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indigi posted:I wasn't naysaying, you said "why the hell not?" as if it was something you were just winging without any thought - something I've done more than once with predictably inconsistent results - and just wanted to give you a couple reminders as to why you might not want to. Sorry I didn't convey my sentiment clearly, I posted that from my phone Dude, I've totally done that before too. We're cool. I got a few books for christmas and read as much as I could about the process. I went to get yeast for ale, but the lager yeast available at the shop was too good a deal to pass up. If I gently caress it up, I'm out $25; I'm ok with taking the risk. Incidentally: how much of the "buttery" taste is OK for lager (read: what would you suggest is a good temp to start the yeast?)
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Dec 30, 2011 03:52
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indigi posted:Racking a half-batch onto a cake from a full batch is way, way more than massively overpitching, and you're gonna have a lot more trub (proportionally) than you would otherwise have. I'd recommend at least giving it a quick, thick wash as you're boiling the barleywine so you can get rid of all the bad yeast, roasted grain particles that have settled, and other junk in there. Thanks for the hop schedule suggestions!
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Dec 30, 2011 04:21
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Google "yeast washing homebrewtalk," the megathread there does a fantastic job of detailing the process with pictures. GonadTheBallbarian posted:Incidentally: how much of the "buttery" taste is OK for lager (read: what would you suggest is a good temp to start the yeast?) iirc diacetyl is from underaeration or racking/crash cooling before the yeast has a chance to clean it up, but for me pitching 1-2* lower than the optimum fermentation temperature and letting the yeast warm the wort up to where you want to ferment at is the best practice.
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Dec 30, 2011 04:47
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indigi posted:Google "yeast washing homebrewtalk," the megathread there does a fantastic job of detailing the process with pictures. Edit: The numbers being 77ml of slurry, which is just a little over 2.6oz. How does that make sense? Zakath fucked around with this message at 06:21 on Dec 30, 2011 |
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Dec 30, 2011 05:16
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It really depends on how thick your slurry is and how good a job you do of separating it from non-yeast material. That calculator's default setting assumes that your slurry is something like 60% as thick as what you get in a vial from White Labs after you shake it up to get all the yeast in suspension. The White Labs vials come with something like 1oz of yeast/medium in them, so you'd be pitching the equivalent of 2 and a half, thinned-out White Labs vials. I don't know how much of that made sense to you cause I can barely picture it myself, but it's ok to wing it a bit.
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Dec 30, 2011 08:13
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So I got something while at work yesterday. All Citra IPA, a Chipotle Chile beer, and an ounce of Simcoe and German Perle. I am super excited! Thanks Dark Goku Jr! I'll post some tasting notes when I get around to trying them soon.
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Dec 30, 2011 16:12
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Zakath posted:Ok, last question -- I'm using the MrMalty pitching rate calculator, and the numbers for the "repitching from slurry" tab don't make seem to make sense; how can I calculate how much of the washed yeast to pitch? Jamil (MrMalty) says the defaults are pretty good and it's kinda pointless to mess with them unless you're prepared to do cell counts under a microscope.
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Dec 30, 2011 16:25
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Ok, so I have a stupid question that has been bugging me for a long time. I've been brewing pretty regularly for about a year--starting with 5g batches obviously. About 5mo ago, my buddies and I have moved to 10g batches and have had one hell of a time managing water volumes for mashing and boiling. I'm not sure if I am having trouble sparging with an appropriate amount of water. We regularly end up with a very close expected OG, but with much less wort volume (usually 8.5-9g out of the calculating 10). Obviously diluting with top-up water would highlight our less efficient mashing and lower abv, so we rarely do so. I'm confused as to why I end up with so much less wort while using recommended/calculated amounts of water. How do you guys refine your processes to gain accuracy with volumes? Am I just not calculating the amount of loss in my system appropriately? What is the easiest way to measure this?
