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Re: OT: slightly longer life

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On 2017-05-17 16:50, mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:
> On Wednesday, May 17, 2017 at 4:21:17 PM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
>> On 2017-05-17 16:05, mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:
>>> On Wednesday, May 17, 2017 at 3:42:01 PM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
>>>
>>> ...
>>>
>>>>>> Grains (or malt extract) are the main cost factors in beer.
>>>>>> I get my stuff in Minnisohtah:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> https://www.midwestsupplies.com/
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Nice!  Buying by the sack saves money also.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I am still a lowly extract brewer though. However, I am keeping
>>>> my eyes peeled for two-roller grain crusher. Some day I want to
>>>> do BIAB but must figure out a way to use two bags instead of
>>>> one, on account of a bad lower back. I can't lift heavy stuff
>>>> while bent over. Or rather, I can but then I will pay for
>>>> that.
>>>>
>>>> Grain doesn't save a lot of money or often none at all but
>>>> allows more mods. I usually brew two batches in a day. Having
>>>> only two 1kW electric burners under a tamale steamer pot it
>>>> takes time to heat. That means that time-wise I might be able
>>>> to do one all-grain and one extract session if we have dinner a
>>>> little later.
>>>
>>>
>>> Huh.  I went with grains precisely because they're cheaper.
>>
>>
>> Not really. There is no way I can make five gallons of IPA, Stout,
>> Pale Ale, Cream Ale or American Wheat for $20 using grain. Mostly
>> because hops and all the other stuff adds cost.
>
>
> Ah!  Do you use dried malt extract or syrups?  And your malt is only
> $20 for 5 gallons?
>

I use both LME and DME. For a 5-gallon batch the base beers such as a 
standard Pale Ale, IPA or Cream Ale cost me $20 including everything, 
malt, specialty grains (steeped in), hops, yeast and even the corn sugar 
for bottle carbonation. Plus shipping which adds $6-7 unless I can sneak 
in a free-ship deal.


> I'll consider DME if the economics shake out.  Huh.  Thanks.
>
> This is a recipe for that RIS I mentioned.
> http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=238807
>

That is one big beer. My wife wouldn't like it but I sure would.


> A 50 pound sack goes for about $45 at Brewmeister, so rounding that
> off to $1/lb... that's $17 for the base malt... 4 pounds of specialty
> malt at $2/lb is $8... Say $5 for the hops and yeast (can use for
> maybe 2 more batches, so $15 for all hops and yeast, spread out over
> 3 batches)
>
> So say $30 for 5 gallons :)
>

That's ok. The Belgian Tripel costs me $50 even from Midwest but worth 
every drop.

[...]


>
>>> ... I should be able to extract more of the sugars, too.  So, in
>>> a nutshell, mix the powdered grains with water, bring to 150
>>> degrees F while mixing, scoop into empty 1-gallon wine jugs,
>>> allow to settle, siphon off the clear liquid for the later boil,
>>> return the solids to the pot, add more water, and repeat until I
>>> have enough liquid for the boil.
>>>
>>>
>>>> Be careful with BE-256. That is what I used on the Belgian
>>>> Tripel and it went "nuclear". After the first mess (lid of the
>>>> fermenter came off) I placed a blow-off hose and bucket.
>>>> However, the diameter of the racking hose was still not large
>>>> enough. Lots of evil hissing and roaring plus a minor mess, the
>>>> lid came partially off. Phsssss ... rot-tot-tot ... *BURP* ..
>>>> phseeeee ... POOF .. gurgle. So now I mounted a 1/2" Bulkhead
>>>> connector in the fermenter lid and keep a strudy washing
>>>> machine hose at hand for next time.
>>>
>>>
>>> That reminds me!  Since I only brew about 2 gallons at a time
>>> (my biggest pot is only 3 gallons or so), and since I use
>>> 1-gallon empty glass wine jugs as my fermenters, I only put about
>>> 1 tsp of yeast into each jug.  Maybe 1/2 tsp... I have to
>>> double-check my notes. It helps to keep the reaction manageable.
>>> Before, yeah, I had serious overflow problems too.  I also try to
>>> only fill the fermenters about 2/3 full, max, just in case.
>>>
>>
>> A homebrewer's nightmare:
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgfubawsrcM
>
>
> Oh man. The video after it also is nuts; he has the fermenter filled
> way too full. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JNmhYs4NPY
>

I use carboys for secondary (the blue water cooler bottles). They only 
offer 5-gal total and are really hard to clean. My primaries are 6-1/2 
gallon food grade pails. Even there I now have spots where the beer kind 
of "etched itself in". PBW can't get it out anymore so there may come a 
day where I need new pails.


> 1/2 tsp of yeast per gallon... that should be enough :o
>

So far I haven't quite understood the whole over/underpitched science. I 
mean, yeast makes lots of offspring so even if you have too little in 
there it should produced more and more cells.

