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Main Forums => The Mess Hall => Topic started by: charby on January 11, 2017, 10:23:26 PM

Title: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on January 11, 2017, 10:23:26 PM
Let's talk home beer/cider production.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: Scout26 on January 12, 2017, 06:50:37 PM
Is this thread Anti-Distillation?

 :P :P
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on January 12, 2017, 09:01:59 PM
Is this thread Anti-Distillation?

 :P :P

Should be fine if you live in New Zealand.  Or plausibly might live in NZ.  :P
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on January 12, 2017, 11:03:37 PM
Is this thread Anti-Distillation?

 :P :P

Anti anaerobic fermentation
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: JonnyB on January 13, 2017, 09:08:15 PM
We have six gallons of Cherry, six of Blackberry and one gallon of Black Chokeberry wine fermenting in their respective primary fermenters. Twelve gallons of Wild Black Raspberry wine was bottled in the last two weeks. Son 2 is consuming a batch of Double IPA from a kit.

Yeah, we like yeasty beverages. 😎

JB
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on January 13, 2017, 09:15:57 PM
I tried making an all-malt ginger ale last month.  (actually, it has a little sugar in it too)  I'm planning to bottle it tomorrow.  No idea yet if it's drinkable.  As much as anything, this was an experiment in brewing on a weeknight with a 30 minute boil instead of the traditional 60 or 90 minutes.

HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Ginger beer

Style Name: Experimental Beer
Boil Time: 30 min
Batch Size: 3 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 3.5 gallons

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.061
Final Gravity: 1.018
ABV (standard): 5.59%

FERMENTABLES:
5 lb - American - Pale Ale (81.6%)
6 oz - German - Caramel Wheat (6.1%)
12 oz - Cane Sugar - (late addition)  (12.2%)

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 154 F, Amount: 4 gal

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
1 tsp - Ground ginger, Time: 15 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
5 oz - Fresh ginger, Time: 15 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
4 oz - Lemon juice, bottled, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
1 each - Small tangerine (clementine), Time: 5 min, Type: Flavor, Use: Boil

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - Safbrew - Specialty Ale Yeast T-58
Starter: No

Water Notes:
4 gallons of local hard tapwater, acidified and dechlorinated by adding 1/2 cup of bottled lemon juice and the fresh juice of one tangerine.  I did not measure the pH.

NOTES:
This is a first attempt.  No idea if I got the amount of ginger right.
After juicing the tangerine, save the skin and pulp.  Chop it up fine, and add to last 5 minutes of the boil.
Finely grind the fresh ginger, sugar, and dried ginger in a food processor or blender. 

Brewed 12/09/2016.  I used about 6 ounces of fresh ginger, unpeeled.  It pretty much liquefied in the food processor with the sugar.  After chilling to about 78 degrees, I dumped everything into the fermenter, hot break, ginger, tangerine peel, and all, and pitched with one rehydrated packet of T-58.   It was bubbling vigorously a few hours later.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: lee n. field on January 15, 2017, 05:26:57 PM
Let's talk home beer/cider production.

OK, I'll play.

Last spring I picked up this kit: Brooklyn Brew Shop EVeryday IPA (http://brooklynbrewshop.com/beer-making-kits/everyday-ipa-1-gal-kit), at a garage sale.  Making it was a mess, and the beer was all overcarbonated.  Opening each bottle was an adventure.  The kit was years old, probably someone's unused Christmas present, and I'm guessing the yeast was old and not done fermenting when bottled.

When I do drink beer I tend to favor dark beers.  So, the next kit tried was this: Black IPA 1 Gallon Recipe Kit (http://www.northernbrewer.com/black-ipa-1-gallon-recipe-kit).  That was easier, and worked a whole lot better.  I still only got about 8 bottles out of it.  The last of it was drunk during the presidential debates.

Somewhere in there I "freehanded" a gallon of apple cider.  That did not go well.  I suspect I needed more sugar.

