Quote from: rgramjet on January 09, 2011, 06:35:28 AM
Details Man, I need details!  Washing/sanitizing bottles is a pia.

5 gallon soda kegs can hold about 6 gallons of liquit when filled to the brim.. same as a 5 gallon glass carboy.  Just pull the dip tube and put a piece of tube over the lug, then put the other end in a mason jar of sanitizer.  When you are ready to transfer it to the serving keg, put the dip tube back in (with the end bent up about an inch) and use CO2 to force it over.  Very sanitary, very easy.

Just transferred the cider over to the serving keg... just over 8% ABV.  A little sweet, but not bad.  Need to pick up some cinnamon sticks to throw in it.

You can stay with the bottles.  I actually prefer bottles because I brew small batches (2.5 gallons) to experiment with different ingredients.  The trick to cleaning bottles is; always rinse the bottle immediately after you pour out the beer and then drain the water out.  This will help avoid any fungus from starting.  After you collect a decent amount of bottles, fill your wash container with hot water, put in some Oxy Clean Free.  ** Important point, it must be Oxy Clean Free not the regular Oxy Clean.  The Free version has no perfumes which would be left behind in the bottle. **  Oxy Clean Free in warm water will even remove the labels from the bottles.  Let them soak overnight.  I actually use the Oxy Clean Free to clean up all my brewing equipment, even the carboy.

Then get a good bottle rinser which is a long, slim, tapered nozzle for the end of a hose.  I made my own from a brass leaf blaster I got from Ace Hardware which threads onto a regular hose nozzle.  I thinned down the brass till it would fit into the mouth of the bottle while still allowing the water to flush out.  I then put a "Y" attachment on the hot water faucet supplying the clothes washer and attach a short hose there to flush the bottles in the utility sink.

Quote from: Mother on January 08, 2011, 07:38:33 PM
Cleaning...yay


Built a better mouse trap


Mmmm, bleach


Bottling


More Bottling


All done

I brewed my first batch on Sunday, 6.5 gals of Nut Brown Ale from extract. It's not my favorite, but that's what my wife got in the kit for my birthday. I already ordered a double IPA, I like hops, in full grain but I think I am going to do another extract first cause I might have jumped in too quickly. The fermenter is bubbling like crazy this morning.

Brew team post bottle cleaning



Brew in bag sparge going



Hop boil



Chilling the wort post hop boil



Adding yeasties

Batch of Stout bottled.


100_2858 by anzalone22, on Flickr

I like to use one clear bottle just to check the color.

Quote from: YellowDuck on January 18, 2011, 08:59:46 AM
Brew in bag sparge going

I've been wanting to try the brew in a bag thing now for a while.  On the other hand, I'll probably just get a RIMS system built first.

Let us know how it turns out!

Quote from: YellowDuck on January 18, 2011, 08:59:46 AM
Adding yeasties

Also, good choice in yeast! Love Nottingham.  Does good for me in everything from cider to big ass barleywines.

http://www.craftbeer.com/pages/news-and-events/news/show?title=discovery-channel-presents-how-beer-saved-the-world

Brown ale turned out well. It's fairly heavy, almost like a porter. Tasty indeed.



My neighbor liked it so much we had to brew Magic Hat #9 clone before the superbowl.



My wife getting the mash started on the stove.



Transfered to the brew in bag. I really like this method.



No more pictures after that, too many brown ales.

Good call... I might have to do a #9 clone too.  mmmmm

I just filtered & bottled 13 750ml bottles of pumpkin spice mead!  I've got almost a 200ml extra to sample in a couple or three months.  It's not as clear as the first mead I made, but it has a good bit more flavor.

JM

Ball lock or Pin style Cornelius kegs?  Why?

Im looking at this kit, any thoughts?

http://www.homebrewing.org/Kegging-system-with-2-kegs-picnic-faucets-double-regulator-5_p_1517.html

Quote from: rgramjet on February 26, 2011, 12:58:41 PM
Ball lock or Pin style Cornelius kegs?  Why?

