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Paladine_PSoT posted:3-piece airlocks or s-locks? Blowof hose / 3-piece (I find it is less likely to run dry) if I filled the demijohn up past a point or I know its going to be a crazy ferment, everything else s-locks for me. 
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Nov 23, 2013 04:58
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If you have a cat then 3 piece airlocks turn into 2 or 1 piece airlocks very quickly.
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Nov 23, 2013 05:10
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While I like the 3 piece option because you can plug it in and run the blowoff from the stem of the 3 piece, then switch over to a regular 3 piece arrangement when it's calmed down, I have never actually successfully done that because no matter how well I lube up the stem/tubing it always sticks and I end up cracking the plastic when I try to pull off the tubing.
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Nov 23, 2013 07:13
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Double batch tonight! 40lbs of honey turned into 11 gallons of base must. After primary I'll be putting half in a carboy on oranges with some lemon and half on some tart cherries. EDIT FOR MY OWN USE: OG 1.129 Paladine_PSoT fucked around with this message at 11:40 on Nov 23, 2013 |
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Nov 23, 2013 08:12
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fullroundaction posted:If you have a cat then 3 piece airlocks turn into 2 or 1 piece airlocks very quickly. I have 5 cats and I've never had them gently caress with one, actually. (note: do not get 5 cats)
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Nov 23, 2013 09:14
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Angry Grimace posted:I have 5 cats and I've never had them gently caress with one, actually. I have 3. One is psychotic and pushing 19 years old. 5 would be a nightmare.
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Nov 23, 2013 10:04
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Paladine_PSoT posted:I have 3. One is psychotic and pushing 19 years old. 5 would be a nightmare. My wife won't stop. She just picks them up of the street. Literally.
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Nov 23, 2013 11:00
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3-piece seems to me more able to prevent water/alcohol from being sucked into the carboy in the event of a temp drop. 1 piece are prettier to look at and seem to let more gas escape since the pressure doesn't have to lift a plastic piece AND water.
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Nov 23, 2013 13:30
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I used the S-style back when I first started, but found them too hard to clean, so I switched to the three-piece. I seem to recall that the s ones were a more reliable gauge of whether fermentation was still going on or not though...maybe I should pick some up for my secondaries. Anyone have any advice on removing labels from bottles? I had forgotten how much of a pain in the rear end it was, so now I have like 60 that need the labels removed, and I really don't remember how I used to do it. I'm just going to go back to buying bottles by the case after this...or kegging...I MISS KEGS!!!!!!!!!!!
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Nov 23, 2013 14:00
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BLARGHLE posted:
Mix up a big bucket of PBW/Oxyclean and soak overnight. I've found that the really glossy type labels never come off cleanly so skip those and go for bottles with more papery ones.
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Nov 23, 2013 14:24
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Thufir posted:Mix up a big bucket of PBW/Oxyclean and soak overnight. I've found that the really glossy type labels never come off cleanly so skip those and go for bottles with more papery ones. Yeah, I've already found that Redhook and a few others are much easier to de-label than the Williamsburg Alewerks or Harvest, and I definitely remembered not to bother with Sam Adams. I had just been soaking them in some random cleaner stuff, but I have tons of oxyclean laying around, so I'll do that. In the past I had a group of people to work on this for me while I did other things! Now it's all just me, and I have no time for anything...I need to find myself another helper or something.
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Nov 23, 2013 15:19
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With hot Oxy and most paper/glue labels, overnight is way overkill, 15 minutes will do usually.
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Nov 23, 2013 17:14
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more falafel please posted:With hot Oxy and most paper/glue labels, overnight is way overkill, 15 minutes will do usually. I don't even use oxy clean, I just soak them in the sink for a few minutes in hot water then peel and scrub the glue off. Takes me a few minutes
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Nov 23, 2013 20:53
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The secret to getting some really stubborn labels off is to just peel them in one huge piece. Alpine labels will come off if you just pull a side off and then slowly pull it across. You can then attach the label to your beer fridge 
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Nov 23, 2013 21:35
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If I remember correctly, Sam Adams bottles peel really easy.
