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

Life's gotten really bunched up lately, being so busy with work this time of year, and really - for all intents and purposed - I haven't been able to do ANYTHING but brew in my free time ...
 
I find at this point, that I miss some other activities that I also enjoy, like BBQ (and WFO pizza) ... and going outside to fly the drones on the nice days! ...
 
Since I came to the realization that I'd rather focus on porters and stouts than brew a lot of different styles, I made the decision to increase the scope of the wort I produce on brew day ...
 
Whereas I usually have to do things the hard way to have my preference, this type of beer really lends itself nicely to this - as varied and complex hopping schedules are largely unimportant ...
 
- http://amzn.com/B003B7USOM
- http://amzn.com/B000VXKJJ8
- http://amzn.com/B000G36KIM
- http://www.brewinabag.com/collections/frontpage/products/copy-of-the-brew-bag-a-mash-tun-filter-for-coolers-rectangular
 
Now I can do full 10 gallon batches outside, or do a pair of divided batches inside, on brew day ...
 
Brew day will probably be the same length of time, actually, and I'll only really need to schedule one every 4-6 weeks ...
 
 
 
I think Danielle will be happy with this too, and I like the idea of having taken corrective action on my own before she had a chance to complain =)
 
 
 
grantmichaels said:
 
I think Danielle will be happy with this too, and I like the idea of having taken corrective action on my own before she had a chance to complain =)
Click to expand...
Nice additions to your brew equipment. With a batch that size, make sure you like what you will be brewing.


You have given me a ton of good advice....so I feel the need to pass some along to you. It must be the name...they never stop complaining.......
 
Absolutely, you don't want more than 2.5-3 gallons of a beer, IMO ...

I'm happy w/ having the majority of my kegs as 3's ... but I wanted to leverage a bigger mash tun straight away ...

CHEERS!
 
Good choices.  I plan on getting a 15 gal SS.  I already have a couple coolers.
 
Are you planning on punching holes in the kettle?  I really like the Spike Kettles.  It would be worth it to me to spend an extra 100 bucks for their nice welded couplers. 
 
http://spikebrewing.com/collections/20-gallon-stainless-kettles/products/20gal-v3
 
Do you plan to drain kettle strike water to cooler for mash and pump back up to kettle for boil?
 
That cooler is probably overkill for keeping mash temp.  Do you plan on switching out the plastic drain with a SS?  If you use a compression type with gaskets I would be worried the thicker insulation might not be rigid enough.  IDK....I would want to look at the drain on the cooler before figuring out how to swap it out unless there is someone else that has had proven success.
 
Rairdog said:
Good choices.  I plan on getting a 15 gal SS.  I already have a couple coolers.
 
Are you planning on punching holes in the kettle?  I really like the Spike Kettles.  It would be worth it to me to spend an extra 100 bucks for their nice welded couplers. 
 
http://spikebrewing.com/collections/20-gallon-stainless-kettles/products/20gal-v3
 
Do you plan to drain kettle strike water to cooler for mash and pump back up to kettle for boil?
 
That cooler is probably overkill for keeping mash temp.  Do you plan on switching out the plastic drain with a SS?  If you use a compression type with gaskets I would be worried the thicker insulation might not be rigid enough.  IDK....I would want to look at the drain on the cooler before figuring out how to swap it out unless there is someone else that has had proven success.
Click to expand...
 
I looked at those, and they seem cool ...
 
In my case, I have all of the hardware and stepping bits (from Weber kettle modification), so adding the plain kettle made the most sense to me this time, to leverage what I've already paid for ...
 
I have a beautiful 3-piece unused, so I'll use it:
http://brausupply.com/collections/plumbing/products/3-piece-ball-valve-stainless-steel-1-2
 
I wanted very much to not be working at the capacity limits of my vessels going forward ...
 
