What's fermenting now?
- Thread starter TN
- Start date
I let my lager sit in teh keg before vacation & it still tastes great but once it warms up in your glass it starts to stink a little. >.<
need to dry hop my Ipa...my take on Bells 2-hearted.
need to dry hop my Ipa...my take on Bells 2-hearted.
Oooh Care to share the recipe?Pssh. I used more hops than that just dry hopping my Pliny the Elder clone
Mmm... Double IPA.
And I can't believe I didn't post it in this thread already, but last Friday I spent the day at Tuatara Brewery as the guest brewer, Me, Dale, Carl the owner (and original brewer) and the new head brewer made a 4000L batch of the Belgian style Ardennes strong ale.... was an awesome day!!
Last edited:
Here's what I have in BeerSmith...Oooh Care to share the recipe?
Can you guys offer me some "expert" advise?
Back in the late 90's early 2000's I did a bunch of extract brewing. I still have my 2 soda kegs and CO2 tanks. Also have my Carboy (6g I believe).
I just started to get back into brewing so I went to the local "shop" and put together a Wit. WOW though... Prices seem to have gone way up on the extract or something bc what used to be maybe $25 for a 5g batch is now like $45 or so! So that has me itching to get into all-grain.
So, here is my question. There seems to be two lines of equipment, or two ways of doing it. First would be the setups that have multiple pots/keggles and burners so you are mashing in a pot with a flame under it. The flame going on/off helps set(control) your temp.
The other is to mash in a cooler of some sorts.
Well, I came across this local craigslist ad for a 10 gallon mash/lauter tun and 10 gallon hot liquor tank. Both made from converted 10 gallon rubbermaid beverage coolers.
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/for/2317567186.html
I'd like to talk him down to maybe $125 but even then, I don't want to pay $125 for something where I'll end up wanting the "other" setup (mashing in a pot over a flame)
Also, what else would I need? a large burner (turkey frier) and a pot to boil my wort in? Would it have to hold a full 10g if I were doing a 10g batch?
PNJ, Along the lines of this post... Can you go a bit more into the advantages/disadvantages of both?
for example, could I really do a 10g batch in these 10g coolers? How would the grains fit? Or do I only mash to about 8g and then top it off to 10g before I pitch my yeast?
Back in the late 90's early 2000's I did a bunch of extract brewing. I still have my 2 soda kegs and CO2 tanks. Also have my Carboy (6g I believe).
I just started to get back into brewing so I went to the local "shop" and put together a Wit. WOW though... Prices seem to have gone way up on the extract or something bc what used to be maybe $25 for a 5g batch is now like $45 or so! So that has me itching to get into all-grain.
So, here is my question. There seems to be two lines of equipment, or two ways of doing it. First would be the setups that have multiple pots/keggles and burners so you are mashing in a pot with a flame under it. The flame going on/off helps set(control) your temp.
The other is to mash in a cooler of some sorts.
Well, I came across this local craigslist ad for a 10 gallon mash/lauter tun and 10 gallon hot liquor tank. Both made from converted 10 gallon rubbermaid beverage coolers.
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/for/2317567186.html
I'd like to talk him down to maybe $125 but even then, I don't want to pay $125 for something where I'll end up wanting the "other" setup (mashing in a pot over a flame)
Also, what else would I need? a large burner (turkey frier) and a pot to boil my wort in? Would it have to hold a full 10g if I were doing a 10g batch?
PNJ, Along the lines of this post... Can you go a bit more into the advantages/disadvantages of both?
for example, could I really do a 10g batch in these 10g coolers? How would the grains fit? Or do I only mash to about 8g and then top it off to 10g before I pitch my yeast?
Last edited:
My personal rig is based on a rubbermaid cooler with a homemade copper manifold in the bottom. I preheat the cooler with hot water before mashing in, and over a 60 minute mash, might lose a degree or two depending on how many times I open it to stir. I'm not too concerned with the temperature loss because the range in which the conversion enzymes operate is fairly large (mid-140s to upper 150s). I use my kettle as a HLT and lauter in to my bottling bucket then slowly transfer that back to the kettle once it's empty. I really only see the need for precise temp. control if you're doing multi-temp. mashing and there's much debate, even among the pros, over whether most of those rests are even necessary.
