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robotsinmyhead posted:I only post my foibles here because I have a Hell Job that is super boring and I'm left alone for hours at a time to worry about the things that are or AREN'T happening at home. I hope you'll all forgive me. My problems are my own. It's a good place for it. Generally, good advice is given, and people remember and learn. Definitely one of the better places on the internet when it comes to people just not being dicks or overly concerned about how someone else is brewing. The other half of the thread is definitely for bragging when it comes out well. Speaking of... that sour saison is killer. Tastes like grapefruit and spice. I definitely had some biotransformation happening, as I dry hopped about a day after pitching. It's cloudy and tasty. Wasn't the intention, but it kept it lightly tart and not super sour which is good if I expect my wife to drink any of it.
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Aug 17, 2018 02:59
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robotsinmyhead posted:PS that Chocolate Stout is going in bombers to sit until it's cold outside. After that it will get center-poured into elegant goblets around campfires while we complain about how goddamn cold it is outside. Large goblets, I hope. The campfire scenario sounds great. I hope someone brings good snacks, too.
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Aug 17, 2018 03:05
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Did a reasonable amount of work to my stand today. I think we're past the halfway point. New PIDs in place. A little confusing, but it's working? Gotta verify the temp probes still, there's obviously a difference, for whatever reason.  Stand with the kettles. Still waiting on some bulkheads, 3 more holes to drill, and more hardware. 
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Aug 19, 2018 23:20
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Looking good!
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Aug 19, 2018 23:35
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OK, guys, I think my superpower is for my laziness to solve problems. I think I mentioned a while ago that some of my kegs were getting this nasty buildup inside - a white, chalky film that was hard to scrub off, because it's just hard to get down inside a Corny keg very well. But I think I have it licked, with my new easy, inexpensive, and above all lazy keg-cleaning regimen: 0) A keg kicks. Tears of rage, etc. Disconnect the keg and put it over in the "to be cleaned" area. 1) Up to a few days later, or approximately whenever you get to it, vent the keg and open the lid. Give it a very quick rinse inside to remove any easily-removed sediment. There will still be gunk in there; this is okay and expected. Since I just write on the outside of the kegs with a marker, I also use this opportunity to scrub off any writing. 2) Chuck a good amount of OxiClean in there. That blue scoop that comes in the box - maybe half of one of those. You could use PBW, but OxiClean is way cheaper. 3) Fill the keg to near the top with water from the hose. I use an "As Seen on TV Turbo Jet Power Washer" for this. This accomplishes two things - it fills from the bottom, avoiding foam; and it keeps the water swirling so that the OxiClean dissolves well. You can get the power washer thing lots of places - Walmart and Target both have it - but you could just stick the hose clear down to the bottom of the keg for much the same effect. 4) Put the keg full of OxiClean solution into the "cleaning in progress" area and let it rest there. 5) Anywhere from several days to a couple of weeks later, dump out the OxiClean solution. Use a wrench to remove the out post from the keg. Also remove the dip tube. 6) Rinse the keg well. A couple of rinses usually does it for me. Check to be sure that all the gunk in the bottom is gone. Rinse the dip tube, inside and out. If there's still gunk inside the tube (probably not), get a brush through it and rinse again. Rinse the post and the poppet, too. 7) Inspect the O-rings on both posts and under the out dip tube. Replace them if they are at all suspect. A dab of keg lube is a good idea. 8) Reinstall the dip tube and the out post. Let the keg drip dry, inverted, for a few minutes. 9) Reinstall the lid. Pressurize the keg from your gas bottle. Listen and inspect for leaking gas. Do not vent the keg. Put the keg in the "ready for re-use" area. 10) When you're ready to package the next batch, pull the relief valve or depress the in poppet. If the keg is tight, there will still be pressure in the keg. Sanitize by your usual process and rack your beer into the keg. I've noticed that this process results in sparkling-clean kegs. It uses pretty minimal effort and only cheap supplies, but it has also eliminated my scale (?) issue. I had been looking at using harsh caustics to get that stuff off, but since time is not money in homebrewing, I can use time and laziness to do the work that caustics would usually do. Jo3sh fucked around with this message at 23:40 on Aug 19, 2018 |
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Aug 19, 2018 23:38
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That’s almost identical to my lazy cleaning methods. Only difference is that I sanitize before sealing and testing for pressure. If it holds, it’s already sanitary. OxyClean Free is great, but I accidentally bought a giant box of the stuff that has a light fragrance and wish I could find a way to use it. Guess I can use it for cleaning other things and towels or something. Might try it on the kettle and give a really good rinse. I also do this with my kettles and other stainless equipment. I just only leave it over night for that stuff. Too long and it can still grow things you don’t want growing and then you have to wash it anyway.