>
>> Right now the Pale Ale and IPA are a bit recalcitrant. The IPA is
>> at 29h fermentation lag and hasn't started a bit. The Pale Ale is
>> at 24h and shows very tepid yeast activity. Got to shake the
>> buckets some more later tonight to kick things into gear. With
>> living organisms such as yeast one never knows.
>
>
> Yeast need oxygen for the growth phase.  Did you aerate before
> pitching the yeast?  I aerate by hand-pouring two cups at a time with
> a sanitized measuring cup from my pot to the fermenter (but I only
> use 1-gallon jugs, so they're not so heavy).
>

After cooling I rack the wort from the brew kettle into the fermenter 
buckets. I use a 3/4" PVC tee from irrigation pipe where I sawed a slot 
into the T-part. A plastic clamp slid in with the hose holds the hose 
upwards at an angle of 20-30 degrees and this causes the wort to splash 
in. Occasionally I place the tee at another area on the rim of the 
bucket so it aerates other sections. At the end I usually have several 
inches of foam on top of the wort in the fermenter. So much that when I 
use dry yeast I have to push the foam around with a sanitized strainer 
ladle to be able to sprinkle the yeast onto the form surface and not 
have it riding on the foam.

The IPA has now kicked into gear with healthy air lock activity but the 
Pale Ale is still tepid (but li'l bubbles are coming). I figure I can 
always open a pouch of US-05 and pitch it in later but so far I didn't 
have to do that with any beer.

-- 
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

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OT: slightly longer life mrdarrett@gmail.com - 2017-05-17 11:54 -0700
  Re: OT: slightly longer life Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2017-05-17 12:06 -0700
    Re: OT: slightly longer life mrdarrett@gmail.com - 2017-05-17 12:39 -0700
      Re: OT: slightly longer life Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> - 2017-05-17 13:23 -0700
        Re: OT: slightly longer life mrdarrett@gmail.com - 2017-05-17 13:50 -0700
      Re: OT: slightly longer life krw@notreal.com - 2017-05-17 19:47 -0400
      Re: OT: slightly longer life rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2017-05-17 19:52 -0400
        Re: OT: slightly longer life krw@notreal.com - 2017-05-17 20:16 -0400
  Re: OT: slightly longer life Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> - 2017-05-17 12:13 -0700
    Re: OT: slightly longer life mrdarrett@gmail.com - 2017-05-17 12:41 -0700
      Re: OT: slightly longer life Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> - 2017-05-17 13:49 -0700
        Re: OT: slightly longer life mrdarrett@gmail.com - 2017-05-17 13:54 -0700
          Re: OT: slightly longer life Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> - 2017-05-17 14:29 -0700
            Re: OT: slightly longer life mrdarrett@gmail.com - 2017-05-17 15:10 -0700
              Re: OT: slightly longer life Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> - 2017-05-17 15:42 -0700
                Re: OT: slightly longer life mrdarrett@gmail.com - 2017-05-17 16:05 -0700
                Re: OT: slightly longer life Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> - 2017-05-17 16:21 -0700
                Re: OT: slightly longer life mrdarrett@gmail.com - 2017-05-17 16:50 -0700
                Re: OT: slightly longer life Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> - 2017-05-18 07:14 -0700
                Re: OT: slightly longer life mrdarrett@gmail.com - 2017-05-18 08:28 -0700
                Re: OT: slightly longer life Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> - 2017-05-18 10:33 -0700
                Re: OT: slightly longer life mrdarrett@gmail.com - 2017-05-18 08:38 -0700
                Re: OT: slightly longer life Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> - 2017-05-18 10:36 -0700
                Re: OT: slightly longer life mrdarrett@gmail.com - 2017-05-19 08:32 -0700
                Re: OT: slightly longer life Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> - 2017-05-19 11:17 -0700
        Re: OT: slightly longer life mrdarrett@gmail.com - 2017-05-17 14:03 -0700
          Re: OT: slightly longer life rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2017-05-18 10:27 -0400
        Re: OT: slightly longer life John Larkin <jjlarkin@highland_snip_technology.com> - 2017-05-17 14:57 -0700
          Re: OT: slightly longer life mrdarrett@gmail.com - 2017-05-17 15:11 -0700
            Re: OT: slightly longer life John Larkin <jjlarkin@highland_snip_technology.com> - 2017-05-17 15:24 -0700
              Re: OT: slightly longer life rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2017-05-18 10:28 -0400
                Re: OT: slightly longer life krw@notreal.com - 2017-05-18 12:45 -0400
          Re: slightly longer life "Kevin Aylward" <kevinRemovAT@kevinaylward.co.uk> - 2017-05-20 08:17 +0100
        Re: OT: slightly longer life krw@notreal.com - 2017-05-17 19:50 -0400
          Re: OT: slightly longer life mrdarrett@gmail.com - 2017-05-18 08:20 -0700
    Re: OT: slightly longer life Clifford Heath <no.spam@please.net> - 2017-05-18 06:52 +1000
      Re: OT: slightly longer life Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> - 2017-05-18 07:32 -0700
    Re: OT: slightly longer life John Larkin <jjlarkin@highland_snip_technology.com> - 2017-05-17 14:55 -0700
  Re: OT: slightly longer life John Larkin <jjlarkin@highland_snip_technology.com> - 2017-05-17 14:54 -0700
    Re: OT: slightly longer life bill.sloman@ieee.org - 2017-05-18 19:06 -0700
    Re: slightly longer life "Kevin Aylward" <kevinRemovAT@kevinaylward.co.uk> - 2017-05-20 08:25 +0100

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