Brewing on Vacation!

[tbred]

CAUTION: LONG POST

Every year I make it my goal to brew every week during the summer. (I am a teacher so I don't have to work.) Last year I made it all but 1 week! I missed out brewing because of a family vacation to Myrtle Beach. Not this year!

I have planned a TINY batch! It will be an extract batch of 1L. This will make it easy to transport from Indiana to Myrtle Beach and back again.

Recipe:

1L (0.25 gal)

8oz Light DME
1oz Crystal 60L
1oz Vienna
1oz Flaked Oats

20 minute steep at 152F then a 20 minute boil.

0.25 oz Cascade @ 20min
1/4 tsp Irish moss @ 20min

Chill in the freezer at the condo.

Pitch a mixed culture of US-05, Brett Brux (5112), and Brett Lambucus (5526). Let it ride at room temperatures for a month then bottle in one 750ml cork and cage. Age till next years annual vacation.

Plan:
- Pack all ingredients, fermentation vessel, bung, airlock, thermometer, refractors, grain bag, funnel, and spray bottle with Star-San.

- Brew in large pot on stove. Use ruffly 0.5 gallons, hopefully ending with 1L into the fermentor.

- Use spray bottle of star-san to sanitize vessel, funnel, and airlock.

Advice Requested
- Is there anything I overlooked?
- Does this sound reasonable?
- How wort travel well? 12ish hours?
- Dry hop?

 

[Cider123]

What's missing here is what you'll be getting from your SWMBO for bringing your brewing junk on vacation. Don't you know it's her vacation too?

 

[Subdivisions]

It's not really THAT long of a post. It just looks long with all the line feeds and the picture.

Plan looks good. Just wondering why you say "brew in LARGE pot on stove". I'd think a sauce pan would hold this nicely.

Maybe use an ankle sock for your steeping grains. Just kidding. Good luck with it. I wouldn't worry about dry hopping if you're going to wait a year. It would be a waste of hops

 

[bobeer]

Ha. Sounds like a plan, man. Good luck. Vaca Brew!!

I like to brew right before vacation. That way i have a beer ready to keg when i get back!

 

[tbred]

@Cider123 SWMBO doesn't like this trip. It's my family not hers.

@Subdivisions Lol well the post seemed long to me. I made the note large pot because at the condo its a crap shoot on what you get. Hopefully I won't be brewing in a ceral bowl. Lol. Thanks for the ankle sock idea! It might add that funk I am looking for! Lol

@bobeer Thanks! I just legged one before I left! It should be all carved up for me when I get home!

Side note any "native" fruits to South Carolina I could throw in secondary? Or something that might add another layer to the beer? Maybe bottle dregs of some SC sour beer? Completely open to suggestions.

 

[atom]

I'm doing something similar... planning a 2 gallon batch of saison to be brewed while camping. i will have no electricity or running water so i'm planning to chill in the lake. temp control will be an issue so a saison seems to make the most sense.

good luck with your brew!

 

[mdbrewer1]

Are you doing this just to say you did? I realize none of the individual steps are much work, but they all add up. I wouldn't would to schlepp that stuff around, especially a glass container that will be filled with super sticky liquid, and there usually isn't any extra space in the car anyway. Maybe you like to keep yourself busy at all times, but I'd much rather drink beer than brew it on vacation.

I don't know how many people will be there, but you should consider the smell associated with brewing and how it might affect others. I brew outdoors since my wife gagged from the smell of brewing in the kitchen.

It sounds like you're set on doing it, so in that case I'd say your plan looks solid. You could use your plastic tote as a swamp cooler if you want to try some sort of temperature control. If you brew the first or second day there, you'd be able to keep tabs on during the initial stages of fermentation when it's creating the most heat.

 

[tbred]

@mdbrewr1 I'm not doing it just to say I did it. I set a goal to brew every week this summer. If I missed this week just because I was on vacation, I wouldn't achieve my goal.

@atom Thanks! Your brew sounds exciting. My brother in law and I were discussing brewing a larger batch next year on the beach.

Just finished brewing it up this afternoon. Went very smooth. No crazy brew smell with such a small batch. Missed my OG by a little bit, but nothing to worry about. Added some dregs from Jolly Pumpkin. Hopefully it will get a nice tart finish!