I got the bright idea to make a 5 gallon batch of dark beer, to give away at Christmas.  I used this kit:  Beer. Simply Beer - Stout (https://www.midwestsupplies.com/simply-beer-stout).  The ingredient kit was inexpensive, and I thought it worked well, and I will be ordering another sometime soon.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on January 15, 2017, 06:41:39 PM
Late 2015, I decided to brew a strong Christmas beer, kind of a porter.  I ordered 2 pounds of brown malt from the local liquor store that sells brewing stuff on the side.  They screwed up the order and got a much darker malt (coffee malt? or chocolate malt?) but I didn't realize that.  I brewed the beer and it was inky black instead of just kinda black or dark brown.  Fermented it as usual, and the fermentation stuck.  It actually tasted sweeter than it did before I started fermenting it.  (by now it's February, and the beer was supposed to be ready for Christmas)  Someone recommended adding amylase enzyme.  I was skeptical, but I tried it.  It started fermenting again.  Bottled it in March.  Tried one in April and it was still too sweet (but at least drinkable) and really heavy and boozy.  I found that I could drink one by mixing it with a can of lite beer.  So that's what I did, but I put about half of them aside to let them age.

Been drinking them since Christmas 2016, and have one bottle left.  I should save it for Christmas 2017 but I'm not that disciplined with such things.  After aging nearly a year it turned into a pretty good stout, just have to drink it a little colder than you usually drink stouts to knock the sweetness down a notch.

Maybe I should brew my 2017 Christmas beer in February instead of waiting until November.   ;/
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on January 15, 2017, 06:44:53 PM

I got the bright idea to make a 5 gallon batch of dark beer, to give away at Christmas.  I used this kit:  Beer. Simply Beer - Stout (https://www.midwestsupplies.com/simply-beer-stout).  The ingredient kit was inexpensive, and I thought it worked well, and I will be ordering another sometime soon.


Midwest Supply and Northern Brewer -- they secretly are the same company -- put together some good kits.  I get emails from them all the time; I can post the next discount codes if anyone wants (or even if they don't.)
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: TechMan on January 17, 2017, 11:54:36 AM
Listermann Brewing (http://listermannbrewing.com/) is the go to place here in town for home brewing supplies.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on January 26, 2017, 06:12:36 PM
Bob,

When you make your cider do you boil your juice?
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on January 26, 2017, 06:57:15 PM
Bob,

When you make your cider do you boil your juice? 

Boiling the juice allegedly makes the cider a cloudy (from the pectin) but won't really hurt anything.  I'm skeptical about the pectin haze thing because I've made wine from old jars of homemade jelly before, and that turned out nice and clear.

If you're using juice that you pressed yourself, add Campden tablets (follow the directions on the label)

I use Aldi's apple juice, a little bit of white sugar but not much, yeast nutrient, and white wine yeast.  Most brands of filtered apple juice will work just fine, as will frozen concentrate.  Watch out for sodium benzoate or potassium sorbate on the label, especially if you buy fancy juice fresh from an orchard or unfiltered.  Sorbate or benzoate preservatives will prevent it from fermenting.  Ascorbate preservatives are fine.

Last batch was with K1-V1116 yeast, and 12 ounces of sugar to 6 gallons of juice.  Turned out pretty good.  If you add too much sugar, you get lots of alcohol but not much apple flavor.

Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on January 30, 2017, 03:03:43 PM
Boiling the juice allegedly makes the cider a cloudy (from the pectin) but won't really hurt anything.  I'm skeptical about the pectin haze thing because I've made wine from old jars of homemade jelly before, and that turned out nice and clear.

If you're using juice that you pressed yourself, add Campden tablets (follow the directions on the label)

I use Aldi's apple juice, a little bit of white sugar but not much, yeast nutrient, and white wine yeast.  Most brands of filtered apple juice will work just fine, as will frozen concentrate.  Watch out for sodium benzoate or potassium sorbate on the label, especially if you buy fancy juice fresh from an orchard or unfiltered.  Sorbate or benzoate preservatives will prevent it from fermenting.  Ascorbate preservatives are fine.

Last batch was with K1-V1116 yeast, and 12 ounces of sugar to 6 gallons of juice.  Turned out pretty good.  If you add too much sugar, you get lots of alcohol but not much apple flavor.



