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Ugh, I'm going to have to disassemble all of my lines and figure out what the hell is going on - I just emptied a 10# CO2 canister after a month, most of which I've been preoccupied with the Bar Exam. Obviously I've got a leak somewhere.
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Feb 15, 2013 12:26
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Angry Grimace posted:Ugh, I'm going to have to disassemble all of my lines and figure out what the hell is going on - I just emptied a 10# CO2 canister after a month, most of which I've been preoccupied with the Bar Exam. Obviously I've got a leak somewhere. Any reason you can't get a new tank, turn it up to full, and use a squirt bottle full of soapy water?
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Feb 15, 2013 15:34
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Angry Grimace posted:Ugh, I'm going to have to disassemble all of my lines and figure out what the hell is going on - I just emptied a 10# CO2 canister after a month, most of which I've been preoccupied with the Bar Exam. Obviously I've got a leak somewhere. My BAR exams usually involve seeing how many different beers I can drink!(See what I did there with the words? Good Luck). I just ordered a bunch of stuff from Label Peelers. I will now have enough 1 gallon Mead batches going to have a constant supply, being able to have a new gallon finish every month while another begins. This is my favorite paradox if it can be called that. I'll also be making KotiKalja (Thanks Divine Shadow) for a quick something else every once and a while, probs have to bring it in to work since I don't know if drinking 2 gallons of it in 4 days is healthy. Shadow: Most of the online recipes say that its only good for 3-4 days in the fridge. Is this true or can that be combated by letting it ferment an extra day or two before bottling?
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Feb 15, 2013 15:38
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From what I've heard it doesn't turn undrinkable or bad after so and so much time, the yeast just eats all the sugar and the taste turns into something else. More beer like I've heard. This is my first time trying it out. Commercial kotikalja is pasteurized and back sweetened (often with old fashioned saccharine) to last. I guess you could do something like that at home too.
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Feb 15, 2013 18:51
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RagingBoner posted:Any reason you can't get a new tank, turn it up to full, and use a squirt bottle full of soapy water? I did that last time and I didn't find anything.
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Feb 15, 2013 20:57
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How do you identify infection in mead or beer?
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Feb 16, 2013 02:47
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Who Dat posted:How do you identify infection in mead or beer? So the best way is to really just taste a sample. Smell can tell half the story but regular old yeast can have some pretty lovely primary flavors that can vent off before you've got proper beer. You can notice certain infections from the crashing gravity too.
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Feb 16, 2013 03:22
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zedprime posted:Smell can tell half the story 
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Feb 16, 2013 04:00
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Who Dat posted:How do you identify infection in mead or beer? It generally tastes pretty foul.
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Feb 16, 2013 04:06
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The only legitimate infect that I think I've ever had was many colors, fuzzy, and both the smell and taste made you consider calling a doctor about exposure to dangerous chemicals.
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Feb 16, 2013 06:36
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Who Dat posted:How do you identify infection in mead or beer? If your talking about that mead you made a few weeks ago, it ain't done yet. Let it age and the harsh tastes will smooth out.
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Feb 16, 2013 15:56
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Marshmallow Blue posted:If your talking about that mead you made a few weeks ago, it ain't done yet. Let it age and the harsh tastes will smooth out. Oh, no. I mean yeah that mead. It tastes fine, but I saw some white stuff floating on the top. Looks like yeast though, idk. 
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Feb 16, 2013 16:01
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I had something like that on my mead, too. I am sure it's just yeast, as mine looks, smells, and tastes great.
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Feb 16, 2013 17:24
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Fun surprise: opening the valve on your kettle to drain the strike water into your mash tun, and having two cone hops come flying out after apparently hiding inside the ball valve for the past two months. I need to get a screen on this thing.
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Feb 16, 2013 19:00
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I am getting ready to brew my Belgian tripel and got some of that "blow the airlock" Trappist yeast. Should I still make a starter? Will that blow the airlock too? I'm aiming for a 1.090 OG when it's all said and done. I'm scared. Hold me.
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Feb 16, 2013 19:36
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he1ixx posted:I am getting ready to brew my Belgian tripel and got some of that "blow the airlock" Trappist yeast. Should I still make a starter? Will that blow the airlock too? I'm aiming for a 1.090 OG when it's all said and done. Making a starter is about having the proper amount of yeast as to not stress out the yeast and potentially give off off-flavors or finish early. I don't think it will have anything to do with blowing off the airlock or not.
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Feb 16, 2013 20:03
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he1ixx posted:I am getting ready to brew my Belgian tripel and got some of that "blow the airlock" Trappist yeast. Should I still make a starter? Will that blow the airlock too? I'm aiming for a 1.090 OG when it's all said and done. Unless you have like three packs of yeast, yes you need a pretty big starter. (Also try a blowoff tube)
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Feb 16, 2013 20:16
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Angry Grimace posted:Unless you have like three packs of yeast, yes you need a pretty big starter. I'll make a starter then. I just wasn't sure if the high activity of the yeast obviated the need for a starter as well. Will the starter need a blowoff tube too? I'm assuming no but I have a hard time wrapping my head around this yeast. I just want to be prepared! On another note, I built my keezer today. Perlicks are installed and it looks great. No more picnic taps for me!
