I've got a dishwasher, but never use it in the homebrew process.As for cleaning the bottles and other gear, I've got a 30 gallon tub that I fill with water and dump some bleach into it, and then toss all the bottles and other equipment into (racking canes, tubing, stoppers, etc. Nothing metal.) I let it sit in there for an hour or longer, then take them out, rinse them and put the bottles on my bottle tree to drain.People use the dishwashers for cleaning the bottles and sanitizing them, which is nice, but definitely not necessary.
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***OFFICIAL*** Footballguys homebrew thread (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter culdeus
- Start date
By the way... I scored two kits for Christmas from Northern Brewer[\url]...
A spiced ale and a rauchbier kit. Also got a $50 gift certificate for NB as well.
Gonna have to make the spiced ale soon, as the bag of specialty grain was not in an air tight bag (highly unusual from NB to do that.)
Will probably have to wait until the weekend of the 6th to make that one.
My Oktoberfest has been done for a couple of weeks now. Pretty decent for my first true lager. Still have a Schwarzbier to make, as well as the two new ones. Guess January is going to be a busy brewing month for me.
ETA: For those of you who do use bottles and have had a problem with overcarbonation, I tried something over the weekend that worked out pretty well. I've got an IPA that is very overcarbonated. I can tilt the bottle and the glass so that they are almost horizontal, and the head is almost two inches thick, with only an ounce or two of beer poured. I took a bottle and uncapped it. I sat it out for a little while (covering the top so nothing would get into it) and then recapped it. Worked like a champ! Much less carbonation. Still plenty of head, but not nearly as much as before. It's definitely pourable now as opposed to before. Just an FYI.
A spiced ale and a rauchbier kit. Also got a $50 gift certificate for NB as well.
Gonna have to make the spiced ale soon, as the bag of specialty grain was not in an air tight bag (highly unusual from NB to do that.)
Will probably have to wait until the weekend of the 6th to make that one.
My Oktoberfest has been done for a couple of weeks now. Pretty decent for my first true lager. Still have a Schwarzbier to make, as well as the two new ones. Guess January is going to be a busy brewing month for me.
ETA: For those of you who do use bottles and have had a problem with overcarbonation, I tried something over the weekend that worked out pretty well. I've got an IPA that is very overcarbonated. I can tilt the bottle and the glass so that they are almost horizontal, and the head is almost two inches thick, with only an ounce or two of beer poured. I took a bottle and uncapped it. I sat it out for a little while (covering the top so nothing would get into it) and then recapped it. Worked like a champ! Much less carbonation. Still plenty of head, but not nearly as much as before. It's definitely pourable now as opposed to before. Just an FYI.
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The Gator
Footballguy
culdeus
Footballguy
Only thing I note is it looks a little shy of 5Gal for coming in light on the SG. Still, it's the first batch.
culdeus
Footballguy
I use a dishwasher. I think next time I'm just gonna fill the bottles with solution for an hour or so and then empty, rinse, and heat in the dishwasher for 30 min or so. I don't see the need to immerse the whole bottle and that's just a huge PITA.I don't use a dishwasher for the TAD system.
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The Gator
Footballguy
Went i put the cooled wort into the pail with my water it was right at 5g. Is hitting the low end of the SG bad?
The Gator
Footballguy
The kit posted in post #1 of this thread is the one I got. Seems like a good deal after looking around a bit on the net.
culdeus
Footballguy
No, but seeing that pic of where the fluid level is I seriously doubt you have 5gals.
The Gator
Footballguy
culdeus
Footballguy
not following you.Did you just add enough water to make 5G total water or did you take into account the boil off + ingredient contents.
The Gator
Footballguy
I added a 1/2 gal for boil off. I did not factor in the ingredients.not following you.Did you just add enough water to make 5G total water or did you take into account the boil off + ingredient contents.
What is a good amount to add?
culdeus
Footballguy
It doesn't really matter in your case since you hit the bottom end of the SG as is. I put 5.25 gal in once and marked it with some electrical tape. Also marked 5G. If you come in a bit low and the SG is in range or high then you can add by virtue of the table in the Papizan book you ???got with the kit????I added a 1/2 gal for boil off. I did not factor in the ingredients.not following you.Did you just add enough water to make 5G total water or did you take into account the boil off + ingredient contents.