Thanks, I was going to go the aldi route for juice. Maybe dump in some apple concentrate for more sugar.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on February 01, 2017, 11:15:22 PM
Picked up 2 10 gallon igloo coolers set up for all grains brewing from a friend who is downsizing. Going to get a 16 gallon stainless brew kettle from him too.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: cosine on February 05, 2017, 05:09:55 PM
Just finished brewing a gallon of a 2-row and Cascade SMaSH. Treated the water for chloramine (used in Milwaukee) before brewing so I hope that it's drinkable, unlike the other batches I've attempted. Probably used too much water for the amount of grained mashed, although the post-mash wort was very sweet and delicious.

Details:
2.5 lbs of 2-row, double milled
9 quarts water
Mashed for 1 hour at 154 deg F.
Squeezed out the bag and "sparged" (rinsed) with another 2 cups of water
Boiled for 60 minutes
Hop additions:
60 min: 0.28 oz of Cascade
20 min: 0.13 oz of Cascade
5 min: 0.13 of of Cascade, 1/4 tablet of Whirlfloc
Flameout: 0.43 oz of Cascade
Cooled to about 75 deg F and pitched 11.5 oz of US-05 rehydrated in 1 cup of water (overpitched, but what the heck).

Forgot to measure OG.

I hope that this is at least drinkable, since every other batch I've attempted has had some horrible off-flavor.



Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: wmenorr67 on February 06, 2017, 09:12:21 AM
Just finished brewing a gallon of a 2-row and Cascade SMaSH. Treated the water for chloramine (used in Milwaukee) before brewing so I hope that it's drinkable, unlike the other batches I've attempted. Probably used too much water for the amount of grained mashed, although the post-mash wort was very sweet and delicious.


I use bottled water for brewing.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on February 06, 2017, 09:27:39 AM
Just finished brewing a gallon of a 2-row and Cascade SMaSH. Treated the water for chloramine (used in Milwaukee) before brewing so I hope that it's drinkable, unlike the other batches I've attempted. Probably used too much water for the amount of grained mashed, although the post-mash wort was very sweet and delicious.

Details:
2.5 lbs of 2-row, double milled
9 quarts water
Mashed for 1 hour at 154 deg F.
Squeezed out the bag and "sparged" (rinsed) with another 2 cups of water
Boiled for 60 minutes
Hop additions:
60 min: 0.28 oz of Cascade
20 min: 0.13 oz of Cascade
5 min: 0.13 of of Cascade, 1/4 tablet of Whirlfloc
Flameout: 0.43 oz of Cascade
Cooled to about 75 deg F and pitched 11.5 oz of US-05 rehydrated in 1 cup of water (overpitched, but what the heck).

Forgot to measure OG.

I hope that this is at least drinkable, since every other batch I've attempted has had some horrible off-flavor.



You might need to adjust the pH with some acid malt, phosphoric acid, gypsum, and/or calcium chloride.  I looked at a Milwaukee water quality report, and it didn't say anything about alkalinity (it did mention about 200 ppm of "total dissolved solids", which I think is probably not bad)

I buy bulk RO water at Walmart or one of the big grocery stores.  I've started using more dechlorinated tapwater for the mash lately, but I always sparge with straight RO water.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on February 06, 2017, 09:32:02 AM
The ginger ale that I brewed in mid-December has no ginger taste at all.  The ginger I used must have been old, or refrigerated, or something.  But the lemon juice and the tangerine give it a nice tart citrusy flavor.  It's good when a failed experiment is still drinkable.  =)
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on February 06, 2017, 05:13:59 PM
5.5 gallons of apple juice, 5 frozen containers of concent4ate and a wee packet of yeast. Time to make it happen. Probably start the yeast tonight and pitch tomorrow or Wednesday night.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on February 06, 2017, 05:24:46 PM
5.5 gallons of apple juice, 5 frozen containers of concentrate and a wee packet of yeast. Time to make it happen. Probably start the yeast tonight and pitch tomorrow or Wednesday night.

Cool.  What yeast did you get?

Unless you're going to build up a yeast starter, rehydrate the yeast maybe a half hour before you pitch it.  (not days before)  I assume you're not talking about one of those Wyeast brand liquid yeast packs.

