What are you doing with homebrew today?

Ward Chillington said:
I think I just sprinkled a packet of -04 on a couple gallons of local pressed from up in Bigglersville ..home of Motts, Knoors and Snapple. I got some pretty dry and still stuff out of that
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I have the slurry, and a partial (half?) packet of S-04. Would a half packet be enough for 3 gallons?
 
Herm brews said:
I have the slurry, and a partial (half?) packet of S-04. Would a half packet be enough for 3 gallons?
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Yeah, I think 1/2 packet of S-04 would be fine for 3 gallons, if the yeast is fresh. I've used a full packet of that strain in 6 gallon batches of moderate gravity (1.050-1.060) beer with good results.

I've only made 2 batches of cider with S-04, using store-bought cider, but both turned out decent. It fermented fairly dry, down to about 1.004 or so. Not quite as dry as wine or champagne yeasts, though.
 
Slurry should be fine, esp coming from beer.
1/2 pack should be fine.
I found that you can use cider slurry only 3 times or so before it becomes a bit flat in taste
 
I made a recent batch using store-bought apple juice. The EdWort Apfelwein recipe, but without the added sugar. I tried the SafCider TF-6. It fermented down to low single digits, so fairly dry. I had bulk-aged it in a carboy for a month and a half, didn't rack to secondary, then bottled. I did carb a little, to around 2 volumes. At first, it was kind of non-descript in flavor, but after another month or so in bottles, the apple flavor came out. As much as one could expect from Mott's apple juice, anyway.

Might have to try it with real cider.
 
My first attempt at dry hopping a beer. Sanitized the jar and all attachments, obviously. Pressurized my fermenter so I could drop the trub out. Cleaned up, re-sanitized everything. Filled the jar with hops, pushed CO2 though jar to try and void it of O2.

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Let the jar fill with beer from fermenter to dissolve the hops. Pushed hops back up with CO2. Well, didn’t give it enough time to dissolve all the hops, had back fill more beer from fermenter to try a second time, and a third, and a forth. Guess we will see how it works. Tried really hard to limit the O2 exposure.

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TetersMillBrewing said:
My first attempt at dry hopping a beer. Sanitized the jar and all attachments, obviously. Pressurized my fermenter so I could drop the trub out. Cleaned up, re-sanitized everything. Filled the jar with hops, pushed CO2 though jar to try and void it of O2.

View attachment 23260

Let the jar fill with beer from fermenter to dissolve the hops. Pushed hops back up with CO2. Well, didn’t give it enough time to dissolve all the hops, had back fill more beer from fermenter to try a second time, and a third, and a forth. Guess we will see how it works. Tried really hard to limit the O2 exposure.

View attachment 23261
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If ya got a 2inch tri clover fitting at the top.
Kegland sell the "hop bong" for dry hopping via the top maybe worth a look ?
 
TetersMillBrewing said:
My first attempt at dry hopping a beer. Sanitized the jar and all attachments, obviously. Pressurized my fermenter so I could drop the trub out. Cleaned up, re-sanitized everything. Filled the jar with hops, pushed CO2 though jar to try and void it of O2.

View attachment 23260

Let the jar fill with beer from fermenter to dissolve the hops. Pushed hops back up with CO2. Well, didn’t give it enough time to dissolve all the hops, had back fill more beer from fermenter to try a second time, and a third, and a forth. Guess we will see how it works. Tried really hard to limit the O2 exposure.

View attachment 23261
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I am in awe of your ingenuity and perseverance in limiting oxygen exposure. But you might be over thinking it. Just dump em in from above. :D
 
Donoroto said:
But you might be over thinking it. Just dump em in from above.
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Working with what I have already. I thought about just opening the vent port and dumping from the top but wasn't sure how much O2 would be exposed to the beer. After thinking about it, the O2 exposure from the top would probably be zero since I am still getting a few bubbles a minute from my blow off tube still.
 
TetersMillBrewing said:
Working with what I have already. I thought about just opening the vent port and dumping from the top but wasn't sure how much O2 would be exposed to the beer. After thinking about it, the O2 exposure from the top would probably be zero since I am still getting a few bubbles a minute from my blow off tube still.
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Not zero, but too little to make a difference. Plus, active yeast eats oxygen.
 
Like Don said, you won't get much O2 at all. Only what the pellets drag behind them on the way in. CO2 is heavier than air and it takes quite a while for enough air to dilute the CO2 to be a problem.
 
Zested five oranges, a lemon and a lime, mixed that and the juice with two cinnamon sticks and pasteurized at 170 F for 15 minutes. Put 2oz Citra and 2oz Ctz hops into three kettle valve strainers with ends sealed. Will soon dump in a purged keg, re-purge, and move Frank’s Original Festivus Ale on top to sit for a week or so.
 
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Having a homebrew fireside.
In the utility closet on the north wall of the house, where the fermenters and yeast do their business, my Smooth Stout is two weeks and a day into its journey, and still pushing out the occasional bubble through the airlock. Meanwhile a fresh batch of cider from a local farm is kicking in nicely after pitching slurry from US-05 projects. Also in that busy utility closet, a case of Janet’s Brown Ale is in its second week of conditioning. A sample bottle opened last night pleaded for further patience. It is interesting to move away from home to a totally different climate and learn the nuances of brewing in a new place.
 
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