Nice thought process and execution there Rick & Richard.

Instead of dog points have you thought of "ball end thrust screws"?

I guess if you have the grubs to hand it is a no brainer.

Those would work just fine, probably even better with friction hold. I've only looked at my local hardware store, which is decent ... but I should probably go to one of the huge ones for this specialty stuff.

Rick - I am so proud of owning my racking cane guide / holder (what do you call it?). It's on my to-do-list to try it out. I just need to get a nylon tee and rig my tubing up (think it's on HBT, like you mentioned, by Flyguy?).

MS

Mad_Scientist wrote:Rick - I am so proud of owning my racking cane guide / holder (what do you call it?). It's on my to-do-list to try it out. I just need to get a nylon tee and rig my tubing up (think it's on HBT, like you mentioned, by Flyguy?).

MS

You're welcome! I like to call it a chimney, for no reason other than the aesthetic.

Yup, that's the one. Only advice I can give is make sure you have a large bin of sanitizer for that siphon. It's all over the place, kinda like carrying Medusa's severed head! I tried to use a bucket the first time around with little success. It's not so bad with a big tub to place it in.

Alright, next brew day is already planned! Some time in march I'm thinking, might as well get another big push while my basement is still at optimum temperature.

Kettle 1: 10G VAW. This is my focus. I'll be taking another crack at a 10% ABV IIPA. 1.090 OG, and this time I get to hit it with pure O2 .... 10% honey, and a low mash temperature. I'm throwing everything I have at it (within reason) in hopes of getting it sub 1.015 with chico strain. Recipe will just be a higher gravity version of my Trailbreaker recipe, Mosaic and Galaxy hops.

Edit: I decided to brew 12G VAW of my Trailbreaker IPA in lieu of the above. People keep asking me when I'm going to brew it again, so who not.

Kettle 2: 12G VAW. This is for a party at a friend's, hopefully I get some. Ballast Point Grunion inspired pale ale. First time using Maris Otter as a base malt. Grunion is also the first pale ale with MO that I knowingly consumed. It's delicious, but probably will go with Simcoe, Citra combination instead of their Mosaic, Calypso.

Kettle 3: 11G VAW. This one will be tended by a neighbor, and I'm only keeping maybe a 6 pack for myself. Essentially Lefty Blond recipe from BCS, but I'm using WY3522 - Belgian Ardennes ... and will ramp the temperature up pretty high. There used to be a LHBS near me (closed a short while ago), and the owner had this on sample in his store. He gave me advice on how to replicate his altered recipe, and I did it about 2 summers ago. Been craving more ever since.

Finally got everything bottled. 238 twelve oz,or just under 10 cases. There would have been 11 cases, but .... samples ... :D

The coconut porter came out better than expected. 12oz of Bob's Red Mill brand flakes, toasted at 350 for about 10 minutes (constant stirring). On 2 cookie sheets lined with parchment, and blotted after. About 3 weeks in secondary(keg) before i was pleased with the flavor contribution. No noticeable loss in head compared to the regular porter.

Stack on the left is the imperial stout, two in the middle are porter, right stack is the black ipa.

Aint no-one gettin in or out them doors!

I don't mind discussions in here at all, this is my journal and these are current events.

Thanks for the prompt communication, Pat! I've sent him probably a hundred versions of this emblem, and he's just as determined as I am to get it where it needs to be. Now we have to build everything else around it.

I wish people around here (IRL) would be so constructive with my beer making, I'd be leagues ahead if they were.

It is good to have a recognizable logo to rally around, thanks Rick. Your horseshoe and wagon wheel are also strong, yet easy on the eyes. A missed calling?
As for the "surrounds" that are now sought, do they run from close-ups of crushed grain to expanses of wheat fields? Or should they be photos taken during a brew day? Are there any rules besides - "No kittens, please!"
As for Rick's title of this thread, I used to work where there were mule-petters & wagon-loaders. There was almost no hair on the poor mule. Get brewing.

ShorePoints wrote:It is good to have a recognizable logo to rally around, thanks Rick. Your horseshoe and wagon wheel are also strong, yet easy on the eyes. A missed calling?
As for the "surrounds" that are now sought, do they run from close-ups of crushed grain to expanses of wheat fields? Or should they be photos taken during a brew day? Are there any rules besides - "No kittens, please!"
As for Rick's title of this thread, I used to work where there were mule-petters & wagon-loaders. There was almost no hair on the poor mule. Get brewing.

I wanted to be a comic book artist when I was 15 years old, but being r/g colorblind lead me to much frustration. I think I like programming/engineering more though, so it's all good.

I also can't take too much credit. The designs are usually 100% me, but I get lots of feedback from my gf (who has an art degree). I could never hone my ideas to the level they end at at without her, and a few good friends.

I'll tell you what, you're not far off with regard to the "surrounds". Pat has a few great pictures with ingredients, wares, as well as simpler monochrome versions. He has made some serious progress on that front, and I'm currently just sending some ideas on how to add some flair to some of those options (whilst keeping it simple as possible). It's difficult to find balance between 'too simple' and 'too busy', really really difficult. We just have to mess around with it until we go ... "heck yeah that's it!"

Rick wrote: I wish people around here (IRL) would be so constructive with my beer making, I'd be leagues ahead if they were.

