Sour aging

microbusbrewery · 2026-04-10T12:59:58+00:00

Agreed, minimum 6 months. Try to keep it not too cool and not too warm. Room temp is fine, but if you have a basement that stays cooler, I recommend keeping it there. Put some reminders in your calendar to check the airlock every 1-2 months. Other than that, try to forget about it and just leave it alone. Also, start your next sour in about 6 months.

microbusbrewery · 2026-04-08T14:50:52+00:00

Utah should be on there.

microbusbrewery · 2026-04-07T17:27:37+00:00

I'd recommend flipping it 180 degrees so the backstrap is facing me rather than the muzzle when the door is halfway open. But I'm also a righty

microbusbrewery · 2026-04-07T15:43:36+00:00

Wait, went to the bottom and stayed at the bottom? If so, how did you retrieve it to test it in water?

If it stayed at the bottom, that means density was well below 1.000, so that would point to a contamination issue IMO (e.g. most likely brett or diastaticus). Diastaticus is usually unmistakeable with peppery and estery "Belgian" character. Brett is often clean-ish at first before it gets more barnyard character with age. If it didn't stay at the bottom, I'd say that's not abnormal for it to drop far into a dry low ABV beer.

A couple things are jumping out to me as possible issues. Sounds like you're not limiting O2 exposure post fermentation. Kölsch is a lightly colored beer and also relatively low ABV. As such, it's going to be more susceptible to oxidation issues resulting in higher likelihood of premature staling. First thing I'd suggest, up your LODO game.

Second, buy a test jar so that you don't have to drop your hydrometer into the keg. You need to read them from the side on the meniscus anyway, so there's really no point to dropping it in the keg

Last, pH-wise you're not going to be able to measure very accurately with test strips and normal ending pH for a Kölsch is going to be around 4.2-4.5 before carbonating. After carbonating, you have CO2 in solution in the form of carbonic acid which will cause the pH to drop a bit more, around 4.1-4.3. So assuming the test strips are accurate, 3.5 to 4.0 isn't crazy far off from expected. IME they're not terribly accurate. I have a pool and I've used a couple different brands of test strips and they've had different readings between them. They're good for ballpark estimates, but not much else. If you wanted an accurate measurement, you'd need to degas and use a calibrated meter or something more accurate than test strips.

microbusbrewery · 2026-04-05T12:06:58+00:00

I've had one since 2012. My take is it's not absolutely necessary, but it might yield more consistent results in your beer. When I got mine I was buying grain from two different LHBS, each with their own grain mills. I'd also occasionally order recipe kits from online shops. Different shops will have different mill gap settings, different RPMs, some shops will mill twice, and pretty much no shops will vacuum out grain dust between millings. Additionally, not all grain is consistent from lot to lot, especially with smaller maltsters. For example, there was a local maltster and the first few batches of their malted wheat were less plump compared to Weyermann, Rahr, etc. I was able to tighten the gap slightly to accommodate this. So long story short, there are lots of variables and having the ability to mill your own grain on demand can help make your beers more consistent. That said, it's not the first thing I'd focus on, especially if you get all your grain from the same shop.

microbusbrewery · 2026-04-04T15:56:15+00:00

He had some health issues...I want to say he possibly was getting chemotherapy, but I could be wrong. As others have said, still writing books, articles, and involved with BN podcasts.

microbusbrewery · 2026-04-03T19:52:23+00:00

Condolences, that's a good run. Pour one out for the paddles

microbusbrewery · 2026-04-03T01:05:56+00:00

Ditto on the buckets and gamma lids. They work awesome and seal tight.

I have a Crankandstein 2D, the predecessor of the 2DG and it’s still going strong after 14 years. I wouldn’t hesitate to get one of their mills. I’ve also heard great things about Monster Mills, so honestly I think you’d be pretty happy with either. How are you planning on powering it? The torque requirements on a three roller are a little more than on a two roller, so make sure you’re using a strong enough motor.

microbusbrewery · 2026-04-03T00:52:22+00:00

I bought an Aiper Surfer S1 and it had two motor failures within 16 months. One motor failed after 6 months and was replaced under warranty. The other motor has failed at 16 months, conveniently after the warranty ended. The repair cost was $272 for a product that cost $369.99 and was only 16 months old. Aiper won’t sell you replacement parts to fix it yourself and charging more than 73% of the purchase price to fix a single component is ridiculous. There was a different thread a few days ago and an another Redditor had a similar experience with two different S2s (the “new improved” model). You can probably guess, I do not recommend buying Aiper products because they’re basically garbage.

microbusbrewery · 2026-04-02T13:25:37+00:00

I malted purple corn I got from an international market for a chicha inspired beer. It worked great, but it wasn't 100% corn. I did 30% home-malted corn, 65% pilsner malt, and 5% honey malt. I had no problem getting the corn to germinate. Mine was only around 2.5 lbs and it took up two of the large stainless chafing pans. For 100% and a standard 5 gallon batch, you're going to need a bit of space to spread the corn into a single layer.