The cooler was a steal, and I was going to be having my bag cut to fit anyways, so I went w/ the tall-boy:
http://amzn.com/B000G36KIM
 
For $46, with free shipping for being a Prime member, it was less expensive than the 70 qt:
http://amzn.com/B000G64I1A
 
Credit where due, I mostly leveraged Marshall's Brulosophy work:
http://brulosophy.com/methods/diy-cooler-mlt/
http://brulosophy.com/2015/06/17/brew-in-a-bag-in-a-cooler-reviewing-the-brew-bags-mlt-filter/
 
As for the burner (KAB6):
http://amzn.com/B003B7USOM
 
It's only $15 more than the popular KAB4:
http://amzn.com/B0009JXYQY
 
I bought it out of fear of collapse, in truth ... the KAB6 is rated to support the weight of 162 qt stock pots, filled presumably, so I just felt that $15 was justified out of self-interest ...
 
Also, I think it provides 3" additional height, which is probably nice ... it also provides a cooking area for up 22" diameter pots ...
 
I tend to work in flip-flop's, and I have often thought about what happens when something fails (silicone hose) and there's 10-12 gallons of boiling water ... and that's not pretty. That's the kind of thing you want to happen outside, where it can run off the slab and into the earth ... not into your melamine cabinetry =/ ...
 
On the kettle I went with:
http://amzn.com/B000VXKJJ8
 
I wanted a larger diameter, rather than a taller design ... this one's just under 19" in diameter, and only 17" tall ...
 
It's also 18-gauge instead of 20-gauge, but more importantly, it has no internal collars or places where it's been made more narrow etc for false bottoms or baskets ...
 
I don't know if it has a tri-ply bottom or not, to help w/ even heating/scorching, but that's the beauty of Amazon - I can return it without any difficulty, or cost incurred as a customer - unlike the rest of the homebrew shops, where I'd get hit w/ shipping to return it =) ... love Amazon.
 
Anyways, that's the reasoning behind the choices ...
 
I think the total cost was like $300-325 ... I'll fully recoup that in two brew sessions, in terms of saved time - and this is the time of year where time is the most valuable to me =)
 
I can see myself smoking some brisket and friends on the grills, while brewing ... we'll see!
 
CHEERS! :cheers:
 
@WHEEBZ - other folks have ?'s going in your thread and I don't want to bury them, so I'm going to ask a ? in here this time ...
 
I know you like WLP940 ... how do you think it would perform in these scenarios:
 
1) room-temp, no over-pressure (like saison yeast) ...
2) room-temp, delayed/ramping pressure (commercial light lager treatment) ...
3) ale-temp chambered, no over-pressure (like I do ale yeast, 65-70F across all types, I guess) ...
4) ale-temp chambered, delayed/ramping over-pressure ...
 
I have room for a single water-capturing spunding keg in my ferm chamber, so at any given time I can have one of my three batches setup w/ over-pressure, and I'm interested in playing with this - if not just to be something interesting that I'm doing, to talk about ...
 
I've been testing some stuff on JayT's batch in preparation for this ... and have been thinking about this a lot, but posting very little ...
 
I want to make excellent beer. Sadly, I am only interested in making excellent beer. I don't drink beer that isn't excellent, so making it presents some problems. I figure that I have to make an excellent beer 1/3 of the times I brew a full batch (and let's have the batch size for this discussion be 10-12 gallons of wort), to be able to primarily drink my homebrew and not have to buy too much beer ...
 
I feel fortunate that I like saison and P/S (porter stout), and both seem pretty convertible in "secondary" ...
 
I feel like I can explore the citrus-y hops and the techniques IPA brewer's use, on saison beer. I got the impression you were cautioning me that it has to be done specifically or deliberately, but you didn't elaborate and I haven't been able to find much information on this. I'm either going to go w/ stuff from Drew Beechum (anothe of those beer-geek style brewer's) or you on trying to run split batch experiments on saisons ...
 
