beer =[ GM's 1st 16x Batches, and/or 10 mo. Brewing ]=

grantmichaels

grantmichaels

It only makes sense that I give it a try, finally ...

I don't like very many beers, but I do like the few that I like, truly ...

The thing is, I have no idea what it really is about them that makes me like them - because I really don't know much about brewing, or even beer ...

I already had a CO2 tank, regulator, carbonator cap, strainer, temp probes, and a 23 quart SS double boiler ... from other stuff.

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I picked up a 2 gal SS pot, because I'm planning 1 gal batches for a while, along w/ some misc stuff to setup shop ...

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Friday can't come soon enough - I'm in a hurry to wait.

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My wife is likely to piss herself laughing over shakesbear!!   Congrats on the gear, looking for the inaugural brew post!!!!! I suspect you will soon be shopping for a tap (ooh those perlick look nice) and a shank to drill into that old fridge out the back, and a bigger pot, and well, those second hand soda kegs are cheap as… 
 
Welcome to the addiction! 
 
If you ever have a garage sale I might plan a florida trip..   :P   Hope the Suds work out for ya. 


When I worked in medicine - almost eight years worth of seeing patients - the most common regret expressed was not having done more things that interested them when they were younger ;)
 
grantmichaels said:
When I worked in medicine - almost eight years worth of seeing patients - the most common regret expressed was not having done more things that interested them when they were younger ;)
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When I use to work in a drug and alcohol detox unit, the most common regret expressed by patients was having done to much of the things that interested them when they were younger    :rofl:
 
Look forward to seeing your progress GM. My Dad makes his own brew. He swears by it, and hasn't bought beer in years. Me, I can't even drink free beer............
 
One tip I can offer is to use an aquarium heater to regulate the temperature while fermenting. This only works if the room temperature is lower than the required temperature.
 
 
SR.
 
Very fun stuff. My recommendation would be to make sure that you measure everything correctly. Back in the day when I made my own beer, I had picked up some honey from Hawaii on my honeymoon and I planned to use it as a finisher. Unfortunately, I miscalculated how much to use and I put in double the amount of honey needed for proper carbonation. I ended up with a few cases of beer bombs. I would open the bottle top and beer would spew out of the bottle like an erupting volcano. I have a pic somewhere. I will post it when I find it...
 
Yep, you're done for now. Your going to start with the simple kits and then the imagination kicks in, hum what if I add a Vanilla Bean to this, and it just keeps getting worse or better depending on how you look at it. Either way get ready to enjoy some of the best beer you've ever tasted. Just remember the mantra, sanitation, sanitation, sanitation :) 
 
wheebz said:
Yea grant thats going to be your biggest problem down there in Florida, is regulating your fermentation temperature
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Yeah, looks like a very basic 5 ft^3 chest freezer and STC-1000+ is like ~$300 ... which I can live w/ ...
bpiela said:
Very fun stuff. My recommendation would be to make sure that you measure everything correctly. Back in the day when I made my own beer, I had picked up some honey from Hawaii on my honeymoon and I planned to use it as a finisher. Unfortunately, I miscalculated how much to use and I put in double the amount of honey needed for proper carbonation. I ended up with a few cases of beer bombs. I would open the bottle top and beer would spew out of the bottle like an erupting volcano. I have a pic somewhere. I will post it when I find it...
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Good to know ... I am definitely aware of the need for careful measurement and cleanliness ...
RocketMan said:
Yep, you're done for now. Your going to start with the simple kits and then the imagination kicks in, hum what if I add a Vanilla Bean to this, and it just keeps getting worse or better depending on how you look at it. Either way get ready to enjoy some of the best beer you've ever tasted. Just remember the mantra, sanitation, sanitation, sanitation :)
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Been meaning to scratch this itch for a while ...
 
I ordered some StarSan or whatever it's called, to have in addition to whatever crystalized sanitation stuff is in those BB packets ...
 
So, out of curiosity, I'm trying to figure out what ingredients the kits are ...
 