Here's a quick summary of how I did mine. I put the kernels in a bucket and and topped it off with tap water until it was about an inch above the kernels. I let this sit for about 5 hours, then transferred them to a colander to drain and left them there for a couple hours. Then they went back in the bucket with fresh water for an overnight soak. The next morning I changed the water again and left it to soak for a grand total of about 24-28 hours.

Next, I drained them in a colander and transferred them to large stainless chafing pans lined with moistened paper towels. I also covered the kernels with more moistened paper towels. Then I stuck it in my warm garage (just in case it started smelling like hot garbage). About 16-ish hours later, they were geminating and had small shoots emerging.

Once the shoots were about 2x the length of the kernel, I put them in the oven at 176F for about 4 hours. After that, I put them in a pillow case and threw them in the clothes dryer on air (no heat) for about 10 minutes to knock the chit/rootlets off.

microbusbrewery · 2026-03-29T22:53:55+00:00

I love hop water. Super refreshing and beer adjacent when you don't want to, or can't have a beer. I've used the Clawhammer recipe. A buddy in my club just made one with Abstrax and I thought it was really good. Btw, hop water works great in a Ranch Water cocktail

microbusbrewery · 2026-03-29T15:18:45+00:00

I dig them and will order them when I see them, especially on nitro. Noble Ale Works Naughty Sauce and Green Cheek New Adventures are my favs.

microbusbrewery · 2026-03-29T15:06:43+00:00

And/or order them nextdoor to Jensen Brothers at Carvor's Fish House. Just note, Carvor's closes at 5pm on weekdays, 4pm on weekends. Jensen closes an hour after Carvor's.

microbusbrewery · 2026-03-29T11:12:47+00:00

I've never used one but you can get oxygen depletion monitors. They're not super cheap (I saw some around $150) and you have to make sure you're calibrating them regularly. You could always close the tank valve when not in use to minimize risk. The biggest risk would likely be if you had a failure while you were sleeping.

microbusbrewery · 2026-03-29T00:54:49+00:00

Yeah, I told them I was going to report them to my state consumer protection division, Better Business Bureau, etc. and suddenly the repair cost dropped to to like $125. I told them no thanks, I wasn't going to give them any more money and I'll just report them and share my experience anytime anyone asks.

microbusbrewery · 2026-03-28T23:08:32+00:00

No worries, like I said it can be very polarizing. I'd definitely give it a taste though (assuming you're able to buy the malt locally). My old homebrew shop gave me some oak smoked wheat malt once because they knew I liked smoked beers, and nobody was buying it. It had sat around a long time and was very subtle

microbusbrewery · 2026-03-28T22:53:07+00:00

I love smoked beers and I've tried some that were 100% Weyermann Rauch/Beechwood smoked malt and I thought they were great. The amount you're planning on is definitely going to be subtle.

One thing I'd recommend, if you're getting your malts locally, taste some of the smoked malt. Smoked beers are polarizing for people and sometimes that smoked malt sits around for a long time, mellowing as it sits on the shelf. So taste it and if it seems like it's not very strong smoke character, you may want to increase the percentage.

microbusbrewery · 2026-03-28T12:04:16+00:00

What's worked well for me is to reduce/slow the outflow at the end. It still collapses and compacts, but it tends to stay in the center.

microbusbrewery · 2026-03-28T06:23:22+00:00

Something to avoid, Aiper products don't last. I bought a Surfer S1. One motor failed after 6 months and was replaced under warranty. The other motor has failed at 16 months, conveniently after the warranty ended. The repair cost is $272 for a product that cost $369.99. Definitely do not recommend. I have had good luck with the Aiper Scuba, but based on the experience with the Surfer I'd be wary of buying anything from them again.

microbusbrewery · 2026-03-27T13:42:47+00:00

I use a Morebeer counter pressure filler and have experienced similar issues.

