Just a rant here....about my own ineptness this weekend in homebrewing.
I've been doing this almost 15 years, yet I still manage to amaze myself with my own dumb things I do. I guess I could blame age and a new location but only to some extent.
Did two batches yesterday...I think. First batch was an Imperial IPA....it appears that since moving, my thermometer on my HLT has changed and now needs adjustment....168 degree water reads 175 on digital thermometer...mash was about 7 degrees higher than desired at end....and get this...mash temp went up 1 degree during mash---dark blue cooler sitting in the hot south Texas sun actually turned it into an oven I guess. So much for heat loss:cross:
And then my refractometer told me I had an OG of 1.018!!! An attempted quick cool of my wort in the hygrometer confirmed that was wacky....more like 1.09...At this point, I decided a home brew was necessary...at 10 AM
Moral: If you haven't brewed in a while (and I have not since November because of moving and SWMBO had other priorities....got to work on that), it's probably a good idea to check calibrations of thermometers and such.
Second batch is a BASS knockoff for SWMBO. She comes out and starts asking me questions about reupholstering furniture....like I know....but she believes I am "THE MAN," and we need that to continue, right? So I begin recalling what I can remember from working in a furniture factory 42 years ago and pay more attention to her than what I am doing and I forgot the corn in the recipe.....oh well.....the BASS just became a session
.
And lastly, the dang wind came up something wild which is pretty normal here and gave my propane burner fits. I could not get it shielded well at all. My boil was pitiful and very very long. I got so frustrated, I forgot to take a reading before yeast....Who knows what this is going to be.
On a good note, I may have developed a heat stick that is completely repairable. Initial water leak tests, without electrical charge, mind you, are completely successful. Now if I can put it back together and get a repeat success, I may have something. And lord knows I'm gonna need it in these windy conditions.
I should have known it was going to be difficult when I went to print my brew sheets from Beersmith and nothing was there. I manually wrote down my stuff and went on. And then today I discovered that Brewsmith will not print or display properly if you are running it on a thumb drive and have write protect turned on.......
Carry on McDuff!
I've been doing this almost 15 years, yet I still manage to amaze myself with my own dumb things I do. I guess I could blame age and a new location but only to some extent.
Did two batches yesterday...I think. First batch was an Imperial IPA....it appears that since moving, my thermometer on my HLT has changed and now needs adjustment....168 degree water reads 175 on digital thermometer...mash was about 7 degrees higher than desired at end....and get this...mash temp went up 1 degree during mash---dark blue cooler sitting in the hot south Texas sun actually turned it into an oven I guess. So much for heat loss:cross:
And then my refractometer told me I had an OG of 1.018!!! An attempted quick cool of my wort in the hygrometer confirmed that was wacky....more like 1.09...At this point, I decided a home brew was necessary...at 10 AM
Moral: If you haven't brewed in a while (and I have not since November because of moving and SWMBO had other priorities....got to work on that), it's probably a good idea to check calibrations of thermometers and such.
Second batch is a BASS knockoff for SWMBO. She comes out and starts asking me questions about reupholstering furniture....like I know....but she believes I am "THE MAN," and we need that to continue, right? So I begin recalling what I can remember from working in a furniture factory 42 years ago and pay more attention to her than what I am doing and I forgot the corn in the recipe.....oh well.....the BASS just became a session
.And lastly, the dang wind came up something wild which is pretty normal here and gave my propane burner fits. I could not get it shielded well at all. My boil was pitiful and very very long. I got so frustrated, I forgot to take a reading before yeast....Who knows what this is going to be.
On a good note, I may have developed a heat stick that is completely repairable. Initial water leak tests, without electrical charge, mind you, are completely successful. Now if I can put it back together and get a repeat success, I may have something. And lord knows I'm gonna need it in these windy conditions.
I should have known it was going to be difficult when I went to print my brew sheets from Beersmith and nothing was there. I manually wrote down my stuff and went on. And then today I discovered that Brewsmith will not print or display properly if you are running it on a thumb drive and have write protect turned on.......
Carry on McDuff!
