Rairdog's Shanks on sale 1.27 $/lb

Ok ...
 
1) Buy the taprite reg, I've already replaced a single-reg in service w/ a taprite one ... they are made to be able to run at the highest pressure w/ a downstream secondary and seem to be happy at 30-40 psi no problem ...
 
2) Get a vial or two of WLP001 (White Labs Cal Ale) and a couple of packets of Safale US-05 Dry Yeast ... they make good beer, ferment clean, and you want some extra yeast around just in case of problems, which happen ...
 
3) Wheebz rec's the Monster Mill for a roller style unit, and when I pull the trigger, I'll be going w/ his rec ...
 
4) Temp-controller for the ferm chamber's pretty essential, I think. I bought one of these: http://www.boostbysmith.com/fermkit.html... honestly, though, I think you can get some inexpensive non-programmable single-stage one's on Amazon for like $35-40 now ... Ranco and Johnson make more durable one's for like $100 ...
 
5) If you are using glass carboys, don't screw w/ the metal handle thing for the neck, get the nylon (or whatever) straps ...
 
6) Perhaps anecdotally, I've had perfect experience w/ barbs on the gas lines for kegging, and only have had trouble w/ flare-connections. I've decided to use semi-permanent installation using barbs/clamps for anything that's always on, and are only using the flare connections for something I'll be doing temporarily (a keg-to-keg transfer and/or the BeerGun) ...
 
7) When the time comes, know about these guys: http://www.stirstarters.com/... cheap, effective, warranteed.
 
More when I think of it ;) ...
 
Ozzy2001 said:
The corona milk works great for me. The IPA I did had over 16lbs of grain so my arm got tired; hence why I need to go get the bolt for my drill. If you have parts to make a mill I'd say go for it. I may eventually make one as well.

That 1332 is the yeast I just ordered to make a clone of Anderson Valleys Oatmeal stout. Sounds like it's pretty versatile.
I haven't done a BIAB yet. GM is the man for that. I've only done extract and AG using a mash tun.

Another cool site is homebrewrtalk. It's a forum and has a lot of categories from recipies to DIY gadgets.
Click to expand...
 
I figured the Corona would get old pretty quick....been down that road with meat grinders.  I have been checking out homebrewtalk. 
 
 
grantmichaels said:
Ok ...
 
1) Buy the taprite reg, I've already replaced a single-reg in service w/ a taprite one ... they are made to be able to run at the highest pressure w/ a downstream secondary and seem to be happy at 30-40 psi no problem ...
 
Do you need a separate gauge for each keg?
 
2) Get a vial or two of WLP001 (White Labs Cal Ale) and a couple of packets of Safale US-05 Dry Yeast ... they make good beer, ferment clean, and you want some extra yeast around just in case of problems, which happen ...
 
Will do...!
 
3) Wheebz rec's the Monster Mill for a roller style unit, and when I pull the trigger, I'll be going w/ his rec ...
 
The Monster is the one I was checking out.
 
4) Temp-controller for the ferm chamber's pretty essential, I think. I bought one of these: http://www.boostbysmith.com/fermkit.html... honestly, though, I think you can get some inexpensive non-programmable single-stage one's on Amazon for like $35-40 now ... Ranco and Johnson make more durable one's for like $100 ...
 
That was one of my concerns.  I didn't know if you were adding a ferment chamber for the FL heat or if my shop would be ok.  It hovers between 60-75 most of the year.  The winter and summer I would keep it in the house between 65 and 75. 
  
5) If you are using glass carboys, don't screw w/ the metal handle thing for the neck, get the nylon (or whatever) straps ...
 
Noted!  
 
6) Perhaps anecdotally, I've had perfect experience w/ barbs on the gas lines for kegging, and only have had trouble w/ flare-connections. I've decided to use semi-permanent installation using barbs/clamps for anything that's always on, and are only using the flare connections for something I'll be doing temporarily (a keg-to-keg transfer and/or the BeerGun) ...
 
I will start of cheap and move up...made a living at kitchens/baths, plumbing water, drain and gas lines.  Not really up on Co2. that much but it will come to me.  I am thinking water/cleaning is a big pain.  I am working on a less moving stuff around easy cleaning plan.  I got plenty of sinks and will run new water lines.  My well water tastes better than most bottled spring water.  Ph is a little high.  When I kit brewed years ago I hated cleaning and bottling.        
 
