I think we should make a kick ass Stir Plate like this!
-120mm comp fan
-25 ohm rheostat
-12V switch
-DC plug from a phone or similar 6 to 12V
-rare earth magnets or hard drive magnets
-stir bar
___________________________________
A 12V DC fan such as found in PC power supplies. Other voltages will work if you have the right power supply.
Two rare-earth (strong!) magnets around 12x5mm. I bought mine from Alpha Magnetics in Boronia for 75c each (+GST).
Plastic plate (must be non magnetic) for the flask to sit on. Furthermore with the aluminium plate I first tried, although it didn't interfere with the magnetic coupling between the motor and stir bar, it really gave the motor a hernia so I resorted to wood. I will replace with perspex when I get a chance.
Misc machine screws and spacers. I ended up using 40mm M3 screws which allowed me to fit two 9mm spacers (threaded) to the motor and some M3 short machine screws to hold the platform down.
One or more stir bars. I made the mistake of buying the variety that has a ring in the middle to act as a pivot. Well unfortunately it pivots every revolution and the rattling forced me to leave the starter out in the garage overnight. I will be getting the "no ring" version very soon. I sourced these from Science Supply Australia in Mitcham. They also have conical flasks.
You will also need a suitable vessel for stirring in, such as a conical flask, ideal because it has a flat base. Common glass vessels typically have a convex bottom (looking at the inside) making it difficult to centre the stir bar.
http://brewiki.org/StirPlate
___________________________________
http://www.thebitterbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=64
___________________________________
www.stirbars.com
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Brew Sculpture
Brewdog has a nice basic DIY BrewSculpture that I think we can build and it looks cheap enough.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Sanitization
StarSan
-Stay under 110F (equally effective regardless of water temp as long as withing working range), work for 3 min.
Bottling
-hold caps in Star San while bottling
-Stay under 110F (equally effective regardless of water temp as long as withing working range), work for 3 min.
Bottling
-hold caps in Star San while bottling
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Getting excited for the Imperial Porter on Sunday
I'm thinking if it is cold like today, it may have to be the SUB-ZERO IMPERIAL PORTER.....
...but we shall see.
...but we shall see.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Stainless Steel
Never use those green scrubbies. It erodes the oxidized layer on top.
refer to the fermentation podcast to hopefully hear about how to bring back that oxidized layer.
Do use Warm water, PBW, and little white scrubbies like the ones on morebeer.com
refer to the fermentation podcast to hopefully hear about how to bring back that oxidized layer.
Do use Warm water, PBW, and little white scrubbies like the ones on morebeer.com
Late Hopping
Late Hopping with Mr. Malty
With this technique comes the question of using whole leaf or pellet hops. Petersen uses a false bottom in his boil kettle and was able to use whole hops for his experiment. His concern was that a large amount of pellet hops might clog his counter-flow chiller. However, using whole hops results in a very large mass that can make it difficult to extract the wort at the end of the boil.
The majority of brewers I spoke with use pellet hops for this technique. Pellets break up quickly and expose the alpha acids for isomerization. Brynildson says, "I would always select pellets for late/whirlpool hopping."
Sousa suggests increasing the wort volume in the boil kettle. "You’ll lose some of your wort to the large amount of hops in the kettle," he said. "Increase your batch size an extra quart per five gallons to compensate."
With this technique comes the question of using whole leaf or pellet hops. Petersen uses a false bottom in his boil kettle and was able to use whole hops for his experiment. His concern was that a large amount of pellet hops might clog his counter-flow chiller. However, using whole hops results in a very large mass that can make it difficult to extract the wort at the end of the boil.
The majority of brewers I spoke with use pellet hops for this technique. Pellets break up quickly and expose the alpha acids for isomerization. Brynildson says, "I would always select pellets for late/whirlpool hopping."
Sousa suggests increasing the wort volume in the boil kettle. "You’ll lose some of your wort to the large amount of hops in the kettle," he said. "Increase your batch size an extra quart per five gallons to compensate."
