Topics

1

Ingredients / Getting started with Bru'n Water

« on: April 16, 2013, 05:30:44 AM »

To get used to this spreadsheet, I took the averages from the San Francisco County 2011 water report.


Here's the report: http://www.sfwater.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=2379


Here's a screen shot of the spreadsheet's water report input sheet:



http://www.flickr.com/photos/kgs/8655247088/


Does that look about right?

2

Equipment and Software / All-electric 3-gallon brewstand design

« on: April 04, 2013, 05:26:52 AM »

So I'm mulling over this design (something to do when I wake up too early and want to think through something relaxing rather than start charging through the day's work). It's designed to be an all-electric urban brewstand that can be used indoors; minimizes lifting, hoisting, or back strain; and is sensitive to water use.

One two-shelf rolling stainless-steel cart, ca. 48" w, 18" deep
Two 8-gallon stainless steel brew kettles, drilled for ball valves and heat elements; one is a dual HLT/chiller, one is a brew kettle
Two 1500w heating elements
One 9-gallon rectangular cooler MLT
One March pump
One... hmm... plate chiller? Plus a submersible pump? Immersion chiller?
Hoses, clamps, quick connects, GFIs, rocker switches, and other kibbles and bits

The two kettles are side-by-side on the top level.  The left kettle is the HLT and chiller. The right is the brew kettle. The mash tun is on the lower level.

Cooler is filled with grain and slid onto the lower shelf;
HLT fills the cooler (water pumped under the grain);
Mash tun is pump-drained up into the brew kettle;

Post-boil (chilling) is where I get stuck; I can't visualize what needs to happen. Something with pumps and cold water.  Then again, this whole design may be off... this kind of thing isn't my strong suit.

Once the wort is chilled, it drains into a fermenter sitting in a manually-operated fermenter-mover (aka Radio Flyer). After yeast is pitched and aerated, the fermenter is then rolled to the front door and lugged downstairs. This last part (the lugging) will change when I get a small fridge and modify it into a fermenter... then there will be a minimum of lifting in this whole process.

My thought is to manually manage temps and so forth at the beginning, and only introduce fancier controls downstream if need/interest warranted.

Thoughts? Logic missing here somewhere?

3

Beer Recipes / Janet's Brown Ale: grain bill discrepancy?

« on: March 27, 2013, 07:34:25 PM »

On the AHA wiki, Janet's Brown Ale calls for 27.5 lbs two-row for a 12-gallon batch:

http://wiki.homebrewersassociation.org/JanetsBrownAle

In Brewing Classic Styles, Janet's Brown Ale calls for 12 lbs two-row for a batch that eventually, after boiling, trub loss, etc., yields 5 gallons (p.41).

Is the discrepancy accounted for by the difference between 12 vs. 10 gallons, where measurements are accounted for slightly differently? It's a pretty big spread.

4

Equipment and Software / Dual-duty HLT and prechiller?

« on: March 24, 2013, 10:16:09 AM »

As I mentally plan the brewstand I plan to build someday, I'm wondering if other homebrewers have designed stands where a kettle or other piece of equipment has served more than one role. The one that comes to mind most often is HLT/pre-chiller, since the only liquid in this kettle is water.

5

Ingredients / Commercial examples of hops

« on: March 02, 2013, 06:51:37 AM »

I've poked around  here and there -- I'm looking for an index of hops that includes commercial examples of beers brewed with each hop. I realize it's not that clearcut since more than one hop will nearly always be present, but the conversations about hops I haven't (knowingly) tasted make me want to try beers brewed with them--especially before committing to brew with them.

6

Equipment and Software / Height, Depth of Danby DAR440

« on: January 13, 2013, 06:46:11 PM »

I'm considering using this fridge for a fermentation chamber (managed with a Johnson controller):

http://www.amazon.com/Danby-DAR440BL-4-4-Cubic-Designer-Refrigerator/dp/B002TKJTNI/

I ferment small (3-gallon-ish) batches primarily in 5-gallon food-safe buckets like these: http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_MS%20C101_A_name_E_5-Gallon+Bucket+with+Lid which I have drilled for airlocks. The buckets are approximately 12" in diameter and 15" high.

My question is the height from the compressor to the interior ceiling of the fridge. I haven't found one of these fridges in a store in the area to try out, and I'd prefer not to hassle with returns if I order it online. I wrote the manufacturer and they sent me a spec sheet, which was nice of them but it didn't precisely answer that question. (It did tell me that the exterior width/height/depth is approx 20"/32"/21", which suggests that it might work... and I saw a YouTube video where I thought, "that's this fridge!" and it was holding a fermenter.)

7

Equipment and Software / Small fridge for temp control?

« on: December 21, 2012, 02:42:53 PM »

I'm reopening my temp-control project, focusing on small-to-medium fridges. (Chest freezers are out -- I don't want to lift items in or out, and I don't have room in my apartment office for a pulley.)  I ferment my beer in 5-gallon buckets or Better Bottles.

Has anyone done this recently?  Costco has a freezerless model that looks promising -- http://www.costco.com/Urban-Islands-Refrigerator.product.11614942.html . I'm thinking there will be sales right before and Christmas that I could pounce on, especially since I'm off next week.