7) When the time comes, know about these guys: http://www.stirstarters.com/... cheap, effective, warranteed.
 
Already checked them out....if I don't do a Rocketman build.  I think I have all the parts.
 
More when I think of it ;) ...
Click to expand...
 
 
So far I'm $250 in to it.
 
115 for kit which was glass carboy, bottling bucket, fermenting bucket and normal kit stuff
50 wort chiller
40 pale ale brew kit with yeast
45 for 1 gal glass jugs and misc ferm stuff for veggies and Mead
 
Another $250 for keg setup and I'm done for the first couple brews.  Hopefully my brewery buddy will find me a deal on this.  Then it would be add a keg/tap.  I am trying to avoid adding pumps and controllers. 
 
Need is relative. I'll be adding a secondary regulator bank down the line, but the distributor block is working for the time being. I circumnavigated it by adding an extra tank and regulator to be able to force carb using a second (3rd) tank.
 
But yes, you ultimately want to be able to be able to put different styles at different pressures, if you're going after 'the perfect pour' etc etc ...
 
If you love IPA's and are going to just brew a bunch of them, maybe it's not so important ...
 
But the relative carbonation disparity from an double IPA or saison to a Russian imperial is quite distinct imho ... I don't want an overcarbonated stout, that sucks ... same w/ an under-carb'd IPA, I bet ...
 
The pumps and controllers are the complexity-loci of my problems/build, so I understand completely ...
 
I'll eventually want to have the control of milling per batch, and when I do, I'll MM ... until then, I'm ordering milled ...
Oh, and ...
 
The temp-controller for ferm is essential for making good beer.
 
*HUGE* difference in the batches I let swing day to night, versus the one's in the controlled chamber ...
 
Night and day ...
 
You want control of the liquid within a degree, albeit the room can swing a few as water is dense as fuck ...
 
The yeasties get shitty about temp swinging and produce off flavors ...
 
I'm pretty sure any firmly held temp - even if slightly out of range - is better than swinging even with in the range ... to give you some idea ...
 
Whatever Wheebz has said has been right, so if you read ASK WHEEBZ from start to finish, and HigherThisHeat's thread, you can gleam most of what you want to do ...
 
Rocketman has great build threads for DIY gear, and I think you already mentioned it ...
 
The only clear beer I've brewed to date was Wheebz recipe.
 
I'll go a step further to suggest that the beers where he's helped modify recipes I've given him, aren't as good as the one that's just his through and through ...
 
I'm going to be brewing a recipe of his next, and I very much look forward to when it's in a keg to be honest ...
 
Lets get this brew party started.  I have enough bottles for my first 5 gal batch and am waiting for a friend to get me hooked up with some kegs.  If not, I found a good deal on kegconnection.com for 2 kegs, Co2 tank, reg(not dual) and lines pic taps.  Basicallly everything I need to put up 2 kegs for 240.  I would upgrade to dual regs and better taps/connections later.
 
The redneck first brew in progress.  Notice the neck on the tub. It is perfect for 6.5 gal to the neck and no boil over.

 
Muz bag going in for 30 min at 155. 

 
Inverted turkey rack to drain muz bag

 
The boil and DME addition.  No boil over yaa!

 
It took 10 min with wort chiller to go from 212 to 70.  Took another 5 min to get to 65.   Good cool well water!

 
Pitched at 65-66 and put it in a cool spot.  It has stayed between 65 and 70 for a few days here. 

 
I cleaned up the old dorm fridge for either a fermenter or kegerator.  I plan to use it as a kegerator until next summer.   Then it will be converted into a fermentor and I will build a bigger kegerator/keezer.

 
I had to cut out the drink holders.



 
Then I primed and put on some white.  It was all black...I just needed to slow the rust down for a bit.  The freezer section can be bent down to allow for keg height.  Pretty simple fix.  It's not optimal choice but what I had to get started laying around.

 
 
Brew choice for the process was Sierra PA....my old stand by.
 
Awesome. Looks like everything worked nicely ...
 
Got to love having cool groundwater ...
 
The whole thing is so much more straightforward if you can chill from your water source alone!
 
CHEERS!
 
grantmichaels said:
Awesome. Looks like everything worked nicely ...
 
Got to love having cool groundwater ...
 
The whole thing is so much more straightforward if you can chill from your water source alone!
 
CHEERS!
Click to expand...
 
Thanks!
 
