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

[RocketMan]

Dude, that makes me want to brew another batch of my Fig Pudding Porter!

 

[grantmichaels]

Dude, that makes me want to brew another batch of my Fig Pudding Porter!


I'm pureeing the rest and adding it to the stout today, as a matter of fact ...

About to enter all the numbers for the kit into Beersmith, for tweaks and shit ...

Using two bags of ice for today, as I'd like to get my wort under 70F ...

Inline oxygen today, too, as long as I've got the right size hose and clamps to make the connection ...

Going balls out!

CHEERS!

PS - How did you sanitize?

 

[JoynersHotPeppers]

Mad Scientist! 

 

[RocketMan]

I'm pureeing the rest and adding it to the stout today, as a matter of fact ...

About to enter all the numbers for the kit into Beersmith, for tweaks and shit ...

Using two bags of ice for today, as I'd like to get my wort under 70F ...

Inline oxygen today, too, as long as I've got the right size hose and clamps to make the connection ...

Going balls out!

CHEERS!

PS - How did you sanitize?

 
When I first started I used plain, unscented bleach. It's been a standard in the food industry since forever. Then I switched to iodophor and have used it for everything including my hot sauce ferments. Thus my question to wheebz about being able to use Provodine Iodine. According to everything I've read online they're basically the same thing with Iodophor being a little stronger at 1.5 instead of 1.0. That can be accounted for in the percent you use to water for a gallon mixed. 

 

[grantmichaels]

We used to mix that stuff to varied strengths for surgery ... back in the day.

 

[RocketMan]

Everything you read about it where others have talked about using Provodine Iodine they keep arguing that it's for external use only. Well by the time your ready to use your equipment it should have drained and evaporated and shouldn't be any problems. So if I'm out by the time of my next brew or ferment I'm going to give it a shot. Still prefer to use the actual stuff, it's cheaper at for Iodophor at my LHBS anyways.
 
Oh, those books look good, are they about brewing or just about the beers?

 

[grantmichaels]

Everything you read about it where others have talked about using Provodine Iodine they keep arguing that it's for external use only. Well by the time your ready to use your equipment it should have drained and evaporated and shouldn't be any problems. So if I'm out by the time of my next brew or ferment I'm going to give it a shot. Still prefer to use the actual stuff, it's cheaper at for Iodophor at my LHBS anyways.
 
Oh, those books look good, are they about brewing or just about the beers?

 
I'd be mildly embarrassed by my arsenal of cleaner/sanitizer if it wasn't so fucking important!
 
The small paperback, now parked on my toilet's tank, has information about brewery design and helpful charts etc for brewing the style. I also have a couple of Kindle books on the style, or at least one that comes to mind off hand ...
 
The hardcover is primarily tasting notes and collected ingredient information where available ... and well, the pictures ...
 
I bought it to be an index of sorts, and will look to create recipes by going to Wheebz, and then the Internet (BrewToad, Beersmith Cloud etc) ...
 
There's A LOT more stout out there than one would realize, and the book is up to date (within like 1-2 years) ...
 
There's 100's of beers I'd love to try in it ...
 
It really is my beer of choice, and I'm going to focus on it going forward.

 

[RocketMan]

Stouts, Porters and Dark beers in general have always been my favorites. In Germany we stopped at this one bar that had a Tripple Bach that was nothing short of spiritual it was so good. It was really thick too.

 

[grantmichaels]

I'm cooking an adjunct, tinkering w/ the ratios in Beersmith, and am about to weigh out the grist ...
 
That thing where you decide not to brew the kit, or use the recipe any longer, and just cannibalize the ingredients to brew what sounds good ... that.

Stouts, Porters and Dark beers in general have always been my favorites. In Germany we stopped at this one bar that had a Tripple Bach that was nothing short of spiritual it was so good. It was really thick too.

 
That's how I like 'em.

This one's going to smell excellent.

 

[grantmichaels]

So ... worked off a shit-load of technical debt tonight, but had to postpone brewing once more, as it got too late, and problems happened (popped the ac/dc converter for the recirc pump ... a little water managed to get into the enclosure I guess, because it popped a bit, got hot, and some condensation formed outside near the seam =/ ...

No worries, I have a back-up pump, and two back-up ac/dc plug things ...

It was just the last straw.

I have the figs getting happy in a vag bag w/ some barrel-aged rum (it's got a bourbon vibe) ...

I got the pasteurization bath water ready ...

But, it didn't get dunked tonight, it's in the fridge ...

I had some fun w/ the grist ...

I knew things were going to be interesting when I poured in 10 lb 2-row, and my basket was largely occupied ...

This could be problematic, but ...

Off the script ... uhm ... shit, I need more flaked oats ...

Uhm ...

Uhm ...

Phwew.

I hope I can brew it as is, I might be smoking the crack rock (I submitted the recipe to Wheebz) ...

I got a little too inspired ...

Here's the thing, I also needed to rebuild my rig a bit ... pics in a min ...

So, anyways ...

Grist is in the kettle tonight, waiting for morning ...

I needed to add oxygenation to my wort recirc chain ...

It was hard to figure this one out, and this picture says it all ...

fml.

i got pretty frustrated, but then the magic happened!

BOOM!

Modularity based on a brass garden-hose-to-barb connector ...

$.

I made a new high-temp line, with a quick-disconnect end, as well as a barb-to-garden-hose end ...

The garden hose end connects to the faucet to bring groundwater to the plate chiller from 212F down to like 100F ...

After that, I plan to just unhook it from the faucet, and hook it up to a pond pump sucking ice water from a 13 gal garbage can ...

This way, I have the large temperature differential required to pull 100F wort down nice and low ...

And for my small-batch endeavors on the stove-top, I've got the immersion chiller setup w/ a similar barb-to-garden-hose connector (and, critically, same size tubing now) to connect to the faucet ...

I'll be able to wort-chill one-gallon batches by taking the brunt of the high heat off using the immersion chiller, and then by filling the sink w/ ice slurry or ice-packs until it's down to pitching temp ...

So, nirvana, parity of the connections, no stupid reducing connectors or other hackish shite ...

I still needed oxygenation, though ...

And this confused the shit out of me, again ...

The resolution came when I realized my package w/ the 1/2" NPT threaded couplers and the 1/2" NPT-to-quick-disconnect parts isn't here ...

You can see how I'll use those, with that 3-way ball-valve, to add the in-line oxygenation coming off the manual thermometer I've recently to the wort-recirc chain ...

So, if the recipe I made gets approval, I can brew in the AM ...

And here's what I still need to figure out, eventually ...

I need to get the connectors required to get from the 1/2" int-diam silicone hose's quick-disconnect down to the 1/4" or 3/8" barbs for the schmegma filter which will be inline after the oxygenation, on the way to the fermenter ...

I'll be able to order those couplers and have them for next weekend, anyways ...

The other two items of technical debt are:
1) I need to figure out tubing/connection of the BeerGun,
2) I need to figure out tubing/connection of the CO2 distributor block

And then there's the carboy and keg washing, too ...

And this where I sing the bday song ...

A little something para mi ...

I shouldn't have, lol ...

That's what's up, yo ...

CHEERS!

 

[Ozzy2001]

Man that's a lot of work. Lol you sure don't make things easy on yourself do you

 

[grantmichaels]

Man that's a lot of work. Lol you sure don't make things easy on yourself do you

 
I really don't ...
 
I am absolutely NOT the model to follow for casual homebrewing ...
 
That said, Wheebz recipe for the most recent beer I brewed, was similar and tasted better than 1/2 of the bottles of Saison Dupont I've had.
 
It's incredible.
 
The Chocolate Maple Porter tastes like Ten Fidy, just a little bit less syrupy ...
 
Honestly, homebrew is so good.
 
It's a lot of work, but the beer is awesome.
 
In fact, I'm on my last kitchen for today, and when I'm done, it's ON!

 

[Ozzy2001]

Nice brotha! Can't wait to see the next one. I'm similar to you a little. When I get a new hobby I usually jump in head first. Not as extreme as you, but that's because I have 3 kids and they aren't cheap lol.

 

[grantmichaels]

I just started paying for brewing, truth be told. I put most of it on credit. This time of year coming up, though, I'll work 60-90 hrs EVERY week except Thanskgiving and Christmas, which will pay it off ...

I hear you, though - kids are expensive as fuck!

Our animals cost a fortune (three dogs, two cats), even ...

So ... here we go ...

Overnight freeze to obliterate the cells, and provide some killing of baddies ...

Into the bath ...

140F for now, probably take 'em up to 170F during the second half of the boil, in a few hours ...

Finished up my build ...

I needed these ...

So, I've added an analog thermometer, an three-way ball-valve (adjusting flow adjusts output temp), and inline oxygenation ...

First, the thermometer ...

Ahhh ... I gotta say, I love me some 304 ...

Measure twice, cut once ... lol.

oxygenation ... check.

Flow control, for temp control ...

Blue-ribbon overkill, right there ...

Still ... BOOM!

 

[JoynersHotPeppers]

Go Go Gadget!

 

[Ozzy2001]

Go Go Gadget!

Lol the real question is if he has a neice named Wendy. I think that was her name.

 

[tctenten]

Not sure which one of you brew threads it was, but you posted a link to a self contained brewing system...maybe that would have been easier. It is interesting watching you build your own.

 

[grantmichaels]

i think it might be like $2.5k though, if i recall?

i complain, but, the beer is great ...

it's hobby bullshit ... same shit w/ music production, photography, and electronics (drones) ...

i hate aspects of growing, programming, brewing, and cooking etc =)

might be a hater, lol ...

 

[tctenten]

If it was that much, then yes I would have to agree with do-it-yourself. I find that the end product usually makes all the bullshit along the way worth it.

 

[grantmichaels]

Not fun trying to take a picture of the inside of a refractometer, lol ...

But I got it ...

And then I calibrated it w/ distilled water ...

Now I can check gravity using drops of beer - like at the end of the mash ...

Also deploying a pH meter ...

And verification ...

Strike water at 160F ...

Fucking barely ...

2 quarts are retained for after the grains are pulled, a tiny "partial" if you will ...

I like to watch the tubes darken ...

Because I love stouts, lol ...

Rum and figs ... getting all happy in the sous vide ...

Hope the recipe works, lol ...

CHEERS!