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Aug 20, 2018 02:05
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Jhet posted:That’s almost identical to my lazy cleaning methods. Only difference is that I sanitize before sealing and testing for pressure. Yeah, I though about doing that, too. But I still have to mix up some sanitizer for hoses and so on, so I choose to do that at packaging time instead.
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Aug 20, 2018 02:17
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Jo3sh posted:Yeah, I though about doing that, too. But I still have to mix up some sanitizer for hoses and so on, so I choose to do that at packaging time instead. I keep some in a spray bottle at all times, because I’m too lazy to mix it up when I need it. Also it’s really easy to spray a lot of my stuff down this way.
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Aug 20, 2018 02:19
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Spray bottle, for sure. I may reevaluate my sanitation regimen at packaging time. I usually mix one gallon of sanitizer in a keg and use pressure to transfer it to other kegs, using an out/out jumper hose, so the dip tubes and posts get wetted.
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Aug 20, 2018 02:23
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My process is just as lazy. I fill with oxyclean and hot tap water and let is soak maybe 30 min, then hook it back up to the tap and run a bunch of it through my tap lines to clean the dip tube and lines. Let it soak maybe another half hour then dump it out. Repeat with Starsan. Maybe every other time I will take the actual posts off to clean them.
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Aug 20, 2018 03:09
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I was running some scenarios past my brewing partner yesterday and I realized something I didn't really know. For a long time, I've been using a strike water temp calculator for BIAB from PricelessBIAB and it's been consistently wrong. Today, I cross-referenced it with the strike water temp calculator from Brewer's Friend and it was the exact same number. The last AT LEAST 4 batch's strike waters have been incorrect, sometimes considerably so (target 154, hit 147, ie) - they're both using Palmer's Equation. What are you guys using?
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Aug 20, 2018 18:35
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I use the equations from TNCJOHB, with a couple of tweaks, that I threw into a spreadsheet. It's not perfect, but it's pretty close. I usually find that I heat water to about 8 to 10 degrees above my desired strike temperature, and I am pretty close - no more than two degrees F off. I do have to remember to stir the strike water as I come up to heat to make sure it's evenly heated. I can't find the equations just offhand, but the basic premise is that malt has a thermal "density" (maybe there's a better word there) one-third that of water. My sheet takes as inputs the weight and temperature of the grist and the desired water:grain ratio in quarts per pound (I usually use 1.2 to 1.5, depending on the recipe. Oh, and the total volume I want, preboil. Outputs are strike water volume and temperature and sparge water volume.
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Aug 20, 2018 19:40
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I guess I'll have to take better notes. Working up this stand, it won't be such an issue because the mash will recirc the strike water immediately and direct fire, if need be. Overshooting would be an issue, so I think we'll aim for undershooting by a degree or two and letting the PID handle the adjustments. Solo brewing though, it seems really inconsistent with my mash tun - some people have said to preheat the mashtun, etc, but I've tried it both ways. I gotta get back to being obsessive with my notations. I do my entire brewday off a single post-it note with 3 instructions on it now and and wing the rest from experience. Fun and easy, but hard to troubleshoot out these kinda problems.
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Aug 20, 2018 19:56
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Edit: I'm wrong, never mind.
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Aug 20, 2018 20:24
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I heat the water in my mashtun and add the grain in there. That took care of the discrepancies I was having when I was first trying to set up my system for BeerSmith. BeerSmith takes into account the specific heat of the metal (for stainless it's 0.12 Cal/gram-deg C), and combined with heating my water in my tun took care of any issues. Depending on the weight of the grist, anything in the 10-13# range is consistently 10 deg F above my mash temp, and for larger grists (20# or thereabouts) it's been about 12 deg F above my mash temp. Additionally, the hotter I want the mash, the more likely it is to be a higher range. I wish I had the formula to send you, but taking into account the specific heat of the metal and the ambient temp of the ingredients was important. For BIAB, you might be looking at less of a range if you don't sparge. Cursory googling tells me that BeerSmith thinks it's the same as everyone else's as it takes into account the specific heat of the tun and the grain and then calculates from there. Maybe adjust the specific heat number for your tun to adjust? As you're low, adjust the specific heat number higher a little to account for the problem. I don't think Palmer takes into account the specific heat of the kettle, so that is probably where it's being missed.
