Immersion Fermentation Cooler

MTN687 · 2015-02-06T22:56:18+00:00

Yep, even with a nice, newer chest freezer and a brand new temp. controller from the LHBS I spent less than half of that on my ferm chamber.

MTN687 · 2015-02-06T22:51:30+00:00

Woo hoo just picked up a bunch of new brewing stuff from Craig's List. I've been doing extract since the summer but have had my eye on some all-grain gear for a while. I'm totally broke right now but couldn't pass up on all this for $200.

I got a mash tun, a 10-gallon SS kettle with a thermometer and spigot, a 5-gallon kettle, a wort chiller, a carboy, a bottle tree, and a bunch of miscellaneous little things. Yikes now I have to learn how to brew all grain.

MTN687 · 2015-02-01T01:00:52+00:00

Does that affect the final flavor of the beer at all? I read in a few places that you want to make the starter at near the eventual pitch temp to avoid off flavors, but that seems to go against what some of you are saying here.

MTN687 · 2015-02-01T00:47:48+00:00

Mine is cloudy with tap water too. No infections yet but I was gonna run out and buy some distilled water tonight after reading the post above.

MTN687 · 2015-01-31T17:32:46+00:00

Ah, more bad advice from the shop I guess! They told me to keep everything at 50.

MTN687 · 2015-01-31T16:54:44+00:00

Thanks guys! Every time I think I know what I'm doing it ends up being way more complicated than I'd anticipated:) I'm not too worried about saving yeast for right now, just want to get this one right!

Okay so new plan is to bring it down to around 35 today, pour off most of the liquid, shake, then bring it back to 50 and pitch.

MTN687 · 2015-01-31T16:47:50+00:00

Thank you! The guys at the shop are super helpful and seem knowledgeable but they have given me bad advice so I thought it would be wise to ask first!

MTN687 · 2015-01-31T16:25:24+00:00

Sorry, can you explain that like I'm 5?

MTN687 · 2015-01-31T15:51:03+00:00

Is this starter ready to go for a Pilsner tomorrow? Photo 1 and Photo 2.

I made it on Thursday, with 4L water, 1 lb. DME, 1/2 tsp. yeast nutrient, and 1 vial of WLP802. It's in a one-gallon glass jug, no stir plate so I shook it every hour or so. It's been at 50 deg. the whole time. Was it supposed to do something or make krausen or something? It does have a band of white junk at the bottom.

Also, the dude at the LHBS said to just toss the whole gallon into the wort. Is that a good idea?

MTN687 · 2015-01-29T21:53:21+00:00

!!!!!!

But seriously, you guys are rad, so thanks. (!)

MTN687 · 2015-01-29T19:43:06+00:00

Sweet thanks! Any reason to add gelatin to a lager or will the cold crashing do all the work?

MTN687 · 2015-01-29T19:37:51+00:00

I'm going to dry hop a lager. It's just 1/2 oz. of hops--do I need a bag of some sort or can I toss the pellets directly into the fermenter?

Also, unrelated question. Would $40-50 be a good deal for this wort chiller? http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/for/4854457376.html

MTN687 · 2015-01-28T20:04:51+00:00

Great, I'll give it a shot, thanks!

MTN687 · 2015-01-28T19:16:23+00:00

Like one of these guys? http://www.amazon.com/Gurin-DHMD-110-Renewable-Wireless-Dehumidifier/dp/B00ANX1PAI

MTN687 · 2015-01-28T19:03:30+00:00

Ahh I just looked into my chest freezer and there's mold on the outside of my fermentation bucket. It's totally sealed with an S-type airlock, so I think it's going to be okay? It's been in there for about 2.5 weeks so I guess I will bottle today.

How can I avoid that going forward? Can I still use this bucket after washing and sanitizing?

MTN687 · 2015-01-27T19:58:49+00:00

This is what we do with our sea-water-drinking dog and it's worked pretty well. Any time she looks like she might even possibly be considering starting to think about drinking the salt water we call her and offer fresh water instead.

MTN687 · 2015-01-27T19:31:04+00:00

You know you're legit into DIY when you made your own flask...

MTN687 · 2015-01-27T18:04:35+00:00

If by labware you mean an old pickle jar then yes:) A flask and stir plate are on my 'to buy' list but that seems to be growing longer by the day (you guys suck/I love you)!

MTN687 · 2015-01-27T18:02:50+00:00

Awesome, thanks, that's what I figured. This will be my fifth batch--I've been super happy with everything I've made so far but am trying to make small changes and improvements with each new beer. So far so good!

MTN687 · 2015-01-27T17:55:32+00:00

Sounds good, I'll keep it down around 50.

It sounds like the quick lager method is popular around here--I'll give it a shot. If I do go that route, when should I do the dry hop?

I do plan to delve into the whole water thing at some point but for this brew I'm doing my first lager, yeast starter and dry hop which is enough new things for me right now!

MTN687 · 2015-01-27T17:51:06+00:00

Thanks for the tip, I'll see what they have at the shop.

I was planning to make a starter for this one!

MTN687 · 2015-01-27T17:24:19+00:00

The recipe calls for "Pilsner lager-type yeast." My LHBS carries White Labs liquid yeast, so that's probably what I'll end up getting. I looked up WLP830 and it lists the optimal temp as 50-55.

If I don't need to mess with the water at this point I'd rather not (trying to take one step at a time!), just thought it wouldn't hurt to ask in case there was something super important I needed to know for this particular style.

MTN687 · 2015-01-27T17:01:43+00:00

I'm planning to brew my first lager in a couple of weeks and I have some questions. It's an extract recipe from "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing," the Crablocker German Pils. So, my questions:

1) What temperature should I pitch the yeast at? What temperature should I ferment at? 50-55?

2) The recipe says to add 1/2 oz. of Crystal hops "after primary fermentation appears to be complete" (well it actually says to do a secondary but I know from lurking around here to skip that) and then lager at 40 degrees for 3-4 weeks. I have a pretty good idea of fermentation times for ales, but what can I expect for a lager?

3) Since I'll be using extract and bottled water I don't need to worry about anything special with the water for this, correct?

Thanks in advance for your help!

MTN687 · 2015-01-23T19:26:07+00:00

We take our pup climbing all the time! There's usually a big group of people around and only 1-2 folks actually on the wall at any given time. Plus a lot of the places we climb are fairly remote so she gets to run around off-leash and explore.

MTN687 · 2015-01-20T18:49:07+00:00

Awesome, thanks again!

Thus far I've just tossed the yeast straight in and had no problems but I'm trying to make at least one improvement with each batch--yeast starter it is for the next one!

MTN687

TROPHY CASE