but in a standard bucket shape.

I'll look into the Cambro offerings, although at first glance is looks like their translucent plastic is still hazy
http://cool.cambro.com/Translucent_Rounds_Round_Storage_Containers_and_Lids_Storage.ashx

Jo3sh
Oct 19, 2002

Like all girls I love unicorns!

fishbone posted:

I'll look into the Cambro offerings, although at first glance is looks like their translucent plastic is still hazy
http://cool.cambro.com/Translucent_Rounds_Round_Storage_Containers_and_Lids_Storage.ashx

These are the ones I was thinking of:
http://cool.cambro.com/Camwear_Rounds_Round_Storage_Containers_and_Lids_Storage.ashx


The translucent lids seal better, though - the transparent lids are pretty rigid and fit a little loosely, I seem to recall:
http://cool.cambro.com/Camwear_Rounds_Translucent_Seal_Lids_Round_Storage_Containers_and_Lids_Storage.ashx

Imaduck
Apr 16, 2007

the magnetorotational instability turns me on
I'm sure I've seen this before in this thread, but I couldn't find it...

I've decided my Christmas gift to myself this year will be to finally move from bottling to kegging. I'd like a 5 gallon setup with 2 taps. I don't mind building things, and plan on converting a mini-fridge. Can somebody point me to a good resource that outlines what all I need to make this happen, and a good website to order materials? Thanks for the info!

FYI I live in Austin and I know I can go to AHS for this, but their markup seems pretty high for a lot of their kegging equipment.

tesilential
Nov 22, 2004

by Fluffdaddy
You'll need a co2 tank and regulator, which will connect to a manifold or hose splitters (T-shaped hose barbs) to hook up two tanks. 2 body regs are nice so you can carb each keg at a different pressure. Knowing what I know now I'd get a two body reg and use simple splitters to add multiple kegs. I use a 4 valve manifold and single reg so adjusting carb levels is tricky. Also it woulda been cheaper to add a body to my reg than to get the manifold.

From there you'll have gas lines to each keg ending in gas quick disconnects. These attach to the gas in post on your kegs. You'll need a liquid side quick disconnect and 10' of 3/16" ID thick walled beverage tubing for each keg. I don't have a dedicated keezer, so I use picnic taps on my setup. You'll need faucets and shanks plus the necessary fittings.

If I could do it all over again I'd go with a kit from kegconnection that has everything you need, brand new. Buying used means you may have leaky disconnects or poppets and you'll probably have to buy new lines as well. New lines and the manifold cost me like $90.

Edit: use hose clamps on EVERY hose connection. They can fix gas leaks and prevent hoses popping off and shooting beer everywhere.

Jo3sh
Oct 19, 2002

Like all girls I love unicorns!
kegconnection.com is also in Texas, and several people here have ordered from them in the past with good results.

What you'll need is:

A CO2 bottle
CO2 (this has to be procured locally as they can't ship filled cylinders)
A regulator
A gas manifold for however many kegs you would like to keep pressurized at any given time
Some gas line
Some gas disconnects for the type of kegs you will be using, as many as kegs you want under pressure
Some kegs
Some liquid disconnects for the type of kegs you will be using, as many as kegs you want to pour from at any given time
Some beer line
Some faucet assemblies, either picnic type (have to open the fridge and reach in to grab the line before you can pour) or the permanent type (mounted in a tower or through the door)
Probably some hose clamps and other miscellaneous


All of this can be ordered as a package, and I am guessing the kegconnection guy would help you figure everything out.

Imaduck
Apr 16, 2007

the magnetorotational instability turns me on
Cool, thanks! Anybody use BeverageFactory.com ? They seem to have good prices.

EDIT: Actually, it looks like if I get pin lock kegs, KegConnection is way cheaper. Sweet!

Should I worry about getting any special cleaning supplies? Also, where are some good directions on how to modify a fridge?

Imaduck fucked around with this message at 03:30 on Jan 3, 2012

Daedalus Esquire
Mar 30, 2008
So my brother got me a Chestnut Brown Ale and Chocolate Maple Porter kit from http://brooklynbrewshop.com/ for my Christmas present.

I don't think he realized it would actually be harder for me to do 1 gallon kits since I don't have small enough fermenting containers.

