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Author Topic: What a great brew day  (Read 1815 times)

Offline BrewBama

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What a great brew day
« on: September 24, 2018, 01:31:53 pm »
Everything went right.  No stress, no worries. Man, I needed that.  I attribute it to opening my mill to the mark Mr JSP put on the Malt Mill ‘cause I figure he put it there for a reason. ...and what a dream. Darcy’s Law works after all. Great mash efficiency, great Brewhouse efficiency, ...just an easy brew day. I didn’t even have to make coffee; my grand daughter did it for me. I can’t say enough.

My last brew day was a disaster: stuck recirculation, made a mess trying to fix it, one hassle after another, took forever, and on and on, ...but the beer turned out good so I guess all’s well that ends well.


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Offline Slowbrew

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Re: What a great brew day
« Reply #1 on: September 24, 2018, 02:40:26 pm »
I'm happy to hear your day went well.

I'm looking forward to the temp dropping one of these days so I can get started again.  I hate brewing on really hot days.  I much prefer 30F over 90F.  Your post gets me thinking about my next brew day.

Thanks!!

Paul
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Offline Robert

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Re: What a great brew day
« Reply #2 on: September 24, 2018, 02:55:08 pm »
Good to hear about a perfect day.  I love it when I stop trying too hard, get back to basics, and everything falls into place.  Hit all my targets on the nose and picked up half an hour somewhere last time!

BTW I've got my JSP set super tight with no troubles.  Can't remember your current setup.  Do you think my success could be because I don't have a pump on my lauter tun, and just drain by gravity into a grant?  (I do not pretend to understand Darcy's Law and its significance here.)  It's a round tun with a false bottom and center draw-off.
« Last Edit: September 24, 2018, 02:59:31 pm by Robert »
Rob Stein
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Offline BrewBama

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What a great brew day
« Reply #3 on: September 24, 2018, 03:04:28 pm »
Possibly. ...or I am just pumping too fast. Either way,  today I backed off and hit all my numbers.

Darcy’s Law is simply a liquid flowing thru a medium. I was basically making clay with so much flour vs grits. The grits allows the fluid to flow more efficiently thru the bed.

This is why I moved inside:


...  I hate brewing on really hot days.  ...


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« Last Edit: September 26, 2018, 06:55:09 am by BrewBama »

Offline ethinson

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Re: What a great brew day
« Reply #4 on: September 26, 2018, 05:54:22 am »
Those are the best days when you finish up and think "Wow.. that was easy". 

I'm sure every homebrewer has been there, but the days you have to run to the LHBS at the last second for something you forgot or broke (hydrometer, twice) are the pits. 

Hope the beer goes as well as the brew day!
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Offline Robert

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Re: What a great brew day
« Reply #5 on: September 29, 2018, 12:08:16 pm »
Had another one of those perfect days today.  Even my one mistake turned out to my advantage.   Boneheaded error, made some No. 2 Invert for my Best Bitter.  Realized after the fact I'd miscalculated and added more lactic acid than I should have.   But the sugar turned out fine.  Then realized, hey, I'm adding this at 15 min... my kettle acid addition is precisely covered, a twofer!   Yep,  chilled pH right on target, like everything else.  No harm, RDWHAHB.
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Offline denny

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Re: What a great brew day
« Reply #6 on: September 29, 2018, 12:44:37 pm »
Had another one of those perfect days today.  Even my one mistake turned out to my advantage.   Boneheaded error, made some No. 2 Invert for my Best Bitter.  Realized after the fact I'd miscalculated and added more lactic acid than I should have.   But the sugar turned out fine.  Then realized, hey, I'm adding this at 15 min... my kettle acid addition is precisely covered, a twofer!   Yep,  chilled pH right on target, like everything else.  No harm, RDWHAHB.

Good on ya!  I brew so infrequently these days that it seems like I'm always forgetting something or screwing something up.  But my last brew was the second time in a month and went pretty smoothly.  Maybe eventually I'll remember how to do it!
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Offline BrewBama

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What a great brew day
« Reply #7 on: December 17, 2018, 08:53:04 pm »
Possibly. ...or I am just pumping too fast. Either way,  today I backed off and hit all my numbers.

Darcy’s Law is simply a liquid flowing thru a medium. I was basically making clay with so much flour vs grits. The grits allows the fluid to flow more efficiently thru the bed.


Finally found the reasoning from Dave Miller: Depth, Load and Why They Matter, differential pressure, compression, particle size, stratification, and viscosity... (http://brewlikeapro.net/lautering.html)




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« Last Edit: December 17, 2018, 08:58:05 pm by BrewBama »

Offline Robert

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Re: What a great brew day
« Reply #8 on: December 18, 2018, 05:45:17 am »
Possibly. ...or I am just pumping too fast. Either way,  today I backed off and hit all my numbers.

Darcy’s Law is simply a liquid flowing thru a medium. I was basically making clay with so much flour vs grits. The grits allows the fluid to flow more efficiently thru the bed.


Finally found the reasoning from Dave Miller: Depth, Load and Why They Matter, differential pressure, compression, particle size, stratification, and viscosity... (http://brewlikeapro.net/lautering.html)




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Thanks for the link, that is way more than I'll probably ever have to know.   Even though my system seems to be dialed in pretty ideally,  curiosity makes me want do some calculations and see how it stacks up by these analyses.
Rob Stein
Akron, Ohio

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Offline Robert

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Re: What a great brew day
« Reply #9 on: December 18, 2018, 04:51:40 pm »
Possibly. ...or I am just pumping too fast. Either way,  today I backed off and hit all my numbers.

Darcy’s Law is simply a liquid flowing thru a medium. I was basically making clay with so much flour vs grits. The grits allows the fluid to flow more efficiently thru the bed.


Finally found the reasoning from Dave Miller: Depth, Load and Why They Matter, differential pressure, compression, particle size, stratification, and viscosity... (http://brewlikeapro.net/lautering.html)




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Thanks for the link, that is way more than I'll probably ever have to know.   Even though my system seems to be dialed in pretty ideally,  curiosity makes me want do some calculations and see how it stacks up by these analyses.
Well, what do you know.  Looks like my flow rate comes in dead on Dave's recommendation when I calculate for my grists and lauter tun -- arrived at by trial and error.   Well, not entirely.  Going back far enough in time, Dave Miller's first book was my best guide in learning the principles of lautering, and I guess he already had a pretty good grasp back then (even if arrived at by trial and error of his own!)  I've probably intuitively applied and refined the principles learned back then over the years and several lauter tuns.  Now I have a little better idea why what works, works.  Thanks again.

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Rob Stein
Akron, Ohio

I'd rather have questions I can't answer than answers I can't question.