Brewing Process (in Construction)
GRAINS
-Bring the grains out to rest at room temperature one day before BREWDAY
CHILLING
The basic setup is that you put the immersion chiller in the boil pot with 15 minutes remaining in the boil. Connect the pump to the kettle spigot (out) with a length of tubing. From the pump output it goes through a hunk (about 2 feet) of the silicon tubing that B3 sells with their systems. This hunk of tubing is attached to a piece of copper tubing with a hose clamp. The tubing has a gentle curve to it and goes underneath the surface of the wort, just inside the coils of the immersion chiller. Although the pump is clean, and has been pumping 170F+ water for the past hour during the sparge, I turn it on for a few minutes to recirculate the wort through it and heat sanitize the setup. When the boil is complete, turn on the pump and the chiller water. The temp drops more than 100F in 3 minutes, using one of the beefy, B3 Super Chillers. It is 50' of 1/2" copper, which is a huge amount of surface area. The rest of the drop (another 50F or so) takes longer. Watch the thermometer until the temperature is where you want it for pitching, then turn off the water and the pump to let everything settle for 20 minutes. This allows me to rack clear wort to the fermenter and leave all the trub behind in the kettle. If you don't care about it settling, you can just run it off at that point.
There are many advantages to this technique. The first is that you're cooling the entire wort below 140F in about a minute or two. Below 140F you're not going to keep generating DMS like you will with a plate chiller or counter flow chiller. If you're into clean german lagers, this is a critical factor in success with this style. The other huge advantage is leaving the cold break behind. With a counter flow chiller or plate chiller you're sending all that cold break into the fermenter and you're going to need to get rid of it if you want the best lager possible. With the whirlpool chiller, the trub forms a nice cone in the kettle and you can leave it behind when you transfer to your fermenter.
After chiller has cooled wort to desired pitching temp, turn off the water and the pump to let everything settle for 20 minutes. This allows for racking clear wort to the fermenter and leave all the trub behind in the kettle. If you don't care about it settling, you can just run it off at that point.
Courtesy of Mr._Malty
-Bring the grains out to rest at room temperature one day before BREWDAY
CHILLING
The basic setup is that you put the immersion chiller in the boil pot with 15 minutes remaining in the boil. Connect the pump to the kettle spigot (out) with a length of tubing. From the pump output it goes through a hunk (about 2 feet) of the silicon tubing that B3 sells with their systems. This hunk of tubing is attached to a piece of copper tubing with a hose clamp. The tubing has a gentle curve to it and goes underneath the surface of the wort, just inside the coils of the immersion chiller. Although the pump is clean, and has been pumping 170F+ water for the past hour during the sparge, I turn it on for a few minutes to recirculate the wort through it and heat sanitize the setup. When the boil is complete, turn on the pump and the chiller water. The temp drops more than 100F in 3 minutes, using one of the beefy, B3 Super Chillers. It is 50' of 1/2" copper, which is a huge amount of surface area. The rest of the drop (another 50F or so) takes longer. Watch the thermometer until the temperature is where you want it for pitching, then turn off the water and the pump to let everything settle for 20 minutes. This allows me to rack clear wort to the fermenter and leave all the trub behind in the kettle. If you don't care about it settling, you can just run it off at that point.
There are many advantages to this technique. The first is that you're cooling the entire wort below 140F in about a minute or two. Below 140F you're not going to keep generating DMS like you will with a plate chiller or counter flow chiller. If you're into clean german lagers, this is a critical factor in success with this style. The other huge advantage is leaving the cold break behind. With a counter flow chiller or plate chiller you're sending all that cold break into the fermenter and you're going to need to get rid of it if you want the best lager possible. With the whirlpool chiller, the trub forms a nice cone in the kettle and you can leave it behind when you transfer to your fermenter.
After chiller has cooled wort to desired pitching temp, turn off the water and the pump to let everything settle for 20 minutes. This allows for racking clear wort to the fermenter and leave all the trub behind in the kettle. If you don't care about it settling, you can just run it off at that point.