Some yeast nutrient would be a good idea.  Apple juice doesn't have much nitrogen.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on February 06, 2017, 06:07:06 PM
Cool.  What yeast did you get?

Unless you're going to build up a yeast starter, rehydrate the yeast maybe a half hour before you pitch it.  (not days before)  I assume you're not talking about one of those Wyeast brand liquid yeast packs.

Some yeast nutrient would be a good idea.  Apple juice doesn't have much nitrogen.

Red Star Premier Cuvee, its a dry wine yeast. I was going to use some juice as a starter.

Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on February 06, 2017, 06:25:57 PM
Red Star Premier Cuvee, its a dry wine yeast. I was going to use some juice as a starter.



Premier Cuvee is a powerful yeast; the cider will be *very* dry when it's finished.  Starter is not necessary but it also won't hurt anything.  Good luck! :)   
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on February 06, 2017, 06:28:25 PM
Premier Cuvee is a powerful yeast; the cider will be *very* dry when it's finished.  Starter is not necessary but it also won't hurt anything.  Good luck! :)   

I wanted a dry cider, I can always sweeten it after I keg condition it.

Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on February 06, 2017, 06:30:53 PM
Premier Cuvee is a powerful yeast; the cider will be *very* dry when it's finished.  Starter is not necessary but it also won't hurt anything.  Good luck! :)   

Ok, I've never used yeast nutrient in the past when I made beer and wine.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: bedlamite on February 06, 2017, 06:41:38 PM
Ok, I've never used yeast nutrient in the past when I made beer and wine.

I've had much better results when using Fermaid than the JD Carlson stuff.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on February 06, 2017, 06:53:50 PM
I've had much better results when using Fermaid than the JD Carlson stuff.

Fermax  you mean?

I get yeast nutrient, hell I'm the plant nutrition/soil fertility guy by trade. So is yeast nutrient a new concept? I don't remember hearing about it when I was brewing in the early 2000s. I've noticed a lot of things equipment wise has changed.

-C
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on February 06, 2017, 07:25:35 PM
Ammonium phosphate and food-grade urea.  But Premier Cuvee is such an aggressive yeast you can probably get by without it -- perhaps better, because it won't ferment so fast.

Don't worry about it this time.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: bedlamite on February 06, 2017, 08:50:36 PM
Fermax  you mean?

I get yeast nutrient, hell I'm the plant nutrition/soil fertility guy by trade. So is yeast nutrient a new concept? I don't remember hearing about it when I was brewing in the early 2000s. I've noticed a lot of things equipment wise has changed.

-C

https://morewinemaking.com/products/fermaid.html
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on February 06, 2017, 10:29:08 PM
https://morewinemaking.com/products/fermaid.html

Thanks, I ordered some for when I start on beers.

I may make my own in the future, going to using food grade urea for a fall fertilizer on my lawn one I get my weeds down to an acceptable level.





Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on February 06, 2017, 10:36:11 PM
So yeast is pitched and now waiting for the magic to happen

5 gallons of apple juice
5 containers of frozen concentrate
SG at 60F is 1.060 

Fermenter is in a place with a constant 65F degrees.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on February 09, 2017, 09:56:28 AM
Just checked on it, getting a big bubble every second. Last night it was barely pushing up the airlock.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on February 20, 2017, 10:02:12 PM
Kegged it.

Sg was 1.005 so dry as the Sahara. Back sweetened it with 3# of brown sugar. Yeast should die when CO2 hits 25 psi in the keg from conditioning.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: sumpnz on February 24, 2017, 02:35:04 AM
Only just noticed this sticky. 

