What's new with you this year?

Focusing on water, salts and mash PH.

 

Brewing is new for me this year. Hoping it goes well.

I look forward to stalking the homebrew forums and attempting to translate your odd science parlance. Shit feels like I'm trying to learn Elvish sometimes.

 

I like the thread. I'm starting to buy more grains in bulk. I've still got like 35 pounds of Munich and it's going into EVERYTING. Not a bad thing, I promise. I'll make a separate rant for my double mesh strainer that I just tried for the first time. I'm going to pull my fermentation chamber into the basement instead of leaving it in the garage. It's messing up temperatures and I've got the space to make it work, so why not.

Tightening the screws on water profile would be nice. I'll plan on ordering a Ward water profile on my city water and I'll probably still continue to cut the water with RO.

 

Like jmich24, focusing on water, salts, mash pH, Brettanomyces fermentations, and culturing & yeast handling. Looking to start putting cells under a microscope & doing cell counts. Should be an informational 2014.

 

Most of the homebrewers are friendly. Snarky at times, but friendly. Just ask when you have questions. Lots of great stuff on this site, youtube, and the rest of the internet. You just need a 7 gal kettle, a way to strain grains, and most importantly, some patience to let you beer develop.

 

I got a HopRocket and I can't wait to try it out on a pale ale and IPA soon.

 

Yeah, I like you guys. I've read up on it a good deal (older books, but good ones), have a basic starter set up, and a dark star burner I just got.

I just have a love hate relationship with science and science terms. I love it, but it hates the shit out of me.

 

I just started kegging. I only have a picnic tap and 1 keg right now, but lowes dropped off a second chest freezer to my apt on sunday(1st one is the fermenting chamber as it has been). I am going to hopefully get the collar designed and built this weekend.

I am going to do some kind of lager this year for the first time and lager it in the keg. Definitely an Oktoberfest in the plans and maybe a Munich Helles. I still dont feel comfortable decoction mashing with just a stovetop since it takes an hour to get to a full boil as it is. Might do the melanoidin malt substitution to make up for that. But also maybe will do a mash out decoction with a thin portion of mash. We'll see.

Another possible idea for this year is doing mini batches and building a smaller mash tun to make crazy ass styles. Will be buying a monster mill or something after the the kegging is finished. 65% eff with store crush every damn time, sometimes a bit worse.

And finally, more reading. I have almost finished "Brew like a Monk" and finished "Tasting Beer" 2 weeks ago. I'm about halfway through Radical brewing too, but I have just been mostly reading chapters for when I am about to make a certain style and use that as a reference for the recipes. The lager chapter is insanely informative about adjunct mashing, but I doubt I will do any of that, unless I do a cream ale or something. Sours are far off in the distance for me, so turbid mashing is not going to be something I will be doing. Going to get one of the element series, not sure what yet. I already do water adjustments, but Water might still be worth a look.

 

Science doesn't like anyone. It's a cruel mistress. It's the reward we get from understanding the science that makes it worthwhile.

Honestly, brewing predates written history and can be VERY SIMPLE. If you don't want it to be, it can get over most of our heads pretty quickly. Brewing is cooking.

 

We're making beer, not space shuttles right?

Thanks for the advice man, I'm looking forward to getting into the empire business. Homebrewing empire, that is. Cough.

As to not derail this thread anymore with poor breaking bad references, I'll just leave it at I'm excited to get feedback from you guys and hopefully share a homebrew or two with some other members.

 

Started apprenticing at a commercial brewery last week.
Will probably be enrolling in a concise course in brewing at UC Davis at the end of this year.
Got accepted to a professional brewing certification program (ABG class of 2016).
Brewed my first wild ale a few weeks ago.
Adding a RIMS system to my homebrew rig in the next couple of months.
Leading a 3bbl brew this weekend with my brew club on our club system
(a sour blond that will be aged in a french oak barrel for a year).

 

It was hard to say no when I got a bag of it from the LHBS for under $60. It's metric, so it's 55#. I need to figure out how to use it as a base malt. Especially in a lager if possible.

 

Brewing more big beers, cause fuck it, I've got carboys they can sit in, and I don't want to start doing full-on sours until I know for sure that I won't be moving for a while. Started bottling with brett; it'll be a few months before I see how the first batch (biere de garde/malty saison w/ brett c) develops. Will be bottling the second (mixed berry saison w/ brett b trois) in a few weeks.

 

Building my own Randall and acquired another barrel to start doing sours!

 

What new for kg? I'm finally going to branch out and make some different beers. I've been brewing the same IPA (give or take) for about 4 sessions now (interrupted by 1 amazingly huge stout) and need to try something different. I'm going to make an ESB in a few weeks, just ordered a 55lb sack of Golden Promise and very excited about that.
I've also been making batches of Ed Wort's Apfelwein and I think I may get a bit more in-depth into cider making (you know, not just chucking apple juice + dextrose + dry yeast into a carboy!)
Cheers all!

 

A pump was added to the brewery this year, and it's definitely an improvement, very fun to use. Also, a refractometer was added, making pre-boil gravity readings a cinch. And finally, a pH meter. I don't have good things to say about that yet.

We've also finally gotten into water chemistry. It has yet to make a seriously notable difference in our tried and true recipes, but it's such a quick and easy step to add to the brewing process, it's kinda like why not?

 

I got a chest freezer with temp control. I have a Pils fermenting in it now.

 

I have made beer with 100% Munich. Excellent flavor!