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BrianBoitano posted:Any hints for how to clean BIAB bags? I guess a finer crush will help, as the shard-like husks from my last few batches stuck to the nylon like velcro. I ended up cleaning as much as I could by hand (probably 20 minutes) and then throwing it in the laundry by itself. I tried throwing it in with a normal wash but I just ended up with a load of lint caught like fish in the net, and that was only the wash cycle. I like to give mine a quick rinse, then hang out out to dry. When it's dry I flap/hit it a bit and then turn it inside out and do the same again. After a while all the crap is gone and I put it away. It's gotten pretty stained from dark beers but I haven't noticed any problems. I could do it a bit more properly but they're only ~$10 at the lhbs so I really cbf going overboard
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Dec 4, 2013 05:08
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Fluo posted:There is, but its pretty drat expensive only breweries I even heard of using it were wallstreet stock broker types who set up a microbrewery. I thought I read about one of the nearly-macros who started doing that and got some huge amount of extra efficiency It may have been a fevered dream.
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Dec 4, 2013 05:38
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I did 5 gallon batches with BIAB in a 5 gallon cooler for a year or so. I just used the big paint bags from Home Depot, I think they were two for 5 or something along those lines. My efficiency was tied directly to how fine my crush was. If I made my grain into mostly flour, I could get into the high 70's/low 80's. I would drain my mash tun, and then rinse the grains with a gallon or two of water, and then twist the bag tight and let it rest in a wire colander to drain for a while. It was cheap and easy. Only reason I moved away from BIAB is because I was worried about my paint strainer bag splitting or the colander breaking. For cleaning, I would usually rinse the bag out in the sink, and then use a little bit of unscented laundry detergent to handwash them. Question: I have been priming my kegs with sugar, generally about a 1/3 of a cup, then putting 5 lbs of pressure on them to keep them sealed. I usually let them set for 12-15 days before tapping them. I put them on CO2 at 12-15 lbs. and the beer is usually flat for the first week. Should I just stop trying to prime with sugar? Am I doing it wrong? Should I drink more beer to fix this issue? Dead Inside Darwin posted:I thought I read about one of the nearly-macros who started doing that and got some huge amount of extra efficiency Sierra Nevada I think.... or New Belgium
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Dec 4, 2013 06:07
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Dead Inside Darwin posted:I thought I read about one of the nearly-macros who started doing that and got some huge amount of extra efficiency Yeah I read that too, its almost like to lauder tun filters with compressed gas compressing them together near end of sparge or something. But it was really drat expensive, I guess you could do a make your own if you had a compression pump but would need some reenforced stainless steel thick filters or something. Fluo fucked around with this message at 14:55 on Dec 4, 2013 |
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Dec 4, 2013 06:16
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Paladine_PSoT posted:It's encouraged. How about personally dropping off boxes? My santee is close enough that I could just bring my stuff by without going too much out of my way, and I kinda feel like that would be less of a hassle than shipping. At the very least, somebody is going to find a box on their front porch with a note asking about stairs in the house...at the very worst, there'll be some goony drinking...
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Dec 4, 2013 06:20
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BrianBoitano posted:Any hints for how to clean BIAB bags? Let the bag dry and then just shake off of the dry kernels and husks. Swing the bag around or hit it against something and it should all fall away. BlackHattingMachine posted:I've got ten or so pounds of blackberries laying around, anyone got a good recipe to go along with them? I've got a blackberry lambic that's currently aging and it tastes delicious so far. I used this recipe and pitched several bottles of sour dregs that I grew up. http://byo.com/stories/item/975-lambic-brewing
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Dec 4, 2013 06:21
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BLARGHLE posted:How about personally dropping off boxes? My santee is close enough that I could just bring my stuff by without going too much out of my way, and I kinda feel like that would be less of a hassle than shipping. That might be creepy, you never know.
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Dec 4, 2013 07:00
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BlackHattingMachine posted:I've got ten or so pounds of blackberries laying around, anyone got a good recipe to go along with them? My tastes usually run to stouts and sours, but no beer is too scary to attempt. They were (mostly) free, so sunk costs aren't a real big issue. I love blackberry wheats. My wife and I live in blackberry country, and next year we're going to do a blackberry wine.
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Dec 4, 2013 07:01
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) that I can try just about anything.
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Paladine_PSoT posted:That might be creepy, you never know. I'm pretty sure it will be totally creepy, or at the very least somewhat uncomfortable for everyone involved.
