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

Rairdog said:
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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Yeah ... I saw the heat shield stuff is part of the deal w/ the burners ... have to research that, still ...
 
Totally agree, too, once that things got a shit ton of hot ass water in it and everything is hot ... going to be difficult to get in there to relight it ...
 
As for the hoist ...
 
I will have a bag for the kettle ... I do intend to both sparge, when warranted, and yet still BIAB in the 82 qt kettle if it's sufficient for the batch ...
 
I haven't inspected it yet, really ...

Does have some shielding ...

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Sufficient enough ... we'll see!

Cooler's here ...

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Rairdog said:
Can I get a video of you drilling SS in that pot?
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Haha ... I make a little 'cup' out of masking tap that I use to help steady the bit in the beginning ... and once I've made a little indention, I fill that fucker with oil ;) ...
 
I have a separate unibit just to make the pre-drill for the bigger one ;) ... and that's the key, smaller steps ...
 
I know what it's like from the Weber kettles (I've drilled 3-4x holes now between a pair SS kettles =) ...
 
The first one was the worst, because I didn't know that the key was to go slow ... I had to wait for the battery to recharge half way because of how inefficient it was ...
 
Good thing, though, right after that I cooked the best brisket I've ever had in my life ...
 
My first was my best ... probably because it was a small 2.5 lb flat, and the rest have been half an order of magnitude larger, ever since ...
Rairdog said:
Can I get a video of you drilling SS in that pot?
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Knowing me ... I'll probably record it ...
 
Alright ... wrapped up work and sent in my hours (just a few, 82.25 billable this week) ...
 
Time to clean and sanitize some shit ... and then I'll probably brew Mr. Brew-yagi's stout this afternoon/evening ... along w/ pressure cooking a boston butt for more deconstructed wonton soup! =)
 
Tomorrow ... nothing. Football and staring out the window between pleasure reading ...
 
Ok, it's a good batch to focus the pics on process, so as not to give away ingredients/recipe accidentally ...
 
What is it you want to see? ...
I've just verified that fermentation isn't proceeding on the Bhut Subduction at Pitch Lake batch ... it's got the same exact gravity that it's had for two weeks, despite krausening and/or rousing and/or pitching some champagne yeast ...
 
I added .5F every other day and finished with a couple of days of 72F ...
 
Given the reported prolific characteristics of US-05, I'm calling this batch fermented now, was always fermented after the 4th day, and that a 1040 finish is not out of line with the grain bill that it grew out of ...
 
Without taking a crack at lager yeast (which I don't think would enjoy being dumped into 9-10% 1040-weight syrup ... or using enzymes - that nothing is going to change on this batch and I can proceed ...
 
I'm running one final experiment on it before I crash it and carbonate it, though ...
 
I've taken the hydrometer jar serving, and added a little bit more, and put it in my iSi canister and placed it in the fridge ...

I'm going to charge it up w/ CO2 ... and taste it carbonated to decide if I think it's going to be drinkable ... enjoyable even.
 
If I think so, I'm crashing and carbing it ...
 
If I think not, I'm adding some Amg-300L from BREWCRAFT as an experiment ...
 
It's labeled as a "Liquid Exo-Alpha Amylase (Beta-Amylase)" ...
 
Interesting batch, this one ...
 
Does the fermentation lower the gravity?  How do you know what gravity you are trying to achieve?   How often do you take gravity readings?
 
 
Hmmmm…I may have to start an Ask Remgrandt Before Wheebz thread….you know…for the real newbies.
 
I would like to see pics after you pitch the yeast.  I am sorry I did not look at mine more.   
 
tctenten said:
Does the fermentation lower the gravity?  How do you know what gravity you are trying to achieve?   How often do you take gravity readings?
 
 
Hmmmm…I may have to start an Ask Remgrandt Before Wheebz thread….you know…for the real newbies.
 
I would like to see pics after you pitch the yeast.  I am sorry I did not look at mine more.   
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Yes, the gravity is a measurement of the amount of sugar in solution ...
 
