My Grainfather conical fermenter arrived on Monday so I spent the evening doing a bit of hackery to hook it up to my existing bar chiller.
In the end this worked really neatly using the cooler connection kit that GF make. It provides a link wire and a 12V DC pump that is activated when the GF calls for cooling. I am using the output from this link wire to operate a SSR to switch my cooler on (if it's not already on for dispensing beer) and the submersible pump just sits in the reservoir tank connected to the 12V by a splitter cable.
It means I can turn the cooler off and on as normal for dispensing beer and it won't affect the fermenter, but if the cooler is off and the fermenter gets too hot it will switch the cooler on.
Tuesday I started making my first brew - Youngs American Pale Ale. I followed the instructions and by the time I'd topped the water up the wort was at 20C which is almost the temperature they advise for this brew so ideal.
I sprinkled the yeast on top and put the lid on...
Then woke up in a mild panic on Wednesday as I realised the instructions mentioned to gently stir the yeast in and I'd forgotten to do that. I was about to post a question on here about it, but thought best to check with a bit of reading first. Probably a good job as it seems the sprinkle vs stir vs rehydrate your yeast first debate is rather lively
Anyway by Wednesday evening the airlock was bubbling away and so I am now waiting. I can also say that "it smells like a brewery in here"
Meanwhile my corny keg and growler have arrived.
As there was only a bit of Stella left in my bar keg, I've transferred it to the corny and growler as practice in using the disconnects and gas. It also means I can swap it for a full keg of Stella until my brew is ready.
I think I did OK with the transfer process - I pressurised the new kegs to 12psi and had the Stella at 20psi and then filled them via the product out lines, occasionally bleeding the pressure as needed. I think this means I've managed to transfer with no exposure to O2, so will be doing something similar when I come to keg my brew. Not that it matters for the Stella as only about 12 pints left which will be drunk shortly.
My only quandary now is about adding the dry hops. The instructions say to do this a few days before bottling. I think I'll wait for the fermentation to more or less stop, then add them via the air lock hole, then put target temperature really low and hope it clears. I was wondering if I should put the hops in a muslin bag, or will they be fine just floating freely ?
In the end this worked really neatly using the cooler connection kit that GF make. It provides a link wire and a 12V DC pump that is activated when the GF calls for cooling. I am using the output from this link wire to operate a SSR to switch my cooler on (if it's not already on for dispensing beer) and the submersible pump just sits in the reservoir tank connected to the 12V by a splitter cable.
It means I can turn the cooler off and on as normal for dispensing beer and it won't affect the fermenter, but if the cooler is off and the fermenter gets too hot it will switch the cooler on.
Tuesday I started making my first brew - Youngs American Pale Ale. I followed the instructions and by the time I'd topped the water up the wort was at 20C which is almost the temperature they advise for this brew so ideal.
I sprinkled the yeast on top and put the lid on...
Then woke up in a mild panic on Wednesday as I realised the instructions mentioned to gently stir the yeast in and I'd forgotten to do that. I was about to post a question on here about it, but thought best to check with a bit of reading first. Probably a good job as it seems the sprinkle vs stir vs rehydrate your yeast first debate is rather lively
Anyway by Wednesday evening the airlock was bubbling away and so I am now waiting. I can also say that "it smells like a brewery in here"
Meanwhile my corny keg and growler have arrived.
As there was only a bit of Stella left in my bar keg, I've transferred it to the corny and growler as practice in using the disconnects and gas. It also means I can swap it for a full keg of Stella until my brew is ready.
I think I did OK with the transfer process - I pressurised the new kegs to 12psi and had the Stella at 20psi and then filled them via the product out lines, occasionally bleeding the pressure as needed. I think this means I've managed to transfer with no exposure to O2, so will be doing something similar when I come to keg my brew. Not that it matters for the Stella as only about 12 pints left which will be drunk shortly.
My only quandary now is about adding the dry hops. The instructions say to do this a few days before bottling. I think I'll wait for the fermentation to more or less stop, then add them via the air lock hole, then put target temperature really low and hope it clears. I was wondering if I should put the hops in a muslin bag, or will they be fine just floating freely ?
