Fermentation Vessels Made Ready For Beer

Posted on September 27, 2018 by mikehoover

I have had two large stainless steel fermenters sitting around for years. They had been used for wine a long time ago. I decided to get them ready for fermenting big batches of beer. I removed the drain valves and replaced with stainless steel 1/2″ ball valves fitted with 1.5″ triclover fittings.

I bought some insulating foil to wrapped around them. It is 1/4″ thick per layer. I put two layers on each fermenter for about R value of R=6. Update 11/2/18: The 150L fermenter now has four layers for approximately R=12, and the 200L fermenter has four layers for approximately R=12.

Notes:

200L fermenter:
Jacket Height: 39″
Drain Valve Center Point (from bottom): 2.625″, 2.125″ diameter hole
Thermowell Center Point (from bottom): 8.25″, 1.0″ diameter hole
Layer one: diameter=20.25″ (51.435 cm), circumference=63.61″
Layer two: diameter=20.75″, circumference=65.2″
Layer three: diameter=21.25″, circumference:67.0″
Layer four: diameter=21.75″, circumference:68.625″

150L fermenter:
Jacket Height: 35″
Drain Valve Center Point (from bottom): 1.375″, 1.125″ diameter hole
Thermowell Center Point (from bottom): 8.875″, 1.0″ diameter hole
Layer one: diameter=19.0″ (48.26 cm), circumference= 59.625″
Layer two: diameter=19.5″, circumference=61.25″
Layer three: diameter=20.0″, circumference:63.0″
Layer four: diameter=20.5″, circumference=64.75″

For the first layer, I measured the diameter to be 18.75″. The circumference = 2 * PI * r = 58.936″.
String measure wrapped around the fermenter: 59.0″
I cut the insulation to 59″. It came up 5/8″ too short to wrap completely around. I cut a 5/8″ strip of the insulation and taped to the first layer. Not sure how the calculation was off since I had two different methods of measuring and they came very close to each other.

For the second layer, I calculated the corrected diameter given that I had to add a strip of insulation, which made the corrected diameter 19″. I added 0.5″ (the thickness of the 1st layer) to the corrected fermenter diameter to arrive at the length of insulation required for the second layer: 19.0 + 0.5 = 19.5″. Circumference = 61.26. I cut the second layer to 61.25″ It fit just fine.

I cut holes in each layer to fit the temperature sensor thermowells and ball valves. The thermowell holes is 1″ diameter. The 200L valve required a 2″ hole. The 150L valve required a 1.125″ hole.

I have also built a glycol chiller using a Frigidaire 5000 btu air conditioner and am in the middle of testing it. Perhaps another post on that later.

For the 150L vessel, I cut two rounds piece of insulation 17.25″ and made cutouts for the center and stopper.

Some notes on setting up the 150L fermenter for 1/2 BBL or 1 BBL:

Added 09/13/19: This is the 150L fermenter with a “1/2 BBL” of beer. The chill line indicates right at 13.75 inches which calculates out to 16.88 gallons.

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Paulaner Wiesn Recipe Notes

Posted on August 22, 2018 by mikehoover

Notes on a Paulaner Wiesn festbier recipe. Some info culled from this website.

70% Pilsner malt
30% Munich malt
24 IBU

Hops: (From Paulaner website)
Herkules
Taurus
Hallertau Tradition

3 hop additions:
13 IBU at 60 mins.
9 IBU at 20 mins.
2 IBS at FO

Mash:
122°F 10-20 mins.
144°F 30 mins.
155-166°F 30 mins.
168°F Mash out for 10 mins.

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Kettle Condenser Test

Posted on July 30, 2018 by mikehoover

Firstly, thanks BrunDog for posting this great idea on the HomebrewTalk.com forum! After reading the whole thread I decided to give this thing a go. I went with 1.5″ TC fittings and the 6.32psi/@40 brass fitting. Given that it was mentioned above that the 2″ TC gives 1.85 more spray cone surface area, that’s something to consider. My set up is a 25 gallon kettle (Update International) with a 240V boil coil for heating. In past uses, I experience about 3.8 gal/hr of loss due to evaporation (open kettle). I added up the required pre-boil volume based on final volume requirements, losses to the system, etc. I figure about 5 gal loss for a 75 minute boil and, having faith that the condenser would save some boil off, I cut that in half to figure into my pre-boil volume. Also, I decided to run it for 90 mins instead of 75, and then a 30 minute “whirlpool” once power was cut off at the end of 90 mins, for a total of 120 minutes of condenser use. I did not actually run the whirlpool pump, just let the kettle sit.

