Messages

91

Kegging and Bottling / Re: serving pressure

« on: January 20, 2012, 11:22:29 AM »

According to the carbonation chart on Kegerators.com, with a fridge temperature of 38 degrees needs 14 psi to give the beer a 2.7 volumes of C02. A typical American Lager needs 2.4 - 2.7 volumes.

Bluesman's calculation of L = (P - 6) / 0.7.........would be 14 -6 / 0.7= 11.5 feet of tubing

Does that sound right 11.5 feet of tubing?

92

Kegging and Bottling / Re: serving pressure

« on: January 20, 2012, 03:03:27 AM »

"I recommend using 3/16" I.D. tubing with about 6ft of length. It's always better to start with a longer line as you can always cut it shorter if need be.

For normal pressures I'd start out even longer than that. In theory, the length needed should be:   L = (P - 6)/0.7
Where L is the length in feet and P is the pressure in psi. For 12 psi, that's about 8.5 ft."

Is this the formula for 3/16" or does it matter if I use 1/4"?
I am using 6 foot of 3/16" now.

93

Kegging and Bottling / Re: serving pressure

« on: January 18, 2012, 10:23:50 AM »

 it doesn't' have a device that restricts the flow only a slight reduction in diameter at the nozzle. I  flows too fast, if I change the pressure to make a good pour then the keg goes flat.

I wish I knew how to put a pic in this post. I could add a picture so everyone could know what I'm talking about.

94

Kegging and Bottling / serving pressure

« on: January 18, 2012, 01:30:52 AM »

I've been having trouble with my serving pressure. I keep the beer in the keg at 38°F with a pressure of 11 psi to
maintain 2.5 volumes of CO2 as the beer is served....

BUT...I am using Euro Alpha faucets. These faucets have a 1-1/2" Stainless tube at the end and I think the inside diameter is smaller than a normal faucet. This choke point causes the velocity of the beer to increase and rush out quite fast sometimes causing it to over foam or de-gas the beer.  If I turn down the pressure for a good pour then the beer eventually gets under carbonated. 

Any advise........I already read the link on the previous thread.....Can I lower the pressure at the faucet by increasing the length of the beer line? Say, 10-12 feet. Right now I'm using about 6 feet on each faucet.

95

All Grain Brewing / Re: Using a hop bag.

« on: January 16, 2012, 04:10:39 PM »

I have tried one of those and the pellets passed right through. Maybe you can use leaf hops.

96

All Grain Brewing / Re: Using a hop bag.

« on: January 16, 2012, 06:39:21 AM »

What is a teaball? is that a SS round capsule (with holes in it) usually used to brew tea?
Where to you find one that can hold a half ounce of expanded pellets?

97

All Grain Brewing / Traquair house Clone

« on: December 28, 2011, 02:21:17 AM »

I've heard of boiling the first 2 gallons down to 1 pint and adding it back to the wort.  Is this just to add a caramel taste to the beer?

98

All Grain Brewing / Re: de-nature protein/enzymes.

« on: December 16, 2011, 04:17:05 PM »

That is happening. 35 lb grain bill  for an 11 gal Porter and only 1.059 SG and 1.022 FG after 2 weeks. I'm lucky to hit 4.8 ABV.

I'll go Denny's route and add 30 oz of vanilla laced bourbon.

What do you think ?

99

All Grain Brewing / Re: de-nature protein/enzymes.

« on: December 16, 2011, 11:12:22 AM »

Is there a possibility of extracting tannins by recirculating too much?

100

All Grain Brewing / de-nature protein/enzymes.

« on: December 16, 2011, 10:24:55 AM »

To keep the temperature in my mash ton at 150*  I pump the wort through a 50' coiled copper tube submerged in the hot liquor tank then back on top of the mash ton. This works great with a thermowell and a Ranco controller to keep the mash very close to target temperature.

If the hot liquor tank is too hot will it denature the protein/enzymes and interfere with conversion the my brew?
And is this the reason I've been getting poor efficiency?
What temperature should I use? What is the danger temperature?

101

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Is my pilsner done fermenting?

« on: December 03, 2011, 11:13:16 AM »

This beer is still pretty sweet 1.015. If this is the final gravity then I'm stuck with a 4.3% abv beer.

Is there a chance it will go lower with more fermentation time? 

Can I re pitch another yeast to finish it off ?

102

Yeast and Fermentation / over pitching yeast

« on: December 03, 2011, 11:05:30 AM »

What are the symptoms of over pitching yeast? Is there a flavor that is recognizable?

I got a little nervous and started adding additional packs of US O5 to a 6 gal batch of ale (1.060)  because after 4 days there was little activity in the fermentation lock. I thought I had some bad or old yeast so I added more. I ended up pitching 3 packs of US O5.

The lack of activity wasn't the yeast fault, the gasket wasn't seated correctly under the lid of the conical to form an airtight fit.
Okay, laugh all you want. You know you've done the same thing.

103

General Homebrew Discussion / Is my pilsner done fermenting?

« on: December 02, 2011, 10:37:19 AM »

Is my pilsner done fermenting? If anyone can tell me if I'm on the right track. I've fermented at 50 for 4 weeks, 60 for 4 days, and is today the time to turn the temp down fo 35 for a while?. I started at 1.048 and ended at 1.015, Am I lagering too soon since the FG might go lower?

Here is the recipe:
Protein Rest  124.0 F 30 min
Saccrification 152.0 F 30 min
Mash Out Add 168.0 F 10 min
Boil Volume: 13.74 gal Boil Time: 60 min

2 Pkgs Southern German Lager (White Labs #WLP838) Yeast-Lager  1 gal starter

16.00 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 68.09 %
4.50 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 19.15 %
1.50 lb Pale Malt (6 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 6.38 %
1.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4.26 %
0.50 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 2.13 %
1.00 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] (60 min) Hops 6.9 IBU
1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] (60 min) Hops 7.4 IBU
1.00 oz Tettnang [4.50 %] (20 min) Hops 4.2 IBU
1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] (20 min) Hops 4.5 IBU
2.00 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (0 min) Hops - 
0.50 gm Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 min) Misc 
2.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc 
2.00 l whirlfloc tablets (Boil 5.0 min) Misc 
2.40 tsp Lactic Acid (Mash 60.0 min) Misc 
3.80 gm Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash 60.0 min) Misc 
4.60 gm Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 min) Misc 
5.88 gm Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 min) Misc 
7.20 oz Rice Hulls (Mash 1.0 hours) Misc 
1.00 gal Murrieta, Ca Starter Water 
1.00 gal Murrieta, California Water 
14.00 gal Distilled Water Water 

Estimated Color: 5.4 SRM
Bitterness: 23.0 IBU 
 

104

Equipment and Software / Re: oxygenation

« on: December 01, 2011, 02:00:54 AM »

How does that mixstir get the O2 in the wort?
Unless you have to splash a lot.
And do you have trouble with the foam up?

105

Equipment and Software / oxygenation

« on: November 30, 2011, 09:10:51 AM »

I would like to know more about oxygenation and how important it really is to making a better beer.
What is the right equipment to oxygenate my wort?  How necessary is it?  Do you buy the disposable cans from the hardware store or can small paint ball tanks be used to refill?