Messages

16

Going Pro / Re: Achtung!

« on: January 22, 2013, 09:43:48 AM »

One of Texas's antiquated beer laws prevents picking up much slack in the tasting room.  Here, production breweries can't sell beer directly to the consumer.  He has to charge for the tour or the glass and give the beer away.  He makes a little money doing that, but it's not like someone could just walk in, order a pint or two, and go.  More of a flat fee that makes it worth his while to be there and give the tour.  After year after year of bills getting tabled in the legislature, Texas made some real strides in the last year or so with the Jester King lawsuit against the TABC.  The tasting room thing was part of it, but wasn't an issue that carried the day.  But we did get some antiquated labeling issues tossed out.

17

Equipment and Software / Re: What 10 gal fermenter?

« on: January 21, 2013, 01:15:54 PM »

I use a 15 gallon corny.  Cut the dip tube off an inch and it works great.  I have the chest freezer with a 12" collar on wheels to move it to the brew stand.  There would be no lifting that corny full over the side of the chest freezer.  Transfer out to a pair of kegs with a Y-jumper line and CO2.  Easy as can be.  To clean, fill with hot PBW.  Benefit over a Sanke, I can see in to make sure I have it clean (requires a little brushing some times).



They are about $250.  So not cheap.  But cheaper than a conical.

18

Going Pro / Re: Achtung!

« on: January 21, 2013, 01:11:20 PM »

Yeah, he was pretty amazed.  He'd have been riding just to have medaled, much less a gold.  I had just picked up a keg of the beer that won gold and was having a pint of it when he sent me a text with a picture of the medal.

As for selling all he can produce, that's my understanding.  He has four 30 bbl conicals full and is planning to order some more.  He has expanded into the space next door and has an amazing tasting room with ping pong, air hockey, etc.  Great setup.

19

Going Pro / Re: Achtung!

« on: January 20, 2013, 03:06:39 PM »

Don't forget to file those trademark applications once the logo is on the swag and in circulation.  The best is yet to come.  Lots of local, state, and federal applications in your future.  I think it was 2010 or so when my friend started noodling with the brewery idea.  He opened on Dec. 30, 2011.  I feel like I went through almost every step of the process with him.  It's a lot of work, but it has been very rewarding for him.  But he relishes in those weekends where he doesn't have any events to attend.  He won gold at GABF this year for his English Pale Ale, and he is selling all he can produce at this point.  Expansion is imminent.  That is, of course, a good thing.  But it creates a whole 'nother level of stress.

20

Going Pro / Re: Achtung!

« on: January 19, 2013, 12:05:44 PM »

Congrats, Matt, and good luck.  My good friend, Michael, with whom I went to law school just opened Peticolas Brewing in Dallas last year. The law degree and experience will be extremely valuable going forward. Again, good luck.

21

Equipment and Software / Re: propane vs natural gas

« on: January 15, 2013, 06:36:56 PM »

That is exactly the photo I was looking for.  I'm going to look at my natural gas and propane ring burners this evening if I remember.  Without directly comparing to my burners, I thing these are propane burners.

Normally, these types of burners burn yellow and orange when on low and only turn blue at the optimal flowrate.  Any kind of non-optimal conditions tend to make these burners burn blue-orange IME such as not enough spacing above and below and proper ventilation.

Very true.  Plus, any restriction in the pipe size to them that chokes them down a bit can cause problems.  They need a lot of pressure to offset the opposing burner and get the air to mix properly.

22

Equipment and Software / Re: Got a Kindle Fire for XMas-Best brewing app to get?

« on: January 03, 2013, 08:53:43 PM »

Brewzor is a good Android phone app you could sideload.

23

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: That German Lager flavor, round 2

« on: December 28, 2012, 12:25:13 PM »

IIRC, Kai's conclusion was that it's the aging.

That has been my conclusion as well.  The only German lager that I have ever done late hops in was the pilsner and schwarzbier.  Even my bohemian pilsner gets hopped at FWH, 80, and 30.  I haven't noticed too much of a difference in decocted beers and those that are temperature controlled through a Hochkurz schedule of 142/158/168 (apart from my level of exhaustion on brew day).  For most styles though, single infusion works well.  I reserve the Hochkurz for the bopils.  All ingredients are important, naturally.  Continental malt, hops, and yeast with low carbonate water (I'm lucky in that regard). 

