Brewing happiness is...

[bwible]

- when you pitch yeast you built in a starter from an outdated package and come back a couple hours later to a whole head of krausen. Makes me chuckle every time,

- whenever one of my beers is crystal clear in the glass like a commercial beer. That’s a constant goal of mine and it always makes me say “damn, I still I can’t believe I made this.”

- the sweet smell coming out of the airlock as its fermenting. Love to put my nose there and sniff. I know I’m not the only one.

 

[Yesfan]

Getting new gear. The past few days, I had come in.........

Spike v4 15G kettle.
Malt Muncher 3 roller mill
Inkbird "Thermapen style" thermometer (USB rechargeable)
New scales from Northern Brewer.
a stout kit from More Beer. Hoping to brew tomorrow so I can have something for St Patty's Day.

If I don't have any brewing happiness from that, I need help.............

 

[seatazzz]

Having an "exbeeriment" turn out great beyond all expectations. I've been brewing for almost 6 years now, have several recipes that I keep in rotation because they're tried and true; but once in a while I want to try something new. Brewed a kolsch on Omega Lutra last weekend, first time using this yeast, and it's in my glass right now. I've done a lot of WF lagers, usually on S23, but this one knocked it out of the park. Deliciously crisp, perfectly carbonated, and will be clear soon. One of those beers that makes me stare at the glass, and be amazeballs that I brewed something so terrific.

Also learning new ways of brewing; a month or two ago I started doing BIAB, and I never want to go back to my mash tun unless I'm doing something big. Most of my beers are about 4.5-6% ABV, I rarely do a big brew unless I want my American Strong; so BIAB is perfect. Can't say enough good things about @wilserbrewer and his products, and customer service. Having a brewday go from grain mill to ferment fridge in about 4.5 hours, including cleaning, is amazing.

 

[AzOr]

Having an "exbeeriment" turn out great beyond all expectations. I've been brewing for almost 6 years now, have several recipes that I keep in rotation because they're tried and true; but once in a while I want to try something new. Brewed a kolsch on Omega Lutra last weekend, first time using this yeast, and it's in my glass right now. I've done a lot of WF lagers, usually on S23, but this one knocked it out of the park. Deliciously crisp, perfectly carbonated, and will be clear soon. One of those beers that makes me stare at the glass, and be amazeballs that I brewed something so terrific.

Also learning new ways of brewing; a month or two ago I started doing BIAB, and I never want to go back to my mash tun unless I'm doing something big. Most of my beers are about 4.5-6% ABV, I rarely do a big brew unless I want my American Strong; so BIAB is perfect. Can't say enough good things about @wilserbrewer and his products, and customer service. Having a brewday go from grain mill to ferment fridge in about 4.5 hours, including cleaning, is amazing.

What are WF lagers?

 

[ehall]

all time favorite moment: I made a spruce beer. Was asked what I was bringing to beer club. told them. My boss just started bagging on the spruce beer without ever having tried one. Kept giving me grief for days... when it came time for tasting, the look on his face! he finished it off, apologized for all the grief and asked when I was making it again.

 

[seatazzz]

What are WF lagers?

Warm-fermented lagers. There's a whole thread about them on here. Basically ferment a beer with lager yeast but at ale temperatures, which are easier for most people to maintain if you don't have a dedicated ferment fridge. And they are finished quicker.

 

[laurentobias]

Warm-fermented lagers. There's a whole thread about them on here. Basically ferment a beer with lager yeast but at ale temperatures, which are easier for most people to maintain if you don't have a dedicated ferment fridge. And they are finished quicker.

Really interested in learning more about this. My husband loves lagers but I don't have the space/want to make another investment to cold ferment. Our compromise has been cream ales, but where can I find out more about WF lagers and how they compare?

 

[bracconiere]

Warm-fermented lagers. There's a whole thread about them on here. Basically ferment a beer with lager yeast but at ale temperatures, which are easier for most people to maintain if you don't have a dedicated ferment fridge. And they are finished quicker.

Really interested in learning more about this. My husband loves lagers but I don't have the space/want to make another investment to cold ferment. Our compromise has been cream ales, but where can I find out more about WF lagers and how they compare?

i've recently learned fermenting under pressure helps? a milk can works good with a spunding valve.....i'm not sure i'm a fan yet though.

 

[seatazzz]

Here: Warm Fermented Lager Thread. Lots and lots of good information. I have done several, and when done right you can barely taste the difference between a warm-fermented lager and a traditionally cold-fermented one. There are some detractors, but it's a trend that has been taking off lately.

