What're you brewing right now?

[atomeyes]

Above zero this week. Huzzah!!

debating about my brew. either will make a lambic, or, more likely, will try a belgian blonde w/brett brux as the secondary yeast.

[lister]

Brewed my first mead today. Did the JOAM recipe.

[J343MY]

Just racked my imperial stout onto Mulato, Pasilla, and Guajillo chili peppers, cocoa nibs, and vanilla beans. Next weekend I will be adding some coffee beans from a local roaster, and then bottling Sunday.

I'm also hoping to brew a double IPA next Saturday if the weather is remotely decent.

[atomeyes]

Just racked my imperial stout onto Mulato, Pasilla, and Guajillo chili peppers, cocoa nibs, and vanilla beans. Next weekend I will be adding some coffee beans from a local roaster, and then bottling Sunday.

I'm also hoping to brew a double IPA next Saturday if the weather is remotely decent.

don't bet on it.

i had to delay my brew day due to my shed being frozen shut. couldn't get at my burner. today, i could get the door open a crack and i could have toughed out a brew. but man, if you're not brewing inside a shed or something, it would make for a cold brew day.

polar vortex is back this week, so it looks like brewing won't happen until next week. weather's just drop-drop-dropping every day this week.

won't be close to zero for TWO FUCKING WEEKS

[J343MY]

Just racked my imperial stout onto Mulato, Pasilla, and Guajillo chili peppers, cocoa nibs, and vanilla beans. Next weekend I will be adding some coffee beans from a local roaster, and then bottling Sunday.

I'm also hoping to brew a double IPA next Saturday if the weather is remotely decent.

don't bet on it.

i had to delay my brew day due to my shed being frozen shut. couldn't get at my burner. today, i could get the door open a crack and i could have toughed out a brew. but man, if you're not brewing inside a shed or something, it would make for a cold brew day.

Yeah, I'll have to decide closer to the weekend if I'm going to brave the cold. I need to get something going soon or my keg fridge is going to be empty.

polar vortex is back this week, so it looks like brewing won't happen until next week. weather's just drop-drop-dropping every day this week.

won't be close to zero for TWO FUCKING WEEKS

[atomeyes]

going stir crazy.
bringing a kettle of hot water outside. will pour it on the ice freezing my shed doors close. will get those fucking doors open enough to bring my equipment inside.
will shed brew and figure out how to chill my wort without burning my leg on the keezer when i try to move it.

[atomeyes]

hot water on the ice didn't do much. so i'm doing a mixed indoor-outdoor brew day. sparging indoors. boiling on my porch. hope to get a good rolling boil with the cold wind that's blasting.

a Brux-inspired clone, hope you serve me well.

[chris_schryer]

Just did my first homebrew yesterday. Many things went wrong, but it's plugging away right behind me now (our bedroom is the only room in the house that sits at a steady 22C), just waiting to see how it turns out. Had a problem with brewprint, and accidentally way over-hopped it. I'm just hoping for "drinkable". My biggest functional problem was that it was nearly impossible to see the surface of the boil through the steam (I mashed/sparged inside), so I'm not 100% sure it was a 75 minute boil. Might have been closer to 90. I know I lost fully 11 litres during the boil...... I also couldn't really see how hard it was boiling. Still it was fun. Adapted the concept of a Rubbermaid Cooler MLT, but used a pair of Rubbermaid roughneck 21 gallon garbage bins stacked with a wire-screen/toilet hook-up to strain. It held temp okay, but I think I'm going to fill the void between the two with great stuff expandable foam to add a bit more r-value. The mash flowed well, and 6.5kg of grain had full run-off at like 32 minutes.

edit: shit, should mention, it is a rye IPA, 5kg maris, 1kg flaked rye, 0.5kg caramunich III. Warrior for bittering (too much), S.goldings late and simcoe at flame-out and will go into secondary too. There is no way the hops will "balance" (only will be about 7.2%, and the properly calculated IBU on brewprint has it at 140 ) but I'm hoping it's not intolerable bitter, and that you can still get some of the rye and s.goldings in the final product. Will re-do it with fixes in two weeks and see if I can hit closer to the mark.

[grub]

congrats on the first brew! it's always a learning experience, even when you've been doing it a long time. Another option would be to quickly do another identical brewday and under (or non) bitter, then blend the two post-fermentation. hopefully balance you out closer to 70 IBU. Otherwise, you can even blend it to taste. or just enjoy the bitterness as a reminder to recheck your calculations next time

[ercousin]

Just did my first homebrew yesterday. Many things went wrong, but it's plugging away right behind me now (our bedroom is the only room in the house that sits at a steady 22C), just waiting to see how it turns out. Had a problem with brewprint, and accidentally way over-hopped it. I'm just hoping for "drinkable". My biggest functional problem was that it was nearly impossible to see the surface of the boil through the steam (I mashed/sparged inside), so I'm not 100% sure it was a 75 minute boil. Might have been closer to 90. I know I lost fully 11 litres during the boil...... I also couldn't really see how hard it was boiling. Still it was fun. Adapted the concept of a Rubbermaid Cooler MLT, but used a pair of Rubbermaid roughneck 21 gallon garbage bins stacked with a wire-screen/toilet hook-up to strain. It held temp okay, but I think I'm going to fill the void between the two with great stuff expandable foam to add a bit more r-value. The mash flowed well, and 6.5kg of grain had full run-off at like 32 minutes.

