What I did for beer today

[HM-2]

Side note to the above: Can't taste any cinnamon anymore or clove anymore. So it's more like a wit now instead of a White Christmas ale. Kind of a bummer because I've already got the grains for a Blue Moon American Wit to brew this week.

You could always throw in some extra hops and make a Hopfenweisse instead to mix things up and get a bit more variety.

 

[seanjwalker1]

You could always throw in some extra hops and make a Hopfenweisse instead to mix things up and get a bit more variety.

I'm not a hop head by any stretch of the imagination. Still taste the hops. I was going over in my mind what to do. I was thinking maybe split the 4 gallons, keg or bottle 2 gal and maybe fruit the other 2 gallons. Maybe peach or Mango

 

[Cayuga-Brewer]

Brewed a Belgian style witbier with coriander and bitter orange peel. Missed my OG by about 5 points but should still end up at about 5%.

 

[seatazzz]

Fixed a keg that wasn't holding pressure by replacing the o-ring on the diptube, cleaned a couple of fermenters that should have been done last week (eew gross I know better than to leave those), and tried a fix on one of my fermonster pressure lids that is no longer holding pressure (silicone was involved). And checked the fedex website about four times to see when my new fermzilla is getting here (Saturday, dammit). Last night tapped the little NEIPA I brewed with HBC586 (it's tasty), been drinking on it tonight. Anything to procrastinate on the housework I should be doing. What's that? A new video from HBFL? BRB.

 

[HM-2]

Kegged my Centennial/Mosaic West Coast DIPA. It's tasting bloody excellent- in hindsight I could probably have gone marginally harder on the bittering, but that's really me nit-picking.

After sampling over a few days, I've decided I'm not 100% happy with the bitterness balance on this one so my "what I do for beer today" will be purging the 12psi CO2 from this so I can add 2ml of isomerised hop extract and 5ml Pacific Northwest extract through a 10ml blunt nose syringe through the PRV port.

That should push the IBU up to more like 80 and hopefully give a bit more pine/resin. Dunno whether it was the Centennial or Mosaic, but now this has chilled to serving temperature it's incredibly lemon forward!

 

[T Murph]

@HM-2 Are you removing the prv to do that, just squirting in the port opening?

 

[HM-2]

@HM-2 Are you removing the prv to do that, just squirting in the port opening?

Remove the PRV but keep a CO2 line connected and set to very low pressure (under 1psi) like I would for doing closed transfer.

 

[T Murph]

Remove the PRV but keep a CO2 line connected and set to very low pressure (under 1psi) like I would for doing closed transfer.

Good idea. And it should work just fine. I was wondering if you were gonna have Co2 slowly purging to prevent air geting in.

 

[seanjwalker1]

Finally a few hours to brew some beer ! About to get it on with my 1st brew since Dec. American Wit , Blue Moon-ish clone.

 

[seanjwalker1]

Had to take a 40 min break to pick up the wife so just rinsed the grains, cleaned the mash tun and left it waiting on the stove in the brew pot with the top on keeping any nasties out. Back home and she's almost at boil temp !

 

[Rish]

Brewed a test batch of the gingerbread brown ale for 12BOC. My wife says it smells like gingerbread so that's a start! We'll see in a month or two.

 

[seatazzz]

One of the things I do love about my new (four months now) job is my start time of 8am; I cannot sleep past 5am, so once I get up, shower/dress, and feed the furbabies (who wake me up at 5am), I still have at least 1.5 hours before I have to leave for work. So I have time to either do some light housework, or more often things in the brewery. This morning I tapped the SNPA clone I brewed on BBD. This is the first beer I've resorted to krausening to get rid of some pretty prevalent acetaldehyde. I didn't take a FG reading after the krausening happened, but I think it at least took it down 8-10 points from the 1.020 it was at after primary was finished. And DAMN it's a good beer! Then after a 10-hour day at work, came home and sanitized/purged/set to chilling the keg I will transfer my first pressure-fermented lager into tomorrow morning. And had some more of that delicious Pale.

 

[mac_1103]

Filled a couple of mini-kegs for a graduation party on Saturday. How is it my responsibility to provide food and beer for the graduation party of someone who is barely more than an acquaintance? Well, if you had a daughter you wouldn't ask.

 

[WestMichiganSteelheader]

I’ve done a fair amount for beer today. I ordered 2 small fermenters for experimental beers before going to work. After work I started brewing 10.5 gallons of golden ale with coriander and juniper. I also put together a yeast starter for the IPA I will brew Saturday or Sunday.

 

[redrocker652002]

I started with a Racer 5, I think it is from the new owner as it tasted different. I am now having my Cascade IPA that I brewed, and I gotta say, I am digging it more than the Racer 5. And I always went to Racer 5 as my go to. So I am pretty pumped. Rock On!!!!!!!