 

[bracconiere]

Here: Warm Fermented Lager Thread. Lots and lots of good information. I have done several, and when done right you can barely taste the difference between a warm-fermented lager and a traditionally cold-fermented one. There are some detractors, but it's a trend that has been taking off lately.

this is , or is it?


but i don't always use lager yeast, but when i do i'm freezing my ass off in the house!

 

[Yesfan]

Here: Warm Fermented Lager Thread. Lots and lots of good information. I have done several, and when done right you can barely taste the difference between a warm-fermented lager and a traditionally cold-fermented one. There are some detractors, but it's a trend that has been taking off lately.

44 Pages! This will be a long read just like the Spike conical thread. Good excuse to hunker down and pop open a cold one....... or ten.

 

[Sam_92]

this is , or is it?


but i don't always use lager yeast, but when i do i'm freezing my ass off in the house!

Brewing happiness is reading 44 pages of a thread about WF lagers and getting inspired to brew my first ever Lager. It turned out great and very different from any ale I've ever brewed and it's yeast cake recieved a dopplebock that I've just taste after I left it alone for two months and it is very good and I have twenty-ish more bottles of it!

Is that better Bracc?

 

[seatazzz]

this is , or is it?


but i don't always use lager yeast, but when i do i'm freezing my ass off in the house!

I dunno...brewing happiness is brewing something that makes you happy, right? and having a lager (ish) beer on tap in 14 days (or less, I've pushed one at 7 days and it was delightful) makes me plenty happy. It's all about perspective, my friend! Maybe if you tried it, you could go grain to glass in 14 days from malting to pouring....just sayin. One of these days I'm gonna try malting my own....

 

[bracconiere]

Is that better Bracc?

at 40 posts a page, that's epic!

 

[bracconiere]

One of these days I'm gonna try malting my own....

really not hard....

.brewing happiness is brewing something that makes you happy, right?

well then....it all is good!

 

[seatazzz]

And because I can...brewing happiness, to me, is inspiring others to love this hobby as much as I do. Homebrewers are, for the most part, a wonderful community of persons who want to help others to excel in this hobby that brings so much joy to us all. And sometimes make us laugh along the way.

 

[bracconiere]

And because I can...brewing happiness, to me, is inspiring others to love this hobby as much as I do. Homebrewers are, for the most part, a wonderful community of persons who want to help others to excel in this hobby that brings so much joy to us all. And sometimes make us laugh along the way.

beats hangin out with dope cooks!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

this is , or is it?


but i don't always use lager yeast, but when i do i'm freezing my ass off in the house!

As long as that makes you happy!

 

[pvpeacock]

When your sons want to learn how to make beer and they realize you actually know something they don't!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Brewing Happiness is having your pin kick after freezing all day at a fest.

 

[Ninoid]

... and all of the above.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

happiness is watching and sniffing airlocks, right?

 

[Protos]

Brewing happiness is...

...when you (actually me, on June 23rd 2020) are sitting on a couch looking at the cabinet across the room where rows of bottled homebrew stand behind the glass door and when one bottle EXPLODES right while you're looking, and the load of shrapnell ricochettes all across the locker but doesn't burst through the glass door and doesn't gouge out your peepers or cause arterial bleeding.

That's happiness, I would say.

 

[JAReeves]

Brewing happiness is all of it: from grain to glass, every technological waystation, mistake-based learning experience, and little victory in between. No other hobby I have ever had gives me such joy throughout the entire process. I even like cleaning !

But if it was one thing? The smells. Fresh ground grain, mash-in, hops dropped in the boil, fermentation, and of course the acid-smell of a cleaned and Star-San'd kettle at the end of the day.

 

[Yesfan]

......But if it was one thing? The smells. Fresh ground grain, mash-in, hops dropped in the boil, fermentation, and of course the acid-smell of a cleaned and Star-San'd kettle at the end of the day.

100%.

I brewed More Beer's B3 Stout last weekend. I've been out of the game longer than I wanted, so it was like starting over again (but in a good way). The smells of the grain, especially with stouts/porters, just awesome. When I opened the pack of Northern Brewer hops and caught the aroma, my taste buds had a hard on.

Fermentation's been chugging pretty good and, yesterday, I went ahead a spunded to see if I can get a jump on carbing it up a little quicker. I'm anxious to see how it turns out. Anxiety level is up there with my first batch into the hobby.