I found this site to be very helpful back in the day: http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/index.html
A lot of your water will come from the sparge and will only pass through the cooler during lautering. For example, one of our beers at work gets mashed in with 22hl, but we collect 33hl during lautering with the difference being the sparge, or "make up" liquor.
I found this site to be very helpful back in the day: http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/index.html
Last edited:
If you are doing ten gallon batches you will need a kettle/pot that holds at least 12.5 gallons of liquid. you will then boil around 11.5 for about an hour and end up with 10 gallons of wort.
keep in mind, there are more ways to make all grain beer then there are people brewing...
My old way was in my tiny kitchen. I used a 48 quart rectangle cooler for my tun. I put a manifold in to strain the grains. I used two kettles on my stove, 4 and 5 gallons. I did full boils but used two pots. I would combine the contents of the pots after boiling/cooling. this method worked very well.
Now I'm outside with a standard turkey fryer. The pot that came with it is 7.5 gallons. I still use my square cooler.
Most people don't heat their mash tun constantly, they use an insulated cooler or wrap insulation around their kettle. As mentioned, a small drop in temp over an hour isn't much.
* how to brew all grain *
(below is the basics. there are a TON of ways to do the following steps.)
crush the grains.
soak the grains in hot water for about an hour (148-158 ish)
drain the hot water off the grains.
pour more hot water over the grains, rinsing more of the sugar off said grains.
boil all of the hot water for an hour adding hops at the times given in the recipe.
cool the hot water to around 67 degrees.
put cooled water (wort) into primary fermentation container/bucket.
put yeast in the same bucket.
wait for 3-4 weeks.
put in keg.
carb.
drink.
start over at the top.
I suggest going to homebrewtalk.com and reading the all grain section. Also, they have a chat and there are some damm good brewers hanging out daily. if you do the chat, let them know how much I think roadies suck.
keep in mind, there are more ways to make all grain beer then there are people brewing...
My old way was in my tiny kitchen. I used a 48 quart rectangle cooler for my tun. I put a manifold in to strain the grains. I used two kettles on my stove, 4 and 5 gallons. I did full boils but used two pots. I would combine the contents of the pots after boiling/cooling. this method worked very well.
Now I'm outside with a standard turkey fryer. The pot that came with it is 7.5 gallons. I still use my square cooler.
Most people don't heat their mash tun constantly, they use an insulated cooler or wrap insulation around their kettle. As mentioned, a small drop in temp over an hour isn't much.
* how to brew all grain *
(below is the basics. there are a TON of ways to do the following steps.)
crush the grains.
soak the grains in hot water for about an hour (148-158 ish)
drain the hot water off the grains.
pour more hot water over the grains, rinsing more of the sugar off said grains.
boil all of the hot water for an hour adding hops at the times given in the recipe.
cool the hot water to around 67 degrees.
put cooled water (wort) into primary fermentation container/bucket.
put yeast in the same bucket.
wait for 3-4 weeks.
put in keg.
carb.
drink.
start over at the top.
I suggest going to homebrewtalk.com and reading the all grain section. Also, they have a chat and there are some damm good brewers hanging out daily. if you do the chat, let them know how much I think roadies suck.
So is that setup the guy has with the two 10g coolers a good deal? Would you suggest it is a relatively inexpensive way to get into all-grain?
If you are doing ten gallon batches you will need a kettle/pot that holds at least 12.5 gallons of liquid. you will then boil around 11.5 for about an hour and end up with 10 gallons of wort.
keep in mind, there are more ways to make all grain beer then there are people brewing...
My old way was in my tiny kitchen. I used a 48 quart rectangle cooler for my tun. I put a manifold in to strain the grains. I used two kettles on my stove, 4 and 5 gallons. I did full boils but used two pots. I would combine the contents of the pots after boiling/cooling. this method worked very well.
Now I'm outside with a standard turkey fryer. The pot that came with it is 7.5 gallons. I still use my square cooler.
Most people don't heat their mash tun constantly, they use an insulated cooler or wrap insulation around their kettle. As mentioned, a small drop in temp over an hour isn't much.
