Messages

1321

Kegging and Bottling / Re: (Maybe) Buying my first kegs, anything I should know?

« on: May 12, 2011, 11:06:24 am »

Ron - I agree that pressure testing is a good idea, and I also use a bottle of star san for this. 

However, IMO a leaky poppet or a lid is typically a pretty simple fix and I wouldn't walk away over a minor and fixable leak. 

I've heard of bends on the keg mouth that don't allow a seal, but I've yet to encounter a leak in my kegs that can't be fixed easily - poppets and gaskets, mostly, though I have also replace one or two pressure relief valves.

In the last 60 days or so, I've been quoted $60 and $65 a keg for used kegs at the LHBS and the gas supplier.  This is a huge jump from the approx. $30 they were going for last summer.

For $25 a piece, I'd grab them (assuming there's no major damage).  And, I'd recommend at some point stocking up on a few spare parts - gaskets (McMaster Carr is the place) and poppets, for sure.

1322

Kegging and Bottling / Re: (Maybe) Buying my first kegs, anything I should know?

« on: May 12, 2011, 09:11:04 am »

$25 is a good price.  Even if you wait to accumulate a regulator and tank, this is a deal I would jump on.

If you're just starting, I don't know that pin vs. ball lock matter much.  Mine are all ball lock. I've got 10 or so, so it makes it much simpler to stay with one style.

1323

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Overshot OG - dilute?

« on: May 11, 2011, 06:57:48 pm »

Ah.  Not reading it quite correctly.  Good point. 

But I'm less concerned about the actual OG than I am about being significantly higher than I wanted to be...  I'll just see where it winds up and go from there.

As to the recipe, I was adapting an all grain recipe for Third Coast Old Ale, which called for 24 lbs of 2-row, and two lbs of specialty grains.  Taking out 3 lbs of 2-row and the specialty grains (the amount I used for the partial mash) leaves 21 lbs of grain.  I did a rough conversion of 2/3 per lb., which would give 14 lb. DME.  I wanted it to be drier so I reduced the DME, threw in some sugar and called it a day.  Didn't do any calculations... Also failed to account for the fact that the recipe was a 5.5 gal, not 5, but there ya go.

No worries.

1324

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Overshot OG - dilute?

« on: May 11, 2011, 04:29:47 pm »

Never sure of anything, but the hydrometer was floating just under 1.2

I've had what seemed like erroneous high readings before so I try to be pretty careful.

I add about a gallon of water to the carboy, add the wort, top up, stir, aerate, stir and take a sample with a wine thief.

The wort was REALLY viscous, so perhaps it didn't mix well.

Recipe was roughly:

3 ls pils
1 lb victory
1 lb carapils
mashed for 60 minutes at 150.
10 lbs Breiss Pils DME
2 lbs sugar
Hops were all Centennial.  2 oz for 60, 2 oz for 20, 1 oz at flameout.

Depending on where it finishes and how it tastes will help me judge how off the reading may have been.  I get higher readings off my hydrometer than I would expect from any of the on-line recipe calculators I've used to check.  But, the same hydrometer gave me what seemed to be spot on readings for the cider I made last fall.

Next batch I'll likely test with two separate hydrometers.

1325

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Overshot OG - dilute?

« on: May 11, 2011, 02:50:54 pm »

Brewed an old ale over the weekend and WAY overshot my OG.  This was a partial boil, which I topped up in the carboy.

Target OG was 1.09 or so.  I measured at well over 1.1, approaching 1.2.  1.2 seems impossible, but the wort was like syrup.

Anyway, it's fermenting like mad right now but I'm not sure I really want a beer that will turn out as strong as this one is likely to be, or that finishes as high as this one likely will.  Some years ago, I would probably have pitched a champagne yeast to finish it off and had a monster beer, but that's not my intent these days.

So, I'm thinking of doing one of the following things and am interested in advice/experiences/etc. if anyone has done something similar.

1) Split the batch to two kegs and dilute with water (I'm thinking perhaps a gallon per keg).
2) Split the batch to two separate carboys, brew a very weak 2 gallon batch, split this between the carboys and pitch some additional yeast.

I'm also thinking of dry hopping or adding oak chips to one of the splits just to get some variety.

I've never diluted before, so I'm not quite sure what to expect.  I've read other threads here as well as an old BYO article by Chris Colby, so I know it should work but I'd like to hear from others who may have done similar.

Thanks!

1326

Equipment and Software / Re: Cold Room - modifying window A/C

« on: May 10, 2011, 07:13:40 pm »

Well, for the time being my hill billy rig with the coffee can seems to be working.  We'll see if it can take it down to 55 degrees.

It looks like garbage, but it was cheap and easy.

