|
Is the issue (re: distilling) that this forum is public? Because, like, TCC exists, and most of the things people talk about growing/making/consuming there aren't legal.
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2015 16:16
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 29, 2024 10:28 |
|
|
drat is it a good feeling when a starter takes off after only an hour on the stir plate... edit: look at this poo poo go after just an hour 
Scarf fucked around with this message at 18:13 on Aug 17, 2015 |
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2015 17:10
|
|
|
Errant Gin Monks posted:Tomorrow I have to go and get the dunder collected from the still and begin the aging in a bucket. The dunder, I assume from context, being the leftover wash that you didn't distill off. You're going to age this in a bucket? To what end? Does it become the basis for the next wash?
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2015 18:08
|
|
|
Scarf posted:drat is it a good feeling when a starter takes off after only an hour on the stir plate... Nice. I've stopped brewing for the moment because we're trying to sell our condo and move into a house so I miss this stuff, but I loving love starters. Just the idea of my little yeast buddies floating around in that flask turning sugars into alcohol makes me smile. Sometimes I feel like making a starter even when I have no use for one. I'm just compelled to have something fermenting at all times. I can't explain it, I know I'm not the only one.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2015 19:03
|
|
|
It's 85 degrees and I don't have AC. Any tips to keep the temperature down on a beer I brewed yesterday? I used "Vermont Ale" yeast (aka Heady Topper yeast), which suggests 64-68 degrees, then raising to 70 degrees until stable gravity is reached. I placed my better bottle in a 8 gallon bucket and surrounded it with ice, but it had melted within 18 hours. Unfortunately, my keezer isn't an option (it's full).
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2015 19:16
|
|
|
put your fermenter in a big rubber tub/bathtub with cold water and frozen water bottles
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2015 19:28
|
|
|
Bag of Sun Chips posted:Unfortunately, my keezer isn't an option (it's full). Full of kegged beer? You may just have to bail the kegs out for a while. It won't skunk the beer to get warm, despite common lore.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2015 19:41
|
|
|
You can also wrap the fermenter in a towel/shirt partially submerged in the water. It will soak up water and as it evaporates helps keep temperatures down.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2015 20:46
|
|
|
Today was my second all-grain brew day with my cooler mash tun. Today's lessons: Get that stupid locking mechanism off of the cooler's ball valve, and/or make sure the valve is actually closed before you start filling the cooler! I was a little ticked that I was still right around 63% efficiency. But then I remembered that bigger beers tend to do worse, and this was 21 pounds of grain. Are there any rough rules of thumb for how you can expect your efficiency to be impacted as your grain bill gets heavier or lighter?
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2015 21:58
|
|
|
Raised by Hamsters posted:I was a little ticked that I was still right around 63% efficiency. But then I remembered that bigger beers tend to do worse, and this was 21 pounds of grain. Are there any rough rules of thumb for how you can expect your efficiency to be impacted as your grain bill gets heavier or lighter? You kind of know worse case scenario now. It's always better to calculate worst case (getting more grain than you need by adding a pound or two of your base malt) and if you end up with more efficiency, you can always adjust your hop schedule accordingly. I always err on the side of low efficiency with the added benefit of more beer in the case I don't. Also, to fix the efficiency problem, make sure you are giving the grains a good stir during mash. I think you said you built a mash-tun kind of like mine. Make sure that spoon gets in between the CPVC pipes to break up the mash, so the water can get to the grains. Make sure there are no doughballs. Seriously, stir the gently caress out of that grain in the mash and I do the same for my sparge. I'd say I stir at least 2-3 times during mash and 1-2 times during sparge-ish times. I get right around 69-70% efficiency on 1.050-1.060 calculated worts and probably a 67-69% on 1.070+ worts. I don't do anything above 1.075 so I can't help you beyond that. Remember you can always add DME if you are not happy with SG and a lot of people that do big beers (1.080+) go the route of calculating DME as part of their recipe anyways so they aren't spending a gently caress-ton on grain that doesn't convert. LaserWash fucked around with this message at 22:21 on Aug 17, 2015 |
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2015 22:17
|
|
|
Jo3sh posted:The dunder, I assume from context, being the leftover wash that you didn't distill off. You're going to age this in a bucket? To what end? Does it become the basis for the next wash? Almost. Dunder is the word for rum backset, which is the leftover wash in the still after distilling. I can inoculate this with bacteria strains, mostly p. Shermanii (the stuff that makes holes in Swiss cheese) and c. Butyricum (a gut bacteria found in humans) that will create organic acids in the oxygen free environment of the dunder. When added back to the new wash after fermentation starts they will work with the yeast to make ester chains that give you the pineapple, bubble gum, rummy smells and flavors during distillation. It's why saving dunder is so important in rum. It's basically the same as sour mash in bourbon, but using pure bacterial strains we can control the inputs of the ester chains we desire to create. As these bad boys then age in the oak the esterification process completes adding the vanilla, cardamom, caramel and butterscotch flavors and aromas you find in nice old rums. It's loving science!!