If you feel like sharing, cool, otherwise he's pretty passionate about saisons, and a bit of rebel, and I'll probably try the stuff he espouses in Experimental Homebrewing and his AHA article:
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/attachments/0000/2499/MJzym08_Saisons.pdf
 
Do any of those recipes stand out? ... I was thinking the Saison d'Hiver or Saison d'Hiver Infernal sounded like a nice beer to make w/ some WLP566 that I have on hand ...
 
Do you think the "test recipe" from this article would be a good one to use for my wanting to experiment w/ different hopping of saisons:
http://www.maltosefalcons.com/tech/guide-saisons-and-saison-yeasts
Saison Experimentale
For 5.5 gallons ...
 
Malt/Grain/Sugar
85% Pilsner Malt
10% White Table Sugar
 5% Flaked Wheat
 
Mash 
149F for 60 minutes
 
With so little going on, and nowhere to hide, I think I'll source a good pilsner malt, even if it costs a little bit more ...
 
I plan to look into this, but if you have strong feelings, let me know and I'll start there =) ... I think I used floor malted bohemian from weyermann last time ... i think there's a bunch ... rahr's premium, german avangard etc ...
 
I am also a little bit curious what your predictions would be for:
 
WLP090
WLP099
WLP810
WLP862
 
... in terms of the two combinations of both temp profiles, like above, with the combinatorics of ale-temp vs room-temp, delayed/ramping pressure-ferm vs not ...
 
Just trying to figure what I can do without venturing away from 67F or room-temp for ferm temp's, is all ...
 
I understand lager yeasts are more alike than different, so I want to have a single lager yeast, and maybe a couple of ale yeasts, and the WLP566 ...
 
I'm going to force the beers I make through those two ferm temp's (67F and 74F) and accept the freedom in constraint of doing so, so I'm curious what your really think the best things I can do there, given my druthers, are ...
 
I know you can tell I'm angling towards trying some room temp stout action with one of those 4x yeasts up there ... and yes, I'm curious what room temp S-05 (and maybe S-04?) throw off, and if a little pressure can keep it at bay ... sure, I would like that to work, I admit it freely! ...
 
From all this ... what's not going to work, so I don't bother wasting time ... everyone's time, lol ...
 
I'm going to assume based on previous grunts and groans re: sulfur that you think a stout grain bill fermented with saison yeast would be superior to one fermented with lager yeast under pressure? ...
 
This is all of the ASK WHEEBZ ?'s I haven't been able to ask because I've been working so much, but that I have been thinking about ...
 
grantmichaels said:
@WHEEBZ - other folks have ?'s going in your thread and I don't want to bury them, so I'm going to ask a ? in here this time ...
 
I know you like WLP940 ... how do you think it would perform in these scenarios:
 
1) room-temp, no over-pressure (like saison yeast) ...
2) room-temp, delayed/ramping pressure (commercial light lager treatment) ...
3) ale-temp chambered, no over-pressure (like I do ale yeast, 65-70F across all types, I guess) ...
4) ale-temp chambered, delayed/ramping over-pressure ...
 
I have room for a single water-capturing spunding keg in my ferm chamber, so at any given time I can have one of my three batches setup w/ over-pressure, and I'm interested in playing with this - if not just to be something interesting that I'm doing, to talk about ...
 
there is no point in using a lager yeast if you are just going to ferment it warm. Thats why they are lager yeasts, because they are purposely used to ferment clean neutral beer at low temps, so if you arent going low temp, i.e. 55 degrees at the WARMEST for primary, then there is no point in using it, and you are better off using an american ale strain, you will get unwanted esters from lager yeast at warmer temperatures for primary. You could try fermenting it at 65 degrees and under pressure, but as far as how much pressure, I have no idea, ive never done that, as its super dangerous when you have 20,000 dollar fermenters under pressure ready to explode
 
 
 
I've been testing some stuff on JayT's batch in preparation for this ... and have been thinking about this a lot, but posting very little ...
 