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Dec 4, 2013 07:03
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BLARGHLE posted:I'm pretty sure it will be totally creepy, or at the very least somewhat uncomfortable for everyone involved. Eh not if you're not a shut-in Drink with goons, have a good time
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Dec 4, 2013 07:05
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Dead Inside Darwin posted:Eh not if you're not a shut-in I'm far from a shut-in, but I can see where a random dude showing up on the doorstep with a box of beer could be awkward. I'm totally down for drinking with goons as long as whoever finds me in front of their house is also down for it! But, I also know better than to overstay my welcome if things seem weird. On a related topic: god dammit, I need to stop being so busy at work so I can actually bottle some of this stuff I have sitting around! I desperately want to start drinking that ESB, but not quite so badly that I would chug it straight out of the fermenter.
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Dec 4, 2013 07:15
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haha, Personally I'd think it was hilariously awesome. So tomorrow I think I am going to add souring bugs to a beer I've had sitting on fruit for a few weeks...if only because I don't feel like bottling. Also will attempt to brew a mild that needs to be ready in about 10 days (kegged). Should be fun haha. E: Also to my SS, I think I put my office address (my apt is terrible for deliveries) so either ship early or late since it'll be closed over Christmas week.
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Dec 4, 2013 07:22
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Thufir posted:I think there are pro systems that increase efficiency by compressing the mash. I know that Full Sail in Oregon uses one of these. It's called a mash filter. They do it to save water, they say on the tour, and they do, but it also makes a noticeable efficiency difference.
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Dec 4, 2013 08:37
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BlackHattingMachine posted:I've got ten or so pounds of blackberries laying around, anyone got a good recipe to go along with them? My tastes usually run to stouts and sours, but no beer is too scary to attempt. They were (mostly) free, so sunk costs aren't a real big issue. I did a 1 gallon experimental that I've been meaning to do a big batch of. I'm at work so I can't check my recipe log for exact numbers but here's what I remember: 80% pils, 20% carapils Light hopping, something unobtrusive 100% Brett B for yeast Add blackberries and cardamom once fermentation is settled down a bit (or chuck em in right away, that's what I did). Age around 4 months. I think I did a pound of blackberries with a teaspoon of cardamom for the 1 gallon batch. I got pods from the homebrew store and picked the seeds out, I want to say its green cardamom. Anyway, it makes a nice simple sour and tastes pretty great, I wish I had done a full batch of it. For a while it was a rather beautiful purple color, but eventually turned grayish and finally a beautiful orangy-yellow.
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Dec 4, 2013 14:14
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Fluo posted:There is, but its pretty drat expensive only breweries I even heard of using it were wallstreet stock broker types who set up a microbrewery. Yeah, a new local brewery here has one and that's exactly what they are.
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Dec 4, 2013 14:24
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BrianBoitano posted:Any hints for how to clean BIAB bags? I guess a finer crush will help, as the shard-like husks from my last few batches stuck to the nylon like velcro. I ended up cleaning as much as I could by hand (probably 20 minutes) and then throwing it in the laundry by itself. I tried throwing it in with a normal wash but I just ended up with a load of lint caught like fish in the net, and that was only the wash cycle.
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Dec 4, 2013 16:58
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Thanks for all the cleaning tips! I can't believe I didn't think to dry it out first. I think I'll do quick rinse, dry, shake, then top rack dishwasher. Should be better than laundry machine!
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Dec 4, 2013 17:19
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Many thanks to whoever made that detailed decoction post earlier in this thread. I saved the text from your post and rocked a 14 hour triple decoction brew day which I'm sure I can get down to ten hours next time due to several fixable problems I ran into. I'm brewing the exact same recipe soon with the exact same fermentation schedule but single infusion for the sole reason of tasting both side by side. I'll report back with results when these beasts finish lagering.
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Dec 4, 2013 17:43
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What does flaked maize add to a beer? Also does it need to be mashed? I am modifying a recipe for a mild that has 12oz of it, but I am lazy today and don't feel like doing any sort of mini-mash. Can I just drop it, or would steeping it do something? Alternatives?
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Dec 4, 2013 18:47
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ChiTownEddie posted:What does flaked maize add to a beer? Also does it need to be mashed?
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Dec 4, 2013 19:00
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more falafel please posted:I did this one: http://www.hoptomology.com/2012/02/06/how-to-build-your-own-temperature-controller-box/ Thanks. I borrowed a dremel from work but I'm a klutz apparently and couldn't figure out how to cut clean holes in my project box and it looks like poo poo now. I'm gonna go get a 3 gang electrical box and wire it up in there to minimize the cutting I have to do.