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Aug 20, 2018 21:25
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Jhet posted:I heat the water in my mashtun and add the grain in there. That took care of the discrepancies I was having when I was first trying to set up my system for BeerSmith. BeerSmith takes into account the specific heat of the metal (for stainless it's 0.12 Cal/gram-deg C), and combined with heating my water in my tun took care of any issues. From what I gather, the Palmer equation takes into account a basic cooler mashtun-type vessel. In a very broad sense. It specifies not over pre-heating your mashtun.
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Aug 21, 2018 00:37
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Does anyone have a recommendation for a beer similar to the Agave Maria by Lost Abbey? It's an American Strong Ale with 13.5%ABV and aged in tequila barrels. I'm not too familiar with it, to be honest, but a friend of mine loves the stuff and I want to brew something similar.
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Aug 23, 2018 23:06
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Alright let's talk balancing a draft system. I bought a 3 connector manifold with all the parts and pieces from Keg Connection. I've hit a point now where I actually have all 3 taps connected with beer but I'm experiencing some issues with carbonation. I have a Wit, Kolsch and Brown ale, 1, 2, 3 respectively, set up. What is happening is my middle tap is over carbonated but the other 2 taps barely carbonate the beer. I keep my kegerator about 50 F with the regulator at 12 psi. If I remember correctly the keg connection tubes are 5ft at whatever the common ID is. I just can't figure out why my middle one overcarbonates and the other two are undercarbonated. Suggestions on what to look for or mess around with?
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Aug 24, 2018 14:28
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calandryll posted:Alright let's talk balancing a draft system. I bought a 3 connector manifold with all the parts and pieces from Keg Connection. I've hit a point now where I actually have all 3 taps connected with beer but I'm experiencing some issues with carbonation. I have a Wit, Kolsch and Brown ale, 1, 2, 3 respectively, set up. What is happening is my middle tap is over carbonated but the other 2 taps barely carbonate the beer. I keep my kegerator about 50 F with the regulator at 12 psi. If I remember correctly the keg connection tubes are 5ft at whatever the common ID is. I just can't figure out why my middle one overcarbonates and the other two are undercarbonated. Suggestions on what to look for or mess around with? Is the manifold regulated? 3-stage manifold or just gas in, and a 3-way splitter? Generally speaking, unless all 3 can be carbonated to the same level, I’m not a fan of the splitter with no regulation. That being said, I still have the same kind of setup, but have needle valves to be able to manually turn ports on and off, etc. I’ve found that as one beer gets consumed faster than the others, headspace changes affect carbonation levels if I’ve got two on that are being consumed, but one that I’m trying to carb. I’ll turn off all but the carbonating port and blitz about half to 3/4 of the volumes I need and then let it go overnight. Ports all go on afterwards.
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Aug 24, 2018 15:05
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This is pretty much what I have, but it's just a basic 3 way splitter. I had thought about purchasing something to upgrade my splitter with individual regulators so I can dial in different beers, etc. Maybe I'll just bit the bullet and do it. My wit I'm not a fan of so it's pretty much at full capacity, the kolsch is getting drained quickly and the brown is a Christmas beer so didn't kill it off last year but will this year.
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Aug 24, 2018 15:45
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Are you doing low-and-slow carbonation? I've never attempted to carb beers all at once via the manifold - I usually shut off gas to the other beers and burst carb one at a time. I wouldn't know what to troubleshoot in that scenario, but I think I'd personally vent the overcarbed keg down to the perceived carbonation level of the other 2 and ramp them all back up at the same time. Either that or swap all the gas lines around and see if the problem follows a specific fitting/hose/outlet?
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Aug 24, 2018 16:03
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Dirk the Average posted:Does anyone have a recommendation for a beer similar to the Agave Maria by Lost Abbey?
