Bottled up the LA Mud Puddle today. NEARLY 54 - 12 oz. bottles worth, I'll call it 53.5 bottles. I lose a LOT less volume now that I've learned to use the conical efficiently. Refilling the bulb (after sanitizing) with clean water when I empty the first load of sludge really helps with volume as well as clarity and avoids aerating the batch, too, because it doesn't have to fill the bulb up with the brew. And, I don't have to pull the air-lock because the volume doesn't significantly drop when it doesn't have to fill the bulb back up.
I am learning to dislike the plastic ball valve though. Trub/dregs get trapped between the ball and housing when it's operated, and it is a PITA to reassemble when I take it apart for cleaning. The worst part is putting the shaft back in it. Gotta be somethin' better/easier to clean. I have figured out, though, if I put the ball and rotating shaft in the freezer while I'm lubing up the o-rings etc in the housing with silicone grease, it's a bit easier to snap it all back together. Not easy, but easier. Considering a stainless valve to replace it, but that's gonna be pricey. They don't give away 1-inch NPT stainless ball valves. I doubt it would be any better about stuff getting between the housing and the ball, but it would probably be a little more durable and reasonable for disassembly and reassembly. I've tried turning the valve half-way, but it still seems to have some residue trapped in it. If I flush with boiling water several times, let it drain with the valve half open, it tends to be OK for a couple batches. But I'm not doing more than two, knowing what I know now. Or am I being too anal about this? I worry mostly about an infection ruining a batch. If I'm gonna go through the trouble to make it, I wanna drink it, not pour it out. All in all, though, it's still a lot better than racking from a bucket, if not a bit troublesome to lift 5+ gallons of beer onto the kitchen table for draining.
On a tasting note, I'm thinking the addition of the Magnum to this batch might have been a little overkill on the hops, for my tastes anyway. It's a bit more bitter than I like, but I'm hoping that conditioning/carbonation will mellow that out a bit. The Citra and Galaxy combined and it's got a FANTASTIC nose. We'll see if it gets as good as it smells. Low (3.5%) ABV, so good for sittin on the porch and sippin. Looks like it's gonna have a pretty good head, too. There was a little natural carbing, and it had good retention when I pulled the sample in the cylinder. Otherwise, guess I have a few weeks' worth of earwax to drink. I ain't pouring it out. Plan B is to give it to my step-son and get him to buy me some craft stuff from the store in exchange. Yeah, that's the ticket!
LHBS is closed today, but I'll go by tomorrow and pick up a couple more recipes to brew up next week. Let myself run out again because I waited too long to brew up this batch. Can't possibly have anything to do with it being a lot hotter and beer tasting so much better with less stuff floating in it. Haven't had a stout or brown in a while, so that's ONE that's on the horizon, and probably another of my go-to, Rapier Wit using DME.
If I had a good place to store it, I'd buy some bulk base malt grain and just get the flavoring stuff from the LHBS. But, we had our first mouse in the house since I bought the place in 2004. A mouse in my malt would probably tip me over the edge. Anyone use metal garbage cans for storage?