I hope my high ph don't bite me.  I have been watching Palmer vids about water.  I know mine has high carbonates....but maybe too much.  It's be 12 years since I brewed and I never brewed with this well water.   But like he says...if your water tastes good the beer will taste good.   You can walk a block uphill from here and their water is high in sulfates and undrinkable.  It has that rotten egg smell and a water softener won't fix it.  From watching you with filters I am paranoid.  I lived in FL for 6 years in Orange Park/Jacksonville and North Miami/Fort Lauderdale.  That water sucked.  I can see you get into and RO and building it back up.
 
Rairdog said:
 
Thanks!
 
I hope my high ph don't bite me.  I have been watching Palmer vids about water.  I know mine has high carbonates....but maybe too much.  It's be 12 years since I brewed and I never brewed with this well water.   But like he says...if your water tastes good the beer will taste good.   You can walk a block uphill from here and their water is high in sulfates and undrinkable.  It has that rotten egg smell and a water softener won't fix it.  From watching you with filters I am paranoid.  I lived in FL for 6 years in Orange Park/Jacksonville and North Miami/Fort Lauderdale.  That water sucked.  I can see you get into and RO and building it back up.
Click to expand...
 
I can see that, too, but it's not at the top of my list by any means ...
 
The filtration I've geared up is for removing the particulates (trub/hops/break) that aren't really well-addressed by the bazooka/spigot setup (screen aperture and height) of my kettle ... they are 150 and 300 micron holes, 2-3x orders of magnitude larger than the kind of filtration you are talking about ...
 
That I have to rely on plate chilling because of the high groundwater temps, also makes better management of crud a preventative measure in terms of contamination of what's essentially a closed-box device that I can't verify sanitation within ...
 
I'm not afraid of the technical side, in the long term, and I hope I'm still as interested when my sensitivities improve to where I could appreciate the differences water modification will bring ...
 
It's about ratios and relative amounts from what I've come across ... more like combinatorics ... than particular quantities or additions.
 
CHEERS!
 
PS - will be looking forward to those 8-16 hr later fermentation pictures ... let's see those bubbles!
 
It got going pretty good around 12 hrs.  I swapped out the 3 piece for a blow off tube into a bucket..seen to many pics of a foam mushroom.  It calmed down and I put the 3 piece back on today.  Had to sneak a quick peek.  There was a nice 1 1/2 in krausen and I shut it up.  It's held between 66-68 since I pitched.  Now its a bubble every 20 sec or so.
 
It never really got that much foam coming out but I had 5 gal in a 6.5 so there was plenty of head space.

 
The fruit flies keep trying to get in.  I read they can carry a contaminating bacteria.  Learned something new...star san kills them.  That's the black specks in the bottome of the bucket.  I keep spraying down the bucket in case one is hiding under the lip of the lid.....like a mosquito at the screen door lol.  I keep reading all the infection threads over on HBT. ...making me paranoid.  Not sure if I want to rack into glass carboy for secondary or straight to keg.
 
Ordered the 2 keg, 2 tap system with a taprite reg. and an air distributer.  Everything I need except Co2 tank.  No since buying a shiny new one and exchanging it so I will get one locally.  I probably should of sprung for the dual body reg. to have different pressure to each keg.  I can add that later fairly easily. 
 
I know I will be in a hurry to try it so I am thinking of force carbing at 30 psi for 30 hrs and drop to 10 psi.  Way too many opinions on the best method.
 
 
 
Rairdog said:
It got going pretty good around 12 hrs.  I swapped out the 3 piece for a blow off tube into a bucket..seen to many pics of a foam mushroom.  It calmed down and I put the 3 piece back on today.  Had to sneak a quick peek.  There was a nice 1 1/2 in krausen and I shut it up.  It's held between 66-68 since I pitched.  Now its a bubble every 20 sec or so.
 
It never really got that much foam coming out but I had 5 gal in a 6.5 so there was plenty of head space.

 
The fruit flies keep trying to get in.  I read they can carry a contaminating bacteria.  Learned something new...star san kills them.  That's the black specks in the bottome of the bucket.  I keep spraying down the bucket in case one is hiding under the lip of the lid.....like a mosquito at the screen door lol.  I keep reading all the infection threads over on HBT. ...making me paranoid.  Not sure if I want to rack into glass carboy for secondary or straight to keg.
 
