Monthly Archives: September 2020

Keezer

Keezer Rebuild

I thought it was time for an overhaul on the keezer. Fresh beer lines and rebuilt taps. The compressor decided to give way so it became a new build. I used some of the left over shiplap for the collar to match the rest of the brewery. The dimensions of the new freezer actually work out a little better even though its the same 8.8 cu ft as the old. It is just deep enough to hold two ball locks front to back.

I am sticking with the bev-seal ultra lines even though they are a pain to deal with. They are stiff and you need long lengths (~20ft) to get the resistance you need for pours that are not foamy. I did stretch the lines over barb fittings last time. This time I am going to swap for John Guest/push fittings. I purchased fittings for my MFL ball lock couplers and tap shanks. Finally I have not had much in the way of leaking issues on my Perlicks but i figure it would be good to replace the seals. I picked up both 70 duro FDA buna and 75 duro Vitron FMK FDA orings (014 & 204 size). I am going to try the Vitron on two and buna on the other two. I will let you know if I see a difference.

Brewing Log, Recipes

Brewing plans

I am planning two new beers. I pulled these from a recent copy of Craft Beer & Brewing. One is a American Stout and the other a IPA fermented with kveik yeast. I have been meaning to try a kveik strain and now is the time.

Kveik NEIPA – OG 1.065 / FG 1.013 / ABV 6.8% / IBU 15 / SRM 5

7.5# 2-row
7.5# White Wheat
7.5# Pilsner
3# Crystal 10L

4oz Amarillo @ 40min whirlpool @ 170˚ with dose spread out
4oz Citra @ 40min whirlpool @ 170˚ with dose spread out
2oz Amarillo @ active fermentation
4oz Citra @ active fermentation
6oz Amarillo @ post fermentation
6oz Citra @ post fermentation

Adjusted Water – Ca 111 – Mg 5 – SO4 100 – Na 8 – Cl 150

Mash at 156° for 30 minutes then raise to 168° and hold for 10 minutes.  Collect 14 gallons and boil for 60 minutes. Produces 12 gallons at the end of the boil and 11 gallons in the fermenter.

1x – Omega OYL-061 Voss Kveik Yeast

American Stout – OG 1.064 / FG 1.015 / ABV 6.5% / IBU 47 / SRM 32

18# 2-row
3.5# Munich
2# Crystal 60L
24oz Carafa II
1# Roasted Barley

2oz Chinook @ 60min boil
2oz Centennial @ 10min boil
2oz Cascade @ flame out

Adjusted Water – 10g of gypsum in 18 gallons to bump Ca and balance things out.

Mash at 154° for 60 minutes then raise to 168° and hold for 10 minutes. Collect 14 gallons and boil for 60 minutes. Produces 12 gallons at the end of the boil and 11 gallons in the fermenter.

2x – Fermentis Safale US-05 American Ale Yeast

  • American stout fermenting
  • Fermentation Tracking with Tilt
Barn, eHERMS Build

Time to Vent and Brew

Life has been busy but I finally got around to overhauling the kegerator and doing a permanent install of my ventilation solution. It is basically the same as the temporary setup I have been using but now uses ridged pipe and is vented through the wall and outside. I will update how the moisture management works out. In the past the angle on the bowl let me catch any drips on the low side. The new setup may require some tweaking.

Update – First brew done. Moisture did build up but I did not notice alot of actual dripping. I did put the lid on the kettle as best I could after flame out to avoid any cold side contamination. I may tweak it some more but I don’t see it as a big issue going forward.