[udubdawg]

I've never used San Fran Lager that warm.  Generally 57-60.  Is it still clean at 68?  If so, I'll add that to my tool box...

[duboman]

I've never used San Fran Lager that warm.  Generally 57-60.  Is it still clean at 68?  If so, I'll add that to my tool box...

I also like it on the colder side, it tends to get pretty fruity mid to high 60s IME

[tomsawyer]

I think the pressurized fermentation helps keep the esters down.  We've brewed Cali Common a couple of times now in the Brewhemoth and its pretty clean as far as esters.  At least its on the order of US05 as far as ester profile.

I've been thinking of making a fermentation chamber for the Brewhemoth.  I could go with a commercial upright freezer but that is a bit pricey.  I have the cooling coil attachment but I think you'd have to insulated the tank itself for it to do much good.  I'm thinking of making a small room in the garage where there is a small window, and putting a small AC unit in the window.  Insulate the box with 2" foam board.  Then I could put the conical in there as well as kegs and stuff.  Probably look redneck as heck but its only the garage and we don't park cars in it anyway.  In fact this is going to be done in conjunction with my putting a brewstand out there so I can just brew and pump the beer over to the fermentors.

[ynotbrusum]

I think you are fine on all counts - if it doesn't fine out, then just serve in opaque cups!  As to the garage foam room - great idea; I was thinking the same thing when I had another chest freezer drop into my lap, so that solved that - I ferment in 60L Speidel's and similar plastic containers, so they fit in the chest freezer, though lifting them is a bear!

[tomsawyer]

Thought I'd provide an update now that we're close to the event (Saturday afternoon).  I ran the ferment at 15psi all week and its been producing gas until just today.  Filled a couple of cornies tonight, the beer is still fairly cloudy but it tastes dry, esters are low and no off flavors.  All in all a decent neutral brew for the BMC crowd.  Hope they like it.  I bumped the pressure to 20psi and will lager for 36hr and serve it up.  There still another 7gal in the Brewhemoth, I'm going to let it sit and clear another week before kegging it.  Harvested yeast last week so I can do this again if needed.

[duxx]

Lennie, kudos for exposing more people to homebrewing with your donation.  Just remember you still have to "market" your beer even though you're giving it away.  Make it sound exotic yet "safely" adventurous for the BMC crowd.  I would call it something like an Unfiltered Pre-Prohibition American Lager.  That should get their attention!

[AmandaK]

Lennie, cheers on making it work! And Steve, good idea on the marketing - if it tastes good, no one will ever know - it's genius!

I thought I'd post another data point for those that stumble upon this later.

I brewed a Cream Ale (close to the Jamil recipe, but not exact, with US-05) on 8/25/13, OG 1.051, fermented at 66F. On 9/2, I took a gravity reading through a 1/2" of krausen on 9/2 (8 days later) and read 1.016. I pulled it out of the fermentation chamber, kept it at room temperature (75F) and tossed in 1tsp of Fermaid-K. Two days later the krasuen fell and I took a gravity reading, it was 1.008. It's currently in for two days of crash cooling, then I'll gelatin in the keg while carbonating and serve it on September 14th for a party!

I think that makes for a 10 day ferment with a couple more days in there for 'polishing'.

[tomsawyer]

That is true Steve, I told the guy to just call it "homebrew" but your name is more intriguing and less scary.  I was told the overall reaction to it wasn't stellar but they did drink it all.  I wish I had fined it the day before, but I wasn't wanting to bleed the pressure off the fermentor just to add the finings.  I suspect it would have gone over better if it weren't as cloudy but then again BMC drinkers don't even like the taste of the competition's BMC so thats a tough crowd to break into.

[stlaleman]

Lennie, the internal chillers work great. At the NHC, we kept an uninsulated Brewhemoth (but only water in it) in the low 40's throughout the show. I have been fermenting in my shop (unisulated shed with a tin roof) this summer, was holding 67 in two Brewhemoths thru the last bout of 100 degree weather, tho I did throw a sleeping bag over them. The new 3/8 models work better.

[tomsawyer]

What are you using to cool and circulate water (or glycol)?  My own half-baked attempt involved a little pond pump in a 1/2gal container of water that I had in a wine cooler.  I drilled holes in the side of the wine cooler for the hoses.  It didn't change the internal temp as far as I could tell, although I was only monitoring temp with a temp strip on the outside of the conical.  It just seems to me that the amount of surface area of the conical is as much or more than the internal chiller, so you'd have to insulate the conical to get anywhere.  Sounds like I might've given up too soon.  I have the narrow chiller unit as you probably know.

I've kept the Brewhemoth full ever since I won it, its one truly exceptional device.  Pressurized fermentation is awesome, it does good things as far as the ferment and you come out with carbonated beer too.