Home Brewers

#401
#401
I go to Brew-Depot in Alpharetta, they are pretty good. Ive got a recipe book, but its kinda boring. I was just curious if anyone had a cool, country home-made wine recipe. Thanks for the heads up on Hop City, I will check them out when I head downtown
 
#402
#402
I ordered all the parts I need to build a stir plate for my yeast starters. Pretty easy if anyone wants a parts list.
 
#403
#403
Any of you guys ever harvested the yeast from the primary? I started on my last two batches. I wont know how well they work till I make a starter with them but they look good.
 
#404
#404
Post the parts list if you please sir.

Harvesting yeast shouldn't be hard. From what I've read and seen just collect the trub and refrigerate. Then decant the junk from it. Then just make some starters to build your cell count.

No idea though how to test the cell count strength. I'd be worried it wouldn't be height enough and risk a batch.
 
#405
#405
Im using
*1 Computer power supply
*2 case fans
*4 rare earth magnets
*2 2in stir bars
*1 PC case fan speed controller

I'm building a double stirrer because I almost always brew two batches at a time. It will be housed in a wood box.
 
#406
#406
I harvested and washed the yeast with sterilized water then let it settle for an hour. The trub will settle first with a layer of yeast on top then the remaining liquid. I decant some of that liquid then pour the liquid and good yeast into another jar, add a little more sterile water and shake it up and let it settle again. From there I go into the slant tubes Ive been saving, label and put in the fridge.

Ive got more good clean yeast in each tube than when I buy them and at $8 bucks a pop it should be a real money saver, I harvested around $100 worth of yeast. Ill make a starter when I get ready to use them to make sure their healthy but I expect they will be fine.
 
#407
#407
How will you determine the cell count? You just going to let it ride and see what happens?
 
#410
#410
I tried my two lagers.

The first is an American Lager. It has a nice golden color and has a very clean, crisp taste. No aftertaste whatsoever. It is a bit bland for me though, I guess it would be good on a hot summer day by the pool or to introduce the bud light crowd to homebrew. I may make more to have on hand around July and Aug.

The second is an Amber Bock. It has a nice dark amber color and a good malty flavor. It does have a bit of an alcohol kick due to the higher attenuating German Lager yeast I used. It came out just under 7%. Its really good though and Ill definitely make it again.

My first attempt at lagering turned out pretty good. I set my kegerator at 50 degrees for primary fermentation, took the buckets out a day for diacetyl rest. Put them back in kegerator and started lowering the temp a few degrees a day till I hit 34. They lagered at 34 degrees for two months before going into the kegs. They have been in the kegs for three weeks now but I dont expect them to last long. Cheers :toast:
 
#411
#411
I completed my stir plate over the weekend too. I will be making a starter for my next brew day in another week or two and Ill post pics of it in action.
 
#412
#412
Nice. Lagering takes a ton of time. Ever think of finding an old used fridge to use for lagering?

Been slacking on homebrew lately. Work has been hectic. Need to get some kits in and break out if the slump.
 
#413
#413
USAF_Vol said:
Nice. Lagering takes a ton of time. Ever think of finding an old used fridge to use for lagering?

Been slacking on homebrew lately. Work has been hectic. Need to get some kits in and break out if the slump.
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Yea, I try to stay far enough ahead that I dont worry about the wait.
Ive got an extra fridge in the garage I will probably use eventually but I will have to install a temp controller on it. Right now I only have 4 kegs in my kegerator so I have plenty of room for a couple ferment buckets but once I get it filled with kegs I will have to start using the fridge.
 
#415
#415
Anyone have any insight on kegging? I need to make the switch from bottling but space and money are an issue. Rigs that I've looked into (keezers and more simple kegorators) would run me at least $300 or so. I have a mini fridge but I don't think a CO2 tank and a corny keg will fit in it.
 
#417
#417
434VOL said:
Anyone have any insight on kegging? I need to make the switch from bottling but space and money are an issue. Rigs that I've looked into (keezers and more simple kegorators) would run me at least $300 or so. I have a mini fridge but I don't think a CO2 tank and a corny keg will fit in it.
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Ive been kegging for about a year now. I started out with two corny kegs with party taps sitting in my beer fridge with the intent of mounting taps in the door. After a little more research I decided to build a keezer.

