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

tctenten said:
f**k...I am confused. I need to do more reading on this.
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We're talking about dextrines ... and like beta-glucan too, I guess ...
 
The CaraPils, CaraFOAM etc are body enhancing specialty grains ...
 
Wheebz not-so-gently let me know that I was misusing them, and that they are more commonly used to add body to lighter colored beers, and maybe sweetness to a lesser extent that the lactose/maltose ...
 
You don't see people putting lactose in IPA's that I've seen, mostly just stout, so it's probably that it counters the perception of the hops or something (I really don't know jack shit about IPA's) ...
 
I used lactose to try to add sweetness to counter the spicy of the ghost pepper syrup ... that syrup is legitimately pepper-y ... a teaspoon out of the bottle makes your whole mouth tingle ...
 
I added maltodextrin to add an unfermentable sugar to the beer, so that it would remain behind after fermentation (yeast can't ferment it) to increase the perception of thickness/body or whatever you want to call it ...
 
Flaked Rye and Flaked Oats were also in there ...
 
I threw everything and the kitchen sink at it, because while my Darkness Everybody is very tasty and immensely drinkable - I have a beer-boner for a chewy, thick stout along the lines of Bourbon County or Marshall Zhukov etc ...
 
I wanted to see the other side of the line, and to be able to dial it back on my 2nd attempt to try to nail it in 2 passes, instead of creeping it up, creeping it up, creeping it up and having to drink 7-8 gallons of beer just trying to get there ...
 
I did feel like it was a good plan, having tried and not liked spicy pepper beer attempts that I've bought along the way, and I think in that respect doing a lot of that stuff was necessary or the beer would be too hot ...
 
So, yeah ... that beer's whacky, man ...
 
But, all of the drama is not really indicative of anything ...
 
I thought it might be done when it was, and it is, and it was ...
 
The extra krausening yeast infusions did nothing, the beer was fermented down to like 1.038-1.040 and that's what it really is ...
 
Those first 5x days of ferm, were the ferm ... all of the ferm thereafter has been because it was just processing the sugars in the starter wort from each additional pitch, and the only reason the gravity lowered at all was because 1600mL of canned starter wort was added (probably 1.030-ish), which is lower than the 3 gallons of 1.040 (+/- .002) from the mixing in of weaker wort ...
 
So ... lots to learn from this experience. I brew fine, ferm ran fine, and I got what I designed ...
 
Next time I won't design quite as extreme of an unfermentable wort, and I'll be in there ...
 
I made that recipe on purpose, knowing it was overdoing it, and willing to take my licks once Wheebz saw it ... you'll notice I tried not to post it, LOL ...
 
In fact, I'll copy and paste his response from email when I sent him the recipe finally: "maltodextrim and cara pils was the dumbest addition ever" ...
 
But, you know - being me, I wanted to blaze my own trail for batch #10 ... what can I tell you, I'm prone to op-positional defiance =) ...
 
 
 
As far as researching a lot, it's podcasts ... I haven't read much at all, but I've listened to years worth of podcasts while I work during the day, and late at night ...
 
I feel like I don't know much at all yet, and wish HTH would post more and that there were more experienced folks than just Wheebz ...
 
 
 
HTH was sporting a collection of neck weights from contests, last time he dropped by =) ...
 
:cheers:
 
Rairdog said:
You can use 2 row, Maris and wheat to get all the base flavs you want.  The rest are just accents. 
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I'm going to read up on Lintner values/method and the next time I want to do something like that, which won't be long - I'm sure, I'm going to try to substantiate my plan by looking up the grain bill's Lintner values and calculating the values ...
 
I really wanted to just brew something that wasn't someone's kit, someone's recipe, or even someone's idea that time, though ...
 
My inner Madonna wanted out =)
 
https://youtu.be/GsVcUzP_O_8
 
Will I wok or brew over this first? ;)

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Kitteh approved!

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I purposely bought the one that's designed to hold a pot that's twice the volume (162 qt) than what I'll be placing on it (82 qt max) ... for $15-20 additional dollars.
 
The strainer basket for my current rig will become the hop basket for the larger setup ...
 
wheebz said:
I am really not sure what the questions are that you are trying to ask.
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What I'm trying to figure out is the temperature to set my ferm chamber at, or two to switch between from round to round ...
 
I'm working on my throughput strategy.
 
How to use my cold-storage space the most wisely, to provide the most of the beer types I like the most, is all.
 
I bought and wanted 3x cold-storage locations, but only ended up w/ 2x of them ...
 
Instead of trying to have flow through them, from one to the other, I added a 2nd tank and regulator, so that groups of 3x can move through them ...
 
I'll brew 9-10 gallons from 12-15 gallons of wort, and have 3x 3 gallon batches in each of the 3x corny locations in a chestie ... they'll all be in there at once, at one temperature ...
 
I can parti-gyle split into 5 gallons in two kegs, and make a big beer, and then a small beer ... as an option.
 
I can run 3x through a freezer at 67F, or at a lager temp, or I can mix and match WLP099 at ale temp in with ale's at 67F ...
 
I'm just trying to figure out how to move beers through constrained amount of cold storage space, is all ...
 
The room is the other location. So far that's ok for saison, but I'm working on making it ok for other beer that I want to drink.
 
I feel like what I've seen so far suggests the 05 is really clean like the cal ale, and maybe it'll turn out to be such that I can ferment for the 1st 48 hours (max ester creation) in the chamber at like 65F, but then let it free rise out in the room and work around the esters from 05 when it's working at 75F in the room, IF THEY EXIST ... and I mean, if they are a bit much, I'm suggesting that it might be something that I can manage by way of a spunding set at 6 psi, raising it a psi or two each next couple of days up to 15 psi, and then pulling the spunding when the gravity has a point left, and letting it carb up in place.
 