* how to brew all grain *
(below is the basics. there are a TON of ways to do the following steps.)
crush the grains.
soak the grains in hot water for about an hour (148-158 ish)
drain the hot water off the grains.
pour more hot water over the grains, rinsing more of the sugar off said grains.
boil all of the hot water for an hour adding hops at the times given in the recipe.
cool the hot water to around 67 degrees.
put cooled water (wort) into primary fermentation container/bucket.
put yeast in the same bucket.
wait for 3-4 weeks.
put in keg.
carb.
drink.
start over at the top.
I suggest going to homebrewtalk.com and reading the all grain section. Also, they have a chat and there are some damm good brewers hanging out daily. if you do the chat, let them know how much I think roadies suck.
Everything in bold is the same as extract brewing, so that I know. It is just the mashing I need help with.
1) So if I were to do some 10g batches, what would I ferment in? Better to split it into two 6g carboys (or the plastic buckets) or one larger one? Guessing splitting it would be good since I have one 6g already.
2) what is the Hot Liquer tank for in that dude's ad?
3) So if I'm making a 10g batch, how much water do I mash with and how much to sparge with? do I mash with around 8 and then make up the rest wiht 2g of sparge water? If so, then I see how the 10g cooler will work for a 10g batch PLUS the volume of the grain. Or is ist less? I know with extract you would only boil around 5-6g and then make up the rest before you pitch it in the fermenter.
4) So when I have completed my mashing and I'm doing the regular boil, how much volume am I boiling here? (assume a 10g batch)
Last edited:
If you buy just those two coolers, with the intention of doing ten gallon batches, you will need to buy a large pot to boil in and a turkey fryer and probably something like a copper wort chiller. it's going to get expensive really fast. (welcome to brewing beer.. )
if I was you, I would go buy a turkey fryer (craigs probably has good deals) and either use a cooler you have or buy a cheap one from lowes,k-mart,etc. and learn the process of making AG. during the learning you will gain an understanding of what YOU want in YOUR brewery. what will work with the space/layout of your garage/yard/etc.
But that's me and my style. I'm very particular with the way I do things and the purchases that I make....
*
I'd split it into two primarys. you can also pitch different yeasts and make two slightly different beers that way.
)if I was you, I would go buy a turkey fryer (craigs probably has good deals) and either use a cooler you have or buy a cheap one from lowes,k-mart,etc. and learn the process of making AG. during the learning you will gain an understanding of what YOU want in YOUR brewery. what will work with the space/layout of your garage/yard/etc.
But that's me and my style. I'm very particular with the way I do things and the purchases that I make....
*
I'd split it into two primarys. you can also pitch different yeasts and make two slightly different beers that way.
Oh, it does not affect anything above, but I do have some extra equipment from my salt water reef tank that can help with brewing.
1) CO2 (from a calcium reactor)
2) Refractometer for calculating salinity (or specific gravity in this case)
3) PH probe accurate to .01 units
Oh, and I do have a small wort chiller as well. Maybe 30ft worth.
I also have an actual CHILLER from my tanks. It is a 1/4hp unit with a Titanium coil and temperature controler. All I would need is some sort of pump to circulate the wort through it.
1) CO2 (from a calcium reactor)
2) Refractometer for calculating salinity (or specific gravity in this case)
3) PH probe accurate to .01 units
Oh, and I do have a small wort chiller as well. Maybe 30ft worth.
I also have an actual CHILLER from my tanks. It is a 1/4hp unit with a Titanium coil and temperature controler. All I would need is some sort of pump to circulate the wort through it.
Last edited:
Sorry... HLT?
Sorry, hot liquor tank. It's just a vessel that holds hot water until you need it.
Ok, so what about this for making a 10g batch?
Buy the two coolers and a used turkey fryer with a 30qt pot (7.5g right?)
1) Heat up 5-6g of water and mash... Then sparge with 2g.
2) Transfer this 7g back into the pot and boil for an hour (I say 7 bc I'm sure about 1g will be absorbed by the grains, right?)
3) After the wort boils for 1 hr (maybe down to 6g now), transfer back to the other 10g cooler.
4) Add some ice (to bring temp down and volume up) and use my chiller as needed.
5) When at temp, transfer to two fermenters and pitch.
Any issues you see here?
