[Patrick]

Well, on my second batch now. Yet another ipa, lol. It's all I seem to like anymore.
Couple questions for the group:
When you transfer your chilled wort to Vessi, do you strain the trub then or just pour it all in?
Do you pitch your yeast once the wort is in Vessi, or in your brew kettle once its chilled?

I chill the wort and transfer to Vessi, and filter some of the trub as I do that with a nice stainless steel cylindrical filter, and then pitch my yeast starter. The only thing I don't like about that is how fast the strainer fills up with trub (which is mostly hops I think) and then how long it takes to drain. So I'll probably stop doing that and just purge the trub with the SRS.

When do you wait until starting your SRS purging process?

I wait at least a week just so I don't dump out the yeast but I do wonder if leaving the trub in longer is bad or good. I think the documentation says to wait until the fermentation stops, then start purging but I wonder if you wait to long if that can cause off flavors in the beer. Kinda like letting a tea bag seep to long syndrome.

I chill with a wort chiller, strain the same way as you, aerate the wort with a vigorous stir, and then pitch the yeast. When it comes to the SRS I only start that process once my gravity has settled and I've crashed it. I'll start checking my gravity shortly after the bubbler stops bubbling.


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[blenderbender]

FYI.... I plugged into a metered outlet for my first brew and figured out what it cost, at $0.08/kwh, to go through fermentation for 10 days, cold crashing to 35 deg. for 48 hrs., and keeping chilled at 40 deg so far for another week. Ambient temp has probably averaged 64 deg. I'm up to a grand total of $0.48... I can live with that!

[Patrick]

FYI.... I plugged into a metered outlet for my first brew and figured out what it cost, at $0.08/kwh, to go through fermentation for 10 days, cold crashing to 35 deg. for 48 hrs., and keeping chilled at 40 deg so far for another week. Ambient temp has probably averaged 64 deg. I'm up to a grand total of $0.48... I can live with that!

Fun fact! I think my Vessi is nearly empty with the current beer and I've noticed that the compressor is kicking in much more frequently. Just in interesting observation. I suppose it would have to do with liquids holding temp better then the increased airspace that is now present so it has to chill more often... or something like that maybe.


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[blenderbender]

Is anyone else disappointed in the dispensing temps? I'm set at 40 deg. and after a couple draws in quick succession, the coldest beer I can get is 45 deg. I'm hoping I can get an ice cold brew out once the heat of summer sets in. I'm thinking an insulating jacket around the vessel is going to be a 'must have'.

[cjdock]

Is anyone else disappointed in the dispensing temps? I'm set at 40 deg. and after a couple draws in quick succession, the coldest beer I can get is 45 deg. I'm hoping I can get an ice cold brew out once the heat of summer sets in. I'm thinking an insulating jacket around the vessel is going to be a 'must have'.

Yup, I thought the same about my first batch as well. I think the coldest in the cup has only been a tab under 50.
I'm probably going to do the same as you and find an insulating blanket for tank.

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[NtegrA]

Hi Guys and Gals,

In the middle of my second batch. My first was an Irish Red for guess what??? That's right St. Patties! (finished drinking the stuff way before the day tho...) Even 3D printed myself a Irish themed tap handle for the occasion! Like others I noticed even though I was set at 35 degrees, I could not get a pour under 50 degrees.

I decided to go with an IPA this time around requiring some dry hopping during secondary fermentation. Couple of questions..

1. Are we supposed to shut off the relief valve at some point? (I left it open 1st batch until I drank every last drop)

2. If I open to add hops for secondary, do I do the same steps with the relief valve as first fermentation (close, pressurize, open valve just enough) or close it completely or leave it be?

3. I also wasted a LOT of beer through purging the SRS (or maybe the bartender [ME] was just running the tap more often than I thought). The site glass for me seems to always look the same color (murky brown). What exactly does "clear" look like?

4. anyone used the bottler? Didn't turn out too well for me. Uncapping after a few days didn't give the telltale sound effect and puff of smoke of a nicely carbonated beer and no head when poured. Maybe there's a science to it? Very unimpressive result for me (is that a wet noodle in your pocket? grin) I mean how do you keep the 1-2 inches of CO2 in the bottle long enough to cap the thing once removed from the bottler?

