re: Homebrewing Thread: Volume II

I was gifted an old beverage cooler by a cousin. Not sure on the size, but it does fit 2 kegs in there, so I can ferment 2 beers at the same time.

I keep that and my keezer in an un-airconditioned tool shed. So, like mentioned earlier, it does not hold temps super well. It cycles often, and during the summers when I cold crash I feel like it kind of stalls at 45 and can't get lower... Still works fine though all things considered. Good enough for me at least.

Well the glass is cracked so I was going to stick some insulation board in the window and see how it goes. Speaking of inkbirds, does anyone know anything about thermostar controllers? I think they are an older controller. Another guy locally has one, a 5lb co2 tank and a keg I could make an offer on. The retail on the thermostar is $90 but I don't think it's any better then a $35 inkbird.

Ended up getting a 9cuft freezer for $100 today on FB marketplace. Now to procure some kegs, regulator, co2 tank, lines and taps!

My pale ale has been fermenting for 6 full days with a blowoff tube. It's started to slow down and I have slowly increased the temp. I have not taken any gravity readings yet. I went ahead and put a balloon on the end of my blowoff tube in preparation for cold crashing. Should I take a gravity reading or just take one after I cold crash? I am pretty confident it will be done in the next day or so, but I don't want to disconnect the blow off to check the gravity.

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You've come along way since last night, saying you aren't ready to invest in kegging

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Well if its between spend $150 on a beverage cooler and $100 on a freezer that can become a keezer that's a no brainer. I've ordered an inkbird to cold crash this pale ale, but otherwise I don't necessarily have to buy all the kegging stuff now. I can get pieces as I go or take Advantage of a deal for a kegging kit.

Will keep that in mind about line diameter and length. Can you send me a link of what you'd recommend for lines and connections?

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just check it after cold cashing if you are confident in your process. Might need to bring your sample back up to room temps for it to be 100% accurate.

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Yeah I'm waiting until Saturday evening at least to get the inkbird in. By then it should be done for sure with 9 days of active fermentation and overpitching yeast. I'm just using a regular balloon that I blew up a couple times to stretch out. To this point it's only a third full at most, but my blow off is wide and about 6 ft long. Most of the reports I've read are saying the suck back is about a quart which I should definitely have covered. In the future I will use a low pressure high volume balloon like mylar, but this for easily over the tube with a zip tie

I got the inkbird yesterday and set it up last night. Been in cold crash all day today and the clarity is improving. The balloon was completely deflated but not sucked back into the blow off hose. I pulled the blow off hose and took a sample to check gravity because I was worried about not being finished. Gravity was 1.011 when 1.013 was expected so fermentation is finished to the best of my knowledge. I tasted the sample and it had a nice bitterness similar to two hearted which is perfect for me even though I'm only at 42 calculated IBUs to an OG of 1.058. Two hearted is 60 with an OG of 1.065. Nice citrus aroma and flavor with maybe a little pineapple. Not a ton of coconut that I can taste. I don't think I have any off flavors except for a very slight metallic finish that might just be bitterness lingering. Leaving it in the cold crash for another day and will bottle tomorrow. Will let it bottle condition for a week or so then taste side by side with a sierra nevada and two hearted to see if it falls closer to pale ale or ipa territory.

I need to do some testing/tasting today after work so i can formulate a game plan on what to do next for my sours.

The 2 sours i brewed a couple weekends ago, should be about finished with primary fermentation.

Beer 1 - Biere de Garde - Brewed 5-6 gallons of a biere de garde, fermented with belgian ardennes yeast. I have 6 gallons of a year old biere de garde mixed ferm. I need to taste this and then decide my blending ratio of the 2 de gardes and decide what brett strain i will put in the newer de garde. I think i will have one blend be low-moderate acidity. The other blend will be a medium level acidity and aged on cherries.

Beer 2 - Modified Jester King Noble King Clone - This was going to be a 5-6 gallon brett explosion. I'm going to go ahead and pitch the brett strains tonight and taste it in about 3-4 months and decide if i need to acidify, or if the brett strains i'm using will produce some slight acidity. If no acidity, i'll probably just blend with 1 gallon of a mixed ferm beer that's been aging.

What're yall doing to keep your keezers dry? I'm going to put in a little airsealing around where my temp probe enters the freezer, dry out the inside, add a fan, make a water jar for the temp probe and maybe add some damp rid.

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Just so you don't make the same mistake as me

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I'll add don't make my mistake of going cheap on the faucets and shanks. Perlick stainless is what you want. Buy once. Cry once. Trust me.

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So, I brewed a Pilsner Friday. I pitched the yeast at 58 degrees. It’s Safelage 34/70. The fricker still is at OG. I’ve got some packs of US-05 hanging around. Would it hurt to throw a pack of Ale yeast in? Obviously, I’d have to raise the temp.

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You only pitched one satchet?

Just curious...I keep my kegs in a garage refrigerator. I end up with a lot of humidity in the fridge and then condensation coming from the taps on the outside. Is this just something I'll have to deal with as long as the fridge is outside?