Got 5 gallons of Imperial Stout and 5 gallons of Cascadian Dark Ale in secondary fermenters right now.  First batches of homebrew in an easy 10 years.  Probably going to bottle this Sunday.  Might get another batch started while we bottle.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on February 25, 2017, 12:00:37 AM
I need to get more disciplined in my brewing.  Instead of brewing something totally different every time, I need to focus.  
I'm drinking a style called Dampfbier now that brewed on New Years Eve.  I didn't like it much at first, but I think I just started drinking it "green".  It's really coming around.  So I'll brew the same recipe again, but add the first hops at 60 minutes instead of 20 to make it more bitter, and use a more neutral German ale yeast (K-97) instead of wheat beer yeast (Wyeast 3333)

Yeah, I know I should only change one variable at a time.  :lol:
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: cosine on February 25, 2017, 10:49:23 AM
Pulled a sample from the 2/5/2017 SMaSH before sticking in the 'fridge to cold crash. Very dry and very light in taste with moderate hop bitterness. Smells greener and more yeasty than it tastes. No offensive plastic-y off flavors, treating the water for chloramine might be the piece of the puzzle I was missing in previous brews!
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: French G. on April 21, 2017, 09:07:57 PM
Dandelion wine is bubbling away, never brewed anything before, find out in six months if it is worth a crap.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on May 16, 2017, 11:47:20 PM
Two weeks ago I started an experiment: a half gallon of cheap Concord grape juice, 1/2 gallon of cheap Niagara (white) grape juice, 1 tsp of bread yeast, 1/2 tsp yeast nutrient.  That's it; no sugar.  I have wine yeast, but I wanted to try bread yeast to get a more "ale-like" character.  The refractometer said the juice was almost 16 Brix, so about 8.5% ABV is the target.  Something I can drink a pint or two without a buzz but probably not three.

After 10 days, the bubbling had almost stopped and the color started changing from an ugly mauve to a cloudy red wine color you could almost see through, and it had a generous 1/4" of sediment in the jug.  I racked it to another gallon jug and added 1/4 tsp Knox gelatin dissolved in 1/2 cup of hot water.  It started bubbling actively again and I thought I had screwed up, but a few hours later the bubbling stopped and the wine started to clear.

Today it is clear enough to read newsprint thru the jug.  I can't believe how well the gelatin worked; I hope there's enough suspended yeast left to carbonate it.  I plan to bottle it tomorrow night, in strong bottles with enough sugar to carbonate (about a teaspoon per 500 ml)

I'm excited by how fast this went. 
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: RevDisk on May 17, 2017, 09:14:57 AM

Mostly a wine maker, as I mostly give out bottles as gifts rather than for personal consumption. Also it's much easier than beer. With wine, insane overkill sterilization procedures and good materials will always give you good to very good end results.

I'm planning on trying a batch of canned grape juice instead of the rather expensive bagged stuff. Half the cost, but theoretically better when just using welch grape juice.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on May 17, 2017, 10:34:18 AM
The white wine that I made with Aldi's white Niagara grape juice and lots of sugar turned out remarkably good.  A lot better than the red that I made with their Concord juice, a little sugar, and potassium carbonate to cut the acidity.

At bottling time the white was pretty harsh -- no specific fault, it just tasted bad.  After just a month in the bottles it has really turned around.  I will make it again; probably with Vintner's Harvest AW4 yeast next time to give it a more German-y character.

I think blending Concord and Niagara has potential (not necessarily the quick bread yeast wine that I'm about to bottle)
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: French G. on May 17, 2017, 10:26:01 PM
Dandelion wine is good right now, drank a bottle over ice. Lotta alcohol.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on June 15, 2017, 04:47:10 PM
Kegged it.

Sg was 1.005 so dry as the Sahara. Back sweetened it with 3# of brown sugar. Yeast should die when CO2 hits 25 psi in the keg from conditioning.

Crashed the keg finally, guess the strain of yeast I got doesn't die at 25 psi. Blew foam, took out about 1/2 gallon, blew the pressure off the keg and hopefully it equalizes.

settled foam into cider tasted good, except too boozy and a little sweet for cider. Next time, different yeast and no back sweetening.

Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on June 15, 2017, 05:46:36 PM
The water here is *very* high in bicarbonate.  It's not really fit for brewing anything but stouts, and I'm not fond of stout.  I've been mixing it with reverse osmosis water from the machine at Walmart, using more and more tapwater as I learn to deal with the alkalinity.