Pitch cold, and let it slow rise a few degrees to your fermentation temperature (48--50 F; 45 for bopils).

But with all of these things nailed down, these beers are always better if given time to age.  The hop bitterness drops a little and every gets that  nice blend of flavors that.  For lack of a better description, early on, one flavor or another tends to be more pronounced; after a time, everything is more subtle and in balance.  I have found that at around a month in the keg is where they really get good.

Not being able to get fresh German beer here is what drove my brewing habit early on.  I have sought to perfect these styles for years.  It is a long road, but as my beers have improved, it has been worth the effort.

The bopils I have on tap right now is probably the best I have brewed yet.  I will miss it until I can get another one on.

24

Going Pro / Re: getting 30 bbls on line

« on: December 21, 2012, 10:39:51 AM »

White Labs provides pitchable quantities to breweries based on batch size.  If you pitch on the first out of two batches going into a fermenter, would you only need the pitch the quantity White Labs suggests for the first batch size?  In other words, if I'm fermenting an ale in a 30bbl fermentor using two 15bbl batches, would I buy the 15bbl batch size from White Labs and just pitch it to the first batch?  That would seem like a really good way to cut costs in an efficient way.

drauflassen - Thanks Nateo!   

My friend pitched enough for the whole 30 bbl batch.  For the big beer he was brewing, This was two of the WLP pitchable collapsed milk carton looking containers.  In speaking with him recently, he said that, now, he brews one of his smaller gravity beers on his first pitch of the cycle so he doesn't have to buy as much yeast to get enough cell count as he does for the larger gravity beer we happened to brew that day.  Much less expensive.  After the first batch, he can harvest as much as he needs for whatever is next on the schedule and resuse it for ten generations or so.

25

Going Pro / Re: getting 30 bbls on line

« on: December 17, 2012, 07:10:47 PM »

My buddy's brewery runs a 15 bbl brewhouse into 30 bbl fermenters.  I did back to back brew days with him.  Pitch on the first batch.  Brew the next morning and fill her up.  Pretty important to hit that knock out temperature on the nose on that second batch.

26

Equipment and Software / Re: Rolling boil gathers no moss...?

« on: December 16, 2012, 10:34:00 AM »

Is DMS an issue with extract?

27

Equipment and Software / Re: Upgrading Equipment vs Learning Your System

« on: December 15, 2012, 05:24:41 PM »

The most valuable upgrades were my two chest-freezers, a digital Ranco and a Johnson analog controller. I would implore anyone without the elusive "year-round cool spot" (does it really exist?) that can do ales and lagers perfectly to make these their first major capital outlay. Not a bigger kettle, large burner, pump or brew sculpture. Not a kegging system. Controlling your fermentation temps will be the single most important thing one can do to improve and achieve consistency in the finished product. Without ferm control everything else goes out the window.

Ain't that the truth.  Where in Texas are you?
I just picked up a chest freezer and a Johnson controller.  Will probably wind up being the single best investment I could make into my beer ($250 or so for both, brand new).  Since I'm now in TX, it's basically a MUST have setup to do beer at all, because it's way too hot here in the summer to brew without some form of temp control.

28

All Grain Brewing / Re: Water profile: Can someone just tell me what to do?

« on: December 15, 2012, 05:10:29 PM »

I agree water shouldn't be an obsession.  But it should be understood (not saying you don't understand it).

I am fortunate to have some pretty low mineral water to use as a canvas.  Just takes some minor adjustment for mash pH and flavor and I don't have to worry with it or think about it, certainly not obsess about it.

29

All Grain Brewing / Re: Water profile: Can someone just tell me what to do?

« on: December 15, 2012, 02:07:48 PM »

I like to do my mash and sparge water adjustments with acid (my water is pretty soft and it doesn't take much ordinarily).  I add flavoring salts to the boil kettle.  It's easier for me not to worry about what my mash adjustment salts are doing to flavor, how much are absorbed, etc.  Obviously, for darker beers, I don't use acid in the mash.

30

Equipment and Software / Re: Pumps

« on: December 12, 2012, 03:11:03 PM »

Denny, I got mine at rebelbrewer.com.  At the time, they were running a sale and had it listed for under $20.  Might be more by now, but a great upgrade to the pump.  Holds prime much better than it used to.

Replacement was extremely easy.  My gaskets, etc. looked good to go.