I would be happy to give you some constructive criticism with some of those great sounding beers you have been meticulously perfecting. I'll PM you my address if you want to send me a 6 pack!





(I think it may be illegal to send beers through USPS though and the whole border thing might be tricky, but I do know Canada Post ships alcoholic beverages and its all legal)

goulaigan wrote:

Rick wrote: I wish people around here (IRL) would be so constructive with my beer making, I'd be leagues ahead if they were.

I would be happy to give you some constructive criticism with some of those great sounding beers you have been meticulously perfecting. I'll PM you my address if you want to send me a 6 pack!





(I think it may be illegal to send beers through USPS though and the whole border thing might be tricky, but I do know Canada Post ships alcoholic beverages and its all legal)

I have no problem doing it in the states. I mean, who is really enforcing it? Unfortunately, sending up to you would almost certainly mean a customs check, and I wouldn't want to risk any blow back. Bottle swaps in general are a great idea, even if commercial stuff.

I hear ya. I actually live about 30 mins from the border so I'm lucky enough to be able to get stuff shipped to a postal depot and import myself. Unfortunately tho the customs check would still apply and I'm not sure how they would handle importing homebrew, but my guess would be that it would be a giant pain if they even allowed it at all. They do normally allow me to import a 12 p of store bought beer without fees, but I haven't taken the trip across since our dollar went down the toilet. Anyway, all joking aside, if I ever travel to your neck of the woods, I'd love to do a bottle swap.

Hey hey I got to use my guide Rick made me, see post #50. Here is a photo of my first hands free siphon. There is excellent control. I can't see through my MS cube, but no worries, if you start to lose siphon, lower cane. When you start to draw cloudy trub just raise the cane to break siphon.

Thank you Rick.

Very nice, I'm glad it worked out!

Somehow missed your machining work of art in post#50 until now. I've said it before, I wish I lived next door to you!!!

I wish I could make one for everyone. If anyone builds one of these from hardware store items, feel free to post that for others to follow.

Brewed this past Saturday, and seeing a trend with the new burner setup. Evaporation is much higher with the KAB4 relative to the SP10. All three kettles were .004 high on target OG, and nearly 3L low on VFO.

I was drinking on my last brew day, otherwise I would have caught it sooner. :D

No biggie though, I'm transferring a couple recipes that used chico strain ... to WLP002, and probably need the extra points to account for less attenuation.

From front to back;

10G VIF - 1.059 International Pale Ale - English malts and yeast, American hops (Citra Simcoe)
9G VIF - 1.069 Belgian Blond
10G VIF - 1.081 Double IPA (Galaxy, Mosaic, Simcoe, Chinook)

Was supposed to be 11G, 10G, 11G, and 1.055, 1.065 and 1.077, respectively ... but whatevs.

I'll likely have to override my settings at this point, I pretty much had the burners on their lowest possible setting. 7lb of LP spent for 60m boil on the pale ale, 7.5 for 75m boil of the IPA, and 8lb spent on the 90m boil for the Belgian. Roughly, my scale only measures in .5lb increments.

Rick,
Love the line up and your labels are great.

Hmmm, East Greenville, thats north of Philly right - I'm guessing I could road trip in 3+hours from Saratoga... what say I swing by and help you sample

Pete

Brew4me wrote:Rick,
Love the line up and your labels are great.

Hmmm, East Greenville, thats north of Philly right - I'm guessing I could road trip in 3+hours from Saratoga... what say I swing by and help you sample

Pete

All are welcome on any brew day!


Update on the Imperial Stout brewed on 1/16. I crack a bottle open every 2 weeks to monitor carbonation, and it's still dead flat ... albeit delicious. I think it's been about 6-7 weeks in the bottle. I also check w/ hydrometer (to eliminate leaky bottle as the cause) and the sugar is still in there. I'm probably jumping the gun, but I put in 5 drops each bottle of rehydrated US05 and recapped about 5 days ago. Original yeast was Wyeast 1028, and it was on the edge of its tolerance @ 11% ABV. I even re-yeasted with the same 1028 strain on bottling day ... weird.

Will do.

To go a bit Off topic,

These high Gravity(OG) Beers, that are high ABV, finish with NO OXYGEN left in the beer.

The yeast, whether original, or added to prime, need some O2 to get Going.

If you add a 1/4 of an eyedropper, of new Yeast slurry, to a bottle and recap, give the Bottle a good Shake to mix the Small amount of air, in the Neck of the Bottle.

JMHO.

joshua wrote:To go a bit Off topic,

These high Gravity(OG) Beers, that are high ABV, finish with NO OXYGEN left in the beer.

The yeast, whether original, or added to prime, need some O2 to get Going.

If you add a 1/4 of an eyedropper, of new Yeast slurry, to a bottle and recap, give the Bottle a good Shake to mix the Small amount of air, in the Neck of the Bottle.

JMHO.

There should have been enough O2 uptake from the whole bottling process, but I will take your advice and give them a shake.

This is a pretty good article, but I wish there was a bit more information of what the yeast would be doing in this high gravity context. With that information, I could make arguments for and against aeration at this point. But, it'll mostly be gobbled up .. and slight sherry notes in high ABV beers are not a bad thing in my experience.