Does anyone happen to know what malts are in these? I'd have no problem working them into another beer if I knew what they were, or could figure it out. I tried to contact them via their webpage but haven't heard back.

indigi
Jul 20, 2004

how can we not talk about family
when family's all that we got?
I decided gently caress it and brewed anyway, hacking and weezing all day and all. I also cleaned 2 kegs, filled one, and started another batch of bottles soaking for label removal. Getting poo poo Done in 2012

Something a bit of a pain in the rear end that I didn't realize til just now, I don't have a wine thief cause I've just used buckets up til now and get my samples with a turkey baster. With a 6+ gallon carboy and ~5 gallons of wort in there, I want to get a gravity reading before I figure out how much top off water I should or need to add. I could always tip it over to pour out a sample, but that seems like a mega hassle. Any tips besides waiting a day to grab a thief?

James Bont
Apr 20, 2007
do you expect me to talk?
Well thanks for the help. Beer literally still has foam chillin on top about 1/2-1 inch thick, but I took a gravity reading and I think it's probably done. Going down to 1.015 from 1.089 is pretty drat good attenuation, I can't imagine it going much further, so I guess I'll bottle in a couple of days. Thanks again. Tastes nice. Malty, roast and chocolate come through good, and a little bitter hoppy finish. Almost on the verge of being a little too malty for me, maybe it was the mexican chocolate or I should've used more sugar. Seems good for my second all grain attempt though so I'm happy.

Bad Munki
Nov 4, 2008

We're all mad here.


Imaduck posted:

Cool, thanks! Anybody use BeverageFactory.com ? They seem to have good prices.

I got my faucets and shanks there. No special report or AMAZING A+++ @LOOK@, but everything worked as expected and arrived on time. I think keg connection seems to be more competitively priced these days, though, at least if you're getting a kit (you can swap parts from kits for better parts, just call them.)

Prefect Six
Mar 27, 2009

Carbonation affects hydrometer readings right?

LeeMajors
Jan 20, 2005

I've gotta stop fantasizing about Lee Majors...
Ah, one more!


Wow. Keg connection looks to have pretty awesome prices. Are those not including kegs? Their basic kits are very very cheap compared to other places.

They mix/match with phone call, yes?

Josh Wow
Feb 28, 2005

We need more beer up here!
Brewed a double batch today and it wasn't awesomely smooth as usual. It was cold (for Georgia) and very windy so my propane burner got blown out 3 times while trying to start up even though I had my aluminum foil wind shield up. I had to move my burner to the corner of my house and move my car to block the wind, which meant I had to move 6 gallons of boiling wort at the end of the boil so I could get to the hoses and cool it. I ended up with 5 gallons each of english bitter and english mild though, and I got crazy efficiency for some reason. I had to add some water to the mild just to get it to a reasonable gravity for the style.

j3rkstore posted:

Brewing outside today, its about 40*.

Anyone know what to do about this? The propane flow has really decreased and it was a "full" tank.

I'm a bit late but I didn't see anyone answer this yet, you can put it in a tub of warm water.

indigi posted:

Any tips besides waiting a day to grab a thief?

Grab a piece of tubing, dip it down into the beer and cover the open end with your thumb.

Prefect Six posted:

Carbonation affects hydrometer readings right?

Yes, pour your sample between two pint glasses about 10 times if you're taking a reading after fermentation has begun. Also make sure to adjust for temperature.

Josh Wow fucked around with this message at 03:35 on Jan 3, 2012

Bad Munki
Nov 4, 2008

We're all mad here.


LeeMajors posted:

Wow. Keg connection looks to have pretty awesome prices. Are those not including kegs? Their basic kits are very very cheap compared to other places.

They mix/match with phone call, yes?

Definitely yes. A friend who lurks this thread got his four-tap setup through them, and swapped out for a different regulator, perlick faucets, and all stainless shanks.

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LeeMajors
Jan 20, 2005

I've gotta stop fantasizing about Lee Majors...
Ah, one more!


Bad Munki posted:

Definitely yes. A friend who lurks this thread got his four-tap setup through them, and swapped out for a different regulator, perlick faucets, and all stainless shanks.

Definitely yes to 'not including kegs,' or to customizability?

They have a 1 keg basic kit that's like 79$ and that seems low if it includes a keg.

Also--pin-lock or ball-lock? What's the consensus?

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