What are you doing with homebrew today?
- Thread starter BOB357
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Today I’m (hopefully) fencing in the hop garden. I’ve got about 15 bines of Cascade, 2 of them are already climbing, 3 are bursting out everywhere. 4 of them are harvested rhizomes, and they’re showing positive signs now, even the most recent cut/transplant a day or two ago. I have some cashmere on order that will go at the opposite end to avoid mixing them up, if they make it. They’re a descendant of cascade, so I’m hoping there’s good heat tolerance.
The deer aren’t punking me this year. 2 years ago they ate every leaf off most of my bines from the ground to about 6’ up. If I catch them trying to get in, it will not end well for the deer.
The deer aren’t punking me this year. 2 years ago they ate every leaf off most of my bines from the ground to about 6’ up. If I catch them trying to get in, it will not end well for the deer.
Kegging my pilsner in a bit. Just got back from watching an ass kicking being received by my baseball team.
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Assuming the cooler box will keep the temperature swings slightly above and below the median, I think the Saison yeast will do fine.
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I cleaned and prepped fermenters yesterday in anticipating of (finally) getting a batch done. I had intended to brew last week while my wife was away for a couple of days with her sister who was visiting. I ended up needing to catch up on some work and never got a brew done.
I got started late this morning and right out of the box things started taking too long. I have a new (to me) 3-roller mill that I was looking forward to using for a quick and smooth dough-in but when I got it all set up, I realized that my 3/8"chuck hand drill wouldn't fit the shaft. It didn't take particularly long to go to the shop and dig out my 1/2"chuck drill bit buy it was annoying and disruptive.
Not long into the protein rest, I started getting a whiff of the dreaded burning plastic smell that strikes fear in the hearts of all who use electric heat and controllers. I checked my 5500-watt heating element on the combination HLT/HERMS/Boil Vessel and, sure enough, there was a wisp of smoke curling from the connection. Seems that I had bumped it when I was moving the pot and my latest patch job on the wiring was compromised. Fortunately, I had recently bought a replacement so I limped it into the first conversion temperature and transferred liquor to the mash tun for the first saccharification rest. Normally I recirc throughout the process, but in this case, just let it sit while I emptied the vessel and replaced and re-wired the heating element. It didn't take too long but I probably got an extra 30 minutes at somewhat below my usual temperature of 148F. When I was back up and running, I got it up to temp and ran pretty much my usual mash routine. The brews that I've done since picking it up again a few months ago haven't given me the 85 to 90 percent efficiencies I had been accustomed to but, this time, despite or because of the different schedule, I hit nearly 90 percent.
I got to the sparge and, for some reason, my usual set up was running super slow. I couldn't figure it out and I just had to wait it out and take longer than I would have preferred. I like doing a slow sparge but today I would have moved it along so I could get things finished. When I finally got to the boil, I took a pre-boil gravity and was surprised to find that it was already at the OG I had predicted based on my earlier lower efficiencies. I recalculated the hop schedule to accommodate the higher gravity and topping up at the end and it all worked out. All went smoothly for the rest of the process.
I finally pitched yeast at about 8 PM. It's a split batch so I have an IPA and an Amber. I checked about 10:30 and both already showed signs of blow-off pressure. Long brew day but looks like the fermentation is off to a good start.
I got started late this morning and right out of the box things started taking too long. I have a new (to me) 3-roller mill that I was looking forward to using for a quick and smooth dough-in but when I got it all set up, I realized that my 3/8"chuck hand drill wouldn't fit the shaft. It didn't take particularly long to go to the shop and dig out my 1/2"chuck drill bit buy it was annoying and disruptive.
Not long into the protein rest, I started getting a whiff of the dreaded burning plastic smell that strikes fear in the hearts of all who use electric heat and controllers. I checked my 5500-watt heating element on the combination HLT/HERMS/Boil Vessel and, sure enough, there was a wisp of smoke curling from the connection. Seems that I had bumped it when I was moving the pot and my latest patch job on the wiring was compromised. Fortunately, I had recently bought a replacement so I limped it into the first conversion temperature and transferred liquor to the mash tun for the first saccharification rest. Normally I recirc throughout the process, but in this case, just let it sit while I emptied the vessel and replaced and re-wired the heating element. It didn't take too long but I probably got an extra 30 minutes at somewhat below my usual temperature of 148F. When I was back up and running, I got it up to temp and ran pretty much my usual mash routine. The brews that I've done since picking it up again a few months ago haven't given me the 85 to 90 percent efficiencies I had been accustomed to but, this time, despite or because of the different schedule, I hit nearly 90 percent.
I got to the sparge and, for some reason, my usual set up was running super slow. I couldn't figure it out and I just had to wait it out and take longer than I would have preferred. I like doing a slow sparge but today I would have moved it along so I could get things finished. When I finally got to the boil, I took a pre-boil gravity and was surprised to find that it was already at the OG I had predicted based on my earlier lower efficiencies. I recalculated the hop schedule to accommodate the higher gravity and topping up at the end and it all worked out. All went smoothly for the rest of the process.
I finally pitched yeast at about 8 PM. It's a split batch so I have an IPA and an Amber. I checked about 10:30 and both already showed signs of blow-off pressure. Long brew day but looks like the fermentation is off to a good start.
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My saison has slowed down.
I'll leave her for a bit, then it will take a bit of planning..
Mill for next saison, mash, boil, no chill.
During the no chill, transfer batch 1 to keg.
Then wort 2 on trub of batch 1.
And repeat about a week later.
I should end up with 3 seasons but not in 1 day
Will play with different hop combinations.
I'll leave her for a bit, then it will take a bit of planning..
Mill for next saison, mash, boil, no chill.
During the no chill, transfer batch 1 to keg.
Then wort 2 on trub of batch 1.
And repeat about a week later.
I should end up with 3 seasons but not in 1 day
Will play with different hop combinations.
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https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1551630/just-another-citra-cascade-ipa
Just Another Cascade Citra IPA
Just Another Cascade Citra IPA
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Brew day
Recirculating in biab
Recirculating in biab
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I find it keeps the mash temp more consistent top to bottom in the column. I get slightly better efficiency. Using a pump to move the liquid around is also much easier IMO. To each their own.
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I've been prepping for a Sunday brew day, but I'm not sure about the weather. It might happen if the thunderstorms stay away until after noon. It has been beautiful all week, and the one damn day I want to brew...