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Feb 16, 2013 20:34
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he1ixx posted:Will the starter need a blowoff tube too? I stopped using airlocks/foam stoppers on my starters because they're usually more trouble than they're worth (and kind of overkill). Now I just use a sanatized piece of tinfoil, which works perfectly fine and makes it easier to continually aerate and let off CO2 so you don't run into a blowoff situation.
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Feb 16, 2013 20:49
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What is the little standoff spacer piece that goes between the draft tower and faucet called? Mine is plastic and it broke and I want to replace it with a metal one. Just tapped a half barrel of Sierra Nevada. Delicious. The only problem is the faucet valve seems really touchy and I'm afraid to attach my Sierra Nevada tap handle to it because the weight makes it seem like it would turn on by itself.
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Feb 16, 2013 21:20
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Brewing a Spotted Cow clone right now and while I'm mashing I'm assembling all my various bits and pieces of equipment I need and.....poo poo, I'm missing two pieces of my three piece airlock. I've got a stopper but no tubing small enough to stuff in it to fashion a blowoff tube. I do have a sour beer in secondary right now that's probably not throwing off much CO2, should I steal that one for the night and slap on some sanitized foil? Or I guess I could just wait to pitch the yeast tomorrow morning? The homebrew store opens at noon.
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Feb 16, 2013 23:54
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I would just put the airlock on and cover the opening with tinfoil until you can get one from the homebrew shop tomorrow. This is assuming you have the base of the airlock and are missing the tophat and lid.
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Feb 16, 2013 23:57
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Josh Wow posted:I would just put the airlock on and cover the opening with tinfoil until you can get one from the homebrew shop tomorrow. This is assuming you have the base of the airlock and are missing the tophat and lid. You would be correct! And goddammit I know the other pieces are here somewhere, they couldn't have just walked away.  Edit: Oh hey, I realized I can stuff some tubing into the base of the airlock too, thereby fashioning a blowoff tube. I guess I will do that! Sirotan fucked around with this message at 00:05 on Feb 17, 2013 |
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Feb 17, 2013 00:01
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I do my starters in a 2L Erlenmeyer flask on a stir plate with a piece of sanitized aluminum foil left barely open. I've never had an issue pitching infected yeast. I'll even let it stir for 30-60min open to oxygenate the starter wort before pitching the vial.
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Feb 17, 2013 00:10
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Sirotan posted:Edit: Oh hey, I realized I can stuff some tubing into the base of the airlock too, thereby fashioning a blowoff tube. I guess I will do that! Congrats you now have the same blowoff assembly I've used for the last three or so beers I've made. One of these days I will get around to making a less restrictive blow off assembly but  This one works pretty well.
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Feb 17, 2013 01:11
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Who Dat posted:How do you identify infection in mead or beer? The most obvious (and common) ones look like this  or this  If you have a plastic ale bucket, you're kind of poo poo out of luck for determining whether or not it's infected until you open it up in the latter stages of fermentation. If you're worried because of a "rotten egg" smell, don't, because that's just how some yeasts smell in the first few days. Just sanitize the poo poo out of everything and you generally shouldn't have any problems.
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Feb 17, 2013 01:46
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Careful with kegerators guys, mine just leaked into my basement straight from a faucet that was off.
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Feb 17, 2013 01:52
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I just pitched S-04 into 5.5 gallons of 1.070 wort with very little head space, 12 drops of Fermcap is going to keep me safe, right guys? 
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Feb 17, 2013 02:07
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Probably depends on ambient temp more than anything. That is a good yeast though, smells amazing.
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Feb 17, 2013 02:14
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revmoo posted:Probably depends on ambient temp more than anything. That is a good yeast though, smells amazing. I'm not a fan of S04 fermented at anything higher than like 68. You wouldn't think a couple degrees makes a big difference but it really does.
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Feb 17, 2013 02:17
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revmoo posted:Careful with kegerators guys, mine just leaked into my basement straight from a faucet that was off. Lol what? Brewed up a Rye Pilsner today and dropped it into a buddy's fridge. Smelled drat nice. First lager, no idea about temperatures during fermentation - who has the best advice? Palmer?
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Feb 17, 2013 02:30
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One time, my cat pushed open a faucet while I was away on vacation, vented a nearly-full keg and my full CO2 tank, too. That'll teach me to use a dildo as a tap handle. 
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Feb 17, 2013 02:34
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Jacobey000 posted:Lol what? What specific yeast did you use?
