Tips & Tricks

[Mase]

I few brews ago I started measuring out my hops a few days before brew day. I have little resealable containers, I mark them with "1", "2", and so on in order. This has just made my brew days a little simpler. I sometimes get busy doing this or that, and having not previously measured them out, end up rushing around.

You probably don’t want to break them out if their seals until just before you are going to use them. They do oxidize. I’m not sure how quick or how much. All from what I’ve read. I’ve no experience or science.

 

[J A]

I few brews ago I started measuring out my hops a few days before brew day.

Even in air tight containers, they may get oxidized sitting for several days. I'd advise to measure out on brew day. You can do it before you start everything and have it all set up and ready to go. I dig the hops out of the freezer and weigh out what I need into containers while the sparge is going. I sparge slow so it's easy to get things weighed and reseal everything back into the vacuum bags.

 

[Mase]

/\ /\ same except I toss the left over hops.

 

[ChicoBrewer]

Keeping the temperature down in your fermentation chamber.
(Cooling only)

Thermowells are a great tool when used at the proper time, and for the right purpose. If you want to quickly cool you wort down 10, 15, or more degrees in your fermentation chamber, sensing the temperature close to the center is the way to make that happen. Since the wort is pretty much motionless it will take a lot more time for the center to cool than the outer portion, so the compressor will spend a lot more time on until the center reaches the set point. The down side as that you can expect to overshoot your target temperature by several degrees due to the outer areas of wort being cooled faster. Mileage may vary, but after a few batches you'll be able to estimate how much with a good degree of accuracy and compensate by raising the set point.

Once fermentation is active the wort will be in motion, so the temperature will be very close to the same throughout the fermenting beer. Using a thermowell or sticking your temp probe between the fermenter wall and some insulation will net the best, and very similar results.

Once active fermentation has slowed to a crawl and you want the temperature to increase by a few degrees to aid attenuation, setting your controller to the desired temperature and sensing the air temperature surrounding the fermenter is probably your best bet to ensure a gradual change. While this sensor placement would allow broad temperature swings during active fermentation, it works well in the absence of motion inside the fermenter and affords little chance of temperature swings..

When it's time to cold crash you can opt for a slow lowering of the temperature by sensing ambient air or a fast lowering using the probe attached to the fermenter or in the thermowell. If you crash to within 5 degrees of freezing, I don't recommend in the thermowell.

Hopefully, after reading this you'll understand that each of the different popular temperature probe placements have their pros and cons.

This is a great tip Bob. I had the problem you describe when I first started using my chest freezer for a ferm chamber. I solved the problem with this gadget. It is an analog switch that cycles the output on and off based on the position of the dials. I leave my thermowell in all the time. When the temperature drifts below the set point of my controller it cycles the compressor on and off until the temp gets back inside the set point. I realize that the compressor cycles more however since it is off > 90% of the time I don't see it as a problem. I do have to tweak it a bit for summer use. In the example below the output is on for 10 minutes off for 15.

 

[Group W]

Wow Bob, you may have achieved critical mass on this one...

On ferm temp control I have heard a small fan can help with the temp yo-yo. I haven’t tried a Spunding valve yet either for pure CO2 pressurized fermentation and transfer.

But I have one tip. If you are brewing on a hangover, start your brewing day with a Bloody Mary.

 

[Vallka]

That does work, kind of. I used to do the same thing, until I realized from research and from experience that it takes more CO2 flushing than pushing/siphoning a liquid (starsan solution) out and replacing the liquid with pure CO2.

The other problem has to do with residual oxygen still in the flushed container, there is still a potentially a good deal of oxygen left behind. 1% oxygen in the carboy/keg can still cause problems with DO (dissolved oxygen) in beer, that works out to 10,000 parts per million still in the container. Most breweries try to limit DO levels to 50 parts per billion, and some achieve as low as 5-25ppb. It's an amazingly low amount of oxygen. Even at the higher threshold of 300ppb, it's an extremely low level but is considered to be too high. Staling begins very fast at that level. That's why it so important to reduce oxygen levels as low as you can.

It's very hard to get to those levels with simple homebrewing equipment. New Belgian Brewing did a test with a Blichmann gun, filling bottles from a keg and afterward sent the same bottle to the lab to test for DO levels. They ranged anywhere from 20ppb to 400ppb, showing that low levels can be achieved with a simple Blichmann gun, but high levels crept in as well. They gave a presentation at the 2017 AHA convention and for me it was eye opening. The best advice they gave was to "cap on foam", let the foam come out of the bottle and cap it as it flows. Simply cracking a bottle of beer and recapping caused DO levels to exceed the threshold of 300ppb and staling in the beer in less than a week. Sometimes it doesn't show up right away, the staling comes across as a diminished malt or hop character. Another flavor that appears is a sweetness in the beer that wasn't there before, it's not a pleasant sweetness either. Bitterness gets sharp and unpleasant.

