If anything I'm going deeper w/ the STC, actually ...
I've been mostly just changing the set point and the hysterisis setting, but I'm going to program the ramping and ferm schedules and come up w/ pre-programmed profiles going forward ...
I've already done it just to test the programmer works, I just haven't been doing it ...
I'm just trying the other extreme now to see how it feels and to change my focus a little bit, is all ...
I'll end up in the middle, I think ... in the long run.
I don't truly believe that I'll end up w/o a ball valve and spigot on the kettle in the long run, or that I won't find a use for pumps, but I want to make sure that it's worth the added complexity ...
You know, since you can't roll back mods ... once the kettle's punched, it's punched ...
And ... what if it's soooo much easier to clean for being smooth and continuous and for not having the hardware and hidden crevices? ...
The CIP after brewing for the plate chiller is a pain point ...
I just want to be sure, is all ...
A lot of the hoopla stuff applies more to other styles than the one's I like ...
Doesn't look like dry-hopping, whirlpool hopping, sour mashing etc are going to be a big part of what I want to do for the foreseeable future ...
I do plan to address water, though ... probably ...
Also, I've been buying pre-milled grist, and from my coffee experience, I know there will be flavor improvements for grinding more directly before brewing ... so I want to do that ...
I'm not sure why I've been buying my grains separated, either ...
I should have just ordered the grains pre-milled and in the same bag, to the recipe spec amounts, instead of buying a pound each and then having to weigh each time etc ... that's been stupid and unnecessary ...
I just want to see what's it's like to keep it really stripped down and just brew it up myself since I'm standing there the whole time anyways ...
The whole mash temp thing is wacky, too ... in the end you want to hit the rests and stuff, steps or whatever ... different temp regions to get conversion ... so you have to drive the process to do that, so you aren't really free ...
And I mean, if you are BIAB w/ recirc mash, you still have to stir or you don't get good enough extraction ...
I tasted the grains from the side of the bag where the recirc entered, and from the other side, and the side w/ the recirc was overextracted and I could taste the tannins, and the other side still had flavor ... so that made me stop and stir more, which negated the automation ...
I will say, though, that the BIAB bag material is a better filter than bazooka screening, by a mile ... the liquor remains really clean if you use a dedicated, high quality BIAB bag ...
So ... I don't know ... yeah ... I'm going to see what it's like to just do it ... now that I know how to brew, technically, I just want to see if it's not easy to do using basic stuff now that I know what I'm doing in terms of the steps/activities ...
It's taken 6-7 hours to brew regular-gravity beers, and 8-10 hrs to brew huge beers ... that's too long for a 2.5-3 gallon result ...
The pre-cleaning, pre-sanitizing, rinsing, mashing, boiling, chilling, back-flushing, CIP, tear down routine is extensive w/ all the gear ....
What if it's just wash the cooler w/ PBW, throw the bag in, mash in, rinse w/ the hose after mashing out ...
In my case it's going to mostly be bittering hops at 60min for most of the beer I want to brew, and that's it in terms of the boil ... no fancy shit, it's stout ... there's not much in the way of complicated hop schedules etc etc ...
The grain bill for the stouts even self-correct my filtered tap water for the most part ... which has been mostly around 6 or 7 of late ...
I just have a feeling my time and focus might be better spent on some other aspects that I haven't explored yet ... variations in secondary ... oak, purees, coffee, blending etc ...
We'll see!
But yeah ... I'm brewing batch and using an paddle, and immersion chiller, and an autosiphon before I do any build work ... and I'll be happiest if I don't feel the need to use much of it ...
I think the batch size is going to made a huge difference in quality ... the increased specificity of measuring makes a huge difference, I bet ... I know it did for making soap.
tctenten said:
That is a big ass cooler and kettle. You have a completely different set of problems due to you temps down there too. Luckily I have been able to ferment in what is our room temperature.
It's not that big, but it's big ... and trust me, having shit near capacity f**king sucks ... it's a shitty, stressful mess ...
If you like big beers (I do), plan for 3x the space of your final gallons in the kettle for BIAB ... so that 20 gallon in the kettle is probably a very comfortable vessel to do a nice 5-6 gallon batch of a 12% beer BIAB ... or 10-12 gallons having run-off wort from the cooler into it for normal size beers ...
I can run off a lot of liquor from the cooler
