Feb. 14th 2011
Some day I'd like to open a brewery. It's that dream that I have, that I'll do, when I win the lotto. Most other people will say travel, or buy a house. I'm with that third group, start a business. So in preparation for such dreams I'd like to stay proactive. This last weekend I threw a very successful Home Brew Kegger. I found out that people generally are proud of beer brewed near to them. And they are very honest about the beer when you're at a place as informal as a Kegger. Generally everyone liked the T-Rex Amber Ale and Backwards Brewery's IPA. The Nut Brown Ale came in third, and was disliked next to the others. All in All I believe this was a great start to public awareness of Nilrod Home Brewery and Backwards Brewery.
Nilrod Home Brewery
Monday, February 14, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
DIY Temperature Controllers and Fermenter Heaters
Feb. 5th 2011
I got it! To save money I purchased the STC-1000 aquarium digital mini temperature controller from a place in Hong Kong. $25 paid for the controller including temperature probe and shipping. That's too good to pass up considering I would have to pay about $80 for the equivalent one here in the states, and you'd have to buy the temperature probe separately. I also didn't want to pay a lot for something that I may or may not have gotten to work. It took about a month to receive the package due to extremely bad weather, however that is exactly why I needed it. I'm using it in conjunction with a Ferm-Wrap heat pad so that I can heat my fermenter with out leaving the house heat on. You can save money on the Ferm-Wrap too if you buy it online. The Ferm Wrap Heating pads are the same pads used to keep retile cages warm.
In this photo you can see the heating pad covering the outside of the fermenter.
You can buy different sizes of FlexWatt Tape so you can customize it to your fermenters. I needed one with less width and more length to fit my conical fermenter.
It's also distributes heat better so that you can use it on glass carboys. It's a better alternative to the heat belt which could break glass carboys. The FermWrap can also be insulated on one side, so you can still wrap a towel around your fermenter after you get it all set up.
If you want to use your temperature controller as a refrigerator controller. It works for that as well. It has dual functionality so you can use it to control a heater and a refrigerator at the same time. When the temperature drops below set value it turns on power to the heater, and when the temperature gets above set value it turns on power to the refrigerator.
So I got the STC-1000 and after a little trial and error I was able to get it wired up. I used this diagram DIAGRAM LINK and it worked for me. As usual when I first got it, I tried to wire it up with out using the diagram and just wasted about 30min. After that, I looked at the diagrams and wired it up correctly. It uses a direct negative to the heater with a controlled on/off switch for the positive power. It's very basic. The digital display is in Celsius, which is weird considering I like the Fahrenheit scale better for brewing. Fahrenheit is a large enough range that you don't have to mess with decimals. Also I have all of the land mark values memorized in Fahrenheit. I really don't know how much more memorization my brain can handle, but I suppose a few Celsius values wont overload it. I recommend this temp controller for anyone new who hasn't used these devices before. They're a good unit to learn on.
However I have not used the other types of temperature controllers, so a direct comparison from me is not available.
I'm in between ferments right now so I don't have the FermWrap on however, here are some pics. I will show a pick of it with the FermWrap as soon as I can. In the mean time check it out.
I just wired up a second unit. The cost for a unit is $25 for the digital temperature controller with temp probe
Controller with Probe $25
Extention cord $2
Plug for Heat Pad $9
Heat Pad Tape $9
Total $45
That's really not bad. Less than the price of a glass carboy and almost as essential. I can honestly say that temperature control over the ferment is very important to obtaining a good tasting beer.
I normally set the temperature to whatever the optimal value is for the yeast I'm using then cover the whole thing in a sleeping bag. In the summer I keep the fermenter in the coolest place I can find while it's fermenting, however during the winter I just keep the Ferm Wrap with temp control hooked up and keep it really well bundled with old sleeping bags. It works real well. I get consistent temperature which keeps the yeast happy. When the yeast is happy, the beer is happy.