Yeast eat sugar, piss alcohol, and fart CO2 ... consequently lowering the sugar, and raising the alcohol while doing their business ...
 
You won't be able to get what you are looking for from my post-pitching, because I ferment in corny kegs that are SS (opaque) ...
 
I'm sure Rairdog or Ozzy can show this, though ...
 
I'm running 130F StarSan solution through my kettle and silicone tubing and plate-chiller right now, for 30 mins ...
 
I need some time to get the grain bill ready, anyways, and while I had rinsed after my last brew, I needed to take my bits outside and get after them with PBW and the pressure-nozzle on the outside hose to really feel good about everything ...
 
Don't want to have a problem w/ Miyagi-stout, of all batches, LOL ...
 
Because of the grain I have on hand that's old, pilsner malt, and so that I can refocus on getting my new kettle etc up and running, the last batch  I'm going to do after this one will be a saison, that I can ferment out of the freezer ...
Tidy up the Bhut check ...

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Fall ...

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Load'r up w/ StarSan and recirc at 135F for thirty ...

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Tap temp ...

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Automation ...

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About to drain and replace with hot water a prepare to commence with it already ...

I'm brewing long and slow today - no hurry ...

Going to do something a little different w/ my starter ...
 
Moving along ...

Water's not too bad today ...

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I recommend using pen/paper or whatever when adding strike water ...

I need 17.25 qts ...

I fill a 2 qt container ...

I reserve 2 qts until after I mash-in ...

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I get bored as f**k ... and it sucks to lose count ...

lol ...

I'm bubbling in O2 through mod'd corny lid this batch, so I can apply right before pitching and then a couple more times in the first 6-12 hrs ...

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Verification ...

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Nice afternoon to brew ...

Time to weigh grains ...
 
tctenten said:
Looks good.

So should I be taking another gravity reading? Or just do it next week when I transfer to the bottling bucket?
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you'll want to check it before you go to bottle just to make sure it has fermented enough.  From seeing the krausen film on your jug I would imagine its probably good.  The reading will also give you the info to tell what the ABV is too.  In each recipe there is a number of total fermentable sugars.  Just because an OG starts at 1.080 doesn't mean you can ferment it all out.  Lactose for instance, isn't fermentable.  So It will keep the final gravity higher.  Obviously, your efficiency will effect how high your numbers get as well.  After you have brewed a few times you will be able to tell about what you are at.  For instance I've been anywhere from 70%-80%.  Beersmith takes all the info I have and "my" anticipated efficiency and gives me an idea of where the beer will finish according to my equipment, yeast, and if I"m making a starter etc. 
 
Different beer styles will finish different places too.  IPA's usually finish lower that stouts.  Hell, my Imp stout extract kit finished like 1.036.  Which was higher than I wanted, especially to avoid bottle bombs, but it all worked out.Especially for my first batch.  My IPA like 1.014 if I remember right.  So its hard to answer your question from earlier and this one except to say that you should take a reading before you bottle.  The more info you have the better.  I usually take a gravity reading on my 1st and 2nd run through the mash tun.  Then I take a reading combined before the boil, and then after the boil.  Then I will take a reading about a week after or when fermentation seems to be done.  Then I know if its "ready" to bottle or if I need to give it a little more time.
tctenten said:
Does the fermentation lower the gravity?  How do you know what gravity you are trying to achieve?   How often do you take gravity readings?
 
 
Hmmmm…I may have to start an Ask Remgrandt Before Wheebz thread….you know…for the real newbies.
 
I would like to see pics after you pitch the yeast.  I am sorry I did not look at mine more.   
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I think I posted pics immediately after I pitched and put in my basement, then a couple days later.  You can see the yeast stirring around in the second pic.  Today they are barely moving, and the burping is now at every 5-7 seconds.  I could probably move it to a secondary if I wanted at this point, but I'll just wait a few more days.
 
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