What are you doing with homebrew today?

RoadRoach said:
Are you using an induction plate?
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Nope, just my radiant electric stovetop, which cranks out a boil quicker than my old fancy gas stove did. However, I am considering getting a portable induction cooktop for brewing, which would free me from boiling in the kitchen and all the steam that creates. Once again, I had the kitchen window, the den sliding glass door and the utility room windows open, with a fan blowing and outside air ~51F - all in an effort to prevent fogging the entire house.
 
Herm brews said:
By nature, I am very patient.
I dose each bottle with an oral syringe that is clearly marked at 15 mL. Each bottle gets that much. Given the presence of StarSan foam and priming solution at the bottom of each bottle, I don’t find any splashing issues with the bottling wand. From the time I remove the wand to having a lid atop the bottle, there is 4 to 5 seconds of air exposure. It is not nothing, but minimal exposure at worst.
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Ok, the total volume needed to be prepared for the total batch is easy enough (15 ml x 24 bottles = 360 ml). Do you use a fudge factor to make sure you make enough for the batch, like round up to 400ml? That would compensate for any spillage or culling that affects the bottle count. How do you vary the total concentration of sugar added for different carbonation levels of different styles? It would certainly make some sense to make the same volume per batch regardless of concentration so that the same quantity is used in each bottle no matter what you're packaging. Concentration could be tweaked just by varying the sugar added. "Idiot proof" metering techniques would certainly speed up the dosing.

I gather you just toss any left-over priming to avoid contamination risk? My thought is to prepare 900 ml to dose up to 60 bottles, freeze the unused portions in small ice trays, then give them to the hummingbirds in the feeders during summer. Strangely enough, the water/sugar proportions are remarkably close for making hummingbird feed and beer primer, especially with cane sugar.

I can certainly see where the individual bottle dosing would be more uniform than batch dosing. I've had that very issue where the priming didn't stir into the batch as well as I thought, and I abhor sticking anything that isn't absolutely necessary into the batch after fermenting. I will NOT stir a fermented beer with a spoon. Some bottles definitely carbed a lot better than others in the same batch. Knock on wood, I've never had a bottle bomb, but I've certainly noticed a difference in carbonation.

I may give this a try, albeit, I'm not looking forward to hauling that fermenter up the stairs with it full. Might have to talk the missus into bottling with me out in the shed. Hauling the bottles is easy enough because I have a hand truck.
 
Herm brews said:
Nope, just my radiant electric stovetop, which cranks out a boil quicker than my old fancy gas stove did. However, I am considering getting a portable induction cooktop for brewing, which would free me from boiling in the kitchen and all the steam that creates. Once again, I had the kitchen window, the den sliding glass door and the utility room windows open, with a fan blowing and outside air ~51F - all in an effort to prevent fogging the entire house.
Click to expand...
Make sure your kettle has a double bottom in it. Most double bottom cookware typically has a cast iron lamination in the bottom to prevent warping and act as a buffer between the heat source and the contents. Stainless steel doesn't work well on induction tops, and aluminum won't work at all (unless it has a laminated bottom with some steel in it). There has to be some metal that a magnet will stick to for an induction top to work. It can be layered into the bottom and completely invisible, but it MUST be magnetic. Induction tops work using magnetic fields to induce eddy currents into ferrous metal which makes it heat up. The pot bottom gets hot, the 'burner' does not. It's a much safer cooking surface, IMO. The only downside will be moving the kettle or fermenter after brewing is done. You do smaller batches, so it probably isn't as big a problem as I make it.

One of my least favorite parts of this hobby is probably the "transportation" between process stages. As it stands now, I brew and ferment out in the tractor shed, and have 14 steps (unless I go to the front door where there's 9) to get to the kitchen where I bottle. Originally, I was brewing out on the deck (kitchen level), racking to the fermenter, then carrying that downstairs (14 steps) to a closet to keep it dark and cool. Then, I had to bring the fermenter back upstairs (14 steps) for packaging. After having BOTH shoulders repaired for torn rotator cuffs (the right one twice), I don't have nearly the upper body strength I used to have. The FastFerment 7.9 is nearly 36 inches tall WITHOUT the collection ball on it, so carrying it by my side is simply not happening unless I can figure out how to grow a couple more feet. I made a handle for it (because it has none) which probably extended it to more than 42 inches when lifted. FF offers a sling for it, but that's even a lot longer than my homemade handle. As you might guess, moving it is BRUTAL to the lower back because the only way to lift it is to curl it like a barbell and then walk with it. Never mind that it's next to impossible to do without stirring up krausen or sediment after fermentation is done.
 
