The Chaos that is a Buffers Brewery brew day

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Great write up and photos
… you seem to have missed all the cleaning up ones tho, which is where half my brewday always goes *sigh*

 

[Buffers brewery]

… you seem to have missed all the cleaning up ones tho, which is where half my brewday always goes *sigh*

Sorry for the omission. My clean up starts during the heat up to boil. My HERMS tank has a few litres of 70C water and a pump asking to be used so I connect the output from the circulation pump to the input of the HERMS coil. The output from the coil goes to the pump that has finished it’s job and the pump output goes to the mash tun.

The coil and pump get a thorough flush through and the mash tun and my glass balls get a good rinse too. I used to use the water from the chiller but I can get the mash tun and one pump cleaned up before the end of the boil. I refill the HERMS tank and reheat to use to clean out the whirlpool pump and hoses. Everything is left to drain/dry in the “sun” while the wort is settling and the fermentation bucket is sanitised ready for transfer. The last thing to be cleaned is the kettle which is a bit fiddly because of the built in cooling coil and whirlpool pipe. Once that’s done it’s beer o’clock

 

[Stevieboy]

Awesome set up! - The lengths we go to for a beer eh?

 

[Buffers brewery]

Fermentation is now well underway. The first balloon was fully inflated yesterday and the contents vented as I reckon it contains a high proportion of air. Subsequently filled all three of my balloons...

..now it’s venting through the bubbler....

I’ll use one of the balloons for cold crashing. The other two I’ll try to use to CO2 flush my King Keg ready for a closed transfer. N.B. might have to use a bit of gas from my cylinder as well.

 

[Stevieboy]

Having transferred the fermented beer to a King Keg, it was time to lift the FV lid and inspect the Dry Hopper....
View attachment 49136
...well some of the hop pellets made it out of the hopper, but it’s obvious that during fermentation, even though there’s no sign that the fermentation foamed sufficient to get in the hopper, the high humidity was enough to loosen the pellets and make them solidify and stick to the hopper. I might try lining the hopper with some silicone baking sheet in an attempt to prevent the hop pellets from sticking to the hopper. Oh, you live and learn

I guess one thing is that if the beer tastes hoppy I can dry hop with half the hops next time

Just watched the video (and subscribed)...what a great piece of kit - superbly engineered. Might I suggest (as well as the silicone lining) putting them in a bag so they all drop out?

 

[Buffers brewery]

Just watched the video (and subscribed)...what a great piece of kit - superbly engineered. Might I suggest (as well as the silicone lining) putting them in a bag so they all drop out?

Yes, that’s an option.

 

[Buffers brewery]

Second SG reading on Saturday of 1.011 triggered start of cold crash and a balloon of CO2 was connected to the fermentation bucket in the fridge.

Today was transfer day with the balloon looking very much deflated.

First thing to do was clean and sanitise the pressure barrel and all the associated transfer bits. The barrel was then filled with water, the top fitted and the transfer tube connected. The barrel was given a puff of air through the gas post to fill the transfer tube with water when it was disconnected.

The barrel was then filled to the brim with water and the top fitted so the barrel has very little air remaining in it. A CO2 balloon was then connected to the barrel gas post having first purged the line with the gas in the balloon.

The transfer pipe was then reconnected to the beer out post while the other end was lowered to drain into a bucket, creating a syphon to draw the water out of the barrel and drain the CO2 from the balloon.

One balloon managed to drain just over half the barrel when balloon number 2 was fitted.

When all the water that could be drained from the barrel was out both the balloon and transfer pipe were disconnected leaving the barrel full of fermentation gas.....and two deflated balloons!

Time to transfer some beer! Made up some priming solution with 4 oz of granulated sugar and half pint of water brought to boil and then cooled. Connected the transfer pipe to the fermentation bucket tap having connected my priming solution funnel (i.e. coke bottle with the bottom cut off). Opened the tap to bleed the tube with beer.

Poured the priming solution in...

..and raised the funnel to drain the solution back into the bucket, disconnecting before all the solution had ran out, so no air could get into the pipe. The transfer pipe was then connected to the barrel beer out post and the fermentation bucket head space was connected to the barrel gas post. Beer transfer begins..

 

[Buffers brewery]

Transfer took a little over half an hour today. Not going to carbonate in the fridge as I want to do another brew in the next couple of days so it’s going to sit on the shed floor for 7-10 days.

Just got to clean out the fermentation bucket and I’m done.

Cheers

 

[Buffers brewery]

Just as an aside, I had a little leak in one of my safety valves the other day so I’ve made a change to my lids and removed the safety valve . I’ve always been of the opinion that the safety valve is only needed during carbonation. Once that’s done it becomes redundant. So I’ve pinched an idea from the pressure fermenter spunding valve and fitted my safety valve to a gas quick connect so once carbonation is finished it can be removed and with it the risk of a leak.

 

[Buffers brewery]

First glass of the Abbey beer I brewed on 2nd July....

The wife likes it......
...again....

 

[Buffers brewery]

As that well known Gene Kelly number goes...



....I’m brewing in the rain, brewing in the rain. What a glorious feeling, I’m brewing again!

......coughs......sorry about that. Got a bit carried away!

NEIPA today.
4.5 kg pilsner malt
0.5 kg Vienna malt
0.3 kg Carapils
1.0 kg flaked oats
3 gallons of strike water at 70C for first 60 minute mash. Mash temperature 66C.
3 gallons of water at 70C for second 30 minute mash.
3 gallons of water at 70C for last 30 minute mash.
Resulting in 7 gallons of wort at 1.043.

During the 60 minute boil I start cleaning up. This is where the “chaos” comes in....