Im looking at this kit, any thoughts?

http://www.homebrewing.org/Kegging-system-with-2-kegs-picnic-faucets-double-regulator-5_p_1517.html

Ball Lock (pepsi) are more common from my experience.  They are slimmer and a little taller.

Pin Lock (coke) are less common.  A little fatter and shorter, but the added height of the connectors makes them the same height in use.

Because of dimensional issues, most kegerators/keezers can hold one more pepsi keg than coke kegs.  That fractional difference in diameter really does matter.

As for the kit... I'd look for a used CO2 tank locally or on e-bay.  When you get it filled, you can just swap it out with the ones at the welding shop and not lose your shiny new tank... I have a 20# steel tank, lasts forever, and it's cheaper to swap it than it would be to have the shop fill a tank to return to me.  I also don't have to worry about the tank going out of date that way.

To chime in late w my $0.02 - my boyfriend's been homebrewing for years, I'm his helper monkey (& I fully acknowledge that he's the brains behind the operation)

Quote from: Punx Clever on February 26, 2011, 02:37:14 PM
Ball Lock (pepsi) are more common from my experience.  They are slimmer and a little taller.

Yup, ball lock kegs are good stuff.

Quote from: Punx Clever on February 26, 2011, 02:37:14 PM
As for the kit... I'd look for a used CO2 tank locally or on e-bay.  When you get it filled, you can just swap it out with the ones at the welding shop and not lose your shiny new tank... I have a 20# steel tank, lasts forever, and it's cheaper to swap it than it would be to have the shop fill a tank to return to me.  I also don't have to worry about the tank going out of date that way.

Got any friends who work in science labs that use a lot of CO2?? If so, offer to trade a fill of your relatively tiny CO2 tank for some of the batch, works every time.

StarSan is a great no-rinse sanitizer.  As someone mentioned earlier, a turkey frier is very handy for a fast boil. My BF relies on a mouthful of vodka before sucking on the tubing to start a transfer, and even though there's plenty of StarSan in the waiting 2nd carboy/etc, and he's never had a problem, it still weirds me out a little.

Other advice I can offer: if you ever have a fire where you're brewing... well, lemme start from the beginning.
I asked my boy if we could make a nice pumpkin ale. BF agrees, soon it's fermenting. A few days in, the motor on his janky wall heater starts spewing flames. He discovers that his seriously janky apartment has no fire extinguisher, so he frantically blows/beats it out & calls the fire dept in case there's still something inside the wall. FD arrives, 2 trucks of firemen swarm his tiny living room with axes, ready for action...
...sorry, where was I? Oh yeah. Two guys thermal image the wall, everyone else is chatting & catching up w buddies from the other truck. They give the all-clear & ask for BF's contact info so they can fill out paperwork, and take off.  A couple weeks later, BF gets urgent messages on multiple phones/email. It's a special agent from the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, who has *very serious questions* about the large glassware the firemen noticed in his living room (2 carboys w fermentation locks, mostly wrapped in old towels, bucket of thermometer, tubing, etc). BF explains the beer brewing. Special Agent retorts with "what about the giant burner and pot?" BF explains the turkey frier. Special Agent, dejected, mutters "wish the firemen had just asked when they were there" and hangs up.  So if you ever have a fire near your brewing, you may want to casually mention  to your firemen what all that equipment is (after the fire is out, of course), unless you've been itching for the street cred an FBI file confers. At least his apt didn't burn down & the pumpkin ale turned out great! 

Great story! I've sent a PM your way with my pumpkin ale recipie if you guys wanna try it... dunno if youdo all grain or not, but if you do, it's a really nice pumpkin ale thats not overpowering on the spices.

Also, news for tonight: Put together another bach of cider.  Only 8% so I can have it done a little quicker.  Made a label while I was at it:


I name my ciders for their alcohol content.  8%, thus, Number Eight.  I like my label for number 9 better.. but cant find the damn tree I used in it to save my life.