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Nov 23, 2013 22:11
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I just soak in pbw for like 4 days and everything comes off super cleanly eventually
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Nov 23, 2013 22:22
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ChickenArise posted:I put my first bottle-carbed bottle from my first batch of lambic (brewed early Sept. 2012) into the fridge this morning. Here's hoping that 13 days was enough to carbonate, because I've only got 9 bottles of this right now. It is not enough. It is only enough time for more weird brett off flavors that had previously aged out to somehow resurface.
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Nov 23, 2013 23:27
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Charlie P had a thing in the Homebrewers companion about cleaning bottles. Just soak them in bleach water for however long, peel labels, rinse them out and put some foil over the tops to keep them from getting dusty in storage. I have done this a few times in a clean bathtub, and it seems to work pretty well. It's nice to have clean bottles ready for sanitizing on bottling day.
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Nov 24, 2013 03:18
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Just tested all of my fermenting beers, only to find that they're all higher gravity that I had hoped. In fact, my apple pie cider has somehow gotten denser since it got stuck and restarted! It's been three weeks since I pitched more yeast and restarted fermentation, and it's now apparently .5% lower alcohol than it was...what the gently caress...I guess the heat being off until yesterday(and basement temp dropping to upper 40s/lower 50s, and then back up to 60s, and back down, and so on and so forth) kinda hosed everything up. On the up-side, my brown ale tastes really good, if still a little sweet, and my ESB should be about ready to bottle. I'm just tired of having this batch of cider using up valuable fermenting space...it's been going since the middle of september! Blargh...now that the heat is on and the temp is stable again, maybe I'll try another big starter to get things finished off...come on, 20%!  Oh, and the applejack turned out...well, not like awful garbage, which is really better than I was expecting. It did manage to leave a lot of the horribleness of the original batches behind, but would probably benefit from some aging that didn't involve random mason jars(or at least without me opening and pouring drinks from them periodically). I'm definitely going to convert more of this garbage-cider in the near future, and try to be more diligent about proper aging. Edit: Also, I did finally get around to getting the labels off a bunch of bottles this evening, and the oxyclean soak really made things easier. BLARGHLE fucked around with this message at 06:18 on Nov 24, 2013 |
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Nov 24, 2013 06:15
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My latest Tripel recipe appears to have finished at 1.000 despite my best efforts (mashing high, measuring my slurry, keeping fermentation temps cool and stable). 3787 you 3rd generation bastard! Tastes pretty awesome, even young, hot, and flat (edit: holy poo poo did I just write that?). I'll be using this recipe again in the future with some spice/fruit, Karmeliet style. http://brewtoad.com/recipes/tripel-125 fullroundaction fucked around with this message at 19:19 on Nov 24, 2013 |
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Nov 24, 2013 19:17
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Well it appears 24 pounds of grain is just about the maximum you can fit in a 10 gallon cooler.  I had to mash in a bit thick even; 1.1 lb/qt.
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Nov 24, 2013 23:32
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That jibes with my experience also - I top out at about 35-6 pounds in my 15-gallon tun. Speaking of which, I need to get brewing again now that the recent term is over. I think first up will be a Belma XPA just because.
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Nov 25, 2013 00:03
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As cold as it was I brewed today: vienna/munich/oatmeal base split two different ways (dutch castle oud bruin?/dark saison w/ brett on currants), and an hibiscus metheglin. A bunch of other stuff fermenting right now... primary: sour with ECY20, farmhouse ale/saison w/ brett secondary: sour cider, imperial oud bruin, wit, saison noel I think I'm tapped out now until 2014, I have no available vessels and won't be able to keg this much beer for a loooong time.