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Dec 30, 2011 17:24
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LeeMajors posted:How do you guys refine your processes to gain accuracy with volumes? Am I just not calculating the amount of loss in my system appropriately? What is the easiest way to measure this? In my rig and with my process, the limiting factor is the volume of the boiler. I have a spreadsheet I use that calculates all my water volumes based on the weight of the grist, the desired volume to the kettle, and the amount of water I expect the grain to absorb. It's pretty much dead on. Basically, it goes like this: I know my grist weight. I have set my strike ratio in qt./lb., which obviously gets me a volume from a pretty simple calculation. I know grain absorbs (in my rig/process) about 0.13 gallon of water (a pint, more or less) per pound of grain, so I can then figure out what my first runnings will be. Since I know how much my target volume is, and how much my first running are, and that the grain bed is already wet, target volume minus first runnings volume gives me the amount of sparge water I need. I don't have any appreciable "lost" volume under false bottoms, etc., as I use a Bazooka tube in my mashtun. EDIT to add: From there, it's a pretty simple eyeball measurement of the boil to get the boiloff rate I am used to and drop my target volume to fermenters. I am usually right on gravity, but a touch long on volume, which is fine as there's some waste in fermenter sediment, etc. If you're on volume but low on gravity, you really have an efficiency problem. There are many possible factors here, though, including crush quality, water chemistry, blah, blah, blah. Jo3sh fucked around with this message at 18:04 on Dec 30, 2011 |
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Dec 30, 2011 17:53
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So lager didn't work out as well as planned; ended up using an ale yeast because the yeast starter/activator bag killed its own contents. Balls. Oh well, could be worse, I suppose.
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Dec 30, 2011 18:13
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Jo3sh posted:If you're on volume but low on gravity, you really have an efficiency problem. There are many possible factors here, though, including crush quality, water chemistry, blah, blah, blah. I have a bit of an efficiency problem as well. I'm pretty sure I'm getting a good crush, but I pretty consistently get about 60% efficiency with my rig, which seems pretty low. I'm using a sanky keg with a false bottom. I've tried continuous sparging and (english style) batch sparging. I got better results out of the batch sparging, but neither was great. Any hints/things to check?
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Dec 30, 2011 18:13
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Acceptableloss posted:I have a bit of an efficiency problem as well. I'm pretty sure I'm getting a good crush, but I pretty consistently get about 60% efficiency with my rig, which seems pretty low. I'm using a sanky keg with a false bottom. I've tried continuous sparging and (english style) batch sparging. I got better results out of the batch sparging, but neither was great. What efficiency were you getting when you were doing 5g batches? In addition to determining mash efficiency, I've definitely noticed that crush will also affect how much water the grains will hold on to. Thanks to the quality mill at our LHBS I've been hitting 80-90% efficiency nearly every time. But this once I noticed that their rollers were closer together than usual and this lead to a lot of "flour" which ended up lowering the efficiency of our mash by soaking up an extra quart or two (our OG was spot on, but our volume was low and when we cleaned out our tun we noticed way more leftover wort soaking in the bottom than usual). With all of the posts I read about getting low efficiency it makes me really appreciate never having to calibrate a mill of my own as it is evident that once your process is right, efficiency is 90% crush, 10% pH etc Do you use 5.2 stabilizer? I recommend it for getting that extra efficiency out of an established process. (Took my efficiencies from 80% to 85%, brewing a beer with a lot of black/roasted malts usually shoots that up to 90%). Also, is it just me or are dark beers twice as easy to brew as light colored beers? I always get higher efficiency and the vorlaufs run clear in half the time. The sweet wort also usually tastes way more interesting. I know that dark grains generate a better pH, but still...