What is a good amount to add?
The Gator
Footballguy
Thanks.I thought I sent you a PM'? My kit book is MIA, never got it.It doesn't really matter in your case since you hit the bottom end of the SG as is. I put 5.25 gal in once and marked it with some electrical tape. Also marked 5G. If you come in a bit low and the SG is in range or high then you can add by virtue of the table in the Papizan book you ???got with the kit????I added a 1/2 gal for boil off. I did not factor in the ingredients.not following you.Did you just add enough water to make 5G total water or did you take into account the boil off + ingredient contents.
What is a good amount to add?
The Gator
Footballguy
Changing to the secondary tomorrow. So far so good, I think.
Also, had to deal with customer service for the first time at Midwest Supplies.
Hi Steven-
Sorry about the broken auto siphon. I will send a new on out right away for you. Don't worry about the broken one as we do not need it back.
Cheers!
Mike
Midwest Supplies
So far so good. Stand up people.
Also, had to deal with customer service for the first time at Midwest Supplies.
Hi Steven-
Sorry about the broken auto siphon. I will send a new on out right away for you. Don't worry about the broken one as we do not need it back.
Cheers!
Mike
Midwest Supplies
So far so good. Stand up people.
Organized Chaos
Footballguy
How long are your boils? How much are you boiling? (IE, are you doing a full boil, or topping it off with water?)I do 10 gallon full boils and I usually start with 13 gallons and end up with 10.5-11 while doing 60 minute boils.Basically, I have found that if you are putting together your own brew with a program etc (Promash, beer tools), always figure for a 6 gallon batch and start with 7 gallons. This will usually net you 5.5 gallons, and allows for lost beer in the transfers etc to get you a true 5 gallons when all is said an done.
The Gator
Footballguy
I was doing a 2gal boil and then adding it to 3gal of water for a 5gal total.Thanks for the info.
Organized Chaos
Footballguy
The rule is, you want to steep your grains as close to 150 degrees as possible for the time recommended (anywhere from 10 minutes to 45 minutes). I know that you do not want to have the grains in there when the temp gets much more over 160, I think at 170 is where you start to extract undesirable flavors.My buddy is a brewer at Founders and when I asked him this question when I started brewing, he said he usually puts them in at the beginning and once the temp gets to about 160 he pulls them. (now he is obviously brewing with MUCH MUCH more volume then us, but thats what he did at the time.)Side note, recently I have been just dumping my grains in a seperate pot and kind of mini-mashing them, heating to 150 and holding for a half hour, then draining into a collander, and rinsing with 170 water. This is supposed to extract the maximium fermentable sugars and also flavor/color from teh grains.
Organized Chaos
Footballguy
Cool, see if you can get more liquid in there during the boil, it will improve your beer quality IMO. I think I bought a cheapy 5 gallon thin stainless pot from the grocery store for <20$ when I started. I could get about 3ish gallons in there and top off the rest.I was doing a 2gal boil and then adding it to 3gal of water for a 5gal total.Thanks for the info.
The Gator
Footballguy
Interesting idea.
culdeus
Footballguy
Even rinsing with 170++ won't change anything right? The goal is just to stop the conversion?
orcinus
Footballguy
Beer guy has told me on numerous occasions that the hybrid lager yeast in that set ferments at the same temps as what's used with the pale ales. I know this, because after reading up on lager yeasts and the cooler temps, I keep asking him the same question.
I'm at day five and the activity has slowed down to a crawl. I still have some light foam on the top, but it has cleared considerably since yesterday morning. Friday or Saturday could be a serious beer day, as I might be ready to pig/bottle the first batch, rack number two to the secondary and possibly get more practice in on a third.Might be spinning my wheels a bit, especially considering the fact I haven't even sampled batch number one, but I learn best by reading up and asking as many questions as I can, and then getting my hands dirty.Interesting subject on steeping, btw. I was told to drop my grains with the initial water, and then take them out once the temperature hits 170. For more flavor and color, he also says you can leave them in for 10-15 minutes at 170, but it's not necessary at all (and you can do more harm than good if your temps crawl up near 180).My last steep hit 172 or 173 before I could bring it back down, so things could get interesting. At this point, I'm not planning on having anything exceptional come out of the bottle, but I think I'm finally ready to run through the process mistake-free.
culdeus
Footballguy
I think alot of the steep thing has to do with the quantity of grain vs. the quantity of DME/LME. The specialty grain adds color and some flavor, but mainly color to the wort in a 1/6 ratio or lower (which is typical).
