Is that a hydrometer in your pocket or are you just happy to see me

[sweetcell]

on monday, january 16 (president's day martin luther the king day), i will be brewing up 10 gallons of DIPA on my single-tier brew stand.  if anyone wants to drop by and see how it's done just send me a PM.  homebrew will be available   this is likely to be the last time i brew at this house, we're selling in the spring... so, last call.

[sweetcell]

a homebrew amber ale

so it's ready - congrats!  how did it turn out?

[Space Freely]

a homebrew amber ale

so it's ready - congrats!  how did it turn out?

Um, it's top shelf. I'll let you taste it April Fool's Day. J/K.

I wasn't expecting anything great given the recipe, and indeed it isn't great compared to the other beer I currently have from Richmond, Brooklyn, Queens, and Herndon. But it's not terrible. My wife actually liked it better than Nugget Nectar when we did a side by side.

One of the bottles was a complete gusher. Wonder why? That was weird, because the other's have all seemed sort of (but not completely) flat.

Looking forward to doing a batch of something a bit more hop-forward, probably next month.

[sweetcell]

Um, it's top shelf. I'll let you taste it April Fool's Day. J/K.

i want to taste it, please bring a bottle!

One of the bottles was a complete gusher. Wonder why? That was weird, because the other's have all seemed sort of (but not completely) flat.

how did you prime the bottles - add sugar to a bottling bucket?  or did you use carb drops (sugar "pills" added to each individual bottle)?

if you added sugar to the entire batch in a bucket, i strongly suspect that the sugar wasn't evenly distributed.  that gusher would be one of the last bottles you filled, i.e. from the bottom of the bottling bucket where all the sugar was.  the majority of bottles would be under-carbed because their contents came from above the sugar sludge and had less (insufficient) sugar in them.  implication: you may yet have other late-filled gushers.  solution to this problem, for next time: 1) boil the sugar in little water first (sanitizes it and gets it liquefied) and add it to the bucket before you rack (transfer) the beer in, and 2) when you rack in, get a swirl/whirlpool going by putting the end of the tube along the edge of the bucket's wall.  that should get things mixed up nice and even.  to be extra-certain, sanitize a stainless spoon and give the beer a very gentle mix once it's full, or mostly full. 

aside: avoid splashing the finished beer.  keep the end of the tube below the surface of the beer, fill from below.  after fermentation is done, you want to limit oxygen exposure as much as possible.

the other reason why you might have only one gusher (or just a few) out of an entire batch is that there was some source of infection inside that bottle, it wasn't sanitized properly, etc.  if this is what happened to you here, then you under-primed all the bottles (hence general flatness) but the one bottle with an infection got extra carbonation from a bug (brett, wild yeast, etc) that fermented the long-chain sugars that the brewer's yeast (sacc) didn't.  did you taste the gusher?  infected beers often taste very thin and/or phenolic (spicy) if not out-right bad.

now if every bottle is a gusher, then your issue is either infection acquired before bottling, or premature bottling - fermentation wasn't complete and it finished in the bottle,

and yes, i'm aware of the potential sexual innuendo here.

Looking forward to doing a batch of something a bit more hop-forward, probably next month.

cool, let me know if i can help   protip: if you get a kit, buy some extra hops.  add an additional ounce or two at the end of the boil, and another 1-2 extra ounces to the dry-hop.  adds to the cost but it's worth it 

[Space Freely]

Look at this cool guy. Word is he makes some great sours!




https://tinyurl.com/kt7ugjm

[Space Freely]

how did you prime the bottles - add sugar to a bottling bucket?  or did you use carb drops (sugar "pills" added to each individual bottle)?

answer to this question is the former...thanks for the detailed reply, will noe for next time!

[vansmack]

Look at this cool guy. Word is he makes some great sours!

I've heard he's got a great wine collection....

[sweetcell]

in case anyone here is looking to get into homebrewing, wants to see what the local club is about, or just drink some (and possibly a lot) of homebrew.  free!

DC Homebrewers
Are you ready? Our October meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 17 at WeWork Wonder Bread in Shaw. This is for all our usual meeting attendees -- but also the perfect month to join us if you've been thinking about coming but haven't made it yet or are considering starting to homebrew. We'll have food, beer, educational info aimed at new brewers and a raffle for some beginning brewing books and supplies!
WHEN: 6:00-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 17 (Note: This one starts earlier than usual)
WHERE: WeWork Wonder Bread Factory (641 S St. NW) in Shaw
SPECIAL NOTES: We're focusing on new members and new brewers for this meeting -- but we want all the regulars to come too! We'll have finger foods and a keg provided by WeWork in addition to the homebrew and commercial beer you all bring to share. Special educational information for new brewers -- plus you'll be entered into a raffle for some beginning brewer basics just for showing up!
PLEASE RSVP: https://dchomebrewerstakeoverevent.splashthat.com/

[sweetcell]

in case anyone here is looking to get into homebrewing, wants to see what the local club is about, or just drink some (and possibly a lot) of homebrew.  free!

another opportunity to check out the local club, meet some really nice people, and drink a ton of free and creative beer (do NOT drive to this ).  i seriously can't think of a better way of spending a wednesday night.

DCHB OCTOBER MEETING -- FOCUS ON NEW MEMBERS
This is our meeting focused on welcoming new members. That means everyone should come! If you're on the email list and have been seeking the right time to finally show your face, join us in October! If you have friends who might be interested in the club, invite them! If you already come every month, don't miss this one!