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2015 22:23
|
|
|
Errant Gin Monks posted:
Yay science! It's the best. I add DME or LME to any recipe over 1.075 ish. I don't see the point in lower efficiencies when I can hit my numbers without wasting grain or picking up odd flavors. Strong Scotch ales of 1.120+ won't notice the extract, and with the low hop schedule anyway, the only reason to go with mega grain bills is for two beers in one bill and/or a double mash.
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2015 00:16
|
|
|
LaserWash posted:Remember you can always add DME if you are not happy with SG and a lot of people that do big beers (1.080+) go the route of calculating DME as part of their recipe anyways so they aren't spending a gently caress-ton on grain that doesn't convert. Yeah, I actually had supplies on hand to do this this time, so ended up getting the gravity right where I wanted. Just need to actually plan on it next time. Walked down to the basement this morning to check on things. As I was on the steps, thought to myself, "Thats odd, wonder why I can smell the fermentation already."  Oh. Well at least I know it's active! Grabbed a ladle and sanitized it, went to town scooping up and got the lid buttoned back together. Blow off line didn't appear blocked or anything, apparently this was just too fast and too much foam for it to keep up?
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2015 13:21
|
|
|
I put a blowoff tube on everything for the first 3 or 4 days. I've woken up in the morning to too many scenes just like that one.
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2015 13:36
|
|
|
Raised by Hamsters posted:Yeah, I actually had supplies on hand to do this this time, so ended up getting the gravity right where I wanted. Just need to actually plan on it next time. Jesus. What are you brewing and what yeast?
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2015 13:50
|
|
|
It's an imperial black ale, and it's just on Wyeast 1056. I think I was being a bit greedy on my harvest from the kettle, and I've got the bucket too full. e: Oh god, it's trying to explode again. Glad I have the day off to look after this. If I press down on top of the lid it seems to build enough pressure to blast stuff out through the blow off line. If I set a 45 pound weight plate on this thing, do I just create a pressure bomb or do I keep the line moving? Decisions... Raised by Hamsters fucked around with this message at 14:13 on Aug 18, 2015 |
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2015 14:06
|
|
|
I might just leave the top off while it is at high krausen. It is not likely to get infected unless something falls in it. It looks like you're gonna have a hard time keeping that contained otherwise. Just put the lid on it again as soon as it slows down.
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2015 14:41
|
|
|
Errant Gin Monks posted:It's loving science!! That's actually really fascinating. What size barrels do you use, and do you use new ones, or refill old ones? And if you're getting ~1.5L of heart and tail out of a 4 gallon wash, you must have to distill a lot of washes to fill even a five gallon barrel, yes?
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2015 15:20
|
|
|
Raised by Hamsters posted:It's an imperial black ale, and it's just on Wyeast 1056. I think I was being a bit greedy on my harvest from the kettle, and I've got the bucket too full. The guy who got me into homebrewing had this happen once on an IRS. He ended up using a ratchet strap to keep the lid on.
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2015 16:41
|
|
|
Jo3sh posted:That's actually really fascinating. What size barrels do you use, and do you use new ones, or refill old ones? And if you're getting ~1.5L of heart and tail out of a 4 gallon wash, you must have to distill a lot of washes to fill even a five gallon barrel, yes? No barrels yet. We are really just getting started, only been doing it for a few months, so I haven't produced anything I would spend the money on a barrel for. At 300 bucks for a 5 gallon French oak barrel I wouldn't use anything I didn't KNOW was going to be good, Right now we are using infusion spirals.  The dark one is 1 quart of the hearts and tails I liked mixed together to 125 proof and the wood added two days ago (it gets loving dark quick, and is is a little 3/4 inch long piece of the spiral I broke off) The layered one I put the same size spiral in about 5 minutes before I took the photo, that's 950 mL. This is a run of clean hearts that came out at about 160 proof I'm testing by proofing it down to 90 and aging. I'm not sure if it will pick up the flavors I want with the water but it's worth a test. Allegedly it will pick up more vanilla and sugar notes at 90-100 proof than at the 125 (which is bourbon proof strength). I will know in 6 weeks though! Edit: after this we are going to ramp up a bit buy putting together a 15 gallon still. It will allow me to pull 5 gallons of low wines on a stripping run to put through the nice copper finishing still we have for the spirit run, which would net me about 3 gallons of rum. That way I can strip multiple 15 gallon batches to save for a big spirit run. That's when you can really play with the cuts and find all the notes you want by getting 100 little bottles and smelling and tasting them and blending what you want into the final product. Best part is everything you don't want gets tossed in a bottle and added back into the next spirit run. No wasting. I chose to focus on rums since I like them, my buddy is doing whiskey. He gets the hard part of mashing and malting and all that bullshit. All I have to do is dump molasses and sugar into a loving tub and add yeast and dunder. GO RUM!! Errant Gin Monks fucked around with this message at 21:27 on Aug 18, 2015 |
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2015 21:18
|
|
|