Been reading "Designing great beers" and I think he's sold me on starting with strictly a pale DME base and using grains to get the right color. I've just got to tinker a bit in promash to pull this off.
Been reading "Designing great beers" and I think he's sold me on starting with strictly a pale DME base and using grains to get the right color. I've just got to tinker a bit in promash to pull this off.
Organized Chaos
Footballguy
Not sure, it was recommended to me, so I tried it and have had great results since. I find that I am hitting my SG much more often now.Plus, its not much harder to do that then steep the grains with my setup. You dont want to steep 4 pounds of grains in 12 gallons (or even 5-6 gallons) of water because it can apparently introduce off flavor also. So I just put in about 1 gallon per pound of grain and do the above process.Even rinsing with 170++ won't change anything right? The goal is just to stop the conversion?
Organized Chaos
Footballguy
Nice, I havent read that book yet, but I have played with alot of different styles/methods in promash trying to find something I really like. I have been doing the light extract and using the grains for some time now, also adding 75% of the extract with 15 minutes left to go in the boil to keep the beer lighter in color.Also, depending on the grain, it can change the flavor. For example, roasted barley adds both color and noticable flavor to a beer, while something like 2 row will add slight flavor, but it will add fermentable sugars if you do a partial mash.Another thing I was told once and I think helps out is to try the grains you intend to use to get a feel for what they can add to your beer. Just take a grain kernal and eat it. Some are really good (crystal 80) and some are just ok (crystal 10), but I think it has helped me when creating beer recipies.I think everyone should eat at least one hop pellet in their lifetime as well.
The Gator
Footballguy
You better ####ing do it.
He won't eat it. He hates everything.
orcinus
Footballguy
A seal on my wort-chiller sprung a small leak. I went inside to grab a beer and came back a minute later to find a small leak of garden hose water spraying into the 90-degree wort. Combined with the exploding thermometer, this makes two batches that have been fed to the garden. You ever hear dormant roses burp?
A seal on my wort-chiller sprung a small leak. I went inside to grab a beer and came back a minute later to find a small leak of garden hose water spraying into the 90-degree wort. Combined with the exploding thermometer, this makes two batches that have been fed to the garden. You ever hear dormant roses burp? :X
culdeus
Footballguy
Floating this idea around in PMs
What if we started a home brew "club"
Maybe get a half dozen people to do the following
Ship up to 144oz of beer to the club during the year. Not all will get every beer if more than 6 show up.
Particpiate in at least 1 of 3 preselected beer competitions across the country sending the same or different beers if you do more.
Then the group decides a "FFA Brewmaster" with 50% coming from the club and 50% coming from the outside competition.
The "up to" is imporant since some might not have the volume to pull this off and do competitions as well so there would be some coordination. Not every person might get every beer if this is actually popular. We'd also have to coordinate brewing/shipping.
I'm not sure how we'd select homebrew competition sites. Maybe somebody has some ideas.
What if we started a home brew "club"
Maybe get a half dozen people to do the following
Ship up to 144oz of beer to the club during the year. Not all will get every beer if more than 6 show up.
Particpiate in at least 1 of 3 preselected beer competitions across the country sending the same or different beers if you do more.
Then the group decides a "FFA Brewmaster" with 50% coming from the club and 50% coming from the outside competition.
The "up to" is imporant since some might not have the volume to pull this off and do competitions as well so there would be some coordination. Not every person might get every beer if this is actually popular. We'd also have to coordinate brewing/shipping.
I'm not sure how we'd select homebrew competition sites. Maybe somebody has some ideas.
Organized Chaos
Footballguy
I think that it would be fun to do. Even with the new kid, I am still brewing enough to send out 3-4 bottles of brew a couple times a year from my really good batches.
Count me in if this gets off the ground.
Count me in if this gets off the ground.