Courtesy of Mr._Malty
Keg Despensing
LINE LENGTH
longer line = more pressure to compensate for lost pressure over the length
Each keg with a different style beer needs separate regulator
higher volume
PA @ 2.5 Volume (cross-reference PSI vs Temp = Volume) Here will be a link for this spreadsheet
LINE DIAMETER
smaller diam. = better pressure
Sold by the foot. 3/16" is the best size for most beer lines under 9' in length. Ideally, 5' provides the correct restriction for serving beer in the 8-14 psi range.
morebeer.com Beverage_Line_3_16_ID_-_By_the_Foot @ $0.55
Cornie Keg Dispenser
morebeer.com CO2_Injector_Ball_Lock @ $21.95
longer line = more pressure to compensate for lost pressure over the length
Each keg with a different style beer needs separate regulator
higher volume
PA @ 2.5 Volume (cross-reference PSI vs Temp = Volume) Here will be a link for this spreadsheet
LINE DIAMETER
smaller diam. = better pressure
Sold by the foot. 3/16" is the best size for most beer lines under 9' in length. Ideally, 5' provides the correct restriction for serving beer in the 8-14 psi range.
morebeer.com Beverage_Line_3_16_ID_-_By_the_Foot @ $0.55
Cornie Keg Dispenser
morebeer.com CO2_Injector_Ball_Lock @ $21.95
Kegging
NEED TO PURCHASE:
Ball Valve connectors x 1 gas
Ball Valve connectors x 1 beer
keg post O-Rings (spares) loof for cracks etc.
co2 line
beer line? can I use the one I have ....need to look.
ADVANTAGES:
-less to clean (1 keg vs. 48 bottles)
-can select amount of pressure (carbonation) with regulator
TIPS:
-spray starsan on everything
-when an o-ring is replaced, replace the other one as well
-inspect often (gas can leak from poor o-ring condition and lose all of the gas over one night)
-look in to KEG WASHER
-Lube Keg when equipment is warm
-BLC Beer line Cleaner (caustic cleaner)
-can naturally carbonate by adding sugar directly to the keg
-pin lock or ball lock? Ball lock is more available.
PROCESS:
connect, run to 10-15 psi to check for leaks and then release some pressure.
Ball Valve connectors x 1 gas
Ball Valve connectors x 1 beer
keg post O-Rings (spares) loof for cracks etc.
co2 line
beer line? can I use the one I have ....need to look.
ADVANTAGES:
-less to clean (1 keg vs. 48 bottles)
-can select amount of pressure (carbonation) with regulator
TIPS:
-spray starsan on everything
-when an o-ring is replaced, replace the other one as well
-inspect often (gas can leak from poor o-ring condition and lose all of the gas over one night)
-look in to KEG WASHER
-Lube Keg when equipment is warm
-BLC Beer line Cleaner (caustic cleaner)
-can naturally carbonate by adding sugar directly to the keg
-pin lock or ball lock? Ball lock is more available.
PROCESS:
connect, run to 10-15 psi to check for leaks and then release some pressure.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Hops, Hops, and MORE Hops!
This is our goal anyhow. I found this nice chunk of info to grow hops at:
PicoBrewery
Hops Garden Pics
Hops Garden Pics
Back to Ask the Brewmaster.
Question: : How do I grow hops?