.....half a crushed protofloc added at 15 minutes to go. After the chill 5.5 gallons at 1.057 in the FB.

Brewhouse efficiency at 73% (oops, a bit low).

First outing of the mark II dry hopper. Just a bit small (need a mark III) so only got 100 grm of citra and 100 grm of galaxy in. Needed 150 grm citra!

Pitched the yeast, Verdant, fitted lid....

.....and transferred to the brew fridge set at 19C. CO2 collection plumbing connected and I’ll return tomorrow to connect first balloon.

 

[Buffers brewery]

Fermentation is underway. That Verdant yeast doesn’t mess about! Connected up my CO2 collection balloon having modified (i.e. made more complicated!) my balloon inflation sensor to include a doorbell push button.

So when the balloon is full the solenoid valve switches the gas to the bubbler and rings the door bell I have in the house so I can speedily swap out the full balloon for an empty one and do a reset to start inflating again
I need at least 3 balloons for cold crash and flushing my King Keg for closed transfer.
Mark III dry hopper has been drawn up. 50% bigger than mark II. I’ll print it next week for next time.

 

[Buffers brewery]

Well that worked! The door bell’s been ringing all day! Filled all my balloons up, a couple of the early ones twice, so now have 6 balloons of fermentation gas, more than enough for cold crash and keg flushing.

 

[Buffers brewery]

After 2 weeks my NEIPA FG is 1.013 giving a 5.8% ABV.

Cold crashed for 4 days and closed transfer today after priming with sugar solution made from 4 oz of granulated sugar in 10 fluid oz of water brought to the boil and cooled.
The transfer process was a right pain and needs a bit of attention. The float pipe kept getting blocked with hop debris and trub . After several back flushes with CO2 I managed to get 5 gallons or thereabouts in the barrel. Decided to bottle some and put a puff of CO2 in the barrel and filled 3 PET bottles with a squeeze before screw capping.

Now the interesting bit . Examination of the FB and the dry hopper attached to the underside of the lid showed the hops had been successfully dumped into the beer.

The tidemarks on the sides showed the Krausen had reached the bottom of the hop bucket before it was released, you can see the light creamy goop by the hinge that is at the bottom of the bucket. Also, after release, half the bucket was submerged in the beer which probably helped wash the hops out. The hops above would’ve just dropped out. You can also see the build up of trub along the right-hand side suggesting next time I should place the dry hopper more central.

The short float tube caused all the trouble I think. It works OK with no dry hop beers but needs to be changed for dry hopping. I’m considering fitting a small magnet under the float housing so, with a longer tube, the float can be held away from the fermenting beer and released for transfer after cold crashing.

The good news is the FB smelt wonderful. Loads of grapefruit and mango and a nice translucent custard appearance. Come back in a couple of weeks and we’ll find out if it tastes as good as it looks.

As an aside, I’ve started to cost out my brews and this one works out at £0.98p a pint.

 

[Buffers brewery]

Fruits of my labour. First tasting of my second go at a NEIPA...

.. that'll do

 

[moto748]

As that well known Gene Kelly number goes...

....I’m brewing in the rain, brewing in the rain. What a glorious feeling, I’m brewing again!

Good thinking! A drop of acid rain to correct that pH value!

 

[Spratt]

Fruits of my labour. First tasting of my second go at a NEIPA...
View attachment 54627
.. that'll do

Looks delicious...................

 

[Buffers brewery]

Looks delicious...................

Yup! So far so good! How you doing @Spratt keeping well I hope

 

[Spratt]

Yup! So far so good! How you doing @Spratt keeping well I hope

Chugging along!

CO2 capture has defeated me - too much time and energy invested for too little reward!

The latest venture is fermenting in the King Keg with one of your replacement lids and a spunding valve. Following a warning that I am now "pre-diabetes" I have got two strings to my brewing bow. The first is cutting down the calories and the ABV of brews for myself, so it's BRUT IPAs and David Heath's excellent ideas for low ABV beers (around 0.9 to 1.2%). These are all done in the All Rounder then kegged into cornies or King Kegs.

The second is continuing to brew "normal" beers for friends and family. These are all bottled and after many trips round the FV merry-go-round, I have decided that a King Keg with a tap suitable for my bottling wand is my easiest solution to O2 free beer. It means one of my 3 King Kegs is now tied up full time on fermenting duty, but is an awful lot easier bottling-wise than my Fermzilla All-Rounder which is kept for my low alc/low calorie beers.

I used to be keen on photography and the affliction that accompanied that was "NAS" - Nikon Acquisition Syndrome. I now finally have the camera and lenses I want but brewing continues to throw up challenges, particularly in the fermenting vessel line. Every time I think I've got there, some new problem seems to emerge but so far, fingers crossed, King Keg as FV seems to work......................

 

[Buffers brewery]

Chugging along!

Good to hear!

CO2 capture has defeated me - too much time and energy invested for too little reward!

Sorry to hear that. Not bragging but I’ve managed to get my system sorted. I collect +3 balloons full of fermentation gas which I use 1 or 2 during cold crash and 2 to fill my King Keg with gas before beer transfer. I fill the KK with water, fit the lid and syphon the water out of the KK after attaching a balloon so as the water exits the KK it sucks the gas out of the balloon. The trick is to prime the syphon tube with water first.

Following a warning that I am now "pre-diabetes"

Welcome to the club. I was diagnosed type 2 about 5 years ago. So far I’ve given up sugar in my tea and coffee and watch my carb intake…….and my weight. Get on a DESMOND course if your doc hasn’t already sent you on one.

Keep brewing!