I'd like some more information.
Are you saying that I would need to send up to a 12 pack of each of my brews, or just a few of them?
I haven't been brewing as much as I would like, but this might make me kick my ### in gear.
Not understanding the competition idea
Question... how do you guys ship your beers? I've had mixed success in shipping my beers to friends in the past. Not with them getting rejected, due to containing alcohol, but having a bottle or two break during shipment.
Are you saying that I would need to send up to a 12 pack of each of my brews, or just a few of them?
I haven't been brewing as much as I would like, but this might make me kick my ### in gear.
Not understanding the competition idea
Question... how do you guys ship your beers? I've had mixed success in shipping my beers to friends in the past. Not with them getting rejected, due to containing alcohol, but having a bottle or two break during shipment.
culdeus
Footballguy
Here's what I'd ideally like to see as a minimum
Each person ships a 6 pack of two homebrew styles (12 total bottles) and maybe throw in a local commercial brew or two in for the heck of it.
Then, for the competition depending on rules likely means an additional 44oz to the compeition (this seems to be the norm 44-60oz is standard) I'd like to see everyone enter at least one competition even if it isn't perhaps the same one that we all do (i.e. your local club).
Obviously this may be alot for people to pull off given time and murphy's law constraints. I do not want this to end up being a burden, nor want anyone to feel like they let anyone down or were let down. Remember relax, don't worry........
-------------------------------------------
Shipping beers safely is pretty easy. The BIF/BOTM guys have a 98% success rate. Best sucess comes from bubblewrapping the bottles and then putting them in a ziploc and surrounding the beer with foam peanuts. (the Nuke method)
Each person ships a 6 pack of two homebrew styles (12 total bottles) and maybe throw in a local commercial brew or two in for the heck of it.
Then, for the competition depending on rules likely means an additional 44oz to the compeition (this seems to be the norm 44-60oz is standard) I'd like to see everyone enter at least one competition even if it isn't perhaps the same one that we all do (i.e. your local club).
Obviously this may be alot for people to pull off given time and murphy's law constraints. I do not want this to end up being a burden, nor want anyone to feel like they let anyone down or were let down. Remember relax, don't worry........
-------------------------------------------
Shipping beers safely is pretty easy. The BIF/BOTM guys have a 98% success rate. Best sucess comes from bubblewrapping the bottles and then putting them in a ziploc and surrounding the beer with foam peanuts. (the Nuke method)
Organized Chaos
Footballguy
I will be entering this competition again this year. (last year It was my 3rd beer and I placed in the top 10 out of ~50 people.
Also will be in the Michigan state fair that I missed last year, but my Brother in law (who I brew with all the time) placed 3rd with his haberno wheat.
I am interested in getting in several national competitions this year as well.
Also will be in the Michigan state fair that I missed last year, but my Brother in law (who I brew with all the time) placed 3rd with his haberno wheat.
I am interested in getting in several national competitions this year as well.
When is the Michigan State Fair?
I've thought about entering a beer there, but always think about too late. Thinking about doing it this year, and since you mentioned it, it reminded me of it.I've never entered a beer in any competition, but would like to get a beer judged, just to see how good/bad my beer really are.
The Gator
Footballguy
Start a FBGHBG thread, i think this will take off. Nice Idea culdeus.
BTW, bottling my Pu#### Porter this weekend. 
Organized Chaos
Footballguy
Its near the end of the year, it was just a couple of months ago... I'll have to get back to you with a date... What part of MI do you live in?When is the Michigan State Fair?I've thought about entering a beer there, but always think about too late. Thinking about doing it this year, and since you mentioned it, it reminded me of it.
I've never entered a beer in any competition, but would like to get a beer judged, just to see how good/bad my beer really are.
Lenawee CountyOrganized Chaos said:Its near the end of the year, it was just a couple of months ago... I'll have to get back to you with a date... What part of MI do you live in?Sclaffer said:When is the Michigan State Fair?Organized Chaos said:
I've never entered a beer in any competition, but would like to get a beer judged, just to see how good/bad my beer really are.
Flat beer.
The Gator
Footballguy
Ok, cool.
Yup.Give it a couple of weeks before you open them up. Ok... open one up after about a week, just to check the carbonation.