This was about 3 hours after pitching VOSS
20231210_165941.jpg
 
RoadRoach said:
Ok, the total volume needed to be prepared for the total batch is easy enough (15 ml x 24 bottles = 360 ml). Do you use a fudge factor to make sure you make enough for the batch, like round up to 400ml? That would compensate for any spillage or culling that affects the bottle count. How do you vary the total concentration of sugar added for different carbonation levels of different styles? It would certainly make some sense to make the same volume per batch regardless of concentration so that the same quantity is used in each bottle no matter what you're packaging. Concentration could be tweaked just by varying the sugar added. "Idiot proof" metering techniques would certainly speed up the dosing.

I gather you just toss any left-over priming to avoid contamination risk? My thought is to prepare 900 ml to dose up to 60 bottles, freeze the unused portions in small ice trays, then give them to the hummingbirds in the feeders during summer. Strangely enough, the water/sugar proportions are remarkably close for making hummingbird feed and beer primer, especially with cane sugar.

I can certainly see where the individual bottle dosing would be more uniform than batch dosing. I've had that very issue where the priming didn't stir into the batch as well as I thought, and I abhor sticking anything that isn't absolutely necessary into the batch after fermenting. I will NOT stir a fermented beer with a spoon. Some bottles definitely carbed a lot better than others in the same batch. Knock on wood, I've never had a bottle bomb, but I've certainly noticed a difference in carbonation.

I may give this a try, albeit, I'm not looking forward to hauling that fermenter up the stairs with it full. Might have to talk the missus into bottling with me out in the shed. Hauling the bottles is easy enough because I have a hand truck.
Click to expand...
Yes, I figure for ~20% loss in the boiling of the solution, so start with ~420 mL of water. Typically I get really close to the required 360 mL, usually a little over. As far as the concentration, I use the priming calculator here on this site. It requires the current temperature of the fermented beer, as well as the amount to be packaged. I choose a carbonation level based on style, and the calculator gives me weights for a variety of priming sugars.
 
RoadRoach said:
Make sure your kettle has a double bottom in it. Most double bottom cookware typically has a cast iron lamination in the bottom to prevent warping and act as a buffer between the heat source and the contents. Stainless steel doesn't work well on induction tops, and aluminum won't work at all (unless it has a laminated bottom with some steel in it). There has to be some metal that a magnet will stick to for an induction top to work. It can be layered into the bottom and completely invisible, but it MUST be magnetic. Induction tops work using magnetic fields to induce eddy currents into ferrous metal which makes it heat up. The pot bottom gets hot, the 'burner' does not. It's a much safer cooking surface, IMO. The only downside will be moving the kettle or fermenter after brewing is done. You do smaller batches, so it probably isn't as big a problem as I make it.

One of my least favorite parts of this hobby is probably the "transportation" between process stages. As it stands now, I brew and ferment out in the tractor shed, and have 14 steps (unless I go to the front door where there's 9) to get to the kitchen where I bottle. Originally, I was brewing out on the deck (kitchen level), racking to the fermenter, then carrying that downstairs (14 steps) to a closet to keep it dark and cool. Then, I had to bring the fermenter back upstairs (14 steps) for packaging. After having BOTH shoulders repaired for torn rotator cuffs (the right one twice), I don't have nearly the upper body strength I used to have. The FastFerment 7.9 is nearly 36 inches tall WITHOUT the collection ball on it, so carrying it by my side is simply not happening unless I can figure out how to grow a couple more feet. I made a handle for it (because it has none) which probably extended it to more than 42 inches when lifted. FF offers a sling for it, but that's even a lot longer than my homemade handle. As you might guess, moving it is BRUTAL to the lower back because the only way to lift it is to curl it like a barbell and then walk with it. Never mind that it's next to impossible to do without stirring up krausen or sediment after fermentation is done.
Click to expand...
I still have decent upper body strength, so don’t have any problems manipulating kettle, grain bag and fermenters. Another plus for small batch size.
Both of my kettles (my old 3 gallon T-Fal, and my 5.5 gallon Ss brewtech) are induction ready.
 
Watching as fermentation ramps up on my Smooth Stout, and thinking about taking a small gravity sample of Vienna Garage Lager.
My supportive wife has said yes to kegging! I know there are deals available online, but I would rather support the lhbs, and pay no sales tax. The lhbs offers refurbished 5 gallon Corny kegs for $75, or new (imported from China) for $120. They sell brand new Torpedo kegs, too, $110/2.5 gallons, $130/5gallons. A 5 pound filled aluminum CO2 tank goes for $102, and an exchange costs $25. And then there are all of the other things required.
I am not looking to increase my batch size, since I like my current setup and recipes. So I wonder if it would make sense to get a used 5 gallon Corny for fermenting, lagering and/or brite tank, and a 2.5 gallon for serving?
So much to consider!
 