8

Beer Travel / Shigozake, Wellington, NZ; Bruhouse

« on: September 27, 2012, 12:04:47 AM »

Upscale pub, hip crowd, great local beers. I love the ability to buy half-pints! I'm having a Mike's APA... Let's just say Welly brewers love West Coast hop schedules. It's decent, but I might as well be back in NorCal. Still, a fun place.

I also had a half pint of Parrothead orange chocolate stout late afternoon (gotta love vacation ) at Bruhouse and it was fantastic.

9

Beer Travel / Hop Garden, Wellington, NZ

« on: September 25, 2012, 11:16:18 PM »

I'm sitting here enjoying a half-pint of Parrot Dog Bloodhound, enjoying this place very much. I had several days at a conference which was terrific... Except for the beer! .... And got to Welly today for a couple of days of exploration, most of it with company. But tonight is a perfect kgs retreat... Nice local beer, a book, and a comfortable spot. Hop Garden has Garage Project beers, recommended by a local who knows good stuff, so my next "research" may be a half pint of the Aro Noir. Good small plate menu too.

10

Kegging and Bottling / Carbing a few bottles

« on: September 08, 2012, 07:31:29 PM »

I need to bottle my oatmeal stout tomorrow, and (partly due to a complete loss of time at this point in my year) I'm going to put most of what is about a 2.5 gallon batch in a Tap-a-Draft bottle. There will be  a little left over and I'd like to bottle it for testing during the aging process (important research, don't you know). I don't have any carbonation drops, so was wondering if anyone had a sensible and safe rule of thumb for cane or corn sugar by measurement per 12-oz bottle. Since it's stout, low carbonation is not only safe but within style.

11

Equipment and Software / All-electric brewstand design

« on: August 01, 2012, 07:32:53 PM »

So next year (2013) I plan to build a mobile, all-electric brewstand. I spent a little time recently identifying goals for this project:

Goals

An affordable, flexible, all-electric system designed to ease the physical process and provide indoor/outdoor brewing in an urban apartment.

Key elements

Compact
Aesthetically pleasant
Mobile -- can be rolled throughout apartment's main floor and deck
All-electric sparge/brew
Easy cleanup
Modular -- parts can be replaced as needed
Flexible batch size -- supports between 2 and 4 gallons per batch
Energy-efficient 
Water-conscious -- cooling water is no more than 3x the amount of sparging water
Automates the movement of liquid throughout the brewing process ("no-lift")
Minimizes the need to sparge (but supports sparging if desired)
Accessible for short/older brewers - minimal reaching, minimal stooping, low center of gravity
Easy-to-read controls and displays
Alarms, alerts, and reminders for brewing steps (possibly remote)

Comments are welcome. One question I have been chewing over has to do with cooling the wort. I am wondering if the edit: HLT can double as a prechiller or recirculator. I'd like to make this project as water-conscious as possible.

I'm also thinking 5 gallons may be ambitious. One thing I've noticed from brewing different sized batches is that there is a point above 3 gallons where the process becomes exponentially more demanding -- how long it takes to cool, in particular (and of course, lifting and moving, which this brewstand is designed to address for this stage of the process). I selected 5 gallons because that's the standard kit size -- not that I brew kits (not since my first three or four batches), though I might now and then if I could figure out how to easily move all that liquid through the brewing process.

I'm not in any rush on this project. I can take five years if that's what's needed... maybe to take a class in something or have something constructed.

12

Equipment and Software / Hop spider design

« on: July 03, 2012, 07:49:26 AM »

I'm building a hop spider this weekend -- looks like an easy/fun project. Got my parts. Got some time.

I looked at the BYO article, and my first thought was to flip the PVC coupler so the clamp rested on the shoulder of the coupler, to minimize the risk of the bag sliding off. Anyone else do that?

http://byo.com/component/resource/article/2494-build-a-hop-spider-projects

13

Equipment and Software / Converting fridge or freezer to fermentation chamber

« on: June 17, 2012, 08:07:15 AM »

I'm looking at converting a small fridge or freezer to a fermentation chamber (using a temperature controller). Assuming the equipment has the right space, is there an advantage to one or the other?

I see the following on Craigslist: http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/VM301W.html -- but I see a number of fridges as well. I plan to take a carboy with me when I check out the items.

14

Equipment and Software / Jet bottle washer and hose-cleaning

« on: June 16, 2012, 02:30:00 PM »

I just realized that I can fit 1/2-in hose over my jet bottle washer and give it a really thorough rinse after cleaning and before sanitizing. Perhaps I'm the last person to figure that out, but it was a great discovery!

15

Beer Recipes / Two Belgian Blonde questions

« on: May 28, 2012, 08:05:23 PM »

So tomorrow morning I'm going to be brewing a 3-gallon batch of this:

http://wiki.homebrewersassociation.org/SullysBelgianBlonde

1. It says 60-minute boil.  Would a 90-minute boil be ok (with the right pre-boil volume)? Most similar recipes call for 90 minutes. I would still add the hops at 60.

2. I have plenty of cane sugar on hand. But I also have some very interesting sugars, including date palm. Half of me says stay the course -- follow the recipe as-is the first time (well, except maybe for that boil...). Half of me is curious about adding a subtle twist. Thoughts?