I just read about "Sauergut" a few weeks ago.  Sour some unhopped beer with lactobacillus, and add that to the mash to acidify it.  I knew the Germans made sour beers, but I'm not interested in that.  It never occurred to me to use sour mash just to deal with hard water.  I'm going to try it.  It will take about 650 ml of sour mash to acidify 6 gallons of straight Rochester tapwater, assuming about 1.75 to 2% lactic acid.  Not sure if that's enough to mess up the flavor, but I'm going to try it in my next batch.  (then you replenish your Sauergut reactor with the new beer before you boil it and add the hop, so it's perpetual once you get it going)
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: cosine on July 17, 2017, 10:42:57 PM
Did a gallon of barleywine yesterday from a 1 gal NB kit I had. It's burping pretty good today.

Threw together a "scraps ale" this evening from odds 'n ends I had around. 2.25 gallons of campden treated water, ~3 lbs of gold LME, 0.5 oz of Cascade at 60 min, 0.25 oz of Cascade at 15 min, 0.15 oz of Cascade at 5 min. Pitched 1 pint of US-05 slurry left over from a pale ale in February and 1 pint of US-05 slurry left over from the February 2-row/Cascade SMaSH, since I have no idea about the viability of those two slurries anymore. Since I discovered that my main problem in the past has been the chloramine in my water, I've been on a mission to see how sloppy and imprecise I can be (except for sanitation) and still get a reasonably decent beer.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on July 19, 2017, 03:52:29 PM
I brewed 4 gallons of witbier a week and a half ago.  It's about time to transfer it from the bucket to a carboy to finish.  This is my first time brewing a light-colored beer with Rochester tapwater without diluting with any reverse osmosis water.  I acidified it using 10ml of 88% lactic acid because I haven't made the sauergut yet.  And I had a bottle of lactic acid already, so it's a good proof of concept.

I hope it doesn't taste like sour milk when it's done.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on July 19, 2017, 06:37:42 PM
I transferred some kolsch from the fermenter to a Coney keg. Couple weeks to condition, then lager for 4 or more weeks.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: lee n. field on July 23, 2017, 06:52:57 PM
Started another batch.  "Scottish Ale" (http://www.brewersbestkits.com/recipes.html) it says on the kit box.  "Easy" it says.  Cheapest kit they had in the store.   It's been quite a few months since I did my last batch, and I'm down to the last few bottles.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: cosine on July 08, 2018, 09:29:46 PM
Brewed a 5 gallon batch of Rye Wit session ale back in April. It sat in the primary until just this last Thursday, since I've had it with bottling. Picked up some kegging equipment, but it sat around for a while, life's been busy...
 
On Thursday, cleaned and sanitized a keg, and racked the Rye Wit into it and burst carbed at 30 PSI for 40 hours. Reduced the pressure to 12 PSI and pulled a sample... AWESOME!

BOTTLING SUCKS KEGGING LIFE FTW!
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on July 08, 2018, 10:11:38 PM
Brewed a 5 gallon batch of Rye Wit session ale back in April. It sat in the primary until just this last Thursday, since I've had it with bottling. Picked up some kegging equipment, but it sat around for a while, life's been busy...
 
On Thursday, cleaned and sanitized a keg, and racked the Rye Wit into it and burst carbed at 30 PSI for 40 hours. Reduced the pressure to 12 PSI and pulled a sample... AWESOME!

BOTTLING SUCKS KEGGING LIFE FTW!

Bottling's not so bad if you use big bottles.  But then I drink big bottles...

I got some Voss Kveik yeast; it's a Norwegian farmhouse strain that you can ferment up to about 100°F; it likes it hot.  I have trouble cooling my wort down below about 80°.  I've brewed with it once, and the fermentation was so fast I think it was totally done and cleared in 3 days.  I transferred it to a carboy for a week and it's probably ready to bottle (or keg) now.  You really could go grain-to-glass in a week with this stuff.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: brimic on July 20, 2018, 12:40:08 PM
I've helped (more like watched) my most autistic friend do some sort of complicated decoction mashing, all the time he was talking about alpha and beta acids, and some other gobblygook...
He makes the best beer I've ever had (its a stout, very similar to Guinness, but better) , makes it consistent from batch to batch, and always has it on tap at his house.
It just looks too time consuming and complicated for me.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on July 30, 2019, 08:27:38 AM
Started a black currant wine last night.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on August 13, 2019, 11:52:40 PM
Racked to the secondary, didn't taste too bad.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on August 24, 2019, 08:21:17 PM
I'm brewing a rye ale right now.  First brew since about February or March.  (I should be brewing about once a month)  I'm using yeast cultured from 2 cans of August Schell's Hefeweizen.  I wrote to them a couple months ago, and a brewer responded that it's unfiltered and unpasteurized.  When I decanted the stale beer off the top of the starter culture, it tasted a little sour with no off flavors or smells.  Schell's hefe is a little sour, so I think that's a good sign.  I added some fresh starter wort and it took off within a few hours.
Quote
HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Amber Rye Ale