I'm shockingly interested. Is there a book you can recommend on the topic? Also, the mash is easy - for whiskey, I would think it would be even easier than for beer, since there's no (as I understand) need to remove the solids. Crush malt, soak in hot water to conversion (~60 minutes), let cool, pitch yeast. Jo3sh fucked around with this message at 01:14 on Aug 19, 2015 |
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 01:12
|
|
|
Anybody know where I can find a reasonably priced (under $300) 10-15 gallon oak barrel? I'm looking for something for sours I brew, but it seems like most cheap barrels are second use whiskey/bourbon barrels.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 03:18
|
|
|
Bag of Sun Chips posted:Anybody know where I can find a reasonably priced (under $300) 10-15 gallon oak barrel? I'm looking for something for sours I brew, but it seems like most cheap barrels are second use whiskey/bourbon barrels. Are you looking for new barrels? I've only seen used ones for reasonable prices. Farmhouse has them used. I think they just discounted them from 150 to 130 +shipping for 10g used oak rum barrels. They get them in from time to time, if you are interested you can get them to email you when they are in stock. Sometimes they sell out fast. They have had rum, bourbon and occasionally wine barrels. Almost always 10g.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 03:27
|
|
|
I've never brewed with whole cone hops, just pellets. But my first year hops plants made cones, so I harvested, but I don't really know if it's enough. About half a sandwich bag each or Northern Brewer and Comet.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 03:59
|
|
|
Mr. Wiggles posted:I've never brewed with whole cone hops, just pellets. But my first year hops plants made cones, so I harvested, but I don't really know if it's enough. About half a sandwich bag each or Northern Brewer and Comet. Almost certainly not likely. Beyond that, you have no idea what the AA on those are. It's pretty hard to do a batch on your own hops unless you're just gambling. I got a cereal bowls of hops from the harvest of my first year plants. It weighed a little over an ounce, which is the equivalent of maybe .2oz of pellet hops. I tossed them in at the end of a boil for some aroma. Also, are you planning on drying them? If not, you should have waited until brew day to harvest them.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 04:07
|
|
|
They're in the deep freeze. Anyway, what's the conversation of pellet hops to cone? Is it constant to what you post above?
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 04:37
|
|
|
Der Penguingott posted:Are you looking for new barrels? I've only seen used ones for reasonable prices. New or Used is fine, I just want something that will go well with your more basic sour. Definitely sign me up for their e-mails - bagofsunchips[at] gmail.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 04:49
|
|
|
Der Penguingott posted:Are you looking for new barrels? I've only seen used ones for reasonable prices. There were some used whisky 5g that came by on HomeBrewFinds, but they're about the same price as the 10g that Farmhouse has. I almost pulled the trigger on it today, but that's because 5g is the right size for me. I'd love to do 10, but I need to start smaller with it still because of space.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 05:12
|
|
|
So. Building and staining the collar for my new keezer wrapped up this afternoon, I bring it home aaand... it's slightly out of square. By about 3/16". If I strap this to something stable and put a bunch of weight on top will it straighten out?
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 07:29
|
|
|
Jo3sh posted:I'm shockingly interested. Is there a book you can recommend on the topic? The Guide to Urban Moonshining by Kings County Distillery is an awesome book to start with. Lots of history on whiskey, the major players, trees of different washes they go with to get their stuff and the practical knowledge they learned going from home distilling to a full on micro distillery. Also you say mashing is easy, and in practice it is. But getting 5-6% from your wash vs my 12-14% is a poo poo load of product differential. After doing a few whiskey runs the first rum run blew our minds with how much high proof liquor was coming off the still and for how long it stayed high. We pulled almost a liter of 160 proof hearts off of 4 gallons and still were able to pull another 750 mL of 125+ and another full liter after that before we dropped into the tails range of under 115 proof. It's ridiculous how much alcohol converts off a sugar/molasses wash. One of the most amusing moments we had was drawing off the fore shots and the beginning of the heads, the first 100 mL that comes out, which contains all the methanol and wood alcohols that can kill you. We threw it in the tube and dropped the alcoholmeter in there and started laughing in disbelief. It was reading 200 proof. Straight 100 percent lethal alcohol. The next 100 mL came out at about 190. When we tasted it (because we just had to) it punched you right in the face. Errant Gin Monks fucked around with this message at 08:02 on Aug 19, 2015 |
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 07:56
|
|
|
Bag of Sun Chips posted:New or Used is fine, I just want something that will go well with your more basic sour. Definitely sign me up for their e-mails - bagofsunchips[at] gmail. Unfortunately I don't work there and can't sign you up! If you go to their website you can sign up on the bottom of the page for the newsletter. Or you can email them at farmhousebarrels [at]gmail. I'm not sure if they have any of the last batch left, but they will definitely let you know when they have more.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 13:00
|
|
|
bengy81 posted:NOT POST YOUR RECIPE FOR DELICIOUS LAMBIC BEERS!!!! 60% pils, 40% raw wheat with a grueling turbid mash. Anything radically different is not a lambic. 