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Dec 4, 2013 19:03
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internet celebrity posted:Do you squeeze your grain bag? Get some kind of grate (I use a baking cooling rack) and rest your bag on top like this when you start lautering. Get some kind of protection for your hands and squeeze the piss out of it until you can't get another drop to come out. Then start your sparge. This is what I do. Pull my grain bag out of the kettle, set a heavy duty roasting rack over the kettle, put the grain bag on top and (with gloves) use the lid of my kettle to compress the bag down. I also pour ~1.5 gallons of just boiled water over it to bring my water levels up.
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Dec 4, 2013 19:18
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zedprime posted:Replace with an equivalent amount of corn sugar on a gravity basis. This isn't very good advice, flaked corn adds a slight sweet corny flavor to the beer and adds a little bit of slickness to the mouthfeel. Corn sugar will just boost your gravity and thin out the beer without adding any real flavor or mouthfeel contributions. To answer the original question you need to mash flaked corn, you can't just steep it.
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Dec 4, 2013 21:14
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What's a good length of time to give a starter? I'm actually using one for a bigger beer for the first time in what feels like forever. It's been bubbling away since last night and I'm hoping to brew this evening. I'm good, right? I know there was some conventional wisdom of 1-2 days, but I also seem to recall the girls from White Labs on the session talking about how most people don't give their starters nearly enough time. For reference, I think I'm shooting for around 1.08ish (I don't have it handy atm) and using US-05
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Dec 4, 2013 22:22
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ChickenArise posted:What's a good length of time to give a starter? I'm actually using one for a bigger beer for the first time in what feels like forever. It's been bubbling away since last night and I'm hoping to brew this evening. I'm good, right? I know there was some conventional wisdom of 1-2 days, but I also seem to recall the girls from White Labs on the session talking about how most people don't give their starters nearly enough time. For reference, I think I'm shooting for around 1.08ish (I don't have it handy atm) and using US-05 I've heard you want to pitch at high krausen, which, on my stir plate, seems to happen in 18 hours or so. That said, I've pitched at 48 hours several times with no problems. I tend to do one day per step, so 24 hours for a simple one step starter, 48 or 72 if I'm stepping it up.
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Dec 4, 2013 22:42
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Reproduction in starters is over in the first 18-36 hours. If you only have that much time and don't mind pitching the whole thing, go for it. Otherwise give it a full week to fully ferment out and flocculate, cold crash, pour off the beer, and pitch just the yeast.
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Dec 4, 2013 23:27
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fullroundaction posted:Reproduction in starters is over in the first 18-36 hours. If you only have that much time and don't mind pitching the whole thing, go for it. Otherwise give it a full week to fully ferment out and flocculate, cold crash, pour off the beer, and pitch just the yeast. White Labs says that maximum cell density is reached in 12-18 hours. Obviously this is going to be different if you do something that shocks the yeast, but most of the time most of us pitch into warmer starters than the vial is.
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Dec 5, 2013 00:24
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Chris White (who founded WhiteLabs) says 12 to 36 in the book "Yeast" he cowrote with Jamil. I'm not being snarky it just so happened to be right next to me. But you're right, most starters will be done in that time. I was just accounting for non-optimal conditions.
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Dec 5, 2013 00:55
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ChickenArise posted:What's a good length of time to give a starter? I'm actually using one for a bigger beer for the first time in what feels like forever. It's been bubbling away since last night and I'm hoping to brew this evening. I'm good, right? I know there was some conventional wisdom of 1-2 days, but I also seem to recall the girls from White Labs on the session talking about how most people don't give their starters nearly enough time. For reference, I think I'm shooting for around 1.08ish (I don't have it handy atm) and using US-05 With dry yeast it's usually cheaper/easier to just pitch 1.5-2 packs of yeast rather than making a starter.
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Dec 5, 2013 01:49
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So my beer has been fermenting 3 weeks today, should I be bottling it now? How long before bad stuff starts to happen?
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Dec 5, 2013 02:06
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Sistergodiva posted:So my beer has been fermenting 3 weeks today, should I be bottling it now? How long before bad stuff starts to happen? if your fermenter is airtight leaving it for a while will not be a problem, although if your beer has quite a bit of late-boil hop additions you may lose some aroma/flavor the longer it ages. 3 weeks should be more than enough time for fermentation to finish, so yes you probably can bottle though I'm sure the collective advice would be to be stringent about checking that it is done fermenting totally by checking the gravity ovee the next two days.
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Dec 5, 2013 02:10
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It's probably - almost certainly - ready to bottle now, but the way to know for sure is to take two hydrometer readings a day or two apart. if the gravity is about where you expect it and not changing, bottle it. As long as it's a clean ferment and the airlock doesn't dry out, though, there's no harm in letting it rest in the fermenter anywhere from a couple more weeks to a couple more months, depending on the beer, temperature, etc., etc. In short, you could probably bottle it today, or you could wait a while. Relax and do it when you're ready.