Brew Method: BIAB
Style Name: American Amber Ale
Boil Time: 45 min
Batch Size: 4 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 5 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.044
Efficiency: 75% (brew house)

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.055
Final Gravity: 1.014
ABV (standard): 5.41%
IBU (tinseth): 31.51
SRM (morey): 12.31
Mash pH: 5.47

FERMENTABLES:
98 oz - Pale 2-Row (76.6%)
1 lb - Flaked Rye (12.5%)
8 oz - CaraRye (6.3%)
5 oz - Aromatic Malt (3.9%)
1 oz - Black Barley (0.8%)

HOPS:
0.5 oz - Nugget, Type: Pellet, AA: 14, Use: Boil for 30 min, IBU: 24.17
1 oz - Goldings, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.5, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 7.33

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 150 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 4 gal
2) Sparge, Temp: 120 F, Amount: 2 gal

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
4 ml - Phosphoric acid, Time: 60 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
2 g - Gypsum, Time: 60 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
1 g - Table Salt, Time: 60 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash

YEAST:
Cultured from cans of Schell's Hefeweisen
Starter: Yes

Generated by Brewer's Friend - https://www.brewersfriend.com/
Date: 2019-08-25 00:17 UTC
Recipe Last Updated: 2019-08-24 21:53 UTC
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on June 02, 2020, 08:06:41 PM
Bottling the Black Currant wine tonight, sampling in a bit. Smells wonderful.

Pitched yeast into rhubarb must made from 15# rhubarb, 16# sugar, added 3 gallons water, gassed it 2 days ago, squeezed the what was left of the juice out the rhubarb stalks, SG is 1.132.  Let the orgy begin!

Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: charby on January 05, 2021, 09:06:31 PM
Rhubarb racked again tonight, it's boozy, semi sweet and very subtle rhubarb. 6 more months before bottling.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on January 05, 2021, 10:24:31 PM
I bought a Tilt hydrometer (https://tilthydrometer.com/products/copy-of-tilt-floating-wireless-hydrometer-and-thermometer-for-brewing) about a month ago, and just used it for the first time.  My parents sent me some money for my birthday and I decided to actually buy something a little extravagant with it instead of it just disappearing into the bill-paying account.

I brewed a rye beer again, but this one was 53% pale rye malt; kinda strong (about 7% ABV.)  I was amazed that it was finished fermenting in just 3 days in my cold basement utility room.  I waited another week to bottle it, and the plastic tester bottles were carbonated in just a few days.  

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iBhs-o9ANtEIxi3WCy6rDh95sEg2He2vHPbLXcghoww/edit?usp=sharing  (let's see if this works)  The spreadsheet says it's about 6.5% ABV, but it doesn't now about the 2 ounces of sugar that I added when I moved it from a bucket to a carboy (you can see the little blip in the specific gravity graph)

I'm drinking one now.  It's still a bit cloudy but does not taste yeasty.  It does not really taste like I thought rye would, but it's different than barley beer; kind of a creaminess even though it is quite thin.  I think it will clear if I store them in the fridge for a few days.  There's a lot of sediment in the bottles but it stays put when you pour.  (K-97 yeast)