My notes from yesterday’s water-only test:

Kettle size: 25 gals.
Element: 240V 5750 Watt BoilCoil
5 foot 1/2″ ID silicone hose from condenser to catch bucket
Pre-boil volume: 20.5 gals.
Boil time: 90 mins.
Whirlpool time: 30 mins.
Hose water temp: 84F
Time to boil: ~1:20 @100% power
Power setting: 40% (I cut back power to 80% then 60% and settled at 40%)
Time condenser started: 2:22 PM
Dumped 5 gals of waste water at 2:50 PM (28 mins.)
Dumped 5 gals of waste water at 3:19 PM (29 mins.)
Dumped 5 gals of waste water at 3:47 PM (28 mins.)
Dumped 1 gal of waster water at 3:52 PM (5 mins.)
Shut off heat element at 90 mins.
Dumped 5 gals of waste water at 4:22 PM ( 30 mins.)
Total waste water: 21 gals.
Shut down condenser.
Let stand for 20 mins. (something about drinking a beer). At 4:42 PM, measured 19.833 gals. Temp around 200F+ (no note on this).
I waited until the next morning to measure volume again to give a more accurate reading. The water was still at 110F. Measured 19.167 gals.
200F – 110F = 90 degree delta. 20.5 gal – 19.167 gal = 1.333 gal loss, or 0.0148 gal/degree. If I can use that to calculate at the original hose water temp of 84F: 200F – 84F = 116 degree delta. 116 degrees x 0.0148 gal/degree = 1.717 gal. of kettle loss.
I had a small slow drip in the drain valve, so that will skew results a little. So the kettle loss to evaporation is likely a little less than my calculation.

Anyway, if this condenser takes me from 5.7 gals of loss for a 90 min boil (open kettle), down to 1.717 over the same period, and I can do it indoors, then – success!

I did notice that the catch bucket had vapor coming out of it and the water was very hot. So there is some vapor to deal with. If the idea is to get the waster water down to a temperature to stop any visible vapor then a larger spray nozzle and more water will be needed.

The lid sealed nicely once the condenser was running. There was bubbly steam seeping out around the edges and I could spin the lid easily. Once the condenser was turned on, the lid became tight, so there was the expected negative pressure. I had used two bricks initially to weight the lid down but that actually warped the lid and made it leak, so I took them off.

Considering my original pre-boil volume and potential boil over concerns, I can figure in a bit less boil off so that will help a little. I might assume that at hot break I will get some puking into the catch bucket since the bulkhead reduces my kettle volume from 25 gals down to around 22 gals. Can’t wait to try it on a brew soon!

The kettle with 20.5 gallons of water:

A close-up of the condenser attached to the kettle:

The kettle and condenser:

The kettle and control box rig:

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Batch #105: Festbier

Posted on July 10, 2018 by mikehoover

On Sunday, July 8, 2018, I brewed my first festbier. It is the recipe from Dave Carpenter’s “Lager” book. I used Saflager 34/70 yeast versus his Munich yeast so we’ll see how it turns out. As brew days tend to go, this one had a few unexpecteds to overcome. Also, I have learned that lager yeast do not care for a bunch of calcium, so I added all my calcium chloride to the mash. I treated my sparge water only with lactic acid to drop the pH. I did use the appropriate amount of Campden tablet to the brewing water.

RECIPE:

VITALS:
Batch size: 5.25 gallons
OG = 1.060
FG = TBD (1.014 expected)
%ABV = TBD (6.1% expected)
SRM: 4.7
IBU: 27.2
Boil time: 105 mins. (90 mins recommended)

GRAINS:
8 lb Pilsner malt
3 lb Vienna malt
7 oz Carahell

HOPS:
1.75 oz Hallertauer Mittlefrueh 4.3%AA at 60 mins.
0.50 oz Hallertauer Mittlefrueh 4.3%AA at 5 mins.

YEAST:
2 packs Saflager 34/70

WATER:
2.74 grams Calcium chloride in the mash
1.0 mL Lactic acid 88% in the mash
0.4 mL Lactic acid 88% in the sparge water

FERMENTATION: Pitch at 46°F and allow to free rise to 50°F. Ferment for ten days or until SG=1.035. Raise temp to 54°F and hold until SG=1.012 or stable, usually four to seven days. Rack into secondary and lager at 32°F for six weeks.

