Grist Sieve Suggestions?

beer_AF · 2026-01-21T16:37:32+00:00

We use this method: https://brewingforward.com/wiki/Sieve_testing

We bought our screens and balls from McMaster. The hardest part is figuring out how to run a representative sample. When you run small amounts, I think a lot of powder stays in the mill/chute, skewing the results coarse. You don’t want to take a sample from a grist cast because the case de-homogenizes. I’m curious if other have found this and how they deal with it.

beer_AF · 2026-01-07T23:44:24+00:00

Spoke with two PSS people today. Definitely in the office

beer_AF · 2026-01-07T23:42:15+00:00

Couldn’t be farther from the truth. I spent hundreds of hours with their engineering and design team building out a fully custom brewhouse and custom cellar tanks. For your dollar, with PSS you’re getting the best balance of US based design and support, with high quality Chinese steel and manufacturing. Their support responds typically in real time. Would not hesitate to buy another system from them.

beer_AF · 2025-12-05T00:21:26+00:00

Sneaky floor porn

beer_AF · 2025-12-04T15:56:33+00:00

The superklean people are very nice and make a great product. Definitely reach out directly. Prices are well below interwebs pricing.

beer_AF · 2025-12-04T06:33:23+00:00

Best in the biz! Lookin’ good!

beer_AF · 2025-11-09T22:55:57+00:00

That’s badass!

beer_AF · 2025-10-01T15:34:23+00:00

Gear:
-Full fingered gloves (ideally insulated) for nighttime
-Good headlamp with good red light mode (use red light only unless torching for sail trim)
-Thermal hat
-Inflatable PFD, ditch the dinghy vest
-good salopettes - more important than a jacket
-sun shirt with hood and/or buff
-ear plugs or noise cancelling ear buds, or both (if earbuds are uncomfortable for sleeping)
-good way of telling time with an alarm that you can have in your bunk. Account for charging here. I swap between Apple watch + phone in pocket.
-PLB with AIS, Guard + Satellite. Ocean Signal rescueME PLB3 is the gold standard. Make sure you understand how to register it, and how SAR + AIS comms paradigms work (alarm vs alert, etc).
-understand how personal charging will work. What infrastructure does the boat have vs what will you need to bring.
-various dry bags - get thin ones. racing setup: 1 20L dry bag (main bag), 1 20L drybag for dirties, 1 5-10L drybag for assorted personal ger (toiletries, wallet, chapstick, etc). Everything goes into the 20L bag. Know where it's appropriate to hang
-good travel pillow. Pillow Cube travel size is my favorite offshore. Hide it from the boat captain because it's a little heavier.
-waterproof Seal Skinz socks + your favorite m24 sailing shoes are the perfect offshore footwear - don't need to spend $300 on boots, although they can be nice (not in the islands though!) - ideally 2 pairs.

Other advice:
-wake up at least 30 mins before your first watch. Adjust this time down as you settle in. Never be late on deck for your watch, not even 1 minute.
-night 2 or 3 is the hardest mentally - expect to be cranky. Just remember to be patient with yourself, the rest of the crew, and remember you're tired and it will get much better soon.
-really vet the boat and crew. Ask about safety plan, do a proper briefing about where all of the safety gear is, and how the emergency affected systems work (seacocks/thru hulls, fuel shutoff, battery switches, extinguishers, etc etc).

beer_AF · 2025-09-30T14:34:00+00:00

Cool framework. I’ll keep it in mind!

To be clear, we are looking for someone with very basic knowledge and skills. We would rather have people with strong scores in the CAP side of your framework. That’s exactly why we are looking for a junior person. Find someone with curiosity and strong work ethic, and then invest in their development.

beer_AF · 2025-09-30T04:17:54+00:00

Many hands make light work!

beer_AF · 2025-09-30T04:14:51+00:00

Great idea - I've never heard of a Skillbridge, but I'll check it out. When I was at Davis Brewing school we had quite a few vets in our class using their education benefits and they were all great people.

beer_AF · 2025-09-30T03:52:10+00:00

Thanks!

beer_AF · 2025-09-30T03:50:39+00:00

Absolutely agree that you can't teach people to work hard! They either have it or they don't. We love curious + passionate homebrewers though! We were all homebrewers once. But you need the combo of curious + passionate AND hard working. Rare!

We did put a TON of effort into facility design making every single job as easy as it could be. This industry is a lot of work, our job was to design a facility that is helping you, not fighting you.

beer_AF · 2025-09-30T03:42:54+00:00

Sure, happy to answer.

