All posts by Daniel

Brewing Log, Recipes

Solar Electric Pale Ale

I recently had a good sized solar system installed. The south facing slope of my pole barn is covered with 56x 405 watt solar panels. Can I brew a batch of beer with 100% solar power? The answer is yes. On a nice sunny day I was able to produce more power than both my brewing needs and the rest of my homes power demand for the whole time I was brewing.

I decided to brew a take on The Electric Brewery’s “Electric Pale” that I will call “Solar Electric Pale”. I ended up with Cryohops which were about 2x the alpha acid so you would likely need 2x the amount if brewed with standard pellets.

17.5# 2-row
4# Vienna
0.8# Caramel 40L

1oz Chinook @ 20min boil
1oz Centennial @ 20min boil
1oz Amarillo (Cryohop) @ 10min boil
1oz Centennial (Cryohop) @ 10min boil
1oz Amarillo (Cryohop) @ 0min boil
1oz Centennial (Cryohop) @ 0min boil
2oz Citra (Cryohop) dry hop @ day 3

Adjusted Water – Ca 118 – Mg 8 – SO4 217 – Na 16 – Cl 48 (24g Gypsum, 1.5g CaCl)

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 11ish gallons in the fermenter.

2x – Fermentis Safale US-05 American Ale Yeast

Estimated / Actual
OG: 1.055 / 1.055
FG: 1.010 / TBD
ABV 5.8% / TBD
SRM 34

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.  

Brewing Log, Recipes

RayaIPA

Another take and twist on a rye IPA. I reduced the rye % from my last recipe and changed from a pure 2-row base to a 50/50 split of 2-row and Maris Otter. On the hop front I still have bunch of El Dorado to use and paired it with Simcoe and Mosaic this time.

Results: OG 1.073 / FG 1.013 / ABV 7.9% / IBU 74 / SRM 10.3

12# 2-row
12# Maris Otter
2# Crystal 60L
4# Rye

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 Verdant IPA

I am running a tilt hydrometer with tiltpi running on a Raspberry Pi Zero W. It’s neat to watch the gravity drop in real time and also helps with timing dry hop addtions.

Brewing Log, Keezer

American Stout

I am very happy with the result of the American stout. It goes perfect with the cool fall days. I am running it on nitrogen and finally nailed the carbonation to get good cascading pours and nice head. I hooked the keg up to one of the normal CO2 lines running at 11psi in my 36 degree keezer. Each day would hook it to the beer gas at 35psi and do a test pour. After four days I was happy with the result and left it on the beer gas.

Brewing Log, Recipes

Verdent IPA

I have been interested in trying a yeast by a well know IPA brewery in the UK. Verdant’s yeast is available through Lallemand. Below is a recipe based on one by David Heath Homebrew. I adjusted it to fit my system and swapped for hops I have on hand.

Verdant IPA – OG 1.056 / FG 1.010 / ABV 6% / IBU 44 / SRM 6

13# Marris Otter
4# Vienna
3.75# Flaked Oats
1.25# Crystal 20L
.75# Carapils

2oz Comet @ 10min
2.5oz El Dorado @ 10min
2oz Comet @ 20min whirlpool @ 175˚
2oz El Dorado @ 20min whirlpool @ 175˚
3.5oz Comet @ active fermentation
3.5oz El Dorado @ active fermentation

Target Water – Ca 100 – Mg 15 – Na 30 – Cl 90 – SO4 160

Mash at 149° 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 – Lallemand – Verdant IPA

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.

Brewing Log, Recipes

Quarentine Brew

Things were just starting to get a little serious when I planned this brew day. We were still going about our day relatively normal. That all changed by the time I drank the first pint. I hope things are moving in a better direction when I drink the last. This is a take on the rye heavy IPA I have brewed several times. I made some tweaks mainly to the hops to brew with ingredients that I had on hand.

Results: OG 1.073 (12 gallons) / FG 1.014

OG 1.072 / FG 1.013 / ABV 7.72% / IBU 80 / SRM 9.5

21# 2-row
2# Crystal 60L
6# Rye

2oz CTZ @ 60min boil
0.5oz CTZ @ 30min boil
0.5oz Chinook @ 30min boil
0.5oz Centennial @ 30min boil
0.5oz CTZ @ 10min boil
0.5oz Chinook @ 10min boil
0.5oz Centennial @ 10min boil
0.5oz CTZ @ 0min boil
0.5oz Chinook @ 0min boil
0.5oz Centennial @ 0min boil
0.5oz CTZ @ 20min whirlpool @ 160˚
0.5oz Chinook @ 20min whirlpool @ 160˚
0.5oz Centennial @ 20min whirlpool @ 160˚

Adjusted Water – Ca 86 – Mg 9 – SO4 113 – Na 16 – Cl 72

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.

2x – Fermentis Safale US-05 American Ale Yeast

Starting Mash Recirculation

Mash Complete