Tag: brewing beer

April 5, 2022 – Keg Testing

April 5, 2022 /

My beer is ready for kegging. It has been lagering for four weeks. However, I don’t even know if this system works or leaks for that matter. The last thing I want to do is transfer my time and money into something that is not going to work.

This last weekend, I got my CO2 cylinder filled and I also learned something. Cylinders are pressure tested every five years. A refill is $18 but a pressure test is another $20. My cylinder was last tested in 2017, so of course it was expired. It wasn’t quite the deal that I was hoping for, since the homebrewing store charges $36 for a cylinder but hopefully this will be the last time in the next five years that I have to recertify.

I disassembled everything and checked the cleanliness, at least that was good. I connected the regulator to the cylinder and that was leak free. The Cornelius keg held pressure. I filled it up with water and pushed it through the system. Everything checks out. I have some monkeying to do with the pressure coming out of the regulator but I don’t want to do that until I do it with the beer.

Before I connect the beer, I want to replace the tubing to the tap. There is some residue dried inside. I went to the store to buy replacement tubing, but I didn’t find an exact match. The current tubing is 3/16 inner diameter (ID) and 7/16 outer diameter (OD). This is pretty thick stuff. So, I thought I would order it.

Looking at the replacement connections, they are 1/4″ hose barbs. This means that the nipple sticking out is sized for 1/4″ ID tubing, not 3/16″. This is doable, generally you can force a smaller tube onto a larger connection, but why? So, I am going to purchase the proper sized tubing which will make maintenance much easier in the future.

Looks like the original tubing is rated at 75psi. I am going to go with the larger diameter tubing because the regulator is pushing out 12 psi in this case. Pressure is a measure of a given mass of material in a set volume. It is the regulators job to allow a certain amount of gas to pass until the set pressure is reached. If I were to have multiple kegs attached, it would take more mass (of gas) to pressure two kegs, but it would still regulate at 12psi. It just might take more time.

End Your Programming Routine: Looks like things are perking up for the Cinco de Mayo inauguration. Let’s hope that the beer stands up to the hype and effort. I tasted it this weekend and I was not as happy as the first tasting. I do feel like it was too cold because it tasted like flat beer. So, I will be messing with temperature and CO2 as well as getting the menu ready.

February 24, 2022 – Sanitizing and Brewing Beer

February 24, 2022 /

With all the build up, we finally got here. My batch has been going for almost a week now. I am pretty sure that it is gong well but there is nothing that can be done if it is not at this point. I will just have to wait and see.

Speaking of going well, I think there is a lot of todo about sanitation. In fact, I think it is way overblown. I will explain. Most people’s foray into homebrewing starts with Charlie Papazian’s The Joy of Homebrewing. My starter equipment kit came with a copy. My used equipment also came with one. Before YouTube and the internet, books or classes were all that we had available for knowledge. While they are great for learning and reference, they lack wisdom.

The purpose of pitching yeast is to overwhelm anything else around and outcompete the wild yeast that may be present. We want the free sugar converted to alcohol as fast as possible to ensure that we are making the beer that we expect. Once there is no food (sugar) and alcohol, you have achieved self sanitation. These drinks are part of our culture because they were safer than water.

I feel as if every text that I have read treats sanitation as a religion. Please understand there is a difference between cleanliness and sanitation. There is a role for sanitation, breweries cannot afford to take risks for instance. For the homebrewer, I feel like the emphasis is highly overrated.

With all that said, I do sanitize where it seems appropriate. Here is where I do it, handling yeast (like my starter I made) and before brewing and on final clean-up. I sanitize my carboys and cap them after I clean them. I sanitize the funnel for pouring wort into the carboy and the fermentation valve before use. I will also add bleach to my bottle cleaning. But really that is it. The rest is extra work, risk and clean-up.

