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Galler posted:MoreBeer has a variety of brew sculptures as well. That's what I did - I bought a good-but-inexpensive wirefeed welder and a bunch of angle iron and went to town. Burner heads and regulators from Bayou Classic. I added some wheels later. It's ugly as hell, but it does make beer. Another thing I want very much to do one of these days is sign up for the welding program at the local trade school so I can actually learn to weld well rather than just ugly-but-effective. Check your local adult/trade/vocational school to see if they have a program and what it might cost.
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Aug 14, 2012 05:34
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acmpsu21 posted:Goons, I request your advice. I suppose it makes a big difference whether you meant $2,500 or $25,000, although it sounds like from the rest of the post it was just $2,500. From what I've seen, automated systems like that are going to run way over your budget unless you've got a good five grand sitting around.
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Aug 14, 2012 07:10
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Angry Grimace posted:I suppose it makes a big difference whether you meant $2,500 or $25,000, although it sounds like from the rest of the post it was just $2,500. From what I've seen, automated systems like that are going to run way over your budget unless you've got a good five grand sitting around. Ah didn't notice my typo. Yes, $2,500.
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Aug 14, 2012 11:58
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Zakath posted:The PID has a switching power supply, which will convert the your plug voltage to whatever it requires to operate. You don't have to directly wire the PID to the heating vessel -- the wires going to the heater could come from a separate outlet as long as the hot line (indicated by red in your diagram) goes through the SSR. When your PID tells the relay to close, voila you have current flow! This is really clarifying. I will be using appropriate gauges, I will crimp the poo poo out of the cables and I'll make sure it's properly earthed. I'm too glad being alive and brewing than to die from shoddy DIY electrics. BlueGrot fucked around with this message at 18:32 on Aug 14, 2012 |
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Aug 14, 2012 17:51
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Jo3sh posted:AAUs imply ounces, as they are simply the alpha acid content of the hops you are using, times the weight in ounces. Thanks! This thread is so helpful. What is it about brewers elsewhere that makes them so convoluted? So will my LHBS know what the % of the hops is? Did some research and I noticed that hops come in all different ranges of %
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Aug 14, 2012 23:47
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Les Oeufs posted:Thanks! This thread is so helpful. What is it about brewers elsewhere that makes them so convoluted? Yeah, hops even of the same type will vary depending on the harvest and source. It will be printed on the packet when you buy it (but I read somewhere that the AA% is an assumption of an entire batch's percentage based on a few cones out of a massive bale). In other words, they will know.
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Aug 14, 2012 23:51
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Les Oeufs posted:So will my LHBS know what the % of the hops is? Did some research and I noticed that hops come in all different ranges of % Beaten on this, but yes, your shop will absolutely be able to tell you the alpha acid content of the hops they have (and if they can't, switch shops or buy online). I was just at my FLHBS earlier today, and now I wish I had taken a picture of all their jars of pellets, each labeled with the variety and AA%. But you would also be well served to read up on the hop varieties you are planning to use so that you can get an idea what flavors and aromas you are going to get. Willamette <-> Simcoe is really a pretty unlikely swap, simply because there is so much more to hops than their AA content. Also, while AAUs are a pretty good way to ballpark swaps for bittering additions, it's not a great way to figure aroma additions, so even if you were swapping Simcoe in for Willamette, you probably would not want to scale your later additions by AAU. Jo3sh fucked around with this message at 00:49 on Aug 15, 2012 |
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Aug 15, 2012 00:46
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Apparently, Belgian Ale Yeast II doesn't like to ferment at 78-85°F and shows its displeasure with the situation by producing chlorophenol and imparting a flavor and aroma to your beer similar to what could be obtained by wrapping an old tire in duct tape and setting it on fire. On the other hand, dissolving 28 Campden tablets in 6 cups of hot water and pouring it in seems to have almost completely eliminated the taste and smell. If I still smell or taste anything off tomorrow, I'll hit it with another few tabs and hope for the best. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to pitch new yeast before I bottle because I doubt any microorganisms survived.