Homebrewers need to be careful when handling finished beer, replacing a liquid in a vessel with CO2 is one way to keep the DO levels down, bottle conditioning is another way because the yeast act as an anti-oxidant. With low levels of DO, the beer will keep longer, hops will remain fresher longer and the malt will stay cleaner and crisper longer. It's a daunting task, but I think it's well worth it. I have seen a marked improvement in my beers since I started using these methods.

Ok so I start by StarSaning everything, then let the C02 flow into the keg for about 30-40 sec (should be about 8" of C02). I then add C02 into the top of the carboy (so there is C02 on top of the beer for sure) I then flush C02 through the closed system hoses. At this point I feel there is little to no oxygen in my transfer system.
Is there any flaws in my process?

 

[Vallka]

Wow Bob, you may have achieved critical mass on this one...

On ferm temp control I have heard a small fan can help with the temp yo-yo. I haven’t tried a Spunding valve yet either for pure CO2 pressurized fermentation and transfer.

But I have one tip. If you are brewing on a hangover, start your brewing day with a Bloody Mary.

A fan in the chamber is a must for me, works great.

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

A fan in the chamber is a must for me, works great.

I do the same thing, really helps with keeping temps even in the keezer.

 

[Mase]

I’ve been keeping the temperature probe in a 1 qt jar of distilled water. Keeps the Keezer from running all the time.

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

Ok so I start by StarSaning everything, then let the C02 flow into the keg for about 30-40 sec (should be about 8" of C02). I then add C02 into the top of the carboy (so there is C02 on top of the beer for sure) I then flush C02 through the closed system hoses. At this point I feel there is little to no oxygen in my transfer system.
Is there any flaws in my process?

I fill the keg to the very top with starsan and then force it out with CO2. This will remove most, if not all the oxygen from the keg. With the carboy elevated above the keg (I use my workbench for this) I remove the airlock and replace it with one those orange caps. One hole has a racking cane, the other has a barb fitting (barb is inserted into the orange with a standard CO2 fitting to connect to the regulator hose). I connect the CO2, leaving the racking cane out of the beer, I flush the top of the carboy with CO2 venting it out the racking cane through a hose that runs to a poppet valve fitting (black/liquid). The fitting on the fitting is kept loose so the CO2 can vent. Once I done my best to flush the top of the carboy, I connect the fitting to the liquid side of the keg and apply just enough pressure to start a siphon. Remember to release the pressure out of the keg or it will blow the orange cap off the carboy when you connect up to the keg. You can either lock the vent of the keg open or occasionally vent the keg as it fills. The positive pressure from the beer entering the keg will prevent air from entering the keg.

It's more time consuming to transfer beer this way, but the beer keeps a lot longer, especially hoppy beers. It also helps to keep all beer from getting bland and having that weird sweetness that come from setting in the keg or bottle too long. I started looking into it after the 2017 AHA Conference and then I ran across this article from Brulosophy. I came up with my method to transfer from the carboy to the keg. Later I found that some homebrew shops were selling kits for this.

It should be noted that the carboy should not be pressurized above 3PSI, I try to keep it to 1.5PSI max.

Heres the article from Brulosophy:

http://brulosophy.com/2017/09/11/th...ation-on-new-england-ipa-exbeeriment-results/

 

[jmac67%]

I few brews ago I started measuring out my hops a few days before brew day. I have little resealable containers, I mark them with "1", "2", and so on in order. This has just made my brew days a little simpler. I sometimes get busy doing this or that, and having not previously measured them out, end up rushing around.

I do this also. It's a timesaver and stress reducer.

 

[Craigerrr]

I do pressure transfers, had not thought about flooding the carboy with C02 by keeping the cane out of the beer, great tip, thanks!

I fill my keg with C02 by connecting the C02 hose to the OUT port on the keg. When I rack the beer to the keg I also transfer it in through the out port. This way the beer will push the C02 out as it enters in through the dip tube

 

[BOB357]

That does work, kind of. I used to do the same thing, until I realized from research and from experience that it takes more CO2 flushing than pushing/siphoning a liquid (starsan solution) out and replacing the liquid with pure CO2.

The other problem has to do with residual oxygen still in the flushed container, there is still a potentially a good deal of oxygen left behind. 1% oxygen in the carboy/keg can still cause problems with DO (dissolved oxygen) in beer, that works out to 10,000 parts per million still in the container. Most breweries try to limit DO levels to 50 parts per billion, and some achieve as low as 5-25ppb. It's an amazingly low amount of oxygen. Even at the higher threshold of 300ppb, it's an extremely low level but is considered to be too high. Staling begins very fast at that level. That's why it so important to reduce oxygen levels as low as you can.

It's very hard to get to those levels with simple homebrewing equipment. New Belgian Brewing did a test with a Blichmann gun, filling bottles from a keg and afterward sent the same bottle to the lab to test for DO levels. They ranged anywhere from 20ppb to 400ppb, showing that low levels can be achieved with a simple Blichmann gun, but high levels crept in as well. They gave a presentation at the 2017 AHA convention and for me it was eye opening. The best advice they gave was to "cap on foam", let the foam come out of the bottle and cap it as it flows. Simply cracking a bottle of beer and recapping caused DO levels to exceed the threshold of 300ppb and staling in the beer in less than a week. Sometimes it doesn't show up right away, the staling comes across as a diminished malt or hop character. Another flavor that appears is a sweetness in the beer that wasn't there before, it's not a pleasant sweetness either. Bitterness gets sharp and unpleasant.