All I would need is the fryer (I'm seeing some for about $50 on craigslist) and the coolers (again, maybe $125) so I could start AG'ing for about $175. Not a bad deal IMO.
Buy the two coolers and a used turkey fryer with a 30qt pot (7.5g right?)
1) Heat up 5-6g of water and mash... Then sparge with 2g.
2) Transfer this 7g back into the pot and boil for an hour (I say 7 bc I'm sure about 1g will be absorbed by the grains, right?)
3) After the wort boils for 1 hr (maybe down to 6g now), transfer back to the other 10g cooler.
4) Add some ice (to bring temp down and volume up) and use my chiller as needed.
5) When at temp, transfer to two fermenters and pitch.
Any issues you see here?
All I would need is the fryer (I'm seeing some for about $50 on craigslist) and the coolers (again, maybe $125) so I could start AG'ing for about $175. Not a bad deal IMO.
3 - usually around 1.25-1.5 quarts of water per pound of grain. Sparge with more than you think you need to make up the difference to account for the grain absorbing some of the water.
4 - this answer varies. For my set-up I typically collect a little over 6 gallons. With boil evaporation I end up right around 5.
Hmmm... Found another option that would give me a 100% legit (no McGuyver'ing) option.
They have a 54,000btu burner with a 50qt (12.5g) pot for only $100 at Home depot.
http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-Outdoor-Living-Grills-Accessories-Smokers-Fryers/King-Kooker/h_d1/N-5yc1vZb8jfZ5wd/R-202483429/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
They have a 54,000btu burner with a 50qt (12.5g) pot for only $100 at Home depot.
http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-Outdoor-Living-Grills-Accessories-Smokers-Fryers/King-Kooker/h_d1/N-5yc1vZb8jfZ5wd/R-202483429/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
I don't see any reason to buy that craigslist mash tun/HLT.
are you going to be batch sparging or fly sparging? If batch, then you don't really need a HLT.
My method is to heat my strike water (that's the initial hot water that you use to soak the grains) in my 7.5 gallon kettle (the one that came w/ my fryer). Then, 35 minutes into the mash, I use my 5 gallon kettle to heat my sparge water.
Having an extra cooler that holds hot water would just be an extra thing I need to store and be something that gets in the way.
Did you read/look through the 'show us your rig' thread?
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/show-us-your-sculpture-brew-rig-46578/
are you going to be batch sparging or fly sparging? If batch, then you don't really need a HLT.
My method is to heat my strike water (that's the initial hot water that you use to soak the grains) in my 7.5 gallon kettle (the one that came w/ my fryer). Then, 35 minutes into the mash, I use my 5 gallon kettle to heat my sparge water.
Having an extra cooler that holds hot water would just be an extra thing I need to store and be something that gets in the way.
Did you read/look through the 'show us your rig' thread?
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/show-us-your-sculpture-brew-rig-46578/
This is what i'm reading now...
http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/index.html
http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/index.html
This is a good read too....
http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/page1.php
http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/page1.php
Most just unscrew.... I could turn my tun back into a cooler in 2 seconds.
I may be able to get some of the smaller parts at a pretty cheap price. My uncle owns a home-brew/hydroponic shop in the chicago area. It would be too expensive to ship things like brew kettles or grain, but maybe some valves would be ok.
oh... check this out. This would be a good way of making my own cooler mash-turn for about $60 (coolers seem to be about $40 new)
http://www.kegglebrewing.com/Brass-Weldless-Fitting-For-Cooler-_p_110.html
Then slap on one of those braided hoses and I should be good. I could even do a T fitting and two braided hoses connected into a loop. I have no issue getting stuff from Home depot, as that can easily be justified and/or hidden within the house-repair budget.
oh... check this out. This would be a good way of making my own cooler mash-turn for about $60 (coolers seem to be about $40 new)
http://www.kegglebrewing.com/Brass-Weldless-Fitting-For-Cooler-_p_110.html
Then slap on one of those braided hoses and I should be good. I could even do a T fitting and two braided hoses connected into a loop. I have no issue getting stuff from Home depot, as that can easily be justified and/or hidden within the house-repair budget.