Answer: Growing hops can be a fun way to get outdoors this summer. With a couple of plants, you can grow all the hops your homebrew will need. In the meantime, they'll be a pleasant herbal addition to your back yard. To see what you're in for, check out my hop garden at: http://www.picobrewery.com/hopgardn.html.Hops grow from root cuttings known as rhizomes. They are perennial, so once they get started, they'll come back year after year. You can buy rhizomes at the shop, or you can get them mail order. Hop plants have distinct male or female characteristics. Hop cones, the part that is used in brewing, only come from the female plants. Whenever you buy rhizomes, you can rest assured that they are female. Unless you come across some native hop plants, male plants are generally only found at agricultural breeding facilities. Commercial hop growers (and homebrewers) generally don't want the hop cones to be fertilized, so the males are rooted out. The first thing to do is plan out your growing space. Hop plants are tall climbing vines. They'll need a tall trellis to be able to do their thing. Plan on allowing sixteen feet upwards at least, and 20 feet if room is available. The plants will need to be spaced about 5 feet apart. I've discovered that my garden, with plants at three-foot intervals, suffers from root competition. Also, with time, the rhizomes start to spread laterally. If they are too close together, they can get mixed up, so you won't know which is which. Before you plant, you should build your trellis. Hops like lots of sun, so pick a place accordingly. The easiest thing to do is use a tall south-facing wall and put up some stringer-hooks, like they did at the shop. Craig Corley built his trellis using his garage as a base. I didn't have a good south wall, so I built a free-standing frame out of sixteen-foot 2 x 4's. The vines climb up strings, which I secure with hooks. I arranged the strings so that at harvest time, I can lower the vines down. Hops like soil that is fairly light and well-drained. Typically, making some small hills help with the drainage. They also need plenty of fertilizer. Garden-variety potting soil works pretty good.The next thing to do is select the type of rhizome you want. The modern American hybrids such as Cascade and Nugget tend to grow the best in Southern California. I haven't had much luck with the traditional English or German varieties. I suspect part of the reason is that they came from more northerly latitudes, where the summer days are longer. For variety, I recommend that you select a mix of bittering and a flavoring hops. One plant will produce all you need of a given type for a year, so use your space for variety, rather than quantity. The time to plant is now. Rhizomes naturally send up fresh shoots in March. Make sure the soil is well spaded. Dig a hole a bit deeper than the length of the rhizome. When you get your rhizomes, look for the white growths. These will be the shoots, so point these up. Gently pack soil around the rhizome, so that the shoots are about an inch below ground. Keep the soil well moistened for the first month or two. The roots are fairly fragile for a while, so they are prone to dryness. For well-established plants, hops will reach a few feet tall by April. Make sure the shoots find a string to climb on. They'll continue to spiral upward as long as the strings are close to vertical. In May, they rocket upwards several inches in a day! They tend to reach the top of the trellis in June. About that time, they start producing cones. A healthy vibrant plant will produce some cones the first year. However, many do not, so don't be disappointed if your first year is a bust. The cones will be ripe in July and August. By September, they'll be done, and starting to pull back for winter. The energy in the vines gets sucked back into the rhizome, so leave the dying vines intact until the stems are fully dried and brittle.In their second year, the rhizomes tend to send out large number of shoots. For best yield, you want to cut most of these off, leaving about four to eight shoots per rhizome. This will allow the plant to focus its energy into cone production. A modest yield will be half a pound. A strong producer will yield well over a pound. Assuming your plants do well, you'll have to harvest, dry and package the cones. You'll also have to estimate their bittering content. I'll cover that in an article later this summer.
PicoBrewery
Hops Garden Pics
Hops Garden Pics
Back to Ask the Brewmaster.
Question: : How do I grow hops?
Answer: Growing hops can be a fun way to get outdoors this summer. With a couple of plants, you can grow all the hops your homebrew will need. In the meantime, they'll be a pleasant herbal addition to your back yard. To see what you're in for, check out my hop garden at: http://www.picobrewery.com/hopgardn.html.Hops grow from root cuttings known as rhizomes. They are perennial, so once they get started, they'll come back year after year. You can buy rhizomes at the shop, or you can get them mail order. Hop plants have distinct male or female characteristics. Hop cones, the part that is used in brewing, only come from the female plants. Whenever you buy rhizomes, you can rest assured that they are female. Unless you come across some native hop plants, male plants are generally only found at agricultural breeding facilities. Commercial hop growers (and homebrewers) generally don't want the hop cones to be fertilized, so the males are rooted out. The first thing to do is plan out your growing space. Hop plants are tall climbing vines. They'll need a tall trellis to be able to do their thing. Plan on allowing sixteen feet upwards at least, and 20 feet if room is available. The plants will need to be spaced about 5 feet apart. I've discovered that my garden, with plants at three-foot intervals, suffers from root competition. Also, with time, the rhizomes start to spread laterally. If they are too close together, they