Lawrence Brewers Guild

Brown Shirt is brewing some snow-bound Schwartbier today. Should be able to keep the garage warm today... it is not about IBUs today, Its about BTUs!!!

it is not about IBUs today, Its about BTUs!!!

That's a Cute saying!

Think I will clean carboys and kegs today. Kegged 2 yesterday and need to keg another today. Have a Pilsener fermenting.

This would be an excellent day to brew if you are not outside

I love Schwarz! We brewed on 12/31 in our garage. Was a bit chilly outside but a nice sauna in the garage.

I also love German Black Bier. Now I know places to hang out since I have not brewed any in awhile.

Finally put the Fermwrap (heater) on the Pils carboy. Though the temperature was still in the range of the yeast, the yeast was really starting to slow down.

Hope all that brewed today, had an excellent day!

It was a good day of brewing despite the fact that we lost a burner to casting fatigue It was a very dry day today. We lost a lot more to evaporation than other times of the year. Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon in the winter time?

On 12/31 our evaporation rate over a 75 min boil was lower than we expected. We brewed in a single car garage, with the door closed most of the time (with a CO monitor) and it got pretty humid in there for us.

Bummer Jeff,
Was the lost cast one of the jet burners? If so can I salvage parts?
C

Yes it was one of the jet burners, and no you cannot have it . I am going to braze it and keep it as a back-up burner. BTW did you ever get a poker for those jets? If not will you order one for me too, please .

We finally dusted off our Irish Red partial mash kit. The good news is that the great outdoors worked wonders for cooling the wort. The bad news is that the yeast only partially activated, then gave up the ghost entirely. We forged ahead anyway, and today stopped in Olathe to pick up a new vial of yeast. Question: should we start a new satellite fermenter since the old one contains the old yeast?
Hope weather and our life cooperates sufficiently to come to make it to the January meeting.
-Sally

I would pitch new yeast into the existing carboy. The new starter will need to be a high foam and going good. The existing yeast will be fine.

The usual questions:
What was the starting SG?
What is the SG now?
What is the yeast?
What is the temperature that you are fermenting at?

If the fermenter is cold, the yeast settled out, you can warm them up and try swirling them back into suspension.

Thank you for the tips!
FWIW, I wasn't planning to switch carboys, just pitch the new yeast into the old. It's the satellite fermentor (beer bottle stoppered with wad of paper toweling) that I wondered if I should re-do, because that's telling me when I can bottle.
SG on Sunday was 52, I think. Haven't taken current.
Original yeast was Wyeast smack pack for Irish Red manufactured in May, 2009. Bought an Irish Red vial by White Labs (?) today.

Fermentation temperature is another bugaboo, given the current weather situation.
Original location (sub-basement) refused to rise above 58 despite leaving the incandescent light on, etc.
24 hours later moved to a different interior room on higher level (but still a basement) and it's 64. Better.

For the age of your Wyeast starter, you would have had to grown up a good starter before pitching. It can be done but would take about 4 days. The yeast were getting kinda old and frail (used up all their body food stores)

White Labs 004 (Irish Ale) likes a little warmer temperature than what you have, 65 oF minimum or make a starter like a lager.

With your starting SG of 1.052, you will see your beer finished at about 1.015 SG.

Try to get your beer warmer. Pitch your new vial of 004 into a quart of 1.040 starter (you have DME?) and pitch the starter into the fermenter 12 hours later.

Since The beer went through maybe a few days of fermentation, put the beer in a room where you are at and finish it out.

Your satellite bottle will tell you what to expect for a final gravity, but will not tell you if your carboy of beer is finished. Your will need to use the hydrometer for that. Don't want bottle bombs

At least you will have a nice beer for the colder days ahead.

I'm a bit hazy on some of your tips. It definitely isn't helping that the chilies in the black bean soup we had for dinner have apparently been climbing the Scoville heat scale while in the freezer.
What do you mean by a DME?
Yes, we do use a hydrometer, but we use it on the beer in the satellite fermenter. And yes, we are trying very hard to avoid beer bombs! But I loved that scene in Breaking Bad, didn't you?

Looks like I'll need to crank up the furnace to get the yeast a happy temperature, especially given Thursday's brutal forecast. Ugh!

(We had tested the yeast pack before we started the wort, but it teased us and pretended it was going to expand properly.)

I love hot food

DME is Dried Malt Extract and LME is Liquid Malt Extract

The yeast pack may have swollen some but the viability of the yeast population was suffering because of age and using up their food stores. The pack would have not been very healthy.

Your satellite fermenter - Fast Ferment Test:
http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?ti ... rment_Test

I am glad that you are young since I have to have my furnace cranked up all the time

If you not have DME, give me a PM and I will give you some. If you need to know how to make a starter, I will cover that also.

Glad that you are making some beer!

Ah. DME. Got it.
I think we have everything we need now, but thanks mucho for the offer!
Tomorrow we pitch. Then shovel, of course.
-Sally