Mashed in targeting 149°F but got 148.1°F for 30 minutes. I checked the pH after about 15 minutes at pH=5.45. I incorrectly calculated the amount and temperature of the water to add for the step infusion to 162°F. I added about 3/4 gals of 178°F water and mixed the mash well. The temp on went up to 149.1°F. Ooph! So I heated up the water to 209°F over several minutes and added about 5/8 gallons and got the temp up the 153°F. Geez!

So, this brew day was my first attempt at decoction! I pulled what I figured was about 1/4 of of the thick mash into a stock pot and brought it to a boil, stirring to keep from scorching. I let the decoction simmer for 20 minutes and added it back to the mash. This got the mash temp up to 155.3°F. Well, I just let it go at this for about 40 minutes.

I sparged to about 7.2 gallons collected in the boil kettle. I added distilled water to pre-boil volume of 8.0 gallons.

After about 75 minutes into the boil I realized that my boil-off was not a much as I expected, so I decided to boil and additional 15 minutes. So after 90 minutes I began chilling with my chiller rig.

My post-boil gravity was 14.9 Brix, or SG=1.061. Post-boil volume was 5.11 gallons, so I added on bottle of water to get to around 5.25 gallons, with a Brix of 14.7 or SG=1.060. My BeerSmith sheet said my OG should be 1.055 versus the 1.060 I achieved. I think that had everything to do with the step mashing and the decoction.

I chilled the wort down to about 38°F and let stand to settle out until the temp rose to 146°F. During the process of running the wort into the fermenter, oxygenating for two mins, and pitching the yeast, the temp was now 149°F. I put the fermenter in the fridge set at 146°F and called it a day.

The next morning I set the fermenting temperature to 50°F per the original recipe.

07/15/18 8:20 AM: At 6.72 days into fermentation, the SG=1.034. I set the temperature to 54°F and let it free rise.

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Notes For Brewing Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Posted on June 5, 2018 by mikehoover

Notes for brewing Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale.

Taken from The Brewing Network’s The Session 08-08 10 with Steve Dresler from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. The recipe stuff starts at about the 2:30 mark.

Vitals:
Batch size: 100 BBL
OG: 16.5 Plato (16.0 – 16.5) [16.2 Plato per Scott Jennings, 121720]
FG: 3.8 Plato (3.5 – 4.0)
IBU: 68
SRM: 12.9?

Grain bill:
2-row pale 89%
Crystal 60 11% (or use British Crystal 50/60) (11-12%)

Hops:
Hot side:
Chinook, 60 mins, 25 lbs (17.2%)
Cascade, 10-15 mins, 40 lbs (27.6%)
Centennial 10-15 mins, 20 lbs (13.8%)
Hop back [Per Scott Jennings, 121720]:
Cascade, FO, 40 lbs (27.6%)
Centennial, FO, 20 lbs (13.8%)
Dry hopping:
Cascade/Centennial, DH, at 2:1, 1/2 lb per BBL

Mash:
Mash in at 156°F for 60 minutes.

Yeast:
WLP001, Wyeast 1056

Fermentation:
Pitch at 62°F and let rise to 68°F. Plateau at 68°F.

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Apparent Attenuation Using Wyeast 3522 Ardennes Yeast On Two Different Worts

Posted on May 30, 2018 by mikehoover

I recently brewed two different Belgian ales. The first was a Belgian pale ale with a starting gravity of 1.061. The second was a Belgian Strong Blond with a starting gravity of 1.070.

Belgian pale ale: OG=1.061, FG=1.007, Apparent Attenuation=87.9%, 7.1% ABV.

Belgian strong blond: OG=1.070, FG=1.008, Apparent Attenuation=87.9%, 8.2% ABV.

Note the percent apparent attenuation was identical on both.

I used BeerSmith app’s “Alcohol and Attenuation” tool to calculate these results.

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Batch #102 – Fuller’s London Pride First Attempt

Posted on May 28, 2018 by mikehoover

On Sunday, May 27, 2018, I brewed my first attempt at a Fuller’s London Pride after spending some time over the past two weeks researching the recipe. I used my notes from a previous post to guide me on brew day.

I did not have the recommended “Fuller’s” yeasts: WLP-002 English Ale, Wyeast 1968 London ESB, or Lallemand ESB yeasts. I used Safale S-04 which supposed to be a Whitbread yeast.

