Home brewing thread anyone?

[djlew]

I am bottling again, 32 bottles per batch. The cleaning and filling takes a long time, but I enjoy pouring it into my extra large mug.

You won't hear me argue with that! I totally get it.

 

[Whitenuckler]

Sounds great. I wish I could taste it. I still don't have my 8l oxebars as they are on order. I have started a plan to use the blue sodastream CO2 bottles with my basic regulator I am using for the 16g CO2. I have the top valve for the soda stream and it has a 1/8 NPT. Then my regulator takes 3/8-24. I actually found a brass fitting as a union as have it ordered. I have an extra CO2 line ect. I need to go to my Home Hardware with the top adapter and test the fit. They have knock off brand there which is cheaper than sodastream. I am bottling again, 32 bottles per batch. The cleaning and filling takes a long time, but I enjoy pouring it into my extra large mug.

I am making progress. More parts arrived. I went to the local hardware store and test fitted my adapter on an empty one they had. It fit and I bought one. Now that I have one, I can exchange it for about half the price of a new one. If it all works out I'll buy another one. I decided to add my manual trigger in series so I don't have to play with the regulator knob. The plan is to trigger a pour, and then put the whole think back in the fridge with the keg. I will be able to test it with 4l oxebars. When I get my 8l ones this spring, I may need a new fridge that I can drill holes in and have 3 in there.

 

[Whitenuckler]

I am making progress. More parts arrived. I went to the local hardware store and test fitted my adapter on an empty one they had. It fit and I bought one. Now that I have one, I can exchange it for about half the price of a new one. If it all works out I'll buy another one. I decided to add my manual trigger in series so I don't have to play with the regulator knob. The plan is to trigger a pour, and then put the whole think back in the fridge with the keg. I will be able to test it with 4l oxebars. When I get my 8l ones this spring, I may need a new fridge that I can drill holes in and have 3 in there.

This would make a plumber and gas fitter proud. All I do is disconnect the CO2 from the tapping head, and stick the keg in the fridge. I am burning it seems like two bags a day during this cold snap, but the basements at 73F, and I have a porch facing south with infrared heaters. Too cold to go for a hike though, as it's a nasty wind chill like -30C. Snow storm on the way.

 

[djlew]

I like what I see! Hope you fared OK in the storm. We got hit with about 10 inches of snow.

My wheat ale has been kegged and man... what a difference. So much less work, more control, easy cleanup. had the keg filled with sanitizer, pushed it out with co2 into a bucket, used the bucket for odds and ends to sanitize, beer right into the keg, purged co2, set and forget... done. Should be carbed in a couple days. It was good, because I got to test out the picnic tap and all the goodies and they work great.

I just need to make the lemonade and mix at serving. I am really going for a clone of this delicious radler - Bitburger radler. Low ABV, refreshing. If the wheat is good on its own, that becomes my new wheat base for all of my fruited ales.

 

[Whitenuckler]

I like what I see! Hope you fared OK in the storm. We got hit with about 10 inches of snow.

My wheat ale has been kegged and man... what a difference. So much less work, more control, easy cleanup. had the keg filled with sanitizer, pushed it out with co2 into a bucket, used the bucket for odds and ends to sanitize, beer right into the keg, purged co2, set and forget... done. Should be carbed in a couple days. It was good, because I got to test out the picnic tap and all the goodies and they work great.

I just need to make the lemonade and mix at serving. I am really going for a clone of this delicious radler - Bitburger radler. Low ABV, refreshing. If the wheat is good on its own, that becomes my new wheat base for all of my fruited ales.

Yes, I am very happy with my setup. I ordered a few more parts to clean the build up and get rid of the green masking tape. The band clamps were cheap and sharp so I taped them . Also I had to use a plastic carb cap as a male ball lock to hose connection. I ordered stainless. I hope they get the 8 liter oxebars in soon as I'm going to get 10 of them.

 

[djlew]

Well folks, after force carbing the wheat ale and giving it a try last night... it was amazing. I set it back to serving pressure and let it sit. My wife made a quick lemonade with the lemons we had and I think we nailed it. It was really delicious. I need to make sure I extract some more fermentable sugars in the future, but the flavor was extraordinary. The Citra hops did exactly what I wanted which was to give a little IPA flare without the super hoppy bite. Complimented the lemonade really well. I was cautious because I am not an IPA fan, but do like the citrus, tropical flavors offered in IPAs.

I will be doing a 5 gallon batch of this soon. I might go crazy with confidence and try Nectaron hops instead of Citra and play with the type of lemonade. "Peach Lemonade Shandy" or "Raspberry Lemonade Shandy" type of offerings.

So what... maybe after 3 months of experiments I may have found a pretty solid base recipe for a cream ale and a wheat ale. That's a huge win for me. Great bases for adding additions from the garden or having fun with flavors I find around the grocery store.

Ahhh, a shandy during winter to remind ourselves of simpler times.

 

[djlew]

Had to show yall the beer fridge. Had to make some.... adjustments to the fridge to get the keg to fit but I think it worked out well! I am lucky to have a full sized beer fridge! My wife helped me out too, so bonus points.

 

[Whitenuckler]

Had to show yall the beer fridge. Had to make some.... adjustments to the fridge to get the keg to fit but I think it worked out well! I am lucky to have a full sized beer fridge! My wife helped me out too, so bonus points.

Looks great. My Samsung kitchen fridge is a double door ect, and fairly new, but the shelves go all the way across. I have a big freezer in the bottom. I can't see if yours has a freezer, but I like the split shelves. I think I can only fit one 8l oxebar in one mini fridge so maybe I need to do more 4l ones. I bottled a batch today use in 4 4l oxebars, and 12 bottles. Way faster.

 

[Whitenuckler]

This would make a plumber and gas fitter proud. All I do is disconnect the CO2 from the tapping head, and stick the keg in the fridge. I am burning it seems like two bags a day during this cold snap, but the basements at 73F, and I have a porch facing south with infrared heaters. Too cold to go for a hike though, as it's a nasty wind chill like -30C. Snow storm on the way.

Just did a little clean up on some of the parts. No more masking tape. Had to grind the threads off a SS carbonation cap to cut doen on weight. It is attached to the red hose and the barb fits good. I was using a plastic one before and the barb was too small.

 

[djlew]

Looks great! As good plumbing does, looks like a solved puzzle!

I am drinking this wheat ale away and it is really good. I took a trip to Connecticut, mainly inspired by a really cool brewery I found at the beer store near me. Wife and I had a great time. I've been enjoying their brews for a bit.

Funny enough in the garden thread, I mentioned that I haven't been able to find Meyer lemons in the grocery store... and behold, I found a bag from somewhere in California in my local grocery. First time trying them, they were awesome. I can't wait to grow my own. I am mentioning this because I made lemonade for the wheat ale to make a shandy and it was really good!