can get mixed up, so you won't know which is which. Before you plant, you should build your trellis. Hops like lots of sun, so pick a place accordingly. The easiest thing to do is use a tall south-facing wall and put up some stringer-hooks, like they did at the shop. Craig Corley built his trellis using his garage as a base. I didn't have a good south wall, so I built a free-standing frame out of sixteen-foot 2 x 4's. The vines climb up strings, which I secure with hooks. I arranged the strings so that at harvest time, I can lower the vines down. Hops like soil that is fairly light and well-drained. Typically, making some small hills help with the drainage. They also need plenty of fertilizer. Garden-variety potting soil works pretty good.The next thing to do is select the type of rhizome you want. The modern American hybrids such as Cascade and Nugget tend to grow the best in Southern California. I haven't had much luck with the traditional English or German varieties. I suspect part of the reason is that they came from more northerly latitudes, where the summer days are longer. For variety, I recommend that you select a mix of bittering and a flavoring hops. One plant will produce all you need of a given type for a year, so use your space for variety, rather than quantity. The time to plant is now. Rhizomes naturally send up fresh shoots in March. Make sure the soil is well spaded. Dig a hole a bit deeper than the length of the rhizome. When you get your rhizomes, look for the white growths. These will be the shoots, so point these up. Gently pack soil around the rhizome, so that the shoots are about an inch below ground. Keep the soil well moistened for the first month or two. The roots are fairly fragile for a while, so they are prone to dryness. For well-established plants, hops will reach a few feet tall by April. Make sure the shoots find a string to climb on. They'll continue to spiral upward as long as the strings are close to vertical. In May, they rocket upwards several inches in a day! They tend to reach the top of the trellis in June. About that time, they start producing cones. A healthy vibrant plant will produce some cones the first year. However, many do not, so don't be disappointed if your first year is a bust. The cones will be ripe in July and August. By September, they'll be done, and starting to pull back for winter. The energy in the vines gets sucked back into the rhizome, so leave the dying vines intact until the stems are fully dried and brittle.In their second year, the rhizomes tend to send out large number of shoots. For best yield, you want to cut most of these off, leaving about four to eight shoots per rhizome. This will allow the plant to focus its energy into cone production. A modest yield will be half a pound. A strong producer will yield well over a pound. Assuming your plants do well, you'll have to harvest, dry and package the cones. You'll also have to estimate their bittering content. I'll cover that in an article later this summer.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The "GOOD MORNING" Holiday Mead Foul
I recently revisited the Mead incedent in the Fiegl household through a conversation with someone. I should cover the basics for fun here.
Generous Matt Spencer had created Mead a few years back, and handed them out to friends during the holiday party at the Isenburgs. I remember requesting one that was carbonated and being told to let it age for a bit. During this time, we (my brother Nick and I) had been refinishing the bedroom that Nick would later be bedding in. During this renovation period (extended I might add) Nick had been sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag in the living room as I recall. I imagine it was one morning in the middle of January I seem to remember waking up to Nick in the other room with some foul language and confusion. Apparently, the Mead had been tired of waiting to be enjoyed and decided to create some excitement itself by popping the cork, shooting across the room, and blasting my brother in the face. This was followed by a nice spray of mead from the kitchen to my brother in the living room.
I must say, it was no fun to clean but it's a great story!
Generous Matt Spencer had created Mead a few years back, and handed them out to friends during the holiday party at the Isenburgs. I remember requesting one that was carbonated and being told to let it age for a bit. During this time, we (my brother Nick and I) had been refinishing the bedroom that Nick would later be bedding in. During this renovation period (extended I might add) Nick had been sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag in the living room as I recall. I imagine it was one morning in the middle of January I seem to remember waking up to Nick in the other room with some foul language and confusion. Apparently, the Mead had been tired of waiting to be enjoyed and decided to create some excitement itself by popping the cork, shooting across the room, and blasting my brother in the face. This was followed by a nice spray of mead from the kitchen to my brother in the living room.
I must say, it was no fun to clean but it's a great story!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Carl's Vanilla Porter
We brewed this 12/31/2008. What better way to end the year? I have to apologize if there are any stainless steel scraps in the wort. There was a point when I noticed a sticker on a keg and had the grinder with a flap sander attached and ready to brush the sticker away. I have to take full responsibilty for this idiotic action. I could see what I had done after I had finally noticed James and Carl yelling over the grinder. By this point, I was done and I apparently unknowingly threw sparks all over the place. There were understandably concerned about the brewing occuring 20 inches to my left.
anyways, Mybad!
Sorry Guys.
anyways, Mybad!
Sorry Guys.
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