FWIW - I'm not worried about freezing the condensor.  I'm only trying to get down to 50 at most and this hopefully does the trick.  The JC temp controller ought to provide enough cycling to keep the A/C alive. If it dies, I'm out nothing as it's been sitting in the basement taking up space for years.

1327

Equipment and Software / Cold Room - modifying window A/C

« on: May 10, 2011, 12:07:24 pm »

Now that it's warming up, I need to finish off my cold room.

The window unit I'm planning to use does not want to cool below 60 degrees.  I have it hooked to a Johnson Controls temp controller, but the issue is with the unit itself.

I've pulled off the front panel and located the temperature sensor.  My approach for the time being is to put the sensor into a coffee can with a small incandescent bulb to warm it up, thus hopefully bringing the room temp down below 60.

Does anyone have advice/recommendations/links for a more elegant way of rigging this?  Duct-taping a coffee can to the side of the a/c seems a tad hill-billy.

I haven't pulled the controls fully apart to see if I can bypass the temp sensor as I'll need to pull the unit out of the window to open the case further.  It needs to come out anyway so I can finish painting and insulating so I may get to that this weekend.

Nonetheless, I'm sure others have dealt with this before and I could benefit from some advice.

1328

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: How many times have you reused a tube/packet of yeast?

« on: May 10, 2011, 09:06:27 am »

I don't recall going past three generations.  Mostly for the same reasons as Gordon.

I'm interested, though, in Gordon's experience re-pitching hefe yeast.  What didn't turn out right?  Any thoughts as to why?

I don't recall reusing hefe, myself.  But I don't make many wheat beers.

1329

Beer Recipes / Re: Making a stout kit better

« on: May 06, 2011, 07:40:44 am »

Not that this directly answers your questions, but if you're steeping the grains and adding extra DME and hops, why not just skip the pre-hopped can?  You're not saving any steps at this point by using the pre-hopped can and no one will be able to accurately tell you what's in it.

That said, and not having my recipes in front of me, I think I typically do the black patent and roast barley at around 1/4 lb for 5 gallons.  I wouldn't go over 1/2 lb of either.

Chocolate malt or dark crystal is definitely a good idea to include.  If you're scrapping the stout kit, you could steep more, but if not 1/2 lb ought to be enough to add what you're looking for.

If you're going imperial, definitely add more hops.  I typically make stouts with Irish ale yeast and use Fuggles and East Kent Golding as my basic hop additions.

I would definitely go for a liquid Irish or American ale yeast (depending on what you're looking to brew).  But don't toss the yeast packet with the kit.  I like to keep dry yeast around for emergencies, such as spur-of-the-moment brewing (doesn't happen so much anymore with kids) or when fermentation doesn't seem to take off correctly.

1330

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Chilling Wort - Covered or Uncovered?

« on: April 27, 2011, 02:15:53 pm »

I typically chill it uncovered.  It's not really sitting there for that long, so I've not worried too much about it.

1331

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Getting started with kegging

« on: April 26, 2011, 11:32:31 am »

Good advice, Euge. 

As noted elsewhere, I would recommend breaking them down and cleaning them one at a time.

Not all of the posts and poppets are interchangeable.  You might get lucky and get kegs of the same make.

My first batch of kegs was a hard lesson learned trying to match posts to kegs after a batch cleaning.

1332

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Fresh filled keg storage without refrigeration

« on: April 26, 2011, 09:09:30 am »

I've only got room in my fridge for two kegs, so at any one time I have four or more sitting in storage in the basement.  Sealed, carbonated and waiting.

Not much different that the odd case or two of bottles I've got down there.

1333

Equipment and Software / Re: What's the best cleaner?

« on: April 25, 2011, 12:53:40 pm »

I, too, use a lot of Oxy Clean.  For stubborn gunk, though, I just use Cascade detergent, or whatever unscented brand I can get on sale.

I think I gave PBW a whirl some time ago and didn't find it to be much more effective than Cascade.

Anyway, I have a tub somewhere of some brewery wash I bought years ago.  I rarely, if ever, have used it in the last 5 or more years.

1334

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: How Long to Leave Cider on Berries?

« on: April 15, 2011, 11:29:01 am »

I threw some craisins in my last batch of cider.  I don't recall how long they sat, but it was extended.

I don't think anything bad can happen. 

The taste was awesome, and it's on my list to pop open a keg and throw in some craisins to the non-craisined batch of cider.

Once they're in the keg, I would pretty much just leave them until the keg kicks.

1335

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Glass or Plastic

« on: April 11, 2011, 02:50:54 pm »

I forgot the disclaimer.  Excessive consumption may cause blurry vision, slurring, headaches, etc...