I want to make excellent beer. Sadly, I am only interested in making excellent beer. I don't drink beer that isn't excellent, so making it presents some problems. I figure that I have to make an excellent beer 1/3 of the times I brew a full batch (and let's have the batch size for this discussion be 10-12 gallons of wort), to be able to primarily drink my homebrew and not have to buy too much beer ...
 
I feel fortunate that I like saison and P/S (porter stout), and both seem pretty convertible in "secondary" ...
 
I feel like I can explore the citrus-y hops and the techniques IPA brewer's use, on saison beer. I got the impression you were cautioning me that it has to be done specifically or deliberately, but you didn't elaborate and I haven't been able to find much information on this. I'm either going to go w/ stuff from Drew Beechum (anothe of those beer-geek style brewer's) or you on trying to run split batch experiments on saisons ...
 
If you feel like sharing, cool, otherwise he's pretty passionate about saisons, and a bit of rebel, and I'll probably try the stuff he espouses in Experimental Homebrewing and his AHA article:
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/attachments/0000/2499/MJzym08_Saisons.pdf
 
Do any of those recipes stand out? ... I was thinking the Saison d'Hiver or Saison d'Hiver Infernal sounded like a nice beer to make w/ some WLP566 that I have on hand ...
Actually they all look like your standard saison recipes. I have done a lot of late addition and dry hopping of saisons, and if you are doing anything dry hopped, utilize them in a much smaller portion than you would a pale ale or an IPA, as they should be delicate not overwhelming.
 
 
Do you think the "test recipe" from this article would be a good one to use for my wanting to experiment w/ different hopping of saisons:
http://www.maltosefalcons.com/tech/guide-saisons-and-saison-yeasts
Saison Experimentale
For 5.5 gallons ...
 
Malt/Grain/Sugar
85% Pilsner Malt
10% White Table Sugar
 5% Flaked Wheat
 
Mash 
149F for 60 minutes
 
With so little going on, and nowhere to hide, I think I'll source a good pilsner malt, even if it costs a little bit more ...
 
I plan to look into this, but if you have strong feelings, let me know and I'll start there =) ... I think I used floor malted bohemian from weyermann last time ... i think there's a bunch ... rahr's premium, german avangard etc ...
 
I am also a little bit curious what your predictions would be for:
 
WLP090
WLP099
WLP810
WLP862
 
... in terms of the two combinations of both temp profiles, like above, with the combinatorics of ale-temp vs room-temp, delayed/ramping pressure-ferm vs not ...
 
Just trying to figure what I can do without venturing away from 67F or room-temp for ferm temp's, is all ...
 
I understand lager yeasts are more alike than different, so I want to have a single lager yeast, and maybe a couple of ale yeasts, and the WLP566 ...
 
I'm going to force the beers I make through those two ferm temp's (67F and 74F) and accept the freedom in constraint of doing so, so I'm curious what your really think the best things I can do there, given my druthers, are ...
 
I know you can tell I'm angling towards trying some room temp stout action with one of those 4x yeasts up there ... and yes, I'm curious what room temp S-05 (and maybe S-04?) throw off, and if a little pressure can keep it at bay ... sure, I would like that to work, I admit it freely! ...
 
From all this ... what's not going to work, so I don't bother wasting time ... everyone's time, lol ...
 
I'm going to assume based on previous grunts and groans re: sulfur that you think a stout grain bill fermented with saison yeast would be superior to one fermented with lager yeast under pressure? ...
 
This is all of the ASK WHEEBZ ?'s I haven't been able to ask because I've been working so much, but that I have been thinking about ...
 
I am really not sure what the questions are that you are trying to ask.
 
I have never done any fermentations under pressure, I only know of them in theory, so I cant give you any personal experience on them.
 