[NtegrA]

Setup a new facebook group here were we can post different topics:

https://facebook.com/groups/1405090162897596

Any way you can turn off the need to "log in" to Facebook? Some of us don't do "Social Media". GRIN

[valestij]

Setup a new facebook group here were we can post different topics:

https://facebook.com/groups/1405090162897596

Any way you can turn off the need to "log in" to Facebook? Some of us don't do "Social Media". GRIN

Sorry, looks like you need a Facebook account to view the posts. It's a public group so anyone with Facebook can see the stuff, but unfortunately you need to at least have an account.

That part sucks, but the nice thing is there are multiple threads going on different topics.

[valestij]

Hi Guys and Gals,

In the middle of my second batch. My first was an Irish Red for guess what??? That's right St. Patties! (finished drinking the stuff way before the day tho...) Even 3D printed myself a Irish themed tap handle for the occasion! Like others I noticed even though I was set at 35 degrees, I could not get a pour under 50 degrees.

I decided to go with an IPA this time around requiring some dry hopping during secondary fermentation. Couple of questions..

1. Are we supposed to shut off the relief valve at some point? (I left it open 1st batch until I drank every last drop)

2. If I open to add hops for secondary, do I do the same steps with the relief valve as first fermentation (close, pressurize, open valve just enough) or close it completely or leave it be?

3. I also wasted a LOT of beer through purging the SRS (or maybe the bartender [ME] was just running the tap more often than I thought). The site glass for me seems to always look the same color (murky brown). What exactly does "clear" look like?

4. anyone used the bottler? Didn't turn out too well for me. Uncapping after a few days didn't give the telltale sound effect and puff of smoke of a nicely carbonated beer and no head when poured. Maybe there's a science to it? Very unimpressive result for me (is that a wet noodle in your pocket? grin) I mean how do you keep the 1-2 inches of CO2 in the bottle long enough to cap the thing once removed from the bottler?

I guess I left my relief valve partially open the whole time.  Not sure if it matters or not.

On the bottler, I haven't opened any yet that I bottled as a kegged most of it.  CO2 is heavier than air though,  so it won't "float away". I'll let you know when I open one if it is flat.

[cjdock]

Hi Guys and Gals,

In the middle of my second batch. My first was an Irish Red for guess what??? That's right St. Patties! (finished drinking the stuff way before the day tho...) Even 3D printed myself a Irish themed tap handle for the occasion! Like others I noticed even though I was set at 35 degrees, I could not get a pour under 50 degrees.

I decided to go with an IPA this time around requiring some dry hopping during secondary fermentation. Couple of questions..

1. Are we supposed to shut off the relief valve at some point? (I left it open 1st batch until I drank every last drop)

2. If I open to add hops for secondary, do I do the same steps with the relief valve as first fermentation (close, pressurize, open valve just enough) or close it completely or leave it be?

3. I also wasted a LOT of beer through purging the SRS (or maybe the bartender [ME] was just running the tap more often than I thought). The site glass for me seems to always look the same color (murky brown). What exactly does "clear" look like?

4. anyone used the bottler? Didn't turn out too well for me. Uncapping after a few days didn't give the telltale sound effect and puff of smoke of a nicely carbonated beer and no head when poured. Maybe there's a science to it? Very unimpressive result for me (is that a wet noodle in your pocket? grin) I mean how do you keep the 1-2 inches of CO2 in the bottle long enough to cap the thing once removed from the bottler?

Aren't 3D printers great!
With the relief valve, once the vessel tank pressure is lower than the set point of the valve, for all practically purposes the valve is seated and closed, and not letting pressure out anymore. With that said, as soon as the fermentation process is almost done, I close my valve all the way just because..
For dry hopping I released all the vessel pressure, took the lid off and dropped them in. Then I pumped the vessel back to 10 psi but then purged with the relief valve to push the oxygen out of the tank, just like I do with my kegging system, and then make sure you pump back up to 10 psi after that.
I thought the same with the SRS system, seems to purge a lot of beer...but my beer came out super clear. You can see a pic of a glass I posted a while ago. Looking at the beer threw the site glass is a bit tough to read, but you will see the beer clear up threw it, but mostly I just look to make sure no more trub is in there.
I didn't get the bottler so no input on that.
As a test, I'm going to measure the liquid lost when using the SRS just to see the overall loss. I know when I go from my primary carboys to a secondary, I lost a fair amount there but it did seem like my first batch of beer wasn't near 5 gallons when it was pouring time. The tank is big, I should probably up my recipes to bigger batches, like 6.5 gallons or something.

