Next weekend's project...

[azasadny]

Next weekend, I'll be brewing a 5 gallon batch of Porter-style ale for my neighbors. I'll be doing the brewing outside, with the help of a natural gas line, King Cooker, 10 gallon stainless steel pots and 100ft of copper wort chiller. I'll put the beer in a 5 gallon Cornelius keg (old Coke cannister), and put CO2 on it after fermentation has been completed.

I'll post pics of the process in case anyone out there may want to take up the homebrewing hobby as it's very easy, fun and rewarding. I'll get all of the supplies at a local brewing shop this week and get the gear ready for next weekend's activities...

[Jandrews]

Subscribed! Lots of pics, please!!

JA

[azasadny]

John,
Will do! I'll document the whole process. I'm doing an "extract" brew, not an all grain, just to keep the process moving. At some point, I'll do an all grain brew and document that, too.

[azasadny]

I brewed 5 gallons of Porter in the backyard yesterday. It was 100 degrees and my neighbor likes a nice Porter, so I took advantage of a beautiful day to brew a batch for him. Here's the process..
The recipe... (I did a full boil...)

Bittering hops... added during the boil

Aroma hops...added in last minute of boil and during cool down (wort chill)

Aroma hops (my favorite!)

The yeastie beasties...

10gal boiling vessel. Note the temp gauge and ballcock valve...

170 degrees and climbing. I can bring 6 gallons of water to boil in 30 min using the King Kooker and natural gas...

[azasadny]

My "brewery"...

Close-up...

Starting to boil... I boil for 1 hour...

Specialty grains, cracked at the brew shop...

Boiling!

Moving along...

The wort chiller. I hook up one end to the garden hose and cht cold tap water runs through the 50ft of copper tubing to cool the wort down to 76 degrees in about 30min. The hot water (output) gets put into the pool!


More pics later...

[azasadny]

Malt extract and hops are boiling vigorously for 1 hour...

Wort chiller cooling things down with cold tap water running through 50ft of copper tubing.

Cooled wort going into fermerter, the swirling provide aeration for the yeast...







Fermenting this AM...

After the fermentation is done, I'll move the "flat" beer into a 5 gal stainless steel Cornelius keg and then put in CO2 and put into the reefer to get cold. A few days later, we'll have freshly brewed Porter ale!

[Jandrews]

You are making me salivate, Art!! Those Cascade hops are great...they say they are mostly for aroma, but I like the citrus overtones that they impart on the beer as well. My other favorite hops are Simcoe...they give a real grapefruit finish, which is great in some of the pale/amber ales, particularly in the summer!

One question...is that fermenter plastic? Do they make glass fermenters? Just wondering if plastic does anything to the flavor? I have never brewed, but I have been thinking about it for a long time. Your "brewery" looks