If you want an estery beer, ferment it higher, and reduce pressure, if you want a neutral beer, ferment it lower, and increase pressure, thats really the basics of it. I can't tell you what each yeast strain is going to do under pressure, because I do not know. You also have to realize that the recommended fermentation temps of yeast strains are there for a reason. That is where they best perform to accomplish the tasting notes you selected that yeast strain for. If you want a certain yeast strain to produce different notes than what the manufacturers tell you its going to, just simply choose a strain that gives you those flavors instead.
Click to expand...
 
I just looked back and figured it out from the ASK WHEEBZ thread ...
 
I had been thinking you had beer under pressure in the attic at WR, setup by an assistant from SABMiller or whatever ...
 
I conflated two things you told me around the same time ... but it now seems one thing was about saisons, and the other was about room-temp lagering ...
 
nah, the guy that they hired to replace me (and then fired after 3 months), said he worked for SAB miller, which we found out was a complete lie, and he fermented lagers at room temp under pressure, which we also found out was a lie
 
wheebz said:
nah, the guy that they hired to replace me (and then fired after 3 months), said he worked for SAB miller, which we found out was a complete lie, and he fermented lagers at room temp under pressure, which we also found out was a lie
Click to expand...
 
Just fired a woman who turned in a totally bogus resume to get hired ...
 
I told my boss it was going to be BS when I saw how she tried to compartmentalize/control the interview ...
 
I had a feeling right from the start, as she did the whole "I'm awesome and I work here and do everything for them - they don't appreciate me - but I don't want them to know I'm looking" routine ...
 
Boss didn't believe me, and hired her ...
 
She was useless, and on top of that argumentative.
 
Glad I never met her.
 
LOL.
 
 
 
That reminds me ... I need to throw a picnic and a couple of psi on the Bhut Subduction batch and see what the gravity's doing ... it's two weeks in primary today.
 
I'm trying to squeeze that fucker out with just the coddling/rousing ...
 
CHEERS!
 
 
tctenten said:
Looks good…nice and heavy.
Click to expand...
 
I'm working my ass off today/tonight, and then I'm brewing another big boy tomorrow ...
 
Limited pics and info on this one - as this one's one of Wheebz' portfolio recipes, or whatever you would call it ...
 
I'll post up the process pics ... but not the recipe, adjuncts, or individual grist items ...
 
:cheers:
 
tctenten said:
Will be watching....the waiting sucks.....especially for someone who craves immediate gratification.
Click to expand...
 
Your beer already "worked" so you can relax ... that krausen line was up to the cap, which means it fermented nicely ...
 
I wouldn't be surprised if it's 95% fermented, and it'll just finish out and begin to clean itself up for the rest of the time probably ...
 
As for the impatience, the best solution I've found to that is to brew the next batch ...
 
I liked:
 
http://brooklynbrewshop.com/beer-making-mixes/chocolate-maple-porter-1-gallon-mix-w-o-kit
http://brooklynbrewshop.com/beer-making-mixes/grapefruit-honey-ale-mix(use orange zest instead of grapefruit, though)
http://brooklynbrewshop.com/beer-making-mixes/oatmeal-stout-mix
 
I'd order them, leverage the free shipping for $45 and up, and then you'll have some stuff to make - that's tasty - while figuring out the next step ...
 
http://brooklynbrewshop.com/accessories/extra-fermenter-kit
http://brooklynbrewshop.com/accessories/brew-funnel
http://brooklynbrewshop.com/accessories/brooklyn-brew-shop-sanitizer
 
And if you like the roasty toasty styles more than lighter styles like me, I recommend now brewing two of those, next ...
 
I was really disappointed when 3/4 of my kegs were not porter/stout =/
 
=)
 
tctenten said:
I may do that and keep it too small batches until I find a favorite. 
Click to expand...
 
That Chocolate Maple Porter, I made w/ a quality Grade B, and it was damn good ...
 
The Grapefruit Honey Ale was also really nice, but zest only the very surface of orange (and limit the pith) instead of grapefruit, unless you can find a particularly sweet-smelling ruby red perhaps ...
 