I found a chest freezer on craigslist for $90, painted it and put a 10 inch collar on it. IMO that's the way to go but space could be an issue. The thing about a keezer is you can expand, if that matters to you. 2 or 3 may be all you want. A fridge is only going to hold 2 or 3 kegs with a C02 tank. I can fit 8 kegs easy in my keezer. I drilled 8 holes for future taps so I can add taps as I add kegs.
 

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#418
#418
Hopvol said:
Sounds good to me, anytime. Have you been to Mayday Brewery yet in Murfreesboro?
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Yep I have been twice. I am glad we got a microbrewery in Murfreesboro and everytime I go in there it's crowded which is good. My favorite is probably the redhead, but I am disappointed they dont have a very hoppy Pale Ale/IPA. I wasn't impressed with the pale ale they have now.
 
#419
#419
Hopvol said:
Ive been kegging for about a year now. I started out with two corny kegs with party taps sitting in my beer fridge with the intent of mounting taps in the door. After a little more research I decided to build a keezer.

I found a chest freezer on craigslist for $90, painted it and put a 10 inch collar on it. IMO that's the way to go but space could be an issue. The thing about a keezer is you can expand, if that matters to you. 2 or 3 may be all you want. A fridge is only going to hold 2 or 3 kegs with a C02 tank. I can fit 8 kegs easy in my keezer. I drilled 8 holes for future taps so I can add taps as I add kegs.
Click to expand...

That's awesome and I have been researching similar ones. The only issue is space at this point but I'd like to build something similar. If I could have 3-5 kegs at a time that'd be perfect. Thanks for the insight/pictures!
 
#420
#420
434VOL said:
Yep I have been twice. I am glad we got a microbrewery in Murfreesboro and everytime I go in there it's crowded which is good. My favorite is probably the redhead, but I am disappointed they dont have a very hoppy Pale Ale/IPA. I wasn't impressed with the pale ale they have now.
Click to expand...

Ive been meaning to get by there. I may try to go Friday afternoon if you want to swing buy. I did try the Angry Redhead I think it was called at Old Chicago. It was pretty good but I was hoping they had a hoppy IPA too.
 
#421
#421
Hopvol said:
Ive been meaning to get by there. I may try to go Friday afternoon if you want to swing buy. I did try the Angry Redhead I think it was called at Old Chicago. It was pretty good but I was hoping they had a hoppy IPA too.
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Cool man I think that will work. I will get on here and let you know. I'll be sure to bring a 6-pack of homebrew if I can make it.
 
#422
#422
434VOL said:
That's awesome and I have been researching similar ones. The only issue is space at this point but I'd like to build something similar. If I could have 3-5 kegs at a time that'd be perfect. Thanks for the insight/pictures!
Click to expand...

You could fit 5 kegs in a small chest freezer with the C02 tank on the hump. Another advantage to the keezer is all the drilling and plumbing is in the collar so if the freezer ever goes out you can remove the collar and set it on another freezer or if you want it to be a freezer again just remove the collar and mount the lid back. Here's a pic that shows the whole thing. I think mine is a 15 cubic foot but 5 kegs would fit in a 7 or 8.
 

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#423
#423
One more thing. If your looking at buying any kegs there are basically two kinds, ball lock and pin lock. You may already know this. Ball lock seems to be far more plentiful and easier to find parts for. Here is a link to a guy on ebay that has ball locks for $33, that is dirt cheap. I think I'm going to order a few tonight.

5 Gallon Ball Lock Keg Syrup Tanks | eBay
 
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#425
#425
Hopvol said:
You could fit 5 kegs in a small chest freezer with the C02 tank on the hump. Another advantage to the keezer is all the drilling and plumbing is in the collar so if the freezer ever goes out you can remove the collar and set it on another freezer or if you want it to be a freezer again just remove the collar and mount the lid back. Here's a pic that shows the whole thing. I think mine is a 15 cubic foot but 5 kegs would fit in a 7 or 8.
Click to expand...

That's awesome man, I like the drip tray as well! Thanks for the link to the corny kegs I may go home and order a couple here in the next few days. I may have to upgrade to a bigger apt so I can build one and not tick off the wife. I like the UT decor around the keezer as well!
 
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