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Nov 25, 2013 02:55
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BLARGHLE posted:Just tested all of my fermenting beers, only to find that they're all higher gravity that I had hoped. You just have to make sure you are measuring at 60f all the time and/or adjusting for temperature differences. As well as your hydrometer is reading accurately. hellfaucet posted:I think I'm tapped out now until 2014, I have no available vessels and won't be able to keg this much beer for a loooong time. Don't lie to yourself. Also, give me your beers, my face requires them. Brew day Tuesday - thinking of doing v2 of my 'house' beer. Tempted to do splits (again) this time doing 1gal as a braggot, and another with ~2#s of pomegranate. Thoughts?
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Nov 25, 2013 03:47
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Angry Grimace posted:Well it appears 24 pounds of grain is just about the maximum you can fit in a 10 gallon cooler. Yep, that's pretty much spot on.  On a completely unrelated note, I am brewing nothing but doppelbocks from now on. The one I brewed back in September is finally starting to come together and dear lord it is incredible (despite getting the worst efficiency I've ever gotten). I can't stop smelling my empty glass.
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Nov 25, 2013 04:00
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I put that much grain in because I assumed I'd take an efficiency hit. I'm not really sure whether I did or not. I used my better bottle for the first time, but I'm like 90% sure I have closer to 6 gallons of beer than 5. The estimated OG was 1.110, but I didn't really think I would get there, but 1.092 seemed a shade less efficient than even I was expecting. Obviously not a tremendous deal.
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Nov 25, 2013 09:45
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Angry Grimace posted:I put that much grain in because I assumed I'd take an efficiency hit. I'm not really sure whether I did or not. I used my better bottle for the first time, but I'm like 90% sure I have closer to 6 gallons of beer than 5. The estimated OG was 1.110, but I didn't really think I would get there, but 1.092 seemed a shade less efficient than even I was expecting. Obviously not a tremendous deal. You actually hit your gravity - 6 gallons of 1.096 beer is 1.115 beer if you'd boiled down to 5 gallons!
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Nov 25, 2013 10:15
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Jacobey000 posted:You just have to make sure you are measuring at 60f all the time and/or adjusting for temperature differences. As well as your hydrometer is reading accurately. Yeah, I'm adjusting for temperature...don't really know how to figure out if my hydrometer is accurate other than sticking it in some water, but our tap water is very sedimenty, so that might throw off measurements as well. What would be the best way to do a starter for something that is already so high in alcohol? My girlfriend just picked up a bunch of brown and white sugar for making pies, and I was thinking I might commandeer some of that to try to replicate the conditions in the fermenter...or maybe I'll just let it continue to slowly putter along for another month or whatever before saying gently caress it and bottling as is...
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Nov 25, 2013 15:16
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BLARGHLE posted:What would be the best way to do a starter for something that is already so high in alcohol? My girlfriend just picked up a bunch of brown and white sugar for making pies, and I was thinking I might commandeer some of that to try to replicate the conditions in the fermenter...or maybe I'll just let it continue to slowly putter along for another month or whatever before saying gently caress it and bottling as is... Definitely don't use sugar for your starters (ever). Your goal with a starter is to create a ton of fresh, healthy yeasties that are ready to devour wort-sugars. Feeding them simple/processed sugars only prepares them to eat simple/processed sugars and since they lack vital nutrients you won't be creating an ideal environment for reproduction. TLDR keep your starters malt only and around 1.040 OG. Win your highgrav wars with massive cell quantity. fullroundaction fucked around with this message at 16:27 on Nov 25, 2013 |
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Nov 25, 2013 16:24
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fullroundaction posted:Definitely don't use sugar for your starters (ever). Your goal with a starter is to create a ton of fresh, healthy yeasties that are ready to devour wort-sugars. Feeding them simple/processed sugars only prepares them to eat simple/processed sugars and since they lack vital nutrients you won't be creating an ideal environment for reproduction. Well, since it's a cider full of simple/processed sugars, I don't see how preparing them to eat simple/processed sugars would be such a bad thing. When doing starters for ciders I've always just used apple juice and yeast nutrient, no malt anything. Is there any way to get a large enough cell quantity to make a difference without diluting the hell out of what is already in the fermenter? Although I seem to recall the straight apple juice being like 1.050 or something, so what I'd be adding would be right around the current gravity of the cider...but then how would that affect my measurements? I'd obviously be diluting the alcohol content by putting in a bunch of extra partially-fermented juice, but it might still read the same on the hydrometer, and my readings might already be hosed up from my last attempt at restarting it, and  Maybe I'm over-thinking this and should just leave it alone and let it ferment out as much as it will on its own. BLARGHLE fucked around with this message at 17:51 on Nov 25, 2013 |
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Nov 25, 2013 17:44
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So. My mead came out FANTASTIC. Had a few friends over and everyone really enjoyed it. We only drank half of the gallon though because they brought 4 bottles of wine as well. A Good Night. My cider though....well, it tasted completely non-alcoholic, but it had a yeast cake on the bottom. I can't find my loving hydrometer so I can't measure it.