I got it! To save money I purchased the STC-1000 aquarium digital mini temperature controller from a place in Hong Kong. $25 paid for the controller including temperature probe and shipping. That's too good to pass up considering I would have to pay about $80 for the equivalent one here in the states, and you'd have to buy the temperature probe separately. I also didn't want to pay a lot for something that I may or may not have gotten to work. It took about a month to receive the package due to extremely bad weather, however that is exactly why I needed it. I'm using it in conjunction with a Ferm-Wrap heat pad so that I can heat my fermenter with out leaving the house heat on. You can save money on the Ferm-Wrap too if you buy it online. The Ferm Wrap Heating pads are the same pads used to keep retile cages warm.
In this photo you can see the heating pad covering the outside of the fermenter.
You can buy different sizes of FlexWatt Tape so you can customize it to your fermenters. I needed one with less width and more length to fit my conical fermenter.
It's also distributes heat better so that you can use it on glass carboys. It's a better alternative to the heat belt which could break glass carboys. The FermWrap can also be insulated on one side, so you can still wrap a towel around your fermenter after you get it all set up.
If you want to use your temperature controller as a refrigerator controller. It works for that as well. It has dual functionality so you can use it to control a heater and a refrigerator at the same time. When the temperature drops below set value it turns on power to the heater, and when the temperature gets above set value it turns on power to the refrigerator.
So I got the STC-1000 and after a little trial and error I was able to get it wired up. I used this diagram DIAGRAM LINK and it worked for me. As usual when I first got it, I tried to wire it up with out using the diagram and just wasted about 30min. After that, I looked at the diagrams and wired it up correctly. It uses a direct negative to the heater with a controlled on/off switch for the positive power. It's very basic. The digital display is in Celsius, which is weird considering I like the Fahrenheit scale better for brewing. Fahrenheit is a large enough range that you don't have to mess with decimals. Also I have all of the land mark values memorized in Fahrenheit. I really don't know how much more memorization my brain can handle, but I suppose a few Celsius values wont overload it. I recommend this temp controller for anyone new who hasn't used these devices before. They're a good unit to learn on.
However I have not used the other types of temperature controllers, so a direct comparison from me is not available.
I'm in between ferments right now so I don't have the FermWrap on however, here are some pics. I will show a pick of it with the FermWrap as soon as I can. In the mean time check it out.
I just wired up a second unit. The cost for a unit is $25 for the digital temperature controller with temp probe
Controller with Probe $25
Extention cord $2
Plug for Heat Pad $9
Heat Pad Tape $9
Total $45
That's really not bad. Less than the price of a glass carboy and almost as essential. I can honestly say that temperature control over the ferment is very important to obtaining a good tasting beer.
I normally set the temperature to whatever the optimal value is for the yeast I'm using then cover the whole thing in a sleeping bag. In the summer I keep the fermenter in the coolest place I can find while it's fermenting, however during the winter I just keep the Ferm Wrap with temp control hooked up and keep it really well bundled with old sleeping bags. It works real well. I get consistent temperature which keeps the yeast happy. When the yeast is happy, the beer is happy.
Honey Blonde Ale
Feb. 5th 2011
On monday, I'm going to make a Honey Blonde Ale. This style is characterized by lightly hopped, slight to heavy honey flavor, yellow or gold in color with medium to heavy carbonation. At least that's what I'm going for. I'm using Honey malts for the honey flavor that it gives and also some actual honey because it will provide me with some "street cred" when someone asks me, "What's in it?"
I haven't confirmed all of the quantities, but I think I've nailed down these ingredients:
ACTUAL:
Name: Beeze Neeze Honey Blonde Ale
Size: 15 Gal Batch
Fermentables:
27 Lbs Pale (Cambrinus)
3 Lbs Honey Malts
1 Lbs Cara-Pils
1 Lbs Bulk Honey
Hops:
4 oz Sincoe Pellets 12.2 AA @ 60min
Other:
3Tbsp Irish Moss
That's it. It seems like a very simple recipe. I'll Mash-in at 160F (Mash Temp around 153F) That should produce more unfermentable sugars that will sweeten it up a little, at least more so that Mashing-in at 155F (Mash Temp around 148F).
Since I've never made this style before it will be nice to keep it simple. This is also the first Ale that I will not use Crystal Malts in. I've been interested in trying a recipe that doesn't use them, because I really don't know what Crystal Malt flavor is in the flavoring of the ales.