I bought clear beer liquid-out bits for 3x kegs, so I'm serving from the top of the beer, and it alleviates the need to have to trim the spear, makes clean-up a treat, and makes service out of the corny a cakewalk ...
 
I may never re-rack a beer again. I might just crash it in place and serve (from the top) and if I get a hint of autolysis at any point, bottle out w/ the BeerGun ... only if and when.
 
These questions aren't about trying to make impossible beers just because, they are me trying to figure out how to move the beers I want to drink through my equipment, is all.
 
I know some folks ferment stout with lager yeast.
 
One of my two chesties will always have 37F beer for service, but the other one, the one with in-process beer, can be at 67F for ale's coming through, or it could be at lager temp ...
 
Shit, I drank a Founders beer (Dissenter '14) last night that was an India Pale Lager, and I kind of loved it ...
 
This shit isn't about making extreme beer, it's just me being me about throughput ... you know I'm an manufacturing engineer, right? ... I process ~75x whole-houses worth of countertops each week, with 8x CNC machines and ~25-30 humans to program from my computer ...
 
Obsessing about throughput isn't something I can not do - and believe me, I wish I could sometimes ...
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Nice!

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Got cauldron?

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=)
 
tctenten said:
You have to put all your fermenting beer in a freezer? Do different styles of beer ferment at different temps?
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You happen to have a nice temp for a lot of ale yeast ... 68F ...
 
Ozzy seems to have close to that down in his basement or cellar or whatever ...
 
I have 74-75F via air-condition most of the whole year ... which is too warm for the optimum temp for most ale yeast ...
 
The saison yeast's happy there ... if only I wanted to drink saison most of the time, I'd be in great shape ... I like it on occasion, relative to porter/stout ...
 
Yeah, for me it's a game of getting the beers I like through cold storage ... it's the overarching constraint, encompassing everything else ...
 
Packaged beer doesn't really want to be sitting around at mid-seventies, either, so bottling doesn't spare me ...
 
I may very well add a window A/C to that room at some point, to make a 68F room ...
 
stouts/ipa/pale ale/typical ale yeast - 67
 
belgians - your room temp
 
thats really all you are going to be brewing so keep it simple
 
if you wanna do a lager, do it at 53-55, then stick it at room temp for diacetyl rest
 
no one does stouts at lagering temps, unless they are dumb, or they are making a baltic style porter
 
Yeah, it is what it is ...
 
I think a solution for getting to add a little bit of variability would be to add one more small cold-storage container that can do a single carboy (dorm room fridge or whatever), for the oddball batch, or to use for crashing and the occasional lager ...
 
On to better things ...
 
I was excited to find the game hoist last night, which was much, much cheaper than the one's I had been looking at for emergency services for people who drop down manholes/shafts ...
 
The emergency services tripods were not tall enough, and were like $700-$4k ... I would have been better off installing a hook in my carport roof ...
 
The game hoist is 96' tall (room to string up a buck, or whatever), holds 500 lbs, and has a gambrel that's linear (like a clothes hangar) which will work nicely for the straps on the BIAB bag for the big cooler ...
 
http://amzn.com/B00PTW9OT2
 
It breaks down into parts, too, which is nice - so I can store it inside w/ the burner/cauldron etc ...
 
I think I'm all set, I just have to perform the kettle modifications ...
 
I don't intend to install anything except a spigot and return on the boil kettle ...
 
It doesn't need a thermometer or sight-glass or anything, since I have a dial thermometer in the wort-chilling loop ...
 
 
 
Should be good to go, sooner than later ...
 
Work robbed me of my brew day, but what I'm having to do for work will cover half the cost of the new gear overnight ...
 
I guess that's a win, even though I'm pissed off about it ...
 
Aiming for a Friday night brew session, now ...
 
grantmichaels said:
Work robbed me of my brew day, but what I'm having to do for work will cover half the cost of the new gear overnight ...
 
I guess that's a win, even though I'm pissed off about it ...
 
Aiming for a Friday night brew session, now ...
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I am all about making the money when you can.....but Grant needs some play time.
 
tctenten said:
I am all about making the money when you can.....but Grant needs some play time.
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I feel the same way, but this one bothers me because I'm working at an inconvenient time due to coworker's not doing THEIR job ...
 
I love working because we're busy ... but it's not the same when it's the same work, just rushed because some motherf**ker dropped the ball!!!! grr ....
 
It's tough this time of year ... everything ends up falling in my lap, no matter what ...
 
 
 
 
 
 
So ... notice the change of scenery? ...
 
 
 
I asked THP to merge all of my threads ;) ... so here we are.
 
When it was crickets around here, I thought it would be cool to spin off all the different stuff I was spreading into ...
 
Now that there's some momentum and a critical mass of folks brewing and sharing, though, I feel the opposite ...
 
I like the stance on that burner.  A couple things come to mind.  One is a heat shield to protect the rubber handle on your 3 piece valve and/if thermometer.  Two would be a simple push button ignitor mounted to fire the burner.  Reaching in with a lighter or fireplace starter will suck.
 
Three...whats with the deer hoist.  Are you planning on lifting wet grain out of the cooler to drain?  Why can't it just drain out of the cooler?  A hoist system has no purpose when you can drain out the bottom.  Now a swing arm/hoist that will put the heavy bag over a wheel barrow for compost makes sense. 
 
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