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Aug 24, 2018 17:02
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If the agave beer is a replication of Belgian style, you could try using agave in the recipe instead of beet sugar
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Aug 24, 2018 18:35
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Was walking a fermenting mead downstairs and I guess I shook it too hard because it all asploded. Not lethally of course, just the must got lost, but 
Bogart fucked around with this message at 21:36 on Aug 24, 2018 |
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Aug 24, 2018 19:30
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calandryll posted:Alright let's talk balancing a draft system. I bought a 3 connector manifold with all the parts and pieces from Keg Connection. I've hit a point now where I actually have all 3 taps connected with beer but I'm experiencing some issues with carbonation. I have a Wit, Kolsch and Brown ale, 1, 2, 3 respectively, set up. What is happening is my middle tap is over carbonated but the other 2 taps barely carbonate the beer. I keep my kegerator about 50 F with the regulator at 12 psi. If I remember correctly the keg connection tubes are 5ft at whatever the common ID is. I just can't figure out why my middle one overcarbonates and the other two are undercarbonated. Suggestions on what to look for or mess around with? 50*F and 12 psi only puts you at 2.06 vol so your beer is barely carbonated in the first place. I’ll respond later with a detailed post when I have time.
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Aug 24, 2018 20:30
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Bogart posted:As walking a fermenting mead downstairs and I guess I shook it too hard because it all asploded. Not lethally of course, just the must got lost, but Was the lock bubbling (or was it all sealed) or did you just make it very, very excited? One time I had a fully sealed batch of ginger beer that ended up watering the back yard by mistake....
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Aug 24, 2018 20:42
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Josh Wow posted:50*F and 12 psi only puts you at 2.06 vol so your beer is barely carbonated in the first place. I’ll respond later with a detailed post when I have time. So I doubled checked my setup, I had thought I set it to 50 but it's set at 45±3. I also must have looked at a wrong table because the one I saw many moons ago was 12 for ~2.2 volumes. I played around with Brewer's Friend calculator, for the range I have set on my temp controller I should be somewhere between 10-13 psi to keep it at around 2.2 volumes. I also used their equation about getting a good pour, which by my calculations my lines are definitely over the recommended ~3.7 feet. robotsinmyhead posted:Are you doing low-and-slow carbonation? I've never attempted to carb beers all at once via the manifold - I usually shut off gas to the other beers and burst carb one at a time. I wouldn't know what to troubleshoot in that scenario, but I think I'd personally vent the overcarbed keg down to the perceived carbonation level of the other 2 and ramp them all back up at the same time. I normally force carb a single keg at a time, I'll turn off all of the other kegs, crank my regulator up to 30 and shake for a few minutes before turning off that keg and turning the others back on and venting down to serving pressure. I tried switching them around before and it doesn't seem to be related to the fittings or hoses. I've been thinking some more about it and only recently have I been lubing all of my connections, so I'm wondering if the gas connections are mostly closed due to non-lubrication of the o rings.
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Aug 24, 2018 21:25
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DISCO KING posted:Was the lock bubbling (or was it all sealed) or did you just make it very, very excited? One time I had a fully sealed batch of ginger beer that ended up watering the back yard by mistake.... I must've made it too excited. I put in some yeast nutrients, put the bung and lock back in, headed down the stairs, looked down, it was a fountain of froth. I know what I did wrong, I just want sympathy mostly. 
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Aug 24, 2018 22:20
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calandryll posted:So I doubled checked my setup, I had thought I set it to 50 but it's set at 45±3. I also must have looked at a wrong table because the one I saw many moons ago was 12 for ~2.2 volumes. Relevant questions: 1). You have 5 ft if beer line but what is the ID? This should be printed on the tubing. 2). What’s the height difference from the top of the keg to the faucet? 3). Is there a reason you have your beer so warm and at such low CO2 volumes? Usually kegerators are around 34-38* and for the styles of beer you have on tap they’re usually 2.5-2.75 vol. Also the Brewer’s Association draught beer quality manual is the bible for troubleshooting these kinds of things.
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Aug 24, 2018 23:06
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Josh Wow posted:Relevant questions: ID is 3/16 with a height from the middle of the keg to faucet is 2 ft so top would be about a foot. As for temp I usually drink my beer a bit warmer than normal but I'll drop the temp down if it helps with serving. I'll have to read that draught beer quality manual.