Also, I could not get Northdown hops, so I substituted with more Challenger hops.

The recipe:

Vitals:
Batch size: 5.25 gals.
OG: Brix = 12.0 ~ SG = 1.049
IBUs = 31
Color = 9.4 SRM
Estimated %ABV = 4.8%

Grain Bill:
9 lbs 8.0 oz Maris Otter Pale Malt – 3.0 SRM
8.0 oz Bairds English Crystal 70/80 ~ 75 SRM
1.0 oz Chocolate Malt – 338 SRM

Hops:
2 oz Target 3.5%AA – 60 mins., 7.0 AAU
1.65 Challenger 5.4%AA – 3 mins., 8.9 AAU
1.0 oz Kent Goldings 6.1%AA – 3 mins., 6.1 AAU <-[update 050419 WTH???] Yeast: 1 pack SafAle S-04 English Ale yeast rehydrated per instructions. Mash: 2.3 grams gypsum, 0.3 grams table salt to mash tun. Single infusion at 151.3°F for 90 mins. Mash pH after 15 mins, pH=5.46. Sparge: 4.2 grams gypsum, 0.6 grams table salt, 0.38 ml lactic acid to sparge water. Sparge unti 7 gallons in the kettle. Kettle Brix = 9.0. Boil: Boil time = 75 mins. at 60% PWR. Boiled down to around 4.75 gals. Added around 0.5 gals. distilled water to 5.25 gals. Post boil gravity = 12.0 Brix. Yeast nutrients - 15 mins. Whirlfloc - 15 mins. Fermentation: I will follow the fermentation regimen I noted in another post: Start at 17°C, raise to 20°C over 12 hours. At 1/2 OG, drop to 17°C. At 1/4 OG drop to 6°C for two days. Chilled to 45°F and let settle out for a couple hours. Once temperature rose to 60 °F, transferred to fermentor, added 2 mins. of O2, pitched yeast and put in mini fridge at 17.2°C. Set temperature controller to 20°C and allowed to free rise overnight. 5/29/18 12:15 PM: At 1.8 days (43.2 hours) the fermentation has reached 1/2 OG (1.024). I set the temperature to 17°C. The beer tasted still a bit sweet and pronounced bitterness, perhaps due to so much yeast still in solution. NOTES: The Target hops I sourced from Morebeer were very low in %AA compared to what is normal. I had to use 2 oz where I might have used closer to 0.75 oz. The Challenger hops sourced from Morebeer were also a bit low, requiring me to use more than otherwise necessary. Using SafAle S-04 was not ideal, so more planning next time to secure the correct yeast.

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Fuller’s London Pride Notes

Posted on May 20, 2018 by mikehoover

Notes for brewing a Fuller’s London Pride.

The Brewing Network, Can You Brew It: Fuller’s London Pride, The Jamil Show 05-24-10

The Brewing Network, Can You Brew It: Fullers Re-Brews, The Jamil Show 11-08-10

From the podcast:
Mash 1.3 quarts per pound.
ESB: 1st runnings, collected 5.5 gals @ 1.063 pre-boil. Added water to 7 gals. Boiled to 6.
LP: 2nd runnings, collected 7 gals @ 1.038 pre-boil. Boil to 1.048.
Blend mash runnings for gravity.

Fermentation: Start at 17°C, raise to 20°C over 12 hours. At 1/2 OG, drop to 17°C. At 1/4 OG drop to 6°C for two days.

6 gallon batch
OG = 11.85 Plato or SG=1.048
SRM = 9
IBU = 40
70% Efficiency

Malts:
95% Pale Malt
5% British crystal 70-80
50-75 grams Chocolate malt

Hops:
20 grams Target 11%AA 60 mins., 0.71 oz, 7.8 AAU
18 grams Challenger 7.5%AA 3 mins., 0.64 oz, 4.8 AAU
18 grams Northdown 8.5%AA 3 mins., 0.64 oz, 5.4 AAU
6 grams Goldings 4.75%AA 3 mins., 0.21 oz, 1.0 AAU

Yeasts:
WLP002

Water:
Gypsum

Mash: (No info given)

Fermentation:
Start at 17°C, raise to 20°C over 12 hours.
At 1/2 OG, drop to 17°C.
At 1/4 OG drop to 6°C for two days.