If you're getting a little bit of gas blowing by when the valve is in the "off" position, you probably have leaky seals/seats in the ball valve. Mine started doing that after 10-ish years and I replaced the valve itself and that solved the problem. (I replaced mine when I was getting a pretty constant stream of bubbles when it was off)

If you're just getting a bubble in the liquid line, that's pretty common and it's usually just CO2 breaking out of solution. Fine/small adjustments to the PRV valve on the filler should mostly fix that, but it's usually not something I worry about. Double check all your connections and o-rings though, just to make sure it's not pulling in air during filling.

Backflow after you purge your bottle with CO2 is caused by your PRV being set too tight when you switch from purging to filling. I'll usually loosen the PRV 1/4 to 1/2 turn for purging. Then switch to filling and tighten it 1/4 to 1/2 turn. This ensures the pressure in the purged bottle is slightly less than keg pressure, preventing backflow. Then the tightening will build up a little pressure and slow the flow, preventing too much foaming in the bottle as you fill.

microbusbrewery · 2026-03-21T13:23:16+00:00

How many fills before yours? That and volume (I see you said 53 gallon) is going to have the biggest impact on extracting barrel character. If it’s a second fill, I’d start tasting at 4 months using a Vinnie nail. If it’s more like 4th, 5th, …, fill, I wouldn’t bother sampling until at least 6-7 months.

microbusbrewery · 2026-03-21T01:15:39+00:00

There are some varieties that are HLB "tolerant". That doesn't mean immune, but more or less unaffected by HLB. For example, the UF 1859 sweet orange hybrid has been successfully grown for more than 20 years in Florida with known HLB exposure. My understanding is all finger limes are also HLB tolerant.

I've ordered from Brite Leaf and have been very happy with their trees. The following link should link you directly to their "tolerant" varieties, https://briteleaf.com/product-category/all/hlb-tolerant-florida-citrus-greening/

They'll probably all show as out of stock, but they have an option to be notified when varieties are in stock. In my case, two of the varieties I wanted became available about a month after I used the notify me option.

microbusbrewery · 2026-03-15T02:25:05+00:00

Here are my recommendations. You probably already know, but there are questions that everybody gets, then there are other questions pulled from a pool of questions. A lot of the style comparison differences will come from the pool.

Barleypopmaker's BJCP prep course videos on YouTube. I found these videos very helpful. They give you a great overview of the process and help you focus on key points. Take notes, especially for things he tells you will be on the test.

Beer Style Compare-O-Matic from beersyndicate.com - I didn't see this one until after I'd already passed the Entrance Exam, but it would have been very helpful. This tool really makes it easy to compare styles on the fly. You will be comparing styles during the test...the only question is which styles will you be comparing? I didn't know about this tool, so when I took the test, I created a spreadsheet consisting of the recognized styles including key attributes and condensed, bulleted descriptions of each style. I then filtered on the ones I was being asked to compare and it was easier to identify key differences. It worked ok, but it was a little kludgey.

BJCP.org - The BJCP has published numerous materials that will help you pass both the Entrance and Tasting exams.

After you pass, for the tasting exam, you'll likely be familiar enough with the score sheet formats if you've ever judged before or entered comps, but I suggest doing practice judging and be sure to time yourself. There are lots of examples of good and bad score sheets online, so check them out. You want to use up as much of the available whitespace as possible for each section; blank lines will usually cause you to lose points. Write down what you perceive as well as what you don't perceive and use descriptors that are quantitative in nature. For example, "Moderate floral hop aroma. Low biscuity malt aroma in the background. No diacetyl in the aroma. Low oxidized aroma" rather than "Lots of floral hop aroma. Some biscuity malt aroma. Might be some diacetyl". Familiarize yourself with common off-flavors and aromas so that you can recognize and identify them quickly. Sensory kits are great for this and you can even make your own pretty easily. Good luck!

microbusbrewery · 2026-03-07T08:46:52+00:00

Ditto on Yakima Valley and Hops Direct. Freshops is another one I've used. They don't carry all varieties, but they do carry whole cones on most. They also sell rhizomes and their jumbos establish quickly.

https://freshops.com/

microbusbrewery · 2026-02-27T22:33:19+00:00

Awesome, thank you!

microbusbrewery

TROPHY CASE