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Dec 5, 2013 02:12
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JawKnee posted:if your fermenter is airtight leaving it for a while will not be a problem, although if your beer has quite a bit of late-boil hop additions you may lose some aroma/flavor the longer it ages. 3 weeks should be more than enough time for fermentation to finish, so yes you probably can bottle though I'm sure the collective advice would be to be stringent about checking that it is done fermenting totally by checking the gravity ovee the next two days. Thanks. Yes it's airtight. It's still bubbling but very rarely. To measure og, should i siphon some of it into something and use the glass stick, or just stick it in the fermenter? How important is coldcrashing it? Thinking about getting a second bucket to siphon it to before I bottle it, but having no car it's kind of a pain in the rear end to bring one home on the subway.
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Dec 5, 2013 02:15
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Sistergodiva posted:Thanks. Yes it's airtight. It's still bubbling but very rarely. To measure og, should i siphon some of it into something and use the glass stick, or just stick it in the fermenter? You don't stick it into the fermenter. I use one of these things but other types of instruments or containers will work. You'll generally want something pretty narrow so you aren't taking something like a 12oz sample out of the batch. The way the one I linked to works is that it's stuck into the fementer to the bottom. The little valve at the bottom lets it fill up with the beer and then taking it back out closes the valve again. Drop/spin in the hydrometer and check gravity. The bonus is you then get to taste the sample of (uncarbonated) beer to see how it's coming along.
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Dec 5, 2013 02:28
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Sistergodiva posted:Thanks. Yes it's airtight. It's still bubbling but very rarely. To measure og, should i siphon some of it into something and use the glass stick, or just stick it in the fermenter? A second bucket to bottle from is a good idea so you can siphon the beer off the trub and yeast at the bottom of the secondary before bottling. Cold crashing is nice to do if you have the time and ability, but just letting everything settle on its own works fine. Remember that when it's done bottle conditioning and you put them in the fridge, the bottles will settle again at that point (since you're effectively cold crashing each bottle).
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Dec 5, 2013 02:44
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Thanks for the replies. I made some lazy timewasting mistakes while brewing (it's almost like i didn't just do this yesterday and brew an intentionally dumbed-down recipe today  ) and the starter timing will be perfect as a result.
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Dec 5, 2013 05:05
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Sistergodiva posted:Thanks. Yes it's airtight. It's still bubbling but very rarely. To measure og, should i siphon some of it into something and use the glass stick, or just stick it in the fermenter? As others have said a second bucket is all but mandatory. If you can't get one from a LHBS then just get one online, there's still deals going I imagine and they're pretty cheap. As for cold crashing, I really like to do it because in my experience it helps with clarification and it's really not hard to do, especially in this weather (if you're in a colder area, anyway). If putting it outside for a bit is not an option then don't sweat it, but I find it's a good thing.
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Dec 5, 2013 15:26
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Sistergodiva posted:Thanks. Yes it's airtight. It's still bubbling but very rarely. To measure og, should i siphon some of it into something and use the glass stick, or just stick it in the fermenter? To get readings out of the carboy/bucket, I just sanitize a turkey baster and suck some out with that. If you don't have a graduated cylindr or anything to put the sample into, you can just use the plastic tube the hydrometer came in, assuming it's sealed on one end(one of my replacements had caps on both ends, so it wouldn't hold any kind of liquid). And if you're already siphoning from one place to another, then yeah, siphoning a little into whatever you're using to hold samples works just fine.
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Dec 5, 2013 18:53
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My beer seemed to ferment really quickly. Should I leave it in the secondary, or bottle it this weekend? I got an IPA recipe from my LHBS. The recipe said the starting gravity would be about 1.055 to 1.064, and the final gravity would be about 1.010 to 1.020. Well my starting gravity was 1.054 and after 4 days in my basement, it was 1.009. I have no idea why it fermented so quickly. My basement fluctuates a little bit between 67 and 73 degrees, so maybe it was just a touch too warm? Anyway, a couple nights ago I transferred it to a secondary and Dry Hopped it... but I'm wondering if I should bottle it this weekend (that will be 5 days in the secondary with the hops) or leave it in the secondary fermenter for another week. Since the beer seems like it's done fermenting, I'm not sure which place would be better for the beer to sit during that time. Any opinions on the matter?
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Dec 5, 2013 20:59
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Think I can (with kegging) have a 3% Mild ready to drink in 8-9 days? Im sure it could use more maturation time, but it'd probably be fine, right?
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Dec 5, 2013 21:02
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