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Aug 25, 2018 00:10
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Bogart posted:I must've made it too excited. I put in some yeast nutrients, put the bung and lock back in, headed down the stairs, looked down, it was a fountain of froth. I know what I did wrong, I just want sympathy mostly. You have my friendly concern and mild disappointment. I've had that happen once with mead, I stopped agitating my nutrient additions after that.
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Aug 25, 2018 03:59
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I got a big mouth bubbler from Northern Brewer a while back and like it. I was looking to pick up a few more, but reading over the website they've apparently redesigned the lid to use a push-in gasket instead of a threaded compresson ring, and most reviews for the last year and a half bitch about it not holding a seal. Anyone here have an opinion? Any suggestions for a different easy-access plastic fermenter? I'm not doing anything where a little bit of oxygen exposure is a huge problem, but I'm not keen to be dropping thirty five bucks on a vessel that requires a brick on the lid to keep it in place when the fermentation is vigorous. e: a 7 gal MoreBeer fermonster or two looks like a solid option. Anyone have something to say about those? I'm not going with anything opaque, or dropping the coin for a conical or other metal. eviltastic fucked around with this message at 17:24 on Aug 27, 2018 |
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Aug 27, 2018 17:01
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eviltastic posted:I got a big mouth bubbler from Northern Brewer a while back and like it. I was looking to pick up a few more, but reading over the website they've apparently redesigned the lid to use a push-in gasket instead of a threaded compresson ring, and most reviews for the last year and a half bitch about it not holding a seal. I loving hate that universal gasket. LHBS suggested taking the silicone seal off and flipping it around and putting it back on. Still hate it, though.
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Aug 27, 2018 18:09
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eviltastic posted:I got a big mouth bubbler from Northern Brewer a while back and like it. I was looking to pick up a few more, but reading over the website they've apparently redesigned the lid to use a push-in gasket instead of a threaded compresson ring, and most reviews for the last year and a half bitch about it not holding a seal. Yeah, I checked one out at the local brewer's supply and it was crap. Just get a 6gal foodsafe bucket.
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Aug 27, 2018 18:15
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eviltastic posted:I got a big mouth bubbler from Northern Brewer a while back and like it. I was looking to pick up a few more, but reading over the website they've apparently redesigned the lid to use a push-in gasket instead of a threaded compresson ring, and most reviews for the last year and a half bitch about it not holding a seal. I use buckets like these and they are really awesome. No blow-offs, no bubblers. The co2 escapes from the lid, you just have to gently crack it open a smidge after adding the yeast. 
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Aug 27, 2018 18:42
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Liquid Communism posted:Yeah, I checked one out at the local brewer's supply and it was crap. Just get a 6gal foodsafe bucket. I still use these. They've been good to me. I also have a bunch of 7.9 gallon buckets that work great for things that will have a lot of blow off. I'd give the fermonster a try if you really need something you can see through, but I don't really need to see what's inside all that much. I've never heard anyone complain about the seal and I think it's still a threaded seal. I like that they use a #10 stopper, but I haven't needed to buy new fermenters for a long time so I'm still doing buckets and carboys for anything extended that I won't be moving.
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Aug 27, 2018 18:44
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I did some shopping around for new fermenters and came back to buckets. Cheap, stackable, interchangeable lids. My friend uses Big Mouth Bubblers, but had to spend additional money on the nylon webbing/handle to be able to move them around safely. Edit: More bucket love - when they get old you can reuse them as just regular old buckets. One has been relegated to Wort Chiller Holder and another is my grain grinding bucket. robotsinmyhead fucked around with this message at 19:08 on Aug 27, 2018 |
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Aug 27, 2018 19:06
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After I melted my Better Bottle with hot tap water I switched back to my old Northern Brewer buckets I got in my very first starter kit almost 10 years ago. Don't know why I ever switched.
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Aug 27, 2018 19:19
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Sour beer?
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Aug 27, 2018 19:32
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robotsinmyhead posted:I did some shopping around for new fermenters and came back to buckets. Cheap, stackable, interchangeable lids. My friend uses Big Mouth Bubblers, but had to spend additional money on the nylon webbing/handle to be able to move them around safely. Yeah, my old primary that I scraped the poo poo out of by accident got turned into a rain barrel for my Mom. No regrets.
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Aug 27, 2018 19:44
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