Homebrewers need to be careful when handling finished beer, replacing a liquid in a vessel with CO2 is one way to keep the DO levels down, bottle conditioning is another way because the yeast act as an anti-oxidant. With low levels of DO, the beer will keep longer, hops will remain fresher longer and the malt will stay cleaner and crisper longer. It's a daunting task, but I think it's well worth it. I have seen a marked improvement in my beers since I started using these methods.

Perhaps it's time someone started a LODO thread for those who are interested.

 

[BOB357]

To help the new-to-brewing folks that check out this thread... As long as you follow good common sense practices for sanitation and safety and read and follow the instructions that come with the kit, you’ll make pretty good beer on your first attempt, whether it’s a recipe kit or a Mr Beer kit. It may not be the best or greatest, but it’ll taste great, especially since you brewed it!

Arguably, first year brewers can expect to get 85% of the beers potential with conventional equipment generally found around the kitchen. The last 15% is where a lot of experienced brewers that frequent these forums strive for and achieve. And they have my utmost respect for the passion they have for their craft.

Me... I would consider myself (and my wife), ‘loyal hobbyists’ that enjoy our brewday and a Keezer with a couple homebrew kegs, that enjoy making consistently good beer and am happy being in the 85% range.

My point is (to expand on the RDWHAHB), don’t be intimidated from all that you read or hear. Not everything in brewing is a “thou shalt not” rule. It is a great lifetime hobby/craft and if you don’t find a way to enjoy it, the brewing equipment will end up on a shelf in the attic.

Thank you Mase. for especially the first paragraph. Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[Mark Farrall]

Perhaps it's time someone started a LODO thread for those who are interested.

Two threads, LODO for normal equipment and then LODO for the people with money to throw at the problem?

 

[BOB357]

Two threads, LODO for normal equipment and then LODO for the people with money to throw at the problem?

One of the main reasons I frequent this forum is the lack of LODO evangelists. If some brewers believe that it's the end all and be all of beer, that's fine. More power to them. Myself, and many others just don't want to see it popping up in threads where it has little or no relevance.
Not railing against HighVoltageMan!. He contributes some solid information here. Just thought I might suggest a dedicated thread might be a better place than this one in particular, given the intent I expressed in the OP.

 

[GFHomebrew]

A Good tip for new brewers designing their own recipies follow the KISS rule Keep It Simple Stupid.
All them specialty malts do sound amazing but they all don't have a place in that recipie your formulating. Often times you can achieve the result from the selection of one or two malts given the right ballance.

I remember when I first started AG brewing not too long ago the myriad of malts available was so daunting hence why I joined this forum.

But most the time one base malt one specialty malt throw in your hops and yeast and Bobs ya uncle and Noseys ya aunt hmmm I meant grandad (joking).

 

[thunderwagn]

Drink more homebrew.

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

LODO for normal equipment and then LODO for the people with money to throw at the problem?

One of the main reasons I frequent this forum is the lack of LODO evangelists.

I think there is a misunderstanding about what I talking about. LODO that your referring to has to do with hot side aeration and the "it" flavor in German beers, I was referring to cold side aeration. Cold side aeration is rarely, if ever, disputed. It has to do with quality control and beer preservation and should be a concern for all beer styles (especially hop forward beers). Any brewery that packages beer is extremely concerned with adding oxygen to a finished product because it leads to very fast spoilage rates. I do use some of the LODO methods, but I was not referring to them. If I were, I would have suggested using a spunding valve to carbonate the beer. I'm not saying that.

Everything I was suggesting was to avoid allowing the finished beer to come in contact with air and as I mentioned this can be accomplished by bottle or keg conditioning the beer, since yeast is a very effective anti-oxidant. In fact when I make a bigger beer for long storage, I normally bottle condition so it keeps longer.

The method doesn't require expensive equipment, but it is more time consuming. If people don't want to do this method, I'm totally fine with it and I understand. Sometime these ideas and methods are a little overwhelming for newer brewers. But I also believe that even a novice brewer should be at least aware of it and there is nothing wrong with learning about it even if you never use it. Use what you want, ignore what you don't want.

When I first started brewing I would frequent forums and gleam information from them. I never answered anyone's questions because I didn't think I had enough experience and I didn't want to mislead anyone by some bad information. I guess that's why these posts were a little long, but I wanted to answer the concern accurately.

Not railing against HighVoltageMan!.

I understand, I just got on my soap box. I'm sure if we had a beer together, the misunderstanding would be over long before the second beer. Sometimes these forums can be a little dehumanizing.

 

[Craigerrr]

Sorry, what is LODO