 

[T Murph]

I cleaned the outside of a refurbished Schaffer Sanke keg. I had cleaned the inside prior with PBW and sanitized with StarSan. Since I don't have the type commercial cleaning tap used by the pros I had to rig up a tap and turn the keg upside down to force the last little bit of StarSan out. I connected the Co2 line to the beer side out connection and connected a drain line with a shut off valve to the gas in side. It works well just a PIA.

 

[Cameronl]

I tested my glycol chiller build last night. It works!

It was just temporarily wired to test it out. I'll need to mount the controller and neaten up the wires. Need a little more glycol, too. The jugs are in the cooler for displacement. There's a lot of extra space in there, now I don't need as much glycol.

I found on Amazon an STC-1000 that is in Fahrenheit and only cost $12... it works, but the power and setting buttons are wired backwards; press the S button to turn on and off, power button to get into settings. Eh you get what you pay for. I'll get another Inkbird next time.

 

[seanjwalker1]

Love it when I see anyone refusing to let obstacles get in the way of the need to build, forge ahead , improvise, overcome, adapting, reaching new heights, forging ahead in the great American spirit, latching on to enginu ...ingenew..??? Oh heck, ya done a whale of a job getting er done !! !!!!

 

[seanjwalker1]

Day 2, American Wit chugging away ! The orange and toasted Coriander coming out of the airlock is marvelous !!! I just love a good airlock sniffing moment

 

[T Murph]

@seanjwalker1 I totally agree with your comment about sniffing the smell from the airlock. I just have to do it. Even when using a blow off into a jar of sanitizer, I will pull the line and just breath in that awesome aroma.

 

[SwampFoxBrewer]

Packaged my 1 gallon batch of what was supposed to be a Belgian Singel. First time experimenting with Safale S-33 (marketed as a Belgian yeast), and it is anything but Belgian. Still a tasty beer (maybe a Cream Ale?), so decided to keep it.

I dub this “Belgian Impostor”.

 

[seatazzz]

After a little over 7 years in this hobby, tonight attended my first homebrew club meeting. I'm now officially a member of The Impaling Alers. Had a great time, met some lovely people, tasted some great beers, and the three I brought with me were well received. And got to meet @doug293cz! Looking forward to next month, and the month after that. And the next competition awards ceremony where I will actually have people to sit with, instead of sitting in a corner by myself! Not to mention finally being able to list a club affiliation when I enter comps.

 

[seanjwalker1]

Packaged my 1 gallon batch of what was supposed to be a Belgian Singel. First time experimenting with Safale S-33 (marketed as a Belgian yeast), and it is anything but Belgian. Still a tasty beer (maybe a Cream Ale?), so decided to keep it.

I dub this “Belgian Impostor”.

Yeah. My American Wit Blue Moon clone is an imposter too. Belgian style wit but with American ingredients. But in the end, it taste good so it's ok.

 

[SwampFoxBrewer]

Yeah. My American Wit Blue Moon clone is an imposter too. Belgian style wit but with American ingredients. But in the end, it taste good so it's ok.

“It tastes good so it’s ok.”

More and more this is becoming my motto when brewing

 

[day_trippr]

Saw my ortho surgeon yesterday, had my stitches removed and leg brace tossed, and I'm allowed to start bending my knee again! Brain doesn't want to bend that knee which makes stairs fun but I'm learning to walk again. The timing was excellent as both these batches had reached stable FGs a few days ago ~two weeks post-pitch and now I could get down to their level to get the carboys and fridges configured for a soft-crash before dry hopping...

Cheers!

 

[Wigglebutts Brewery]

Yesterday, Berlinerweisse using the Wildbrew Philly Sour.
This yeast gives a modest sour, nutrient/dextrose should add a bit more tartness…

BIAB no sparge
5g final batch
#3.25 Wheat Pale Malt
#3.25 Pilsner
Mash 152 for 90 min

60 min boil
0.5 oz Hallatauer 10 min
5 oz dextrose 10 min
Yeast nutrient

final SG 1.040

Wildbrew Philly Sour @ 74

in the odd free moments, I was able to keg the Fullers 1897 IPA which produced an incredible yeast cake from WLP002 Fullers. Keg will be conditioned for a couple months as it‘s 100% Chevallier malt. I saved some yeast cake for a bitters next week. Then I moved the AHA brew day nearly nirvana pale ale to cold crash. Club’s (Foam on the Range) competition in a couple weeks for BOS to be entered in Front Range competition. Exchanged a case of full bottles for empties with my retirement successor. Still some equipment to clean this morning..