[blenderbender]

First batch was hard cider that turned out really nice! Just starting an IPA and posted this question on the indiegogo site but got no answer yet. I was going to pump cooled wort directly from Grainfather into Vessi via the beverage (kegging) port and wondering if there is any reason I shouldn't. I'm still going to have to flip the lid to pitch but figured less exposure is better.... any thoughts?

[cjdock]

First batch was hard cider that turned out really nice! Just starting an IPA and posted this question on the indiegogo site but got no answer yet. I was going to pump cooled wort directly from Grainfather into Vessi via the beverage (kegging) port and wondering if there is any reason I shouldn't. I'm still going to have to flip the lid to pitch but figured less exposure is better.... any thoughts?

I guess that would work. The thing is, how do you clean it after you pitch? I wouldn't like to run star san down it once the wort is in the vessel already.
Whats your recipe for the hard cider? The one I made is from Brad Smiths website. Its such a good one for sure.

[blenderbender]

First batch was hard cider that turned out really nice! Just starting an IPA and posted this question on the indiegogo site but got no answer yet. I was going to pump cooled wort directly from Grainfather into Vessi via the beverage (kegging) port and wondering if there is any reason I shouldn't. I'm still going to have to flip the lid to pitch but figured less exposure is better.... any thoughts?

I guess that would work. The thing is, how do you clean it after you pitch? I wouldn't like to run star san down it once the wort is in the vessel already.
Whats your recipe for the hard cider? The one I made is from Brad Smiths website. Its such a good one for sure.

Why would I need to sanitize after using it? I did that prior so my thinking is it's unnecessary as it will be sealed until I go to use it for kegging. Maybe I'm missing something here.

My cider was simply 5.5 gal. apple juice (can't tell ya what kind of apples) I got from neighbors tree and had it in the freezer. I jacked it up with 1.5 lb. dextrose and that was it. I wrote down the yeast I used..... nothing fancy, just a generic dry pack..... but at the moment I don't recall what it was. After fermentation I needed to back sweeten it a bit.... I like dry, but not that dry. I tossed in 2 cans of frozen concentrate. OG was 1.062 and FG 1.000

[blenderbender]

Whats your recipe for the hard cider? The one I made is from Brad Smiths website. Its such a good one for sure.
[/quote]
I did heat the juice to 160 deg and did not use any campden tabs. Also used some sparkolloid to clear it after cold crashing didn't.

[cjdock]

First batch was hard cider that turned out really nice! Just starting an IPA and posted this question on the indiegogo site but got no answer yet. I was going to pump cooled wort directly from Grainfather into Vessi via the beverage (kegging) port and wondering if there is any reason I shouldn't. I'm still going to have to flip the lid to pitch but figured less exposure is better.... any thoughts?

I guess that would work. The thing is, how do you clean it after you pitch? I wouldn't like to run star san down it once the wort is in the vessel already.
Whats your recipe for the hard cider? The one I made is from Brad Smiths website. Its such a good one for sure.

Why would I need to sanitize after using it? I did that prior so my thinking is it's unnecessary as it will be sealed until I go to use it for kegging. Maybe I'm missing something here.

My cider was simply 5.5 gal. apple juice (can't tell ya what kind of apples) I got from neighbors tree and had it in the freezer. I jacked it up with 1.5 lb. dextrose and that was it. I wrote down the yeast I used..... nothing fancy, just a generic dry pack..... but at the moment I don't recall what it was. After fermentation I needed to back sweeten it a bit.... I like dry, but not that dry. I tossed in 2 cans of frozen concentrate. OG was 1.062 and FG 1.000

I just think that wort sitting in a tube for a month wouldn't be good but yea, I hear ya. I haven't used any of the ports on mine yet. I don't do gravity tests either, I just want a few weeks and figure its done fermenting. I do take the OG and FG though, just nothing in between.
I do love Brad's recipe for sure. This time I used us-05 instead of the liquid yeast he recommended so hopefully it comes out as good as the first batch that I followed to a tee. I'll bail on the cinnamon sticks though...they never even dissolved all the way. I'll use a powder.