Anna's Brewdays

[Galena]

Just a ‘small’ dry hop of 410 g mix of Olicana, jester and opus. One of the nice things about this new Spiedel fermenter is that the hops can be added though the hole for the bung given how large it is. View attachment 86421

How are you adding the hops, magnet? I have some 30l Speidels

 

[DocAnna]

How are you adding the hops, magnet? I have some 30l Speidels

Nothing fancy. Took out the airlock and bung - used a fresh sheet of A4 paper from the middle of a ream to make a loose paper cone and then tipped them in, I included 9g of Ascorbic acid with the hops to scavenge any oxygen introduced at the same time. Airlock replaced.

I reckon the amount of oxygen transferred will be minimal. I now need to work out how I’m going to get the beer out of there though!

 

[Galena]

I now need to work out how I’m going to get the beer out of there though!

Yes, I find the tap on the Speidels next to useless, I siphon mine out.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Nothing fancy. Took out the airlock and bung - used a fresh sheet of A4 paper from the middle of a ream to make a loose paper cone and then tipped them in, I included 9g of Ascorbic acid with the hops to scavenge any oxygen introduced at the same time. Airlock replaced.

I reckon the amount of oxygen transferred will be minimal. I now need to work out how I’m going to get the beer out of there though!

Reading on another forum the commercial dosing is 3 to 5 g per hectolitre. I've dialled back my dose since learning this as I was using 3g per 25litre in the mash and then again at closed transfer kegging.

 

[DocAnna]

Reading on another forum the commercial dosing is 3 to 5 g per hectolitre. I've dialled back my dose since learning this as I was using 3g per 25litre in the mash and then again at closed transfer kegging.

This is a fair point, though the dose of ascorbic required has more to do with the volume of headspace than liquid. My measure in this case was one heaped teaspoon- it is one of the few things I don’t think needs to be exact .

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Bit like the sign on clifton suspension bridge call the samaritans nearest phone 100 metres below.

Best not to let the oxygen in at all and rely on the ascorbic acid to mop up the failures in the oxygen tight system.
But it's one of those feel good crutches.

 

[DocAnna]

Bit like the sign on clifton suspension bridge call the samaritans nearest phone 100 metres below.

Best not to let the oxygen in at all and rely on the ascorbic acid to mop up the failures in the oxygen tight system.
But it's one of those feel good crutches.

I agree and I'd love to have a tri-clamp hop container which I could purge. In the absence of that, a bit of paper and a teaspoon of ascorbic will do for me....doesn't mean I won't try and make one .

 

[Agentgonzo]

Ooops! Forgot the photo …

View attachment 86438

There have been a few small purchases that have made a huge difference in the ease of the brew day.
By far the best purchase is a hose/bucket clip that the homebrew store owner sold me with my first kit for £1.

But the wartometer and bottle rinser come a very close second. Minimal spend (though it's gone up in price since I got mine) but makes some of the fiddle jobs zero hassle

 

[DocAnna]

I’ve been aware for a while that I’m not really the right build to be lifting large fermenters, particularly now I’m stepping up to 50 ish litre batches which is really the limit of what I can move with help from one of my children. So I’ve been wondering about a pump for a while.

This is my first go at moving starsan out of one container into another as a bit of practice. Used an autosyphon to prime the pump. The tubing is far too long at present but it is easily controlled by limiting the outflow. Feels a bit more brewery like all of a sudden .

 

[DocAnna]

In less great news I found my CO2 leak…. I’d accidentally turned the primary dial up to 60psi psi and my primary regulator dial started to hiss . Soo… took it apart and it looks like green oxide in the threads - I’m guessing the regulator has been flooded with back flow some time in the past - which would explain how I could buy it cheap second hand.

So heart in mouth a bit - cleaned off as much of the green stuff as I could. A few wraps of PTFE and put it back together - and it seems ok .. phew .

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I’ve been aware for a while that I’m not really the right build to be lifting large fermenters, particularly now I’m stepping up to 50 ish litre batches which is really the limit of what I can move with help from one of my children. So I’ve been wondering about a pump for a while.