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Aug 15, 2012 01:11
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Jo3sh posted:Beaten on this, but yes, your shop will absolutely be able to tell you the alpha acid content of the hops they have (and if they can't, switch shops or buy online). I was just at my FLHBS earlier today, and now I wish I had taken a picture of all their jars of pellets, each labeled with the variety and AA%. You guys were right, they have a whiteboard on the back wall where they keep the %s of their hop stocks written down. I had some leftover pale malt from the last time I made this recipe but I just bought 2 things of amber malt instead of pale by accident. I'm about to teach myself a lesson in flavour differences I guess.
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Aug 15, 2012 01:53
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Has anyone read "A Brewer's Guide to Opening a Nano Brewery" or "Cellarmanship"?
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Aug 15, 2012 03:05
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acmpsu21 posted:Ah didn't notice my typo. Yes, $2,500. Honestly, if I had 2500 just to blow on brewing poo poo I'd get a top tier only because they are the Cadillac of homebrew/pilot systems. Now, if I had 2500. I'd find a guy locally to make me a brutus 10 frame and buy three kegs, find someone to cut them with a laser or some fancy rear end thing, buy a few bayou burners, etc etc and bank the rest. Is all I'm say'n.
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Aug 15, 2012 03:50
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Kaiho posted:Yeah, hops even of the same type will vary depending on the harvest and source. It will be printed on the packet when you buy it (but I read somewhere that the AA% is an assumption of an entire batch's percentage based on a few cones out of a massive bale). There is an episode of Northern Brewer's Brewing TV that shows a hop harvest and how they figure out the numbers. Indeed it is just a few cones that are processed to figure out an "average alpha acid" amount. Of course, its not like they just pull four cones off of one bine and say the entire harvest is ~13% AA.
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Aug 15, 2012 03:52
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Prefect Six posted:Has anyone read "A Brewer's Guide to Opening a Nano Brewery" or "Cellarmanship"? I've read Cellarmanship, it's a great book about learning all things cask-related.
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Aug 15, 2012 04:09
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Sirotan posted:Brewed a Surly Cynic clone I got from NB over the weekend. All sorts of things went wrong but I'm optimistic I've not ruined it as much as when I tried to make a hefeweizen without temp control: Holy poo poo this post made me find out that I can clone Surly at home. I guess this winter will be time for me to learn how to brew beer.
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Aug 15, 2012 04:44
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Yup. NorthernBrewer has collaborated with a few craft breweries to create homebrew versions of their beer. Surly being one of those breweries. It's pretty neat.
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Aug 15, 2012 04:51
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CalvinDooglas posted:Just drank the IPA I brewed 3 weeks ago! 1 and to a lesser extent 3 are just kind of inherent to extract, especially if you scorch it as you mentioned. You can limit the color and body effects a bit a few ways. 1) Use the dry extract, it tends to add less color. 2) Use the lightest extract your homebrew shop sells, and add color through steeping grains. It's easy to adjust your recipe using something like Hopville or BeerSmith. 3) If after the above your beer is still too heavy, next time sub out like 10-20% of the extract by weight (depending on how far it leans toward "too heavy") for plain table sugar. Table sugar ferments 100% and leaves no body behind so this will lighten things up while keeping the alcohol strength constant. I feel like hop character is very dependent on your process, ingredients and equipment. Over time you'll get a feel for how you need to adjust random internet and book recipes to turn out right for how you brew. So maybe note #1 for you is "use more late hops and/or dry hops than called for"  Edit: About the astringency, if there were steeping grains, make sure they never sit above about 165F. Steeping too hot is a great way to get astringent tannins into your brew. Docjowles fucked around with this message at 05:00 on Aug 15, 2012 |
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Aug 15, 2012 04:58
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A FUCKTON OF WEED posted:Holy poo poo this post made me find out that I can clone Surly at home. I guess this winter will be time for me to learn how to brew beer. You don't actually need to buy the recipes from NB, they have the recipes available on their site, although at least one of the kits does have a magic voodoo hop blend to avoid giving out the recipe. The other problem is then that some of the grains they use either require a relatively well-stocked home brew shop and/or you'll have to source relatively obscure ingredients like Golden Naked Oats from an online place. My local place has a ton of reasonably obscure stuff but they aren't carrying GNO (which I like a lot as a secret ingredient, but I don't mill at home yet, so I don't have a lot of it). // In other news, President Obama apparently has home brew at the White House. http://news.yahoo.com/obamas-tap-white-house-home-beer-023924580--finance.html
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Aug 15, 2012 07:44
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Josh Wow posted:I've read Cellarmanship, it's a great book about learning all things cask-related. Is it only about casks or does it talk about storing bottled beer, etc.?