Last edited:
Everything I needed to make my mash tun was purchased at home depot for way less than a homebrew shop would charge.I may be able to get some of the smaller parts at a pretty cheap price. My uncle owns a home-brew/hydroponic shop in the chicago area. It would be too expensive to ship things like brew kettles or grain, but maybe some valves would be ok.
oh... check this out. This would be a good way of making my own cooler mash-turn for about $60 (coolers seem to be about $40 new)
http://www.kegglebrewing.com/Brass-Weldless-Fitting-For-Cooler-_p_110.html
Then slap on one of those braided hoses and I should be good. I could even do a T fitting and two braided hoses connected into a loop. I have no issue getting stuff from Home depot, as that can easily be justified and/or hidden within the house-repair budget.
Racked my Dark Ale (Full Extract, first homebrew) to secondary, brewing up a Porter (Partial Mash) as we speak. Drinking the latest Flying Dog mix pack. Next step - full grain. Life is good.
I've been reading up on that quite a bit - people seem split pretty 50/50 on racking to secondary. I'm giving it a shot, mostly because my kit came with a 6.5 and 5 gallon carboy, so it frees up space to make something else.
I think it's pretty well accepted that there are only a few reasons to rack to secondary:
- Bottling directly out of the fermenter
- Messy/sugary flavoring (e.g. fruit, oils, anything you don't want in the yeast cake)
- Bulk aging for long periods of time - months
- Free up the primary fermenter
Other than that, it's just extra work. Doesn't really hurt much, though, except the yeast don't get as much clean-up time.
- Bottling directly out of the fermenter
- Messy/sugary flavoring (e.g. fruit, oils, anything you don't want in the yeast cake)
- Bulk aging for long periods of time - months
- Free up the primary fermenter
Other than that, it's just extra work. Doesn't really hurt much, though, except the yeast don't get as much clean-up time.
There's a 20 or 30-something page thread on homebrewtalk discussing the pro's and con's (which, after reading this thread i'm sure you've looked at). The way I see it, there's few things you can do really do wrong making your own beer.I think it's pretty well accepted that there are only a few reasons to rack to secondary:
- Bottling directly out of the fermenter
- Messy/sugary flavoring (e.g. fruit, oils, anything you don't want in the yeast cake)
- Bulk aging for long periods of time - months
- Free up the primary fermenter
Other than that, it's just extra work. Doesn't really hurt much, though, except the yeast don't get as much clean-up time.
I guess i'll just have to try both and see what turns out better. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to figure out *some* way to get a whole mess of empty bottles for bottling...
Are you using an actual valve, or are you using something like the rubber stopper that is just jammed in?
Like this one
http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/page1.php
Oh wait... just found this thread on how to make one:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cheap-easy-10-gallon-rubbermaid-mlt-conversion-23008/
Last edited:
Just went and got all my parts using the above parts list.
Ended up being about $80 with tax and all. Not too bad I guess.
Ended up being about $80 with tax and all. Not too bad I guess.
I'm also in the process of making my own grain-mill from one of those pasta/clay rollers from the local craft store. $17 for the roller + maybe 2hrs of design and assembly using some scrap wood I had left over from my fish-tank stand build and I have a grain mill And a nice hopper for it.
All-Grain, here I come!!
All-Grain, here I come!!
lol...i had a dream last night where I was milling grains for a brew but couldn't get the grind right.
Doing my first AG batch tomorrow. Any of you guys have a good recipe for a dark brown ale? Something darker than a Newcastle but lighter than a porter. Maybe along the lines of a BigSky Moosedrool.
go to www.homebrewtalk.com/chat for live/real time answers to your questions.
DO NOT BOIL YOUR GRAINS!
Mash all your grains together.
For a first recipe, I'd do something like EdWort's Haus Ale. Search google/homebrew talk for it. It's simple, fast and gives great results. If you insist on doing something else, search HBT and you will find MANY proven recipes.
Did you get your grain crusher working or will you be having the store crush your grains?
DO NOT BOIL YOUR GRAINS!
Mash all your grains together.
For a first recipe, I'd do something like EdWort's Haus Ale. Search google/homebrew talk for it. It's simple, fast and gives great results. If you insist on doing something else, search HBT and you will find MANY proven recipes.
Did you get your grain crusher working or will you be having the store crush your grains?