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Nov 25, 2013 17:56
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Reminder! Homebrew secret santa signups close on Thanksgiving!
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Nov 25, 2013 18:37
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Son of a dog turd I was at the HBS and forgot to nab something for the SS. which would sound really bad out of context.
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Nov 25, 2013 18:41
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I'm really looking forward to this year's SS. Last year's gift opened me up to the wonders of Belgians and introduced me to HBC 342.
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Nov 25, 2013 18:43
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Refractometer question: My refractometer reads 1.003 on my tap water and 1.000 on water I collected off the top of the lid of a pot (that's like distilled water right). Which one do I calibrate it to if I'm using the tap water to brew?
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Nov 25, 2013 18:48
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I hope I don't disappoint in the secret santa I also finally am trying my half cider half honey wheat beer based on the recipe from Basic Brewing. Mmmmmm so drinkable, so apple-y.
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Nov 25, 2013 18:58
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BLARGHLE posted:Well, since it's a cider full of simple/processed sugars, I don't see how preparing them to eat simple/processed sugars would be such a bad thing. When doing starters for ciders I've always just used apple juice and yeast nutrient, no malt anything. I wasn't aware of the context of your post, but either way don't do that for the reasons I listed (this is not an opinion, and I mean that nicely) 
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Nov 25, 2013 19:16
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BLARGHLE posted:Anyone have any advice on removing labels from bottles? I had forgotten how much of a pain in the rear end it was, so now I have like 60 that need the labels removed, and I really don't remember how I used to do it. I'm just going to go back to buying bottles by the case after this...or kegging...I MISS KEGS!!!!!!!!!!!
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Nov 25, 2013 20:01
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BLARGHLE posted:Anyone have any advice on removing labels from bottles? I had forgotten how much of a pain in the rear end it was, so now I have like 60 that need the labels removed, and I really don't remember how I used to do it. I'm just going to go back to buying bottles by the case after this...or kegging...I MISS KEGS!!!!!!!!!!! Soak in water with oxy, scrub with steel wool?
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Nov 25, 2013 20:07
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Syrinxx posted:Deschutes makes the easiest-removing labels I have found. They come off in just a hot water soak and if you add a bit of oxyclean you are home free. Also their bottles are a bit thicker, I weighed them and found they weigh more than Sierra Nevada and some other bottles. Also you get the benefit of drinking awesome beer from Deschutes, such as Red Chair, while you are collecting bottles. I can't recommend these enough. Deschutes labels practically fall off, the bottles have no brand-identifying stamps or molded in processes, and the older bottles had a nice ring of hop vines at the base of the neck. Plus as mentioned previously, you get to drink deschutes beer to get empty bottles! I prefer Chainbreaker, personally, but to each their own.
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Nov 25, 2013 20:08
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