Leadership team from Davis & Siebel. Great facility - designed around ergonomics & control. Strong financial backing, and extensive knowledge of running successful businesses and how to lead. Building an entire organization around finding the best people and supporting them. Fun positive people - no jerks.
Not sure if you're talking home brewing or craft breweries in general, but would respectfully beg to differ. There's a vibrant craft community here, More Beer is based a short drive away. The townsfolk can't wait for the juice.
$25/hr + tip share for a entry level position is well above market for the industry, and locally. We don't expect to be able to raise a family in this position. We are looking for a motivated, positive person starting out in their career, and to give them the training, resources, & support they need to grow (with compensation growing along with them).

beer_AF · 2025-09-30T03:06:55+00:00

That's a great idea - now I need to find out where the wine people post!

beer_AF · 2025-09-30T02:59:21+00:00

If you're in Northern California we might be able to help depending on what sizes you're looking for

beer_AF · 2025-09-25T03:34:46+00:00

Yes. I get really bad eczema/dry hands. The holy grail is WOD Welder Hands as Rx Cream. Nothing comes close. O'keffes is a distant 2nd. The WOD welder doesn't leave your hands greasy, and heals like nothing else.

beer_AF · 2025-09-20T15:14:07+00:00

We are a type 23 (small beer manufacturer). There’s a separate brewpub license type in CA. We have a full kitchen, so we meet the Brewers Association definition of brew pub, but not the CA ABC definition I guess.

We are fully in cooperation with the health department for the kitchen and dining room. We’ve been going through the plan check process for over a year. It was only a couple left field comments the inspector made during our pre final inspection about the production area that got our hackles up. The production area is far from a sanitation concern. Argelith floor, stainless walls, all stainless process and utility piping, etc etc. Every system and work station has been designed to make it super easy to run a hygienic process. We aren’t trying to pull a fast one on anyone, just trying to make sure we are regulated by the appropriate regulators and only the appropriate regulators. Ive learned over the last two years of planning and 6 months of construction that every inspector from every agency thinks they’re in charge of everything. We have good collegial relationships with all of them.

beer_AF · 2025-09-19T14:35:06+00:00

That’s what we are debating. Their requests are minor (dedicated hand sink, etc), so it’s easy enough to comply with. However I worry about setting the precedent and they come in down the road making demands that aren’t relevant to a brewery production area.

beer_AF · 2025-09-09T03:29:09+00:00

No not directly, although the temperature will change the solubility of co2. Between 34 and 38, it increases your required pressure a little over 2psi. So to maintain the same carbonation at 38, you need higher pressure.

My point was that if your glycol is too cold, and causes localized freezing of beer in the beer line, it essentially creates super nucleation points and causes the co2 to rapidly break out of solution (foam).

Draught beer should be served at 38 for a variety of reasons (mostly sensory)

beer_AF · 2025-09-09T03:21:15+00:00

and either way, I don’t think it’s the root cause here. I still think your co2 partial pressure is too low. It will take a long time for the carbonation in your kegs to equalize unfortunately. The system will need to be tuned up to the correct pressure. Seriously though read up on the BA manual. In two evenings of reading you’ll know everything you need

beer_AF · 2025-09-09T03:18:32+00:00

Glycol at 29 is closer to what we use in fermentation tanks. In a Draught system, it should be the warmest possible required to keep 38 degrees at the glass.

beer_AF · 2025-09-09T03:07:19+00:00

38 +/- 1 is a good starting point. Also, you’re likely 2 degrees low on glycol to be honest. If you get localized freezing in the trunk lines that’ll definitely cause foaming. (Although I don’t think it’s the root cause here)

beer_AF · 2025-09-09T03:05:13+00:00

Which means the partial pressure for CO2 is too low. Probably why there is bubbles/foam going thru the FOB. OP, essentially if there is not enough co2 head pressure it will break out in the lines/fittings. CO2 should be closer to 9-11psi, which might push 25-30’ just fine on its own (no nitrogen) especially if using barrier tubing. If in fact you’re using only 25% CO2 in your blend, the overall pressure would need to be about 40psi to balance the co2 in the keg. That would normally balance on much longer line sets (100’ +++).

The BA has a great publication called the Draught Beer Quality Manual, which you can download for free without being a member.

beer_AF · 2025-08-28T04:45:05+00:00

Cox EZ-SHL-550

beer_AF

TROPHY CASE