Well, today has been a pretty long day. The good news is the 3-tier stand is in the garage and it fits like a charm. Yesterday, my wort chiller, March pump, and 2 6.5 gal carboys arrived at my door step. So, needless to say things are comming together very quickly. According to my chicken scratch notes, I only need two parts and some propane and the new system will be opperational. If I get it all together tomorrow, this will mean that I beat my deadline by 7 days.
I am very pleased with the progress I made. Over the course of 20 days (1/4/2010 to 1/24/2010) I turned 11 2x4's, 15' of copper tubing, 5 ball valves, 2 coolers, 1 propane burner, and 1 15 gallon kettle into an opperational brewery.
Once I finish with the 2 remaining pieces tomorrow, I will begin to test all of the plumbing (I say begin because there may be some repairs needed). My friend Scott and his wife will be over tomorrow, so hopefully he will be willing to help me out. I will keep you updated.
Being this close to completion, I guess this blog will switch from detailing my construction to following my brewing escapades. I have begun to think about the first few beers I plan on brewing with the new system. I think I am going to begin with 10 gallons of ordinary bitter to build up a little yeast. I have had great success building up and re pitching yeast, so I plan to use 10 gallons of very low gravity beers and two tubes of yeast to start each series I brew. So after the bitter, I plan to brew an American IPA , and a spiced old ale with pumpkin all using White Labs WLP 007. After that, I am not quite sure. I figure by then it might be time to start thinking about spring seasonals. Does any out there have any experience making lager like beer with an ale yeast at cooler temps because I would sure like a maibock for the spring?
Well that it for now. I will post a pic or two of tomorrows testing when I get a chance.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Regarding lager like beer . . . You can put the glass carboy in a pan of water, put a tshirt over the carboy so it constantly absorbs the water from the pan, and blow a fan on it. Supposed to drop the temp 5-10 degrees and provide a better environment for lager yeast. Our basement is 61 degrees so we could achieve low to mid 50's with the technique which would be ok for some yeasts. However, we have not tried it yet.
ReplyDeleteI normally place the carboy in a larger bucket of water. I am able to keep my fermentation temps pretty close to where I like them. I am more concerned about the lagering phase after fermentation. Ultimately, I would like to be able to store the beer for 6 weeks at 40 deg F. Unfortunately, I dont have a dedicated fridge or freezer.
ReplyDelete