Monthly Archives: October 2022

Brewing Log, Recipes

2022! It’s been a while

The brewery was taken over by electronics for a while. I installed a solar system on my travel trailer this past fall, winter, and spring. Check out that project at rv.decristofaro.us.

To kick things off I am making a fresh batch of Cider and a run of Rye IPA that I will split and ferment with different yeasts. Half will get the traditional US-05 American ale yeast . The other half will get LalBrew Voss Kveik ale yeast. I also need to get a stout going next.

Simple Rick’s, Simple Rye

22# 2-row
4# Rye
2# Crystal 60L

2oz El Dorado @ 60min boil
1oz El Dorado @ 10min boil
1oz Simcoe @ 10min boil
1oz Mosaic @ 10min boil
1oz El Dorado @ 20min whirlpool @ 160˚
1oz Simcoe @ 20min whirlpool @ 160˚
1oz Mosaic @ 20min whirlpool @ 160˚
1oz El Dorado dry hop @ day 3
1oz Simcoe dry hop @ day 3
1oz Mosaic dry hop @ day 3

Adjusted Water – Ca 100 – Mg 5 – SO4 125 – Na 10 – Cl 75 (10g Gypsum, 6g CaCl)

Mash at 152° 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.

I split the batch with two different yeasts.

1x – Fermentis Safale US-05 American Ale Yeast
1x – Lallemand LalBrew Voss Kveik Ale Yeast

eHERMS Build, Uncategorized

Panel Issues and Upgrades

After brewing for the first time after a while the HLT PID controller (Auber SLY-2352) would no longer power up. Some of the temp probes seemed off too. The connections and wires for the probes needed to be cleaned up with some de-oxidizer. The PID was going to need to be replaced.

I had a few options. I could replace it with another SYL-2352. I could upgrade to a wifi enabled version of the same PID. It would be nice to monitor and control it from the house. The third option would be to replace it with a new product called the Ezboil. This is a power regulator that also has a PID like function. It was specifically made for this use case and has some benefits. Two of the most interesting to me is the much smoother power regulation vs the On/Off functionality of the PID controllers the second is the interface is a nob which seems like it would be nicer then the small clicky buttons on the PIDs. I decided to try something new and replaced both the boil and HLT controllers with Ezboils.

I used a DSPR-320 for the HLT which has support for automated step mashing. For the boil kettle I used a DSPR-300 which does not have the multi event support that the 320 does. They also have a new product (SYL-2802B) that would have been nice to use for my mash in and out temp. It has two temp displays in a 1/16 DIN space.

Auber three vessel recommendations

Hot Liquor Tank (HLT): EZboil DSPR320 is recommended for step mashing. For single infusion mashing, DSPR300 is recommended. 

Mash Tun (MT): One thermometer is needed for MT. For HERMS system, DSPR120 is recommended (similar price to standard PID, similar look to other EZboils). If you need to use external alarms for MT, you can use DSPR300. For two channel readout thermometer, SYL-2802 is recommended. 

Boil Kettle (BK): DSPR300 is recommended. If you need multi-event timer for adding different hops, DSPR320 is recommended.