Oatmeal Stout
 
The grains for the Oatmeal Stout are only described as Malted Barley Blend ...
They don't share the form of yeast ...
They don't share the hops on the package, but they are described elsewhere as being two dumps of Golding Hops ...
They suggest a "cookie" variant can include 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/8 cup of raisins,
They are using maple syrup for bottle conditioning ...
 
Does anyone know whether they are likely talking grade A, or grade B?
 
 
 
Grapefruit Honey Ale
 
Malted Barley and Wheat Blend
Columbus Hops, Centennial Hops, & Chinook Hops
1/4c Honey and Belgian Candi Sugar
3 tsp Honey for bottle conditioning
1 dried grapefruit peel
They don't share the form of yeast ...
 
Anyone know which kind of honey would be best - clover, orange-blosson etc?
 
 
 
Chocolate Maple Porter
 
Malted Barley Blend
Fuggle Hops
3/4c maple sizzurp
They don't share the form of yeast ...
 
 
I can tell there's multiple grains in the bags, but I'm not familiar enough to know what they are ...
 
Just waiting for my time to come, now ...
 
RocketMan said:
build the controller yourself and save some $
 
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/35777-fermentation-chamber-temperature-controller/?p=730070
 
really easy to do and then just plug in whatever fridge/freezer your going to use, put a heating mat or Aquarium heater inside on a shelf and your set.
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This is part of the hobby that I really love, building the temp controller, making a stir plate for your starter with a little computer fan and some magnets, all good fun!
 
Bumper said:
This is part of the hobby that I really love, building the temp controller, making a stir plate for your starter with a little computer fan and some magnets, all good fun!
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It's part of the draw for me ...
 
Garden automation, brew automation ...
 
I'm trying to get myself primed up for some hardware projects, certainly ...
 
grantmichaels said:
 
It's part of the draw for me ...
 
Garden automation, brew automation ...
 
I'm trying to get myself primed up for some hardware projects, certainly ...
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…wife automation... :rofl:
 
I look forward to seeing your 3 vessel HERMS setup with shiny stainless steel on a wheeled frame with brew controller.  
 
Let's see how long you can resist this build
 
http://www.theelectricbrewery.com
 
edit - I am so dead when she reads this  :rofl:  :rofl:
 
Bumper said:
 
…wife automation... :rofl:
 
I look forward to seeing your 3 vessel HERMS setup with shiny stainless steel on a wheeled frame with brew controller.  
 
Let's see how long you can resist this build
 
http://www.theelectricbrewery.com
 
edit - I am so dead when she reads this  :rofl:  :rofl:
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lol.
 
1 gal of beer is next.
 
then another ...
i did add some stuff, though, albeit nothing to get excited over ...
 
a couple of 2 gal buckets/lids
a 3rd 1 gal glass jug
a couple of extra stoppers and airlocks (also useful for my pepper projects)
one more recipe kit for a stout, this time Midwest's, also AG
lactic acid, so i can use tap water in a pinch after an evening of dechlorinating or whatever
a couple of muslin/nylon bags
kindle book on beersmith, and the kindle ed of the JP book
test jar for the el-cheapo hydrometer i ordered from Amz the other day
 
#boring
 
wheebz said:
grant I see you are purchasing all grain stuff
 
do you actually have a mash tun with a false bottom and all that jazz?
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I think they are kind of cheating it w/ a strainer for the BB kit stuff, but I put a couple of possibilities on my wishlist to poke around later once my work, work is taken care of ...
 
I've been trying not to say it, because these two words are a bit incendiary around here ...
 
But I'm definitely considering sanitizing the inside of my sous vide supreme and just hot mashing in to the pre-heated 160F water (which I guess the pre-measured grain packet will bring it down around 154F), and then raising it up to 170F to mash out and pouring it through a strainer a couple of times over (once to make a bed, and once to filter particulates in said bed) into the 2 gal SS pot, and use extra 170F strike water from the cambro w/ the sansaire to sparge the rest of the water over the hot mash or whatever it's called and doing the boil in the 2 gal SS pot ... then bring it down in an ice slurry in the sink, auto-siphon it into a clean fermenter and setup a blow off tube into some sanitizer water and do the evaporative cooling dance in the bathtub ...
 
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