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Aug 15, 2012 13:29
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BlueGrot posted:It did drop, and it's now bottled. Tasted alot better than when I did FG reading. Sampling this now. 8% ABV is quite hefty, and it's a bit fusely, but the bitterness isn't as low as I feared. Barring that, there's no real off taste. Nice head retention, and the caramalt really saved it to make an chance at balancing the booziness. A nice effort and result as my first brew after a long period of not brewing. Recipe: 3kg light DME 0.5kg caramalt 0.5kg rye malt 0.2kg biscuit malt Hopping scheme: 50g cascade 70min 20g cascade 1 min 30g cascade dry hop Safale US-05 yeast. BlueGrot fucked around with this message at 14:01 on Aug 15, 2012 |
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Aug 15, 2012 13:58
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Galler posted:Yup. NorthernBrewer has collaborated with a few craft breweries to create homebrew versions of their beer. Surly being one of those breweries. It's pretty neat. I actually liked my clone of Bender better than the original.
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Aug 15, 2012 14:04
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Which external temp controller do you guys use for controlling the fermentation temp in your freezer/fridges?
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Aug 15, 2012 16:38
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I have a Johnson A419 and really like it a lot. It's also about $40 less than it was when I originally bought it a couple years ago (used to be $85 is now ~$45)
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Aug 15, 2012 16:50
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Maple syrup, unopened. Should I just add it to primary or make a pass at low temp pasteurisation in the bottle it came in to be sure? This is actually an open fermentation because of a bucket lid incompatibility so I am inclined to just add it and figure its the least of my worries. My decision isn't at all influenced by the fact I should add it today but really want to go to the bar after work instead of pasteurising something.
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Aug 15, 2012 18:32
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zedprime posted:Maple syrup, unopened. Should I just add it to primary or make a pass at low temp pasteurisation in the bottle it came in to be sure? Don't they make maple syrup by boiling sap?
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Aug 15, 2012 19:19
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Jo3sh posted:That's what I did - I bought a good-but-inexpensive wirefeed welder and a bunch of angle iron and went to town. Burner heads and regulators from Bayou Classic. I added some wheels later. It's ugly as hell, but it does make beer. 
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Aug 15, 2012 21:54
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Prefect Six posted:Is it only about casks or does it talk about storing bottled beer, etc.? It's only about casks, it's pretty useless to a homebrewer.
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Aug 15, 2012 23:07
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Does anyone know anything about New Zealand hops? I've been loving the new Summit Saga IPA which uses Rakau hops. My local brew store doesn't seem to stock them but they do seem to stock a couple other varieties of NZ hops like Motueka, Pacifica and Wakatu. Anyone know what a good replacement would be?
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Aug 16, 2012 01:53
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Some quick googling seems to suggest flavors of passionfruit and peach - as well as stonefruit (though I'm not sure what that is referring to). Looking at the Summit Sage IPA page it also uses Citra and Centennial which I believe are nice and citrusy in aroma and flavor. Rakau seems to have an AA of over 10%, so maybe something like Summit would be a decent replacement? (I'm kind of surprised that an IPA named Summit doesn't use Summit hops).
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Aug 16, 2012 02:03
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ChiTownEddie posted:Which external temp controller do you guys use for controlling the fermentation temp in your freezer/fridges? Ranco 111000 is pretty popular for keezers/kegerators in general, and is a good solid product for temperature control. Available on ebay for about $45, requires no modification of the actual fridge.
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Aug 16, 2012 03:40
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Will the fusels of my 8% ABV IPA subside after a bit of storage? It's drinkable, but I'd rather it wasn't this fusely.
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Aug 16, 2012 14:48
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BlueGrot posted:Will the fusels of my 8% ABV IPA subside after a bit of storage? It's drinkable, but I'd rather it wasn't this fusely. I think they subside, but so do the hops. Hops first though iirc, so you'll end up with more of a pale sorta.
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Aug 16, 2012 15:20
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Unfortunately fusels never really go away. They might subside slightly with a lot of time, but then as Jacobey said you're aging a beer style that's best very fresh.