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Dec 30, 2011 18:40
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Acceptableloss posted:Any hints/things to check? http://www.beersmith.com/blog/2008/07/04/5-ways-to-improve-your-all-grain-beer-efficiency/ That seems to cover the big ones. When I was fly sparging, I had a maddening intermittent issue with efficiency that seems to have been related to channeling. Batch sparging has increased both my efficiency and my repeatability. I do two batches of water after I drain the first runnings. Each batch goes: add water, stir, rest ten min., vorlauf until pretty clear, drain runnings slowly to boiler. I also found that a mashout helps a lot. My first batch of sparge water is near boiling, to raise the grain bed temp to 168 or so. I do this mainly because sugar dissolves better in hotter water. If you have really whacky water where you live, try brewing a batch or two with bottled drinking water. At very least, you should check your town's water report to see if there is something way out of the norm, like the alkaline water in Austin that came up recently. If you have something like that (or the 600 ppm of hardness in my old home town), it might also be worth getting some pH papers or borrowing a meter to test your mash pH. Heck, some people do test pH religiously, but I have never bothered. Historically, the water available for brewing in various regions strongly informed the styles of beer brewed - stouts in Dublin, Pilsner in Plzn, etc. You may have to adapt your recipes to your local conditions or resort to building water from a known supply, such as RO.
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Dec 30, 2011 19:07
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So I'm looking at picking up a blichmann boilermaker kettle, but wanted to see if anyone had used them and could comment. They seem to be rock solid (and should be fore the price) and I really like the rotatable dip tube, the sight glass and the ball valve that come with it. My other question is it's not too much more money to go from 15 gallon to 20 gallon. I'm wanting to upgrade to 10 gallons, but was wondering if there's any problem with doing 10 gallon batches in a pot that's twice the volume?
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Dec 30, 2011 19:41
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Prefect Six posted:So I'm looking at picking up a blichmann boilermaker kettle, but wanted to see if anyone had used them and could comment. They seem to be rock solid (and should be fore the price) and I really like the rotatable dip tube, the sight glass and the ball valve that come with it. I have two blichmann pots and I love them. 15g and 10g. The rule of thumb that works really well is get a pot that is double the size of your final batch size and you should be golden. On my 10g pot I can do a mash for up to about 1.110 OG for a 5.5g batch but it isn't easy, I regularly boil 8-8.5g for some styles in it just fine. Obviously would be too small to boil for a 10.5g batch and would not be a good candidate for doing a mash for a 10g batch unless it was really low gravity (1.050 or under). On my 15g pot I can easily handle any kind of mash I throw at it for a 5.5g batch, which is what I mainly use it for. I think I can pull 1.085 OG for a 10g batch without much work, but I don't normally brew big batches of high OG stuff. Even if I do a lowish OG (1.050) for a 5.5g batch mashing in my 15g is easy, but a lot of that is due to my setup and not being reliant on the temp gauges in the pot. Boiling 12.5-13g (for a 10g batch) in a 15g pot isn't too bad, you have to keep an eye on how strong of a boil you are running and use a little fermcap and then you'll probably be fine. If you plan on doing mostly 10g batches I would probably go 20/15/15 (mash, kettle, HLT) but 20/15/10 wouldn't be a bad way to go either as you probably won't need super huge sparge infusions from the HLT, and you would have a pot that can handle boils for 5g batches pretty easily. If you plan on mostly doing 5g batches I would go 15/15/10 and just not plan on doing high OG 10g batches. The only thing you'll want to keep in mind is the temp probe on the kettles has a minimum fill volume to work, IIRC correctly its 4.75g for the 10g pot, 6.5g for the 15g pot and 7.5g for the 20g pot. All of that said the pots are awesome, their false bottom is awesome, plumbing them for pumps, rims, etc etc is just a dream.
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Dec 30, 2011 19:53
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That's good to hear. It sounds like even if I wanted to do 5 gallon batches I'd be ok in a 20, I'd just have to use a glass floating thermometer to watch my steep temp. I'm still doing extract batches, but whatever I buy I want to be able to expand to all-grain at some point in the future. Although right now anything would be better than trying to boil 6 gallons in a 7.5 gallon turkey fryer.