Feb. 7th 2011
I did it, and it came out perfectly. The color is sunset gold, and it tastes like honey. The best part is that the Starting Gravity is 1.050. It was simply a perfect Mash and Boil. On top of that I have it fermenting in my 15gal conical fermenter and I have the temperature controlled at 68F. keeping the temperature constant was sort of hard before I had the FermWrap and Digital Temperature Controller. Finally to top if all off. I can keg this beer, I've always prefered fresh kegged beer as opposed to bottled. So i'll check in, in about 3 weeks to let you know how it turned out.
March 1st 2011
The Beeze Neeze Honey Blonde Ale is now on tap. It's has been a very good tasting beer to have during the last 2 weeks, and this weekend it is going to a Kegger. The Blonde Ale really is a style that is easy to brew and very tasty. Adding honey malts to the recipe to make it a honey blonde really added some great flavor. When making a honey blonde I would suggest staying with the 1lb honey malts/5gal. This is a good mellow area for the honey flavor. I added real honey to the recipe, but I think I may remove that next time. Honey adds wax and oils to the beer, which darken the beer and leave a precipitate in the bottom of the glass. I think there is also a tart taste, however I'll have to verify that the next time I brew it. Although by class the blonde ales are suppose to have a minimal amount of hops I think I would double up the hops added. The last thing I would tweek would be the mash temp. I would lower it 5 degrees F. However those are small changes to this amazing beer. The beer comes in a 5.25% ABV.
On monday, I'm going to make a Honey Blonde Ale. This style is characterized by lightly hopped, slight to heavy honey flavor, yellow or gold in color with medium to heavy carbonation. At least that's what I'm going for. I'm using Honey malts for the honey flavor that it gives and also some actual honey because it will provide me with some "street cred" when someone asks me, "What's in it?"
I haven't confirmed all of the quantities, but I think I've nailed down these ingredients:
ACTUAL:
Name: Beeze Neeze Honey Blonde Ale
Size: 15 Gal Batch
Fermentables:
27 Lbs Pale (Cambrinus)
3 Lbs Honey Malts
1 Lbs Cara-Pils
1 Lbs Bulk Honey
Hops:
4 oz Sincoe Pellets 12.2 AA @ 60min
Other:
3Tbsp Irish Moss
That's it. It seems like a very simple recipe. I'll Mash-in at 160F (Mash Temp around 153F) That should produce more unfermentable sugars that will sweeten it up a little, at least more so that Mashing-in at 155F (Mash Temp around 148F).
Since I've never made this style before it will be nice to keep it simple. This is also the first Ale that I will not use Crystal Malts in. I've been interested in trying a recipe that doesn't use them, because I really don't know what Crystal Malt flavor is in the flavoring of the ales.
Feb. 7th 2011
I did it, and it came out perfectly. The color is sunset gold, and it tastes like honey. The best part is that the Starting Gravity is 1.050. It was simply a perfect Mash and Boil. On top of that I have it fermenting in my 15gal conical fermenter and I have the temperature controlled at 68F. keeping the temperature constant was sort of hard before I had the FermWrap and Digital Temperature Controller. Finally to top if all off. I can keg this beer, I've always prefered fresh kegged beer as opposed to bottled. So i'll check in, in about 3 weeks to let you know how it turned out.
March 1st 2011
The Beeze Neeze Honey Blonde Ale is now on tap. It's has been a very good tasting beer to have during the last 2 weeks, and this weekend it is going to a Kegger. The Blonde Ale really is a style that is easy to brew and very tasty. Adding honey malts to the recipe to make it a honey blonde really added some great flavor. When making a honey blonde I would suggest staying with the 1lb honey malts/5gal. This is a good mellow area for the honey flavor. I added real honey to the recipe, but I think I may remove that next time. Honey adds wax and oils to the beer, which darken the beer and leave a precipitate in the bottom of the glass. I think there is also a tart taste, however I'll have to verify that the next time I brew it. Although by class the blonde ales are suppose to have a minimal amount of hops I think I would double up the hops added. The last thing I would tweek would be the mash temp. I would lower it 5 degrees F. However those are small changes to this amazing beer. The beer comes in a 5.25% ABV.
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