Category Archives: Barn

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.

Falconer’s Rye and some organization

Brew two! This is likely my most brewed beer. I am increasing the percentage of rye to 25%. I am a fan of falconers flight and it is easy to find in stock. Brew day was smooth and hit my OG exactly again. Efficiency to the kettle has been dead on 85%. I may ditch the flameout addition. I get down to whirlpool temp so fast they happen almost back to back.

Estimated
OG: 1.071
FG: 1.013
ABV: ~7.5% 
IBU: 94
SRM: 9.5

18# 2-Row Malt
7# Rye Malt
2# Crystal 60L Malt

2 oz Nugget Pellet – 60 min
2 oz Nugget Pellet – 30 min
2 oz Falconer’s Flight Pellet – 10 min
2 oz Falconer’s Flight Pellet – 0 min
2 oz Falconer’s Flight Pellet – Whirlpool @ 170* for 20 min
2 oz Falconer’s Flight Pellet – Dry Hop Fermenter

Mash @ 152 for 1 hour

Fermentis SafAle US-05

I also got around to some organization.

Mash pH
Nice color heading to the boil kettle
10 minute whirlpool after pulling chiller + hop dam

New Brewery and Baby!

The first beer in the new brewery will help clean out some old supplies and celebrate my baby boy. I am using a modified version of the Kal’s Electric Hop Candy NEIPA.

Results: OG 1.065 / FG 1.015 / Grain to keg in 10 days. Looks good, tastes great, but the aroma is a little low I think.

OG 1.065 / FG 1.016 / ABV 6.3% / IBU 104 / SRM 6.1

8# 2-row
8# Maris Otter
3.5# White Wheat
3.5# Flaked Oats
1.25# Honey Malt

1oz Warrior First Wort Hops/60min boil
2oz Citra @ 5 min
2oz Mosaic @ 5 min
2oz Amarillo @ 5 min
2oz Citra Whirlpool @ 180° for 30 min
2oz Mosaic Whirlpool @ 180° for 30 min
2oz Vic Secret Whirlpool @ 180° for 30 min
2oz Citra dry hop @ high krausen
2oz Mosaic dry hop @ high krausen
2oz Amarillo dry hop @ high krausen
2oz Citra dry hop @ day 4
2oz Mosaic dry hop @ day 4
2oz Amarillo dry hop @ day 4

Water target – Ca 75 – Mg 5 – SO 150 – Na 10 – Cl 50

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.

White Labs – Dry English Ale Yeast WLP007

Finished beer not fully carbonated

A new brewery is born

Updates have been slow because my old brewing space is now a office/playroom for myself and my daughter.

The brewery is being relocated to to a framed off area in a barn we built. It’s been a long time in the making but all that remains is to  install my vent.  The brewing space is approximately 12′ x 12′  with a 6′ x 8′ storage closet.

A very nice addition to the brewery is a commercial sink with pre-rinse sprayer and pot filler. This should help cut down on cleaning time and effort and shorten the brew day some.

I have a lot of brewing to do! Bellow are my style goals.

  1. Rye IPA
  2. NEIPA
  3. Doppelbock
  4. Stout
  5. A lagger