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Dec 30, 2011 20:00
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rage-saq posted:The rule of thumb that works really well is get a pot that is double the size of your final batch size and you should be golden. I use converted Sanke kegs to go ten-gallon batches, and I find the max effective gravity I can get without adding sugar to the boil is about 1.090. I can get a few more points if I really load up the mash tun, but because of the limitations of my rig (see above post about boiler size being the limiting factor), I have to sparge less and my efficiency goes to hell. So 1.5x your batch size is workable for many beers, but I keep wanting to stretch my mashtun and boiler to 20 gallons. 2x batch size should cover just about everything you would want to do.
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Dec 30, 2011 20:17
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Anyone know if Beersmith works like a beer diary? I like it for writing recipes and such, but I can't seem to figure out how to tell it that I made X on Y date, and to diary? Maybe I'm missing something. Anyone have anything else they use to diary?
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Dec 30, 2011 20:26
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TenjouUtena posted:Anyone know if Beersmith works like a beer diary? I like it for writing recipes and such, but I can't seem to figure out how to tell it that I made X on Y date, and to diary? Maybe I'm missing something. Anyone have anything else they use to diary? It has a separate folder called the Brew Log you can use for this purpose. In the toolbar there's a button that says Copy To Brew Log or something like that. Then you can edit that copy and make any batch-specific notes, mark what date it was brewed, etc.
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Dec 30, 2011 20:42
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Prefect Six posted:That's good to hear. It sounds like even if I wanted to do 5 gallon batches I'd be ok in a 20, I'd just have to use a glass floating thermometer to watch my steep temp. I do 6 gal batches in a 20 gal pot. New meaning to the phrase "drop in a bucket." Ferm what? Edit: prior to getting the 20gal pot I did full 5 gal boils in a 5.5gal pot. I had to use ferm cap and hover over the pot, but it worked. Having a huge pot makes my brewday so much easier it's not even funny. Now i sit inside watching TV while monitoring via a wireless temp probe. tesilential fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Dec 30, 2011 |
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Dec 30, 2011 20:52
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Prefect Six posted:That's good to hear. It sounds like even if I wanted to do 5 gallon batches I'd be ok in a 20, I'd just have to use a glass floating thermometer to watch my steep temp. Start off with a 15g pot with false bottom and a 10g. Mash in the 15g, runoff into the 10g for boiling and use your 7.5g as your HLT. Get a 20 or 15 in the future depending upon if you are primarily brewing 5gal or 10gal batches.
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Dec 30, 2011 21:03
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Docjowles posted:It has a separate folder called the Brew Log you can use for this purpose. In the toolbar there's a button that says Copy To Brew Log or something like that. Then you can edit that copy and make any batch-specific notes, mark what date it was brewed, etc. Ah, That is awesome! Thanks!
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Dec 30, 2011 21:39
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If I want to go to a RIMS setup, what are some good resources I could check out to learn about what parts I need, what the process is, etc. Like one question I had is can I just keep the mash tun on the ground since the heating element is in the tube, or am I way off base? Does it matter what kind of vessel I mash in? Should I wait to convert til I have a brewstand (and if so, why?)
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Dec 30, 2011 22:56
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indigi posted:If I want to go to a RIMS setup, what are some good resources I could check out to learn about what parts I need, what the process is, etc. Like one question I had is can I just keep the mash tun on the ground since the heating element is in the tube, or am I way off base? Does it matter what kind of vessel I mash in? Should I wait to convert til I have a brewstand (and if so, why?) The way I have a rims setup doesn't really have anything to do with the location of the pot. You are going to want your pump below your pot so you get good flow but as long as you can maintain decent pressure the rims can go anywhere after that. There's a pretty decent thread on HBT on building a RIMS setup that was more or less the basis for how I put mine together. My rims tube was made by https://www.brewersequipment.com that I got as part of a bundled year end sale when I ordered my brewstand, I don't think they offer it anymore. My rims setup is basically Pot -> Silicon hose -> pump -> silicon hose -> rims tube -> silicon hose -> back to pot I have a 1500w 110v element controlled by an auber PID and I use RTD sensors. Electric element near the inlet and the sensor on the outlet. Works pretty awesome.