Herm brews said:
Watching as fermentation ramps up on my Smooth Stout, and thinking about taking a small gravity sample of Vienna Garage Lager.
My supportive wife has said yes to kegging! I know there are deals available online, but I would rather support the lhbs, and pay no sales tax. The lhbs offers refurbished 5 gallon Corny kegs for $75, or new (imported from China) for $120. They sell brand new Torpedo kegs, too, $110/2.5 gallons, $130/5gallons. A 5 pound filled aluminum CO2 tank goes for $102, and an exchange costs $25. And then there are all of the other things required.
I am not looking to increase my batch size, since I like my current setup and recipes. So I wonder if it would make sense to get a used 5 gallon Corny for fermenting, lagering and/or brite tank, and a 2.5 gallon for serving?
So much to consider!
Click to expand...
From one small batch brewer to another, when I bought my kegs, I bought these.

https://beveragelements.com/beverag...eg-two-pack-dual-handle-o-ring-kit-new-amcyl/

Of course, I don't have any intentions of fermenting in a keg.
 
Megary said:
From one small batch brewer to another, when I bought my kegs, I bought these.

https://beveragelements.com/beverag...eg-two-pack-dual-handle-o-ring-kit-new-amcyl/

Of course, I don't have any intentions of fermenting in a keg.
Click to expand...
I am not sold (yet) on fermenting in a keg, I have 2 perfectly functional fermenters for that purpose. It is fun and interesting to be able to observe the process of fermentation in action. Maybe after active fermentation has subsided, the still unfinished wort could be transferred to keg with spunding to carbonate?
I want to support my lhbs, too, so am not looking to purchase online. I am patient, but when I pull the trigger on this, I want to have the items in my possession, like now!
One thing I am seeing in reviews is that many people report the actual volumes that kegs hold is less than the advertised amount. How do yours measure up? Do you perform closed transfers from fermenter to keg?
So many questions - help me friends!
 
Herm brews said:
I am not sold (yet) on fermenting in a keg, I have 2 perfectly functional fermenters for that purpose. It is fun and interesting to be able to observe the process of fermentation in action. Maybe after active fermentation has subsided, the still unfinished wort could be transferred to keg with spunding to carbonate?
I want to support my lhbs, too, so am not looking to purchase online. I am patient, but when I pull the trigger on this, I want to have the items in my possession, like now!
One thing I am seeing in reviews is that many people report the actual volumes that kegs hold is less than the advertised amount. How do yours measure up? Do you perform closed transfers from fermenter to keg?
So many questions - help me friends!
Click to expand...
Closed transfers? Um...not exactly :)

As far as the volumes on the kegs I linked to above, I would say they are within a whisker of 2.5gal one way or another. To squeeze a bit more volume, I cut my gas "IN" Dip tube as short as I could.
 
Herm brews said:
I am not sold (yet) on fermenting in a keg, I have 2 perfectly functional fermenters for that purpose. It is fun and interesting to be able to observe the process of fermentation in action. Maybe after active fermentation has subsided, the still unfinished wort could be transferred to keg with spunding to carbonate?
I want to support my lhbs, too, so am not looking to purchase online. I am patient, but when I pull the trigger on this, I want to have the items in my possession, like now!
One thing I am seeing in reviews is that many people report the actual volumes that kegs hold is less than the advertised amount. How do yours measure up? Do you perform closed transfers from fermenter to keg?
So many questions - help me friends!
Click to expand...
Good onya for persuading the Mrs on the keg front herm.

It seems like a lot to take on huh?

Good onya for going local especially in these hard times for Local HB stores, that guy will help you out.

Never measured the volume in my corney kegs but going on kettle volumes it seems like 19lt.
Sometimes is don't on how quick the keg kicks sometimes too! :D .

Yes closed transfers yes i do all that it's not that hard or complicated once you done one or two.

As with brewing there is many ways around kegging a batch of beer I'm sure you'll find the process that suits you best herm.
 
Megary said:
Closed transfers? Um...not exactly :)

As far as the volumes on the kegs I linked to above, I would say they are within a whisker of 2.5gal one way or another. To squeeze a bit more volume, I cut my gas "IN" Dip tube as short as I could.
Click to expand...
OK, not exactly a closed transfer, but is it possible to transfer from ported, spigoted fermenter via transfer tube into the keg via the liquid port? I am thinking more like a gravity feed that does not go into the keg through the open lid.
 
I’m sure it’s possible. The more sophisticated brewers here will surely chime in.

I always gravity fill through an open lid. Why? Because it’s easy. And I haven’t been convinced of the need to try another way.

But…

If you can forgive the artistic skills at play, I’ve always thought about trying this. I believe the theory is relatively sound but I’ve never yet felt the inspiration to try it. Consider this a tech-free, pseudo-low O2 transfer. I wouldn’t doubt there are easier and/or better ways though.

24F93279-C5B2-4B82-8439-4831B92CB704.jpeg
 
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