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Feb 17, 2013 03:04
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internet celebrity posted:I just pitched S-04 into 5.5 gallons of 1.070 wort with very little head space, 12 drops of Fermcap is going to keep me safe, right guys? I'd prep for blowoff just in case. I used 2 packets of S-04 per fermenter in an Imperial Stout and it did not just blow the airlocks, it blew the lids off the buckets and coated the entire inside of my ferment fridge with a fine layer of yeast goop. Granted, I did not have any Fermcap in, but that stuff is beastly.
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Feb 17, 2013 03:45
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Just finished brewing, not sure how successful this batch is going to be. Going for a Spotted Cow clone, due to dumb math decisions its was supposed to be a 3.3gal batch, but even after 90min boil I ended up with 4gal...oops. Went to put my improvised blowoff tube onto my carboy and found that the bung I purchased recently was too small for it.  Dumped it all into my 6gal bucket and stuffed it into my fermentation fridge. Even if it's not a successful clone it will probably still become beer.Now to clean up!
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Feb 17, 2013 03:57
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Jo3sh posted:I'd prep for blowoff just in case. I used 2 packets of S-04 per fermenter in an Imperial Stout and it did not just blow the airlocks, it blew the lids off the buckets and coated the entire inside of my ferment fridge with a fine layer of yeast goop. Granted, I did not have any Fermcap in, but that stuff is beastly. Had this happen with a trappist yeast, except it was a huge tripel and it was in my brewbuddy's closet. Haha.
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Feb 17, 2013 04:02
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The rye saison I brewed, oh, a month or so ago, is probably my favorite beer I've made so far. I think it can still be improved a bit, though. It was basically: 10 lb pilsner 3 lb rye 1 oz liberty @ 90 1 oz liberty @ 60 .5 oz liberty @ 30 1 oz Strisslespalt @ flameout Double infusion at 122F for 30 mins, then 150F for 90 mins, fermented with Wyeast 3711 at 75F ramped up 2 degrees/day for 5 days, then left alone for a few weeks before crashing and kegging. It finished at about 1.008. I decided not to do a sugar addition, because I wanted to keep the recipe fairly simple and I wanted to see how dry this yeast would go without it. Also, since it's not 105 degrees outside, I thought it'd be okay if it wasn't quite as dry. It's also already towards the bigger end of the style, so I didn't really want much more alcohol anyway. The double infusion was just to get a feel for this equipment, this is only my 3rd all-grain beer and I just wanted to see if I could nail the temps (I came sort of close). I'd probably scale back the hops considerably next time. I'm not really getting much flavor from the liberty hops, just a sort of vague bitterness. I think it butts up against all the character from the yeast, so maybe that's why it's hard to tell what exactly the hop flavor is like. I think I'd probably use the same fermentation schedule, the yeast really shines on this and is nice and funky and every beer I pull seems to be just a little bit different. Sometimes citrus, sometimes hints of banana, sometimes really bready. Maybe it's just me and my palate, but I don't really care, I like it a lot. Anyway, it finished really cloudy, even though I cold crashed at about 34 for a few days before kegging. Is this just something that goes with using rye (first time brewing with rye), or is it likely something else? The yeast, maybe?
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Feb 17, 2013 04:05
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Who Dat posted:Oh, no. I mean yeah that mead. It tastes fine, but I saw some white stuff floating on the top. Looks like yeast though, idk. I wouldn't worry about it too much. I've had films on the top of a few batches and they turned out fine. Just be careful when racking not to disturb it too much and avoid sucking it up at the end.
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Feb 17, 2013 04:05
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Sirotan posted:Even if it's not a successful clone it will probably still become beer. Every brew day of mine in a nutshell! haha. I'm currently trying to make some cider with Nottingham yeast. I really want to lock down a standard juice/yeast combo I can use then get fun hehe. Last time I used Honeycrisp apple cider, which I love, but it is MEGA-holy-crap one dimensional when its fermented. Shan't be trying that again.
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Feb 17, 2013 04:07
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Jacobey000 posted:Lol what? I've done a few pilsners on the below schedule to good effect. There's probably some shortcuts you can take but lagers are just kind of a long, slow pain in the dick which is why there are so few craft examples--they tie up valuable tank space for many months. * Chill wort to about 46F. Pitch yeast, set thermostat to 50. Yeast activity will raise the temp. * Let primary fermentation run for a couple weeks. * When it's about done, ramp thermostat up to 60 for a couple days for a diacetyl rest. You should get noticeable airlock activity when you do, and a gravity drop of up to another .008 or so. * After a couple days, start dropping the temp by like 5 degrees a day until you're down around freezing. * Rack to keg, continue to lager near freezing in the keg for 2 months. These were all with WLP800, different yeasts will respond differently I'm sure. This yeast is funny, it sits and sits and sits in suspension then suddenly one day it all drops out and you can read the newspaper through a glass of the beer. The before and after taste difference is night and day. If it's being a bitch and taking too long you can cheat with gelatin of course but then it's not REINHEITSGEBOT 
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Feb 17, 2013 07:55
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