From Fuller’s website:

Cask: IBU=30, ABV=4.1
Bottle: IBU=35, ABV=4.7

Malt: Chocolate, Crystal, Pale
Hops: Challenger, Goldings, Northdown, Target

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First Attempt At Making Invert Sugar

Posted on March 27, 2018 by mikehoover

I have been reading some recipes that require invert sugar, so I started exploring where to get some. It seems hard to come by. While Googling, I found many links to making invert sugar. After perusing several sites, I picked a couple that made sense.

This blog post at Unholymess.com has some good info on making the various inverts and also discusses the dilution method – achieving invert sugars by mixing a white invert sugar with molasses.

Also, this post at wikiHow.com was very helpful as it gave me information on using citric acid versus lactic acid.

This website has a chart showing the various sugars used in British beers along with colors.

I added 1 lb. of cane sugar, 1.5 cups of distilled water, and 1/4 tsp of citric acid to a sauce pan and mixed well. I heated the mixture on one of the small eyes of my stove on medium high, 7 on my stove. I mixed while heating. Eventually the solution cleared up nicely and as it came to a boil I cut the heat back to about 5 (medium heat) and checked the temperature frequently. This took about 10 minutes.

Once the temperature got to 240°F, I set my timer for 20 minutes and monitored the temperature frequently. I had to cut the heat back to “Low” a few times and then bump it up a bit at times, making sure to keep the solution below 250°F.
Continue reading →

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Beer Best By Expiration Date Codes

Posted on March 22, 2018 by mikehoover

At some point I became a fresh beer “nerd”. Too many times I have paid good money for beer that was at or beyond it’s “best by” date, so I check the dates each time. Distributors will sneak some old beer in there from time to time. Perhaps unwitting, grocery stores and bottle shops don’t catch it. They should pay more attention and demand better for their customers. But that’s just me.

How fresh is the beer I am buying? Some of the codes are a bit tricky to figure out. I make a few “educated guesses” for some brands. Some are straight forward. This is my attempt to keep a record of how the various beer best by or expiration dates can be decoded.

These are a guess unless otherwise there is a resource to support it.

Guinness Draught Stout: Code on bottom of can show canning date. Example: The first line of print is “L13420J001”. We are concerned only about the first four digits after the leading “L” which are “1342”. This is in YDDD format. In our example, the beer was canned on the 342nd day of 2021, which translates to December 8, 2021. Source: BeerAdvocate forum
Added on 07/01/22

Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest: Code on bottom right of rear label shows a best by date above the lot number. Example: “11.21” and “L32805” indicate a best by date of November 2021.
Added on 06/10/21

Ayinger Oktoberfest: Code “L9066” is 2019, 66th day of the year, so early March 2019. From BeerAdvocate forum: in reference to the code L8118, “”thank you for your inquiry and your interest in our Ayinger Beer. The number means that the beer was bottled on the 118th day of 2018, it is a lot number.” Added on 10/13/19

Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier: Code “L 173 Q 09:31”. From BeerAdvocate forum: “hofbrau- there is two sets of numbers/letters on the bottom of back label. look for the first set following the letter “L”, in this case “L 119 E” the 119 is the day in the year it was bottled, the E is the year as in 2001=a, 2002=b, ect. so 119 E= the 119th day of 2005.” Added on 10/16/18

Maisels Weisse Original Hefe-Weissbier: Code “18 H 17 0:08”.
Maisels (didn’t identify the beer): Code “18/08/11”.

Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier: Code on bottom of can: first line “03.22.2022 2”, second line “03.22.2021 X” would indicate that the beer was either brewed or canned on 03/22/2021 and is good until 03/22/2020.Added on 10/30/21

Paulaner Oktoberfest Märzen: Code at bottom right of front label “04.19 n”, second line “L10785 P”. Printed vertically on the label, “Enjoy Before End Of:” would indicate that the “04.19” is the MM/YY. The “L10785 P” might be the lot number.Added on 10/24/18

Weihenstephaner Original Premium: Code “0057”. First digit is day of month, or second digit of the day. The next two digits are the week of the year. The fourth digit is the last digit of the year. The first digit in this example, “0”, is either 10, 20, or 30. Second digit is the 5th week of the year, i.e., last week of January into February. The last digit, “7” is the last digit of the year, or 2017 (we hope it’s not 2007). So looking at the 2017 calendar, the fifth week includes January 29 thru February 4. The only day in that week with a zero in the number is the 30th of January. So, DECODED: January 30, 2017. Here is my source from RealBeer.com. (read the whole thread!)

More as I get to it…Cheers!

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