I also have 4 gallons of Concord grape wine going, using Aldi grape juice, sugar, 2 tsp of powdered chalk to reduce the acid, and Vintner's Harvest AW4 yeast (that's a German white wine yeast)  I have racked it off the lees once, now waiting for it to clear.  I haven't added any sulfites yet, I will do that at bottling time, whenever that is.  The hydrometer sample last week tasted interesting, in a good way.  Not Mogen David-y at all. :)
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: brimic on January 23, 2021, 04:02:23 PM
I bought a Brunello wine kit back in 2017 before I got married.
I started it this last summer after getting separated.
the specific gravity was a little low starting out, I've racked it twice and might rack it the final time today and ket it age a year.
So far it tastes good.
I still have a few bottles of Borolo left that I bottled in 2018 (1 batch makes about 32-35 bottles), which I'm saving for special occasions. I bought myself a case of Cotes du Rhone that I liked for Christmas that will have to hold me over until my current batch is bottled.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on January 23, 2021, 04:39:04 PM
The best wine I've made was with 5 bottles of Aldi's Concord grape juice, 3 bottles of white (Niagara) grape juice, enough sugar to get it to a reasonable gravity, and BV7 yeast.  It should have been a red wine but the BV7 stripped out a lot of the color and it ended up a Rose'.  I added Campden tablets at bottling.  That was a year ago; I have just a few bottles left.  I opened one a week ago and wasn't any better with age but it hadn't deteriorated yet either.

I'm getting a little annoyed with the Concord wine I have fermenting because it's taking so long.  I haven't tested it with a hydrometer, but whenever I rock the carboy a little new tiny CO2 bubbles come up.  I raised the temperature to 70° for a week to speed it up and that didn't make any difference, so it's back at 60° now and I'll just wait it out.  I think it will be good eventually.  It's probably ready to drink now if you like cheap semi-dry Lambrusco (not that there's anything wrong with that)
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: kgbsquirrel on January 23, 2021, 04:48:47 PM
Tag for the good info.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: brimic on January 24, 2021, 08:54:01 PM
The best wine I've made was with 5 bottles of Aldi's Concord grape juice, 3 bottles of white (Niagara) grape juice, enough sugar to get it to a reasonable gravity, and BV7 yeast.  It should have been a red wine but the BV7 stripped out a lot of the color and it ended up a Rose'.  I added Campden tablets at bottling.  That was a year ago; I have just a few bottles left.  I opened one a week ago and wasn't any better with age but it hadn't deteriorated yet either.

I'm getting a little annoyed with the Concord wine I have fermenting because it's taking so long.  I haven't tested it with a hydrometer, but whenever I rock the carboy a little new tiny CO2 bubbles come up.  I raised the temperature to 70° for a week to speed it up and that didn't make any difference, so it's back at 60° now and I'll just wait it out.  I think it will be good eventually.  It's probably ready to drink now if you like cheap semi-dry Lambrusco (not that there's anything wrong with that)

Its spendy and a kit wine, but I've made several batches of this over the last 10 years. https://www.northmountainsupply.com/wine-expert-selection-6-gallon-wine-ingredient-kit-italian-brunello-w-grape-skins.html
OTOH, you end up with 30+ bottles of wine that cost about $5/bottle, that will taste better than just about anything you will find in a store.
I've had good Brunello wines at $60-70/bottle, the stuff made from this kit is at the same level for flavor and drinkability. I switch between Brunello and Barolo kits depending on availability form year to year.
Title: Re: Fermentation: Aerobic (Yeast)
Post by: zxcvbob on January 24, 2021, 09:23:59 PM
Its spendy and a kit wine, but I've made several batches of this over the last 10 years. https://www.northmountainsupply.com/wine-expert-selection-6-gallon-wine-ingredient-kit-italian-brunello-w-grape-skins.html
OTOH, you end up with 30+ bottles of wine that cost about $5/bottle, that will taste better than just about anything you will find in a store.
I've had good Brunello wines at $60-70/bottle, the stuff made from this kit is at the same level for flavor and drinkability. I switch between Brunello and Barolo kits depending on availability form year to year.

That's not a bad price for what you get.  I'm not that much of a wine drinker tho.  I'm having fun making the best wine I can with the cheapest juice available.

I just looked up the temperature range for the yeast I'm using.  https://winemakermag.com/resource/yeast-strains-chart  68 to 77°.  Oops.  I must have confused it with something else.  No wonder it's taking so long to finish in my cold basement!  I should put the heating pad back on it and crank it up to 75°.