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 15:11
|
|
|
Mr. Wiggles posted:They're in the deep freeze. Anyway, what's the conversation of pellet hops to cone? Is it constant to what you post above? The rule of thumb I've heard is that wet hops have about 5-6x less utilization by weight.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 16:15
|
|
|
Mr. Wiggles posted:They're in the deep freeze. Anyway, what's the conversation of pellet hops to cone? Is it constant to what you post above? Pellet to dry cone (by weight) is effectively the same. There's apparently a slight difference in bitterness utilization between pellet and cone, but it's not much. Fresh (i.e. wet) cones weigh about 5x more than dried cones in water weight, so it's about 5oz wet to 1oz dry. Either dry them and save them if you can vacuum seal them, or just dump them in at flameout.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 17:24
|
|
|
Good advice. Thanks.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 17:29
|
|
|
JawKnee posted:So. Building and staining the collar for my new keezer wrapped up this afternoon, I bring it home aaand... it's slightly out of square. By about 3/16". If I strap this to something stable and put a bunch of weight on top will it straighten out? Do you mean out of square as viewed from the top? Or twisted such that it will not sit flat/ let the lid sit flat on top of it? The first one is easy, the second is too provided that you can actually push on it to get it flat. In those cases, good construction adhesive to the top of the freezer should take care of it just fine, as long as you lock it in place while you cure it. If the collar is heavy enough that you were not planning on gluing it down, this might be a bit more tricky. Out of square from above view should be fixable by trying to push on it a little, but if it's twisted I think you'll have a hard time trying to bend that sort of problem out - it will just spring back over time. Do you still have access to the screw heads that you could make any adjustment that way? Might want to get fancy with some sort of custom weather striping or foam seat to anchor the collar in.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 18:28
|
|
|
I do plan on epoxying it to the freezer, and it is in fact out in both dimensions - slightly twisted, and slightly a trapezoid. The twisted issue I had to deal with on my last keezer - I weighted the 4 corners down with kegs full of water for a day or so then immediately epoxied it to the freezer. Getting the trapezoid back to a rectangle shape is the issue I'm trying to deal with atm. I've currently got it up on one side (so, not positioned how it's going to sit, but sitting on one of it's small faces), strapped to a post that isn't going anywhere, and weighted down on the raised corner with about 40lbs of weight. I'll have to see whether it fixes the problem.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 18:57
|
|
|
mad.radhu posted:yeah, one of these things. Mad, have you had a chance to use this thing yet? Any thoughts?
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 19:03
|
|
|
JawKnee posted:Getting the trapezoid back to a rectangle shape is the issue I'm trying to deal with atm. I've currently got it up on one side (so, not positioned how it's going to sit, but sitting on one of it's small faces), strapped to a post that isn't going anywhere, and weighted down on the raised corner with about 40lbs of weight. I'll have to see whether it fixes the problem. Have a couple quick-grip pump handle type clamps? Or big-ish c clamps? Grab a 2x4 or sturdy scrap wood and attach 2 cleats to it, that will fit just inside the collar when the 2x4 is laid over the top of the two "long" corners. Then you can clamp against the cleats and the over-extended corners to force it into square. This should let you move the collar around while getting the position dialed in and held, and still leave plenty of space for weights to hold in place while gluing. Just make sure the cleats are firmly attached, because you won't have a lot of space or area to secure then with unless you have gigantic clamps handy. Also many of those quick grip clamps can be turned around to spreader mode, so you might have more luck putting the cleats on the outside of the collar and pushing it back to square, rather than pulling from the inside.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 19:31
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 29, 2024 10:28 |
|
|
Raised by Hamsters posted:Have a couple quick-grip pump handle type clamps? Or big-ish c clamps? Grab a 2x4 or sturdy scrap wood and attach 2 cleats to it, that will fit just inside the collar when the 2x4 is laid over the top of the two "long" corners. Then you can clamp against the cleats and the over-extended corners to force it into square. This should let you move the collar around while getting the position dialed in and held, and still leave plenty of space for weights to hold in place while gluing. thanks for the advice, I've managed to get it back to square, hopefully without compromising the integrity of the joins, did hear a pretty ominous amount of creaking but no splits visible. Currently the collar is very heavily weighted down on the drying epoxy (about 200 lbs of weight on it)
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2015 21:38
|
|