This is my first go at moving starsan out of one container into another as a bit of practice. Used an autosyphon to prime the pump. The tubing is far too long at present but it is easily controlled by limiting the outflow. Feels a bit more brewery like all of a sudden .
View attachment 86679

That looks like a nice pump - excellent! Good idea to use the auto siphon to prime it

One of the things I find them especially useful for is pumping cleaning solution through the taps/hoses and rinsing them through afterwards



For my (smaller!) setup I make do with these cheap little 12v ones (surprisingly capable) and only about £10 if you don't mind waiting for delivery via Yak over the Himalayas ;-)

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

In less great news I found my CO2 leak…. I’d accidentally turned the primary dial up to 60psi psi and my primary regulator dial started to hiss . Soo… took it apart and it looks like green oxide in the threads - I’m guessing the regulator has been flooded with back flow some time in the past - which would explain how I could buy it cheap second hand.

So heart in mouth a bit - cleaned off as much of the green stuff as I could. A few wraps of PTFE and put it back together - and it seems ok .. phew .

View attachment 86683

That sounds like good news to me... Well done finding it!

 

[Buffers brewery]

That looks like a nice pump - excellent! Good idea to use the auto siphon to prime it

One of the things I find them especially useful for is pumping cleaning solution through the taps/hoses and rinsing them through afterwards



For my (smaller!) setup I make do with these cheap little 12v ones (surprisingly capable) and only about £10 if you don't mind waiting for delivery via Yak over the Himalayas ;-)
View attachment 86684

Hi @The-Engineer-That-Brews , have you dared to take these pumps apart? Like you, I used these pumps for a couple of years or so. One day I decided to do a deep clean and took them apart . While they’re perfect for pumping water around a solar panel, they have soooo many little nooks and crannies for stuff to get trapped they are a nightmare (if you’re a bit anal about cleanliness) to clean. Yes, you can chuck sanitizer or even bleach and sanitizer at it, but it’s still there. I didn’t knowingly suffer any issues with my brews, but decided after dissecting my pumps one day to upgrade to pumps similar to @DocAnna . Much easier to clean and sanitise albeit more expensive

 

[RoomWithABrew]

@Buffers brewery
"One day I decided to do a deep clean and took them apart --(if you’re a bit annal about cleanliness)"

More annual than anal your regime?

 

[lancon]

I’ve been aware for a while that I’m not really the right build to be lifting large fermenters, particularly now I’m stepping up to 50 ish litre batches which is really the limit of what I can move with help from one of my children. So I’ve been wondering about a pump for a while.

This is my first go at moving starsan out of one container into another as a bit of practice. Used an autosyphon to prime the pump. The tubing is far too long at present but it is easily controlled by limiting the outflow. Feels a bit more brewery like all of a sudden .
View attachment 86679

Might there not be a problem with the auto-siphon tube being smaller bore than the one it is attached to? Limiting flow?

 

[DocAnna]

Feeling a little bit virtuous this morning , By 7 this morning I’d lautered the grain for the Dubbel, having mashed and recirculated overnight. I’m now about to run my youngest to school for an activity day so have left the grain basket dripping away though to be fair its slowed to the barest of drips. I’ll get the boil on once I’m back, about 9:30 .

 

[DocAnna]

Sorry that was written in haste and makes me sound a bit full of myself- I’m just a wee bit chuffed at working a brew round a busy weekend and parent taxi duties!

 

[lancon]

Sorry that was written in haste and makes me sound a bit full of myself- I’m just a wee bit chuffed at working a brew round a busy weekend and parent taxi duties!

Well if you don't blow your own trumpet no one will blow it for you

 

[Clarence]

Feeling a little bit virtuous this morning , By 7 this morning I’d lautered the grain for the Dubbel, having mashed and recirculated overnight. I’m now about to run my youngest to school for an activity day so have left the grain basket dripping away though to be fair its slowed to the barest of drips. I’ll get the boil on once I’m back, about 9:30 .

Wouldn't getting the youngest used to an activity day in the brewery be more time and cost-effective?
Washing down surfaces, stacking bottles, trapping mice, cleaning fermenters, etc ?

Only joking

 

[Rugby Fan.]

Well if you don't blow your own trumpet no one will blow it for you

Giggidy