 

[HB2 HughBHomeBrew]

Having friends come by to try the brew. And they say it's really good. After all, it's free beer, but you still believe them!

 

[Yesfan]

Having friends come by to try the brew. And they say it's really good. After all, it's free beer, but you still believe them!

I've had friends say they wanted to try my beers. When they have that opportunity, I always remind them to be honest, even if it's brutally honest. If they don't like it, I want to know why. In the end, it's just beer.

They seem to like it so, like you say, I believe them. One friend, after trying an amber ale w/ cascade hops, told me he loved it. It was a lot like a Bud Light, but much much smoother.

I still have mixed feeling on that one........

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Having friends come by to try the brew. And they say it's really good. After all, it's free beer, but you still believe them!

When they want a second, they really do like it.

 

[bracconiere]

my taste buds had a hard on.

LOL

was this playing?

 

[DBhomebrew]

One friend, after trying an amber ale w/ cascade hops, told me he loved it. It was a lot like a Bud Light, but much much smoother.

A colleague was drinking a best bitter of mine. Seemed to really be enjoying it. Told me he liked it so much because it reminded him of Guinness.

 

[Yesfan]

LOL

was this playing?

LOL! No, but I'll put that on the playlist for the next Brew Day!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Braaaiiinnns…

Brewing happiness is spinning up an old yeast packet and have it step up and show a lot of growth in just a few days.

 

[DonT]

Happiness is... sitting in the backyard on a warm summer afternoon sipping a homebrew watching the smoker do it's thing on a couple racks of ribs...

Dreaming of warm weather....

 

[Brooothru]

Braaaiiinnns… View attachment 838774View attachment 838773
Brewing happiness is spinning up an old yeast packet and have it step up and show a lot of growth in just a few days.

Good job!

I’ve had pretty good luck with 3-step up propagations in the past with ’MIA’ sealed factory yeasts that show up unexpectedly long after their “Best By” dates. Not so much with harvested slurry older than 2~3 months, however. Frozen samples have been revived after years on ice.

What I do now when I buy a new yeast is to propagate a 1.038 starter (1L or more). After a day or two on the stir plate after high krausen subsides, I crash, decant the supernatant into a quart jar along with all the settled yeast, but hold back about 50 ml of the settled yeast for freezing. The saved supernatant and yeast gets used for the planned fermentation and the 50 ml ‘holdback’ gets mixed 1:1 with glycerol, packed with freezer packs and stored in the freezer. Works very well and avoids discovering an unused yeast pack.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Good job!

I’ve had pretty good luck with 3-step up propagations in the past with ’MIA’ sealed factory yeasts that show up unexpectedly long after their “Best By” dates. Not so much with harvested slurry older than 2~3 months, however.

Thanks, the only thing I can really take credit for, I guess, is storing it decently and stepping it up in a way that doesn’t stress it too much. I have many old slurries in the fridge as well, dumped some about a year ago. When I see deals on yeast I make purchases with the intention to use it before it gets old. LOL then life happens. It makes sense to use the unadulterated yeast before the slurry, but I hold onto pint and half pint jars “just in case“.
Thanks for the info about freezing yeast surely that would be more sensible that what I’ve been doing.

 

[Brooothru]

Thanks, the only thing I can really take credit for, I guess, is storing it decently and stepping it up in a way that doesn’t stress it too much. I have many old slurries in the fridge as well, dumped some about a year ago. When I see deals on yeast I make purchases with the intention to use it before it gets old. LOL then life happens. It makes sense to use the unadulterated yeast before the slurry, but I hold onto pint and half pint jars “just in case“.
Thanks for the info about freezing yeast surely that would be more sensible that what I’ve been doing.

The risk of freezing is the chance that the samples will thaw during a defrost cycle. Less risk if you have an ‘old school’ chest freezer. If you’re using a typical frost free kitchen refer with the freezer on top, the frozen yeast bank will be exposed to a thaw/refreeze cycle ever time the refer defrosts. The cell walls in the yeast will likely burst when this happens.

The work-around I’ve found that has worked well is to mix the yeast slurry with glycerol in a test tube or centrifuge vial. I put the samples in a small insulated lunch box with several frozen gel packs. Then I put the insulated lunch box in the freezer and surround it with additional gel packs. It keeps the yeast samples frozen for the duration of the cycle.

Obviously the process isn’t as good as storage in a -20F laboratory freezer, but it has worked for at least 5 years, which is the longest time I’ve re-propagated a frozen sample successfully.