re: Homebrewing Thread: Volume II

I shot you an email.


one cretique ill give on your recipe is that i hate having dry hops on the beer for longer than 7-10 days. I have seen that once kegged, the beer has a grassy taste that clears up after about a week from being in the keg, and the debris in the kegs cleaned out.

So what i have done is bio trans once fermentation starts. then a large dry hop after fermentation ceases. larger amount for a shorter ammount of time. I can get a Neipa out in 10-12 days easily now.

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But I would like to transition to all grain brewing. Do yall have any recommendations for good setups that don’t take up too much space or break the bank?

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all depends on how far into it you want to go. if you want to BIAB, you need a single pot. If you want to batch sparge, you need a pot and a mash tun(cooler). Ig you want to fly sparge you need a HLT, Mash tun and a boil kettle.

I have been fly sparging for over a decade and im in the works of designing a BIAB system because how how much work it will eliminate from my Fly sparge system. so there are a ton of questions that need to be answered before you just buy a system. I built my who system i have. While the prebuilt system are all fancy and pretty, they also cost multiple times the amount mine did.

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I shot you an email.

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Got it thanks. Just did a quick glance through, that is a lot of shite to keep track of. I'll just buy a control panel when the time comes.

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one cretique ill give on your recipe is that i hate having dry hops on the beer for longer than 7-10 days. I have seen that once kegged, the beer has a grassy taste that clears up after about a week from being in the keg, and the debris in the kegs cleaned out.

So what i have done is bio trans once fermentation starts. then a large dry hop after fermentation ceases. larger amount for a shorter ammount of time. I can get a Neipa out in 10-12 days easily now.

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I'll try it out next time. My next batch will probably be another NEIPA so i can use up the NEEPAH blend from bootleg. I haven't noticed grassy flavors in my beers, but i usually give it a week in the keg before i start drinking the beer, even when i force carb.

In terms of electric brewing. So i made that big long post with pictures and everything of my plan, but now, i'm starting to think about BIAB systems. I've never considered going this route, mainly because i didn't know enough about it, and I had a preconceived notion that BIAB was regressing from my system, because i considered that fly sparging was the most efficient way of sparging. So with that being said, those that go the BIAB route, what's the pros and cons vs. the traditional style of 3 vessel brewing?

Oh, and SS brewtech emailed me back. I asked them if the InfuSSion mash tun could be retrofitted with a heating element if i eventually, decided to go this route. They responded that they are currently in development of an electric mash tun. But did say, they don't even have a production date on the schedule yet, so it may be awhile. So i think i'll still go with the Infussion. From what i've read, the heat temps hold up so well that there really is no need to go electric, unless you want a RIMS system. Which may be unnecessary, really.

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Got it thanks. Just did a quick glance through, that is a lot of shite to keep track of. I'll just buy a control panel when the time comes.

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yea. but i enjoy that.

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I'll try it out next time. My next batch will probably be another NEIPA so i can use up the NEEPAH blend from bootleg.

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i used the Neepah on this current batch i have. one keg is already gone. It is really good.

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In terms of electric brewing. So i made that big long post with pictures and everything of my plan, but now, i'm starting to think about BIAB systems. I've never considered going this route, mainly because i didn't know enough about it, and I had a preconceived notion that BIAB was regressing from my system, because i considered that fly sparging was the most efficient way of sparging.

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same. And what is pushing me that way, is my last brew session was so unorganized and chaotic with shite everywhere, i wanted to simplify my entire setup. and while fly sparging is the most efficient, a few bucks more grain sounds like a great trade off over less work. Ill still keep my fly sparging equipment though.

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From what i've read, the heat temps hold up so well that there really is no need to go electric, unless you want a RIMS system. Which may be unnecessary, really.

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i want to be able to do stepped mashs. and im sure you would too.


One of the controlers i am look at buying is the expensive brewboss one it can be controlled via an app as well as the panel. i really want 2 separate controllable heating elements so i could brew 2 beers at once.

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I've thought about it, but then again, everything i read about stepped mash is that with how well modified the grains are now, step mashing isn't really necessary.

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I mostly agree but I've found that protein rests when using German pils malt is pretty helpful.

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BugAC
is wiring and setting up a control panel relatively easy?

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it seems pretty straightforward but I purchased a completed unit. I'm busy & impatient.

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risk of setting your house on fire is pretty low?

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yes, their are plenty of built in redundant safety features that prevent electrocution & fire.

ETA: Currently (pun completely intended) I'm using the 30amp dryer outlet to run my 50amp panel. This limits me to running only one heating elememt at a time. When I have more time (and $) I will have a 240V 50A outlet professionally installed.

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Just curious, how much better is all grain vs extract? As far as taste and quality of the beer.

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It is possible to make extract beer nearly as good as all-grain. However, in my experience, going from extract to all-grain is like going from the first generation flip phones to an iphone. It simply tastes better. It tastes more like beer. My early extract batches kept me interested in brewing. All-grain turned my brewing into a hobby/passion/obsession.

Keep in mind, this is just my experience but...

1) You feel more like a legit brewer. You are doing most of the steps they do in a real brewery, though to a smaller scale.
2) You can control how your beer tastes. With extract, it's a guessing game of what you will get.
3) My early homebrews had a homebrew taste to it. You can ask my friends/guinea pigs. But when i started going all grain, my buddies couldn't tell the difference between my beer or a commercial beer. My roommate at the time, thought he was drinking Stone brewery beer. When i told him it was a homebrew, he was blown away.
4) Your brew day will get longer. You are adding more steps. But that's ok.

I'm glad i started out going extract. The learning curve was smaller, and i had a basic grasp of all the steps post mash. By the time i went to all-grain, i read up enough to get an idea of what to do. After about 2 or 3 all-grain batches it was automatic. After that, i was just trying to think of ways to shorten my brew day, which usually meant cleaning up while other steps were going on.

Yea I think I had that extract twang. It’s hard to describe the flavor, but maybe just an off finish. I had it with almost every extract brew and I don’t think it was infection or aeration.

Good to know. I think I’m going to make the jump to all grain. I need to do some research first before I buy my gear

+1

This has been my setup for pretty much all of my 3 years homebrewing and I don’t feel limited at all. Can even do stepped mashes by making initial mash on the thick side and adding progressively hotter water to step up.

I lauter/fly sparge with a tea kettle I dip into my HLT and a spoon.

No complaints from any of my taste testers!

Update on my fermentation issue. I added my starter on Friday. I had a feeling I kinda screwed it up though. Sure enough, I checked today and my gravity has hardly changed at all. Guess I'll try again to add more yeast. Not sure what else I can do to save the beer.

I also tasted some of it while I was testing the gravity, just seemed really thin. Not sure what would have caused that other than just not a long enough boil? My OG was lower than the recipe called for.