I think where people get really wacko is that it is possible to post ferment alcohol. For instance, making vinegar is done with a secondary fermentation that is caused by a bacteria. Clearly, if you desire one outcome and get another that is not really ideal. One text I read said that the bacteria is ever present, meaning it is always possible. The good news is the this is an aerobic bacteria, meaning dissolved oxygen is required to convert. The other good news is that no one should be re-oxygenating the beer or wine post fermentation because that will ruin your brew from oxidation as much as making vinegar. That is to say the amount of dissolved oxygen should be consumed by the yeast initially.

A few years ago, I heard a podcast from an author of a book called Make Mead Like a Viking. His point was that there was not all the knowledge of science and even sanitation in the past. I haven’t read the book but I think it will go on the list for the future. It definitely changed my perspective on this topic and made me realize that this was one of the things that go into the time to brew and thus decreasing my joy of homebrewing.

End Your Programming Routine: Charlie Papazian was right about one thing, “relax and have a homebrew”. What he was trying to say was don’t get so wound up about the details, science and technicalities. I am a firm believer in learning takes making mistakes and practice while paying attention to what you are doing will build proficiency. Hey, I am still trying and I have a chemistry degree so I understand the science. I probably started off too technical without the experience to understand where to care and where to let go.

February 21, 2020 – Preparing to Brew Beer

February 21, 2022 /

Again, I have another packed week. I am working behind the scenes on content that is taking some time that I would normally dedicate to this effort. This is another week that I am leaning toward putting my effort into Friday instead of making sure I have something every day. I thought today that I would start with the logical first steps of brewing which are the steps that I use to get prepared and a few odds and ends that are related.

First, I thought that I would talk about what a brew kit looks like. The picture of the contents are below but essentially it is a recipe with all of the ingredients already measured out and packaged together ready to go.

This is a pretty simple recipe: Malt extract, hops and yeast. What is missing is the water. The kit provider also supplies a ‘one sheet’ of precise instructions, including a place to write notes and to keep this as a permanent record. I have my own notebook that I use but for people getting started or less disciplined, this can be really handy.

This kit is characterized as extract brewing. What this really means is that one of the major steps in brewing has already been done. Malting takes a whole grain and steeps it in water. This causes the seed to begin to germinate. That process converts the stored starches into sugar by activating natural enzymes and the sugar is what is fermented.

Malting barley can also be done by the home brewer. It requires a more significant equipment investment and more time. This is something that I actually have the equipment and is on my radar for experimentation but has been stuck behind a lot of other things that I would rather do. This is getting me motivated to step it up however.

Malt extract is made by a manufacturer malting the barley by concentrating the sugar (liquid) or evaporating the water (dried). I find the dried easier to handle but I think the liquid makes a better end product. The other prime limitation of the liquid is that it seems to come in either 1.5kg (3.3 lbs) or 6lb containers. That means that often the brewer uses some of both in a recipe.

Yeast is the mojo that makes it work. Yeast is the trade secret in all beer makers businesses because it can be adjusted and modified and is really the unknown. In the past, I used exclusively liquid yeast. In theory and definitely in cost, it is superior to dried yeast. The downside to liquid yeast is that it can get too hot, shipping in the summer can literally cook it, despite the ice packs they tried to use.

I said last week my experience with homebrewing beer has left me less than satisfied. That has driven me towards not spending the extra money on liquid yeast and this batch is no exception. Since my previous attempt at lager brewing failed (it didn’t ferment at the low temperature a lager is supposed to but it did go once I let the batch come up to room temperature), I didn’t feel like risking the money for a perceived better result. I think I have made myself clear.

End Your Programming Routine: I am planning on talking about what I am doing differently this time, tomorrow. So, if you are interesting in this topic, stay tuned. Remember what my goals are? See if the Keezer is worthy of getting integrated into the wine cellar design and while I am at it, brew a lager. Hopefully, I will get to all grain brewing and the point where I can tell the difference between the ingredients, but that is too many variables right now.