 

[seatazzz]

Fermzilla from morebeer is apparently stuck in Portland, at least according to fedex tracking. Rats. Had hoped it would be here in time for a brewday this weekend, now it's looking like Monday. So this morning I brewed up another batch of what I'm calling the House Cream Ale; waiting on it to no-chill chill (snork) before I rack it to the keg it will ferment in. The first real pressure-fermented lager I did is in my glass at the moment; it just keeps getting better. I dunno if it will last long enough for the gelatin I added to clear it, it's that good. Clean, crisp, just a tasty lawnmower beer.

 

[bellhp]

Brewing my first batch of a Vienna lager style {kinda} Lawnmower beer I'm gonna call " I just cut a big one" .
It's my second lager , drinking my Marzen which was my first lager and it's real good , happy about that ... reusing the 34/70 slurry from that batch which has been in the fridge chillin'. This will be a low alcohol session beer (3.8%) and my first Jedi brew where I'm not going to check gravity , not going to worry about nuthin' just trusting the process and letting it roll.

 

[T Murph]

Go for it @bellhp I rarely check gravity anymore. OK apparently reviewing records for many years, I've never been 100% on top of it. Bottom line if your beers are good and you are satisfied with them, does gravity really matter?

 

[seanjwalker1]

Saw my ortho surgeon yesterday, had my stitches removed and leg brace tossed, and I'm allowed to start bending my knee again! Brain doesn't want to bend that knee which makes stairs fun but I'm learning to walk again. The timing was excellent as both these batches had reached stable FGs a few days ago ~two weeks post-pitch and now I could get down to their level to get the carboys and fridges configured for a soft-crash before dry hopping...

Cheers!

View attachment 820483

Be careful ! Don't be over confident and have you leg give out and spill all that brew ! Those yeasty beastie have work way too hard !!!

 

[seanjwalker1]

Brewing my first batch of a Vienna lager style {kinda} Lawnmower beer I'm gonna call " I just cut a big one" .
It's my second lager , drinking my Marzen which was my first lager and it's real good , happy about that ... reusing the 34/70 slurry from that batch which has been in the fridge chillin'. This will be a low alcohol session beer (3.8%) and my first Jedi brew where I'm not going to check gravity , not going to worry about nuthin' just trusting the process and letting it roll.

Love it ! Old school ! Though I do usually check my gravities, I believe most folks have gotten away from just brewing beer vs brewing beer in a CDC/MIT laboratory. My motto is Brew it, just do it. Guess I'm among the last of the old world beer slingers. Dying breed. Always tell my wife if I had the money to open a brewery, it would all be made old world style .

 

[bellhp]

Roger that Tmurph and Sean ... I'm 100% in agreement . I'm using the force and seat of the pants for todays brew ... It's not a serious beer anyway . I did test the conversion with some iodine and thats good so ... onward .

 

[bellhp]

My Marzen and my yeasties ... I'm a six pack into this batch and I'm still boiling Wort . Is that bad ? It is Saturday .. and I just got in from sea for a month so I'm giving myself a pass .

 

[JAReeves]

Put up the coir for the hop bines.

 

[HM-2]

Remove the PRV but keep a CO2 line connected and set to very low pressure (under 1psi) like I would for doing closed transfer.

Three days later and I've taken the first updated sample.

Ignore the murk, I've made zero efforts to clear it than the protafloc in the boil.
Isomerised bittering extract has 100% fixed this. In reality, I could have gone even harder (it's about 85 IBU now apparently, probably could be 100). But worlds better. Smells like dank weed and tastes like ripe mango in a sweaty gym sock.

 

[bellhp]

Smells like dank weed and tastes like ripe mango in a sweaty gym sock

mmm ok. is that what you where going for? ... if so yaaaay!

 

[HM-2]

mmm ok. is that what you where going for? ... if so yaaaay!

I wouldn't say I was intentionally and specifically shooting for athletic toe cheese, but it definitely feels to style and is much more pleasant than that description makes it sound.

"Sweaty" seems to be an occasional secondary flavour of Mosaic from certain regions at certain times so I reckon it's probably that, but the extra IBUs really brought it out.

 

[ba-brewer]

I wouldn't say I was intentionally and specifically shooting for athletic toe cheese, but it definitely feels to style and is much more pleasant than that description makes it sound.

"Sweaty" seems to be an occasional secondary flavour of Mosaic from certain regions at certain times so I reckon it's probably that, but the extra IBUs really brought it out.

I know the smell you are talking about from mosaic, does not seem like feet to me but maybe a sweaty t-shirt. Just glad it is not always a thing with mosaic and normally at a low enough level you need to look for it.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Bought some NZ hops yesterday. Must brew with the stock pile I have in the freezer to free up some space. Such problems!

 

[ba-brewer]

Brewed a 2gal batch of American Light Lager, not a style I drink or brew it is to try and close out a BJCP contest section. Brew day went good and the wort tasted good, maybe too good to fit the style guidelines.