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Dec 30, 2011 23:27
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For my first batches I want to make like a Sam Adams clone and a nice hoppy IPA, both with about 6% alcohol, what would you guys suggest as far as kits go?
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Dec 31, 2011 00:26
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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.
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Dec 31, 2011 05:12
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Paladine_PSoT posted:Secret Saudit! I posted that I got mine from j3rkstore a couple pages ago: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3437782&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=40#post398899553 edit: Also, Magua has been away and hasn't actually picked his up - I left notification that it had been delivered to their leasing office. crazyfish fucked around with this message at 06:03 on Dec 31, 2011 |
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Dec 31, 2011 06:00
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Looking forward to hearing if you like them or think they are crap and I should stop brewing forever.
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Dec 31, 2011 06:17
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Never. Stop. Brewing.
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Dec 31, 2011 06:28
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j3rkstore posted:Looking forward to hearing if you like them or think they are crap and I should stop brewing forever. Will definitely let you know! I'm saving them for the next time a couple beer enthusiast friends come over so you can get more than just my pedestrian palate 
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Dec 31, 2011 06:32
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Mine should have arrived to one of the people on that list today or tomorrow.
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Dec 31, 2011 09:59
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I definitely got mine. Been enjoying the stout.
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Dec 31, 2011 10:57
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Paladine_PSoT posted:Secret Saudit! Received mine as well. Nesbit37 sent me a well-aged anise methyglin.
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Dec 31, 2011 16:12
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I got a fancy new PolarWare kettle with ball valve for Christmas I guess if I'm draining wort off after the boil, I'll need a false bottom or bazooka tube? Would the home depot stainless steel braid work too?
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Dec 31, 2011 17:17
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I used to use a Bazooka tube in my boiler, but these days I don't use a screen at all. Instead, I use a paint strainer bag to contain the hops during the boil. Sure, I get break material in the fermenter, but it has not caused me any issues.
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Dec 31, 2011 18:03
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Jo3sh posted:I used to use a Bazooka tube in my boiler, but these days I don't use a screen at all. Instead, I use a paint strainer bag to contain the hops during the boil. Sure, I get break material in the fermenter, but it has not caused me any issues. Does the strainer bag contain pellet hop sludge, and you need to keep the bag suspended to keep from melting?
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Dec 31, 2011 19:20
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I got my first batch of beer fermenting away now! Hopefully it turns out. The kit I got came with a bucket with a carboy for a secondary, but reading How To Brew online, the author suggests that maybe racking to a secondary is more risky than advantageous due to possible contamination and what not. What do you guys think? Is conditioning in the secondary worth the risk of contaminating the batch? It seems like it should be... One more thing, I didn't have any vodka on hand, so I used gin in my airlock. Was that a terrible idea?
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Dec 31, 2011 19:54
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Ratbones posted:I got my first batch of beer fermenting away now! Hopefully it turns out. The kit I got came with a bucket with a carboy for a secondary, but reading How To Brew online, the author suggests that maybe racking to a secondary is more risky than advantageous due to possible contamination and what not. What do you guys think? Is conditioning in the secondary worth the risk of contaminating the batch? It seems like it should be... Depends on what you're brewing. I only really consider a secondary necessary for additions that would be adversely affected by an active fermentation (e.g. dry hopping), or excessively long aging periods (i.e. sours).
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Dec 31, 2011 20:01
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The primary bucket is also intended to be used as the bottling bucket as its got a spigot, so how does the bottling process change if you still have the yeast cake at the bottom of the bucket? Do you just use the racking cane and siphon the beer straight over to the bottles?
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Dec 31, 2011 20:13
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Uh in that case I'd definitely rack into the carboy, clean the bucket and rack back into it to bottle. Bottling from a siphon would get really annoying toward the end. But wait the 2-3 weeks for fermentation to be completely done, don't rack to secondary on like day 3 as many older instructions suggest. For future batches, think about doing the primary in the carboy and just racking into the bucket to bottle.
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Dec 31, 2011 20:16
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