Plus, we'll have a bit of education from Michael Tonsmeire (DCHB member, Mad Fermentationist blogger, Sapwood Cellars co-owner, and genuinely nice guy)! (also author of "American Sour Beer", AKA the sour beer bible)

Our beer theme is autumn beers, but all homebrews (and ciders and meads) are welcome!

WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.
WHERE: Iron Horse Tap Room -- downstairs (507 7th St. NW, Washington, DC)

If this is your first meeting, our meetings typically go like this: Please buy stuff (food/beer) from our hosts for the first 30 minutes or so of the meeting until we make announcements, and then we'll open up the homebrews. Please do not bring in outside commercial beer or food, and please tip your servers. Most people bring anywhere from two bottles to a growler of homebrew to the meetings. But even if you don't have beer that's ready to bring this time, you're welcome to come. Once homebrew tasting is open, it's pretty casual -- just meet and greet and sip. If you have specific questions about brewing or about your beer, just ask! Members are glad to give feedback and suggestions. We have many BJCP judges among the membership if you're looking for a critical evaluation as well.

LEARN TO HOMEBREW DAY
The American Homebrewer Association's Learn to Homebrew Day will be celebrated on Saturday, Nov. 3 this year. We're set to do a brew demo at Atlas Brew Works in DC




More info about DC Homebrewers Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DCHomebrewers/

[sweetcell]

^ tomorrow night.  go drink some homebrew.

[Space Freely]

^ tomorrow night.  go drink some homebrew.

If I weren't coughing my lungs up and I didn't have homework and cooking duty and if it didn't mean a second trip into the city....ah, someday I'll go.

[Dejecty-hatch lııllı|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llıl]

sous vide brewing!


So this is different...
Brewing beer tomorrow and I need to propagate 186 billion yeast cells for fermentation. This strain of yeast has to maintain 75 degrees minimum for 24 hours to get to that number of cells. I believe this would be much like creating a sponge for bread making. My Joule saves the day!

[sweetcell]

nice! 

some homebrewers are even using sous vide to mash (specifically, to maintain mash temps).  it can be rough on the - what do you call that contraption?  whatever the generic name for a Joule is... anyhoo, can be rough on it because mash liquid (liquor) contains sugars and proteins that can accumulate in the device.   they were designed for water, only, but some folks still use then in this off-label fashion with success.  personally, i would be sleeping on the couch for a week if the missus discovered that i dunked our Joule into wort...

[Dejecty-hatch lııllı|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llıl]

ok sweets...looking to get back into homebrewing after taking some time off.

I really need to invest in some equipment, but not sure where best to focus my meager funds

What is your opinion of the BrewJacket could help a lot during fermentation
Saw this on CL for $100 https://fredericksburg.craigslist.org/app/d/fredericksburg-chest-freezer/6865472867.html

Also looking at some conical options for the fermentor

Or should I be looking at an Electric kettle

If you were to invest in 5-10 gallon brewing where would you find the most bang for the buck
and then what should be the on-deck purchase that I should be saving up for next

[sweetcell]

What is your opinion of the BrewJacket could help a lot during fermentation

if you need both heating and cooling, brewjacket is an excellent investment.  i was about to purchase some myself, until i figured out that i don't need cooling (my basement is a large walk-in fridge, year-round).  will definitely improve your beer.  an issue to keep in mind is that the brewjacket isn't compatible with all fermentors - glass carboys are a no-go.

Saw this on CL for $100 https://fredericksburg.craigslist.org/app/d/fredericksburg-chest-freezer/6865472867.html

that's also a good setup.  however, it doesn't provide heat, and you want to be able to warm your beer in a controlled fashion:
- when fermentation starts, the beer heats up due to yeast activity (this is when you want cooling).  but as fermentation peaks and starts to wind down, you want to maintain temps lest the yeast go dormant prematurely - so you need to add a little heat.
- some beers, like belgians, benefit from slowly ramp fermentation temps (start normal/cool, then ramp up a few degrees a day starting on day 3, until you hit your target temp and hold there).  actually, i do a version of this for all my beers.  daily ferm temps might look like 66, 66, 66, 68, 70, 72, hold until end of fermentation.

solution in this case is pretty easy: get a heating belt (ex1, ex2) and a two-stage controller that does both heating and cooling.  plug fridge into cooling control, plug heat belt into heating control, and put fermentor in fridge.

the ability to add heat is a nice-to-have, so not a deal-breaker.  you can also "manually" add heat by opening up the fridge and letting warm air in, but air isn't the best transmitter of heat.  also requires staying in top of it, regularly checking temps to determine if more warm air is needed, etc. 

Also looking at some conical options for the fermentor

then maybe your funds are so meager after all...

conicals are amazing, but get expensive fast - especially when you factor in heating and cooling.  but they are the cadillacs of fermentation... some day i'll win the lottery and get myself some.  until then, i'm really happy with these (which in turn are a cheaper version of these).

Or should I be looking at an Electric kettle

i'd get temp control first.

If you were to invest in 5-10 gallon brewing where would you find the most bang for the buck and then what should be the on-deck purchase that I should be saving up for next

top 3 priorities should be: sanitation, temp control and pitch rate.  i assume you have sanitation under control (all hail Star San), and you're working on temp control, so next up is pitch rate - which means getting an erlenmeyer flask and a stir plate.  then use a pitch rate calculator.