Messages

241

The Pub / Re: 29 years

« on: December 09, 2009, 08:15:34 AM »

you know who i really miss......  frank zappa.

+ a billionty and eleven.  "Freak Out" is the reason I ended up in the rock'n'roll biz.

+ eleventy-billion and one!  I went to see "Zappa plays Zappa" last year.  It wasn't quite like seeing FZ, but the kid did a nice job and it was a damn good show.  It was great to hear the tunes live again....

242

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Suggest a brew for next weekend

« on: December 06, 2009, 08:52:49 PM »

This is the season for brewing Miabock.  Here's a good recipe from Braukaiser: http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Maibock

243

Equipment and Software / Re: Draining the boil kettle....

« on: November 30, 2009, 08:56:54 PM »

I use a reusable paint filter hop bag for whole or pellet hops.  At the end of the boil, I raise it slowly and let it drain back into into the boil kettle.

244

Equipment and Software / Re: a question about my new 7 lb. barley crusher

« on: November 30, 2009, 08:51:44 PM »

I use mine on a Homer bucket.  I line the bucket with a plastic bag, and fill more than bag one when doing 10-gallon batches or some higher-gravity beers.  After mashing, I use the same plastic bags to collect the spent grain.  I take the grain to the local historical society's farm and they feed it to the goats and chickens.

245

Equipment and Software / Re: conicle fermenters: go stainless or is there a less expensive way?

« on: November 30, 2009, 08:37:53 PM »

Get some Lexan to make a strong, transparent lid, buy a big gasket to go between the keg opening and the Lexan, drill a hole in the Lexan for an air lock drilled bung, make a simple clamp to tighten the Lexan to the gasket to make it air tight . . Voila! Inexpensive 15.5 gallon fermenter!

I have two!  

Pics of the lid - and clamping contraption please? Sure I can come up with something from what you said, but you might have done something different/better than what I would think up. So, pics would be a big help.

Thanks!
-OCD

This lid is just a cheap plastic plate from WalMart, but it's pretty much what dhacker describes.  The hole in the top is 6.5" and there is a 7.25" X 0.25" o-ring from Fastenal used as a gasket between the plate and the top of the keg.  The hold-down bar is made from a keg spear, some all-thread and a few nuts, and is held on with a couple c-clamps.

246

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Traveling from OH to OK with kegged beer...

« on: November 30, 2009, 08:28:52 AM »

Well, I made it to OK and back to OH without incident.  I took a corny of Amber Ale and a couple fifths of limoncello.  I was right - the family wiped-out the whole keg over a couple days, and I brought it home empty.  I bought one of the small serving systems that uses the 16-ounce CO2 cartridges.  It worked great, and took just under 3 cartridges to serve the whole keg.

247

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Keg, bottle or both?

« on: November 30, 2009, 08:03:11 AM »

Actually I don't have a kegging system (yet) but Santa may be good to me this year.  I'd expect I would only bottle after that if I had all my kegs in use and needed the keg.  I would then bottle to free up the keg.  And also bottle for competitions.

+1 for me.  Bottling is horrid. 

question-which probably has no definative answers:

How many Kegs does a newb kegger need.  I have a couple sources-the legit one is about $15 each picked up.  I am thinking I want 6-8 to start with.

question 2-when I rack from primary can I condition at my beer cellar temp? -So if I get more kegged than I'm drinking, can I build up a stockpile?

How many kegs to start with depends on how fast you go through beer, how many you intend to have on tap at the same time and, to some extent, what styles you brew.  I have 8 corny kegs.  I usually have four beers on tap at the same time and, on average, go through a keg or two in a month.  With 4 on tap, that leaves the other 4 to have a couple "on deck" and a couple in longer-term lagering.  That has worked out okay for me so far, but I sometimes have to do some careful planning, or bottle-off the end of a keg to free one up for a batch - so I'm planning to get 4 more.

Concerning question #2 - Once your beer is done fermenting, you can force carbonate it (which works best once the beer is cold), or you can naturally carbonate it as you would a bottled beer.  I usually force carbonate, but have naturally carbonated kegs at basement temperatures (62-66F) with good results.  Once a beer is carbonated, it can be stored at cellar temperatures for several months without harm.  I often brew 10-gallon batches and store one of the kegs in this way if I don't have room in one of my fridges.

248

The Pub / Re: Wolverines!

« on: November 19, 2009, 08:56:01 PM »

Well, given what week it is...BUCKEYES!!!

Sorry for the hijack, and good luck to the critter.

249

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Beer Bottle Labels

« on: November 19, 2009, 07:46:13 PM »

When I was bottling, I used 3/4" round Avery labels and stuck them on the caps.  Not as spiffy as full labels on the bottle, but nicer than marking the caps with a Sharpie, and a lot easier to deal with than regular labels.  They come off with the cap, so there is no scraping or cleaning them off.  There is an Avery MS-Word template available online - just search for the label's product number.

250

Equipment and Software / Re: Found a possible large volume fermenter. Pondering, is it safe to use?

« on: November 18, 2009, 11:57:11 AM »

+1 to Oxyclean or PBW.  Since the vessel held an acid-based sanitizer, you might want to follow a thorough water rinse with a wash of mild alkaline cleaner like PBW, then rinse again.  Other than that, I think your primary concern should be whether the interior of the vessel is smooth and free of cracks or scratches that could harbor unwanted bacteria.  Avoid using a carboy brush or anything that would scratch the plastic when cleaning.  A good PBW or OxyClean soak and vigorous agitation usually works fine.

251

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: German Ale Yeast 1007

« on: November 18, 2009, 11:30:05 AM »

+1 on another week in the primary, then lagering for a month or so.  Even if you're not able to lager in the secondary, and have to bottle it up, cold aging/conditioning in the bottles after carbonating will make a difference.  Bottle it up, let it carbonate, then put the bottles in the fridge and try to forget about them for a month.  Or, better yet, try one each week to see how the cold aging affects the beer over time.

252

General Homebrew Discussion / Traveling from OH to OK with kegged beer...

« on: November 18, 2009, 11:21:25 AM »

I'm going to visit family in Oklahoma for Thanksgiving, and they've asked whether I'll be bringing some beer.  When they visited me this summer, we (16 of us) wiped out a corny keg of cream ale in one afternoon - so I don't think taking a couple sixers of bottles is going to get it done, and I'm thinking about taking a keg.  We'll be driving through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Oklahoma.

Is anyone aware of specific legal issues with transporting this quantity of 5.5% ABV beer packaged in this way across State lines?  I'm not selling it or distributing it - just taking it to my uncle's house for Thanksgiving.  I know it's likely that I'd "fly under the radar" anyway, but I'd like to know whether it's worth the bother.  I suppose I could bottle some beer off of my kegs, but I can move more beer in less space if it's in a keg.

253

Equipment and Software / Re: Chillin' with the Weazle.....

« on: November 15, 2009, 08:08:00 PM »

If you have a pump, maybe a whirlpool IC ala JZ would be the way to go...

http://www.wortomatic.com/articles/MyloFiore%27s-Jamil-O-Chiller

254

The Pub / Re: Brew Dawgs!

« on: November 13, 2009, 02:09:22 PM »

I don't have a dog - just a cat who thinks he's a dog.  He weighs 22 lbs., and likes popcorn and potato chips. 

Here's Mason:

255

The Pub / Re: Forum Members Pics

« on: November 13, 2009, 02:00:08 PM »

Here's a picture of the family at this year's OktoBEERfest!  I'm the guy in the hat.




Here's a pic of a sampler of the beers we brewed and served.  L to R - Schwarzbier, Altbier, Märzen and Hefeweizen.