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Aug 16, 2012 15:44
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Brewed last night. Took a while but the yeast sitting on the bottom of the fermenter this morning makes me think it was a success. You always hear about people leaving the valve open on their fermenter by accident, and you think of what dopes those people must be, and then you do it. Bit of a sticky mess but didnt lose a lot. Question: Whats the difference between hop flavour, hop aroma? The instructions for this recipe say to add the finishing hops >2 minutes before the boil to add hop flavour, and less than that to add aroma. What would the difference be when I was drinking the final product?
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Aug 16, 2012 15:57
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My Chocolate Milk Stout kit just arrived from NB! I am excited to get this thing brewed up. I know you can dry hop in primary with no problem but what about stuff like Cacao nibs? The directions that come with the kit say to transfer (then again they ALWAYS say to do that), is it better to just toss the nibs in the primary or would I get a more pronounced chocolate flavor from using a secondary? EDIT: also how should I sanitize the nibs? They are sealed however I'm not assuming they are sterile
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Aug 16, 2012 16:00
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Thanks guys. Will chalk this one up to the heat we suddenly got over here. Already have two more brews on primary, and will be making one next week.
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Aug 16, 2012 16:43
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Bad Munki posted:Ranco 111000 is pretty popular for keezers/kegerators in general, and is a good solid product for temperature control. Available on ebay for about $45, requires no modification of the actual fridge. For $45, though, it does require that you source a plug yourself, any advice? I was about to pull the trigger on the digital Johnson unit sold by NB. lazerwolf posted:My Chocolate Milk Stout kit just arrived from NB! I am excited to get this thing brewed up. I know you can dry hop in primary with no problem but what about stuff like Cacao nibs? The directions that come with the kit say to transfer (then again they ALWAYS say to do that), is it better to just toss the nibs in the primary or would I get a more pronounced chocolate flavor from using a secondary? I'm looking forward to these answers too, was planning to buy that kit in my next order.
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Aug 16, 2012 16:47
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I'd like to have some input on my recipes. Writing percentages of malt to avoid issues with metric/imperial. 7% Caramalt 30L 7% Chocolate Malt 14% Munich Malt 71% Maris Otter Pale Mash at 90 minutes 149 (ended up tipping between 149-145 due to poor mash tun insulation) 50g/1.7oz EKG 60 min 31 IBU 25g/0.8oz EKG 30 min 11 IBU 25g/0.8oz EKG 01 min .6 IBU OG post boil 1.080 Yeast White Labs British Ale Fermented for 2 weeks at 68f/20c Aiming at FG of 16, a malty porter/bock style beer. Any input?
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Aug 16, 2012 17:00
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I brewed NB's milk chocolate kit. Delicious. I added the cacao nibs by pouring them directly into the primary after like 5-6days. No sanitization or anything. Ended up with subtle chocolate flavor. Good kit though.
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Aug 16, 2012 17:01
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Splizwarf posted:For $45, though, it does require that you source a plug yourself, any advice? I was about to pull the trigger on the digital Johnson unit sold by NB. Yeah, you've gotta do a very minimal amount of wiring. Do NOT let yourself be scared off by that. It literally involves getting an extension cord, cutting it in half, and fitting the wires into a couple screw terminals. It's a five minute job, there are super clear instructions included, and if you can operate a screw driver and a pair of wire cutters, you have all the knowledge you need. When that is done, you just plug the fridge into the one end of the cord, and the other goes in the wall, and the ranco sits between and acts as a switch to cut power as needed. The probe just goes somewhere inside your fridge. It's nice because reverting the fridge to its original state is literally just "unplug it from the temperature controller." I like to recommend the ranco because they're popular, and well-tested by brewers. I also have personal experience: I have one, a friend of mine has one, and my father actually uses two to control a couple space heaters in his crawlspace during the winter.
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Aug 16, 2012 17:05
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Bad Munki posted:Yeah, you've gotta do a very minimal amount of wiring. Do NOT let yourself be scared off by that. It literally involves getting an extension cord, cutting it in half, and fitting the wires into a couple screw terminals. It's a five minute job, there are super clear instructions included, and if you can operate a screw driver and a pair of wire cutters, you have all the knowledge you need. I am completely comfortable with the work itself but lack of clear well-written instructions is what might me scare off.
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Aug 16, 2012 17:10
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