Ordered the 2 keg, 2 tap system with a taprite reg. and an air distributer.  Everything I need except Co2 tank.  No since buying a shiny new one and exchanging it so I will get one locally.  I probably should of sprung for the dual body reg. to have different pressure to each keg.  I can add that later fairly easily. 
 
I know I will be in a hurry to try it so I am thinking of force carbing at 30 psi for 30 hrs and drop to 10 psi.  Way too many opinions on the best method.
 
 
Click to expand...
 
Sounds like you've got it figured out.
 
I'd add a 3x secondary later. You can then set the pressure on the single regulator to ~30 and put two of the downstream one's at whatever the beer demands, and have a 3rd for a line w/ a flare fitting on the end that you can use for gas services to aid in transferring liquids etc ...
 
.02 ;)
re: HBT - I've mostly avoided it thus far, because there's so many opinions there and that can be troublesome for me in terms of becoming a time sink 'researching' instead of brewing ...
 
Lol yeah, definitely a lot of opposing opinions on HBT. As is with many forums, take what you like and leave the rest. There are so many different methods and equipment that honestly, you just need to figure out what works for YOU, and move forward with it.
At the end of the day, it's pretty simple to brew beer. Try not to overthink it. Even if you make a mistake, you can usually drink it lol.
 
Opened up the bucket to rack to secondary this morning.  Nice kraus.
 

 
I need a siphon clip....got some trub I think.
 

 
Checked the gravity....1014ish.  Tasted really good.  Not that I have tasted much wort.  A little bitter but that should mellow. 
 

 
Took a shower, got dressed and checked shipping status of kegs/taps/reg.....Delivered on front porch
 

 
Cheesin!
 

 
Barely fit in the fit in the dorm fridge.  I have to ratchet strap it anyway to keep it sealed and prevent frost/condensate.
 

 
 
The fridge has a bad thermostat and doesn't want to shut off.  It will drop to 23f turned all the way down.  I need to get an Inkbird Itc 308 or build a Itc 1000 anyway.  Get some Co2...Mo money!!
 
Boom...picked up a 5# Co2 brewed an AG Easy Hefe w/BIAB.  6 lb white wheat, 4 lb 2 row, 1/2 lb carapils and 1 oz tett hop.....done and fermenting.  Didn't take pics...i be busy.  The Hefe is on the right.  Lovin how the PA in the middle looks.
 

 
 
Got to say it was not easy.  I can not get 7.5 gal of water and 10 lb of grain with BIAB in my pot.  I did 5 gal and 2.5 gal sparge at 170.  I need to rethink the process/equip.   
 
 
grantmichaels said:
How's it going?
Click to expand...
 
Tapped and force carbed the Hefe yesterday.  I was pretty good at 6 days.  This morning I put the PDG PA on a slow carb.  It will be 3 weeks next weekend.  It's drinkable now but still green.  Painted an old cabinet for beer fridge.  I also set up an ITC-1000 for temp control.  One outlet for fridge and one for heat pad.  I put in a spare full time outlet for fans and misc. 
 

 
I am planning on brewing Scot's PA  from my LHBS this weekend.  It is a Sierra Navada clone.  It calls for Wyeast 1056 or 1272.  I am going to try the 1332 I save of the last batch (un-washed).   I am not sure of the amount to use off the qt jar.   I will probably grab some Notty for backup.
 

 
I am also building a stir plate this weekend making an extension to my wort chiller.  It was just hose clamps to smooth 3/8 OD copper.  It drips slightly when you lift it by the hose right into the wort so I am adding barbed fittings and the connections will be outside the kettle.
 
 
 
I think the next batch will sit in primary bucket for 3-4 weeks and then straight to keg.  It seems to be the concensus on HBT.
 
I took the slurry from the pic above and made a 1 ltr starter last night.  It must have be pretty cold dormant because I had 2 inches of Krausen in a few hrs.  Here it is in this morning in a 1 gal jug.  I wish I had a pic of high kraus....very nice color and smell.  It seems debatable whether to pitch at high kraus or cold crash, settle, decant and pitch slurry. 
 

 
I split the starter it in half and pitched one into the SNPA today and the other went back in the fridge.  I hit 1.052 OG on this batch which is 75% and pretty good for my setup IMO.  I have to take a pic and zoom to read hydro cause my vision is getting bad lol.
 

 
This was my first slurry salvage and first starter.  Hopefully I'm on track.  Nervously awaiting the bubbling. 
 
 
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