edit: shit, should mention, it is a rye IPA, 5kg maris, 1kg flaked rye, 0.5kg caramunich III. Warrior for bittering (too much), S.goldings late and simcoe at flame-out and will go into secondary too. There is no way the hops will "balance" (only will be about 7.2%, and the properly calculated IBU on brewprint has it at 140 ) but I'm hoping it's not intolerable bitter, and that you can still get some of the rye and s.goldings in the final product. Will re-do it with fixes in two weeks and see if I can hit closer to the mark.

Welcome to the hobby Chris! It's very rewarding and there's always more to learn. Once you catch the brewing bug you'll be always searching for more info and ideas.

Unless you are using a belgian yeast and are looking to produce esters, 22C is very hot for ambient fermentation temperature, actual temperature in the carboy might be closer to 25C or 26C when you consider the exothermic nature of fermentation. If 22C is the coldest place if your home you could try an ice water bath? Of course you will still have beer in the end, but you run a good risk of producing fruity esters and phenol alcohols which may overpower the rest of the beer. A good temperature range for clean beers is usually around 64-67*F (17.7C - 19.4C).

[atomeyes]

Otherwise, you can even blend it to taste. or just enjoy the bitterness as a reminder to recheck your calculations next time

this.



Chris, my first solo brewday was a fucked up mess. i had no clue what i was doing. for whirfloc, i tossed in the entire baggie (10 tabs). beer tasted like a gross mess.

learning from mistakes is fine. repeating them is not.

maybe i'll have you over for a brewday and make you cook for me.

Unless you are using a belgian yeast and are looking to produce esters, 22C is very hot for ambient fermentation temperature, actual temperature in the carboy might be closer to 25C or 26C when you consider the exothermic nature of fermentation.... A good temperature range for clean beers is usually around 64-67*F (17.7C - 19.4C).

This.
take a towel or wet t-shirt and drape it across your bucket/carboy. that will drop the temp slightly.
i mean, by now, it is probably too late. but it may not hurt.

[grub]

oh yeah, i didn't even notice the temp thing - hazards of speaking Fahrenheit. I believe the general rule of thumb is that at high krausen the temp in the fermenter will be 3-5F above ambient, so having the room temp at about 65F/18C is about the max. There are always exceptions (some belgian yeast, lacto, etc), but it's easier to warm those up. So aim for a spot that keeps around that temperature and is either dark (like a closet) or you can cover the fermenter to keep light out (dark tshirt, the box the fermenter came in, etc). If there isn't one, the suggestions about a pan of water and a tshirt definitely works to shave off a couple degrees - more if you use ice packs.

[atomeyes]

There are always exceptions (some belgian yeast, lacto, etc), but it's easier to warm those up. So aim for a spot that keeps around that temperature and is either dark (like a closet) or you can cover the fermenter to keep light out .

i was thinking about this the other day.

clearly, you wouldn't leave a fermentor in direct sunlight.

but how much light is bad? ambient light? does the room need to be pitch dark?
wondering if anyone has data.

[ercousin]

There are always exceptions (some belgian yeast, lacto, etc), but it's easier to warm those up. So aim for a spot that keeps around that temperature and is either dark (like a closet) or you can cover the fermenter to keep light out .

i was thinking about this the other day.

clearly, you wouldn't leave a fermentor in direct sunlight.

but how much light is bad? ambient light? does the room need to be pitch dark?
wondering if anyone has data.

Before I started fermenting in a mini-fridge (that is always dark inside) I would put a dark t-shirt over my carboy. I don't have any data but better to be safe, especially when all it takes is a t-shirt.

[atomeyes]

There are always exceptions (some belgian yeast, lacto, etc), but it's easier to warm those up. So aim for a spot that keeps around that temperature and is either dark (like a closet) or you can cover the fermenter to keep light out .

i was thinking about this the other day.

clearly, you wouldn't leave a fermentor in direct sunlight.

but how much light is bad? ambient light? does the room need to be pitch dark?
wondering if anyone has data.

Before I started fermenting in a mini-fridge (that is always dark inside) I would put a dark t-shirt over my carboy. I don't have any data but better to be safe, especially when all it takes is a t-shirt.

yep. i hear ya.
i've been fermenting in my basement. never any direct sunlight, but it is never pitch dark. i don't love the idea of a shirt or blanket covering a carboy for some of my sour fermentations. that's 2-18 months of having something on there and, unless i remember, that's a lot of unwashing. esp for basements, where i worry about mold and dust and fun stuff.