The smell of the grapefruit ends up ALL UP IN THE BEER in the end, essentially unchanged that I could tell ...
 
I tested switching to orange zest, from grapefruit on my next beer, and found the orange quite nice ... I used a Sunkist, which I don't prefer for eating, but found that sweet Sunkist smell  transferred right into my open-ferment saison, and it was nice ... very nice, even ...
 
 
 
Don't decide too early re: batch size for your official rig ;) ...
*** Well, actually, I recommend the Little Big Mouth Bubblers from Northwest in place of those jugs ... the cleaning scenario is much better as a primary ...
 
grantmichaels said:
That Chocolate Maple Porter, I made w/ a quality Grade B, and it was damn good ...
 
The Grapefruit Honey Ale was also really nice, but zest only the very surface of orange (and limit the pith) instead of grapefruit, unless you can find a particularly sweet-smelling ruby red perhaps ...
 
The smell of the grapefruit ends up ALL UP IN THE BEER in the end, essentially unchanged that I could tell ...
 
I tested switching to orange zest, from grapefruit on my next beer, and found the orange quite nice ... I used a Sunkist, which I don't prefer for eating, but found that sweet Sunkist smell  transferred right into my open-ferment saison, and it was nice ... very nice, even ...
 
 
 
Don't decide too early re: batch size for your official rig ;) ...*** Well, actually, I recommend the Little Big Mouth Bubblers from Northwest in place of those jugs ... the cleaning scenario is much better as a primary ...
Click to expand...
I am going to place an order. Those Bubblers will be much easier to clean. Need to decide which kits I want to order. I assume it is best to stick with the kits at this point?
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/recipe-kits/small-batch-beer-recipe-kits/1-gallon-small-batch-smashing-pumpkin-recipe-kit

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/recipe-kits/small-batch-beer-recipe-kits/bourbon-barrel-porter-1-gallon-recipe-kit

Thinking maybe these 2.
 
tctenten said:
I am going to place an order. Those Bubblers will be much easier to clean. Need to decide which kits I want to order. I assume it is best to stick with the kits at this point?
Click to expand...
 
Those BBS kits are pretty tasty, in truth ...
 
And really, and stuff needs to be measured to high degree of specificity for such a tiny amount of beer, which makes it a PITA to do yourself ...
 
I think at gallon batches, the kit makes sense ... theirs anyways.
 
Liquid yeast just going to be a hassle until you are up to 2.5-5 gallon batches, and you'd have to divide up a packet of 05 into like quarters, or less ...
 
Buy two or three of those, and we can work on developing some recipes for after that during the next weeks ...
 
Since you can drink a gallon in a week, we need to get a gallon in this weekend, or two the following one if you can't squeeze one in, just to have some beers ...
 
As soon as you taste your own beer, fresh, you are going to instantly want to have more, asap ... that's true of EVERYONE who's batch succeeds, from my travels across the net ...
tctenten said:
I am going to place an order. Those Bubblers will be much easier to clean. Need to decide which kits I want to order. I assume it is best to stick with the kits at this point?
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/recipe-kits/small-batch-beer-recipe-kits/1-gallon-small-batch-smashing-pumpkin-recipe-kit

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/recipe-kits/small-batch-beer-recipe-kits/bourbon-barrel-porter-1-gallon-recipe-kit

Thinking maybe these 2.
Click to expand...
 
Those are malt-extract and not 'all-grain,' so you'll need help from RM or Bumper (who I haven't seen) on those ...
 
I haven't used LME (liquid malt extract yet) ;) ...
 
tctenten said:
The step by step instructions they provide seem similar and easy enough.
Click to expand...
 
You'll only get a 'meh' from me on going the extract route, lol ...
 
On the plus, you can put the money into kegs and just start doing 5 gallon batches straight away without buying much gear ...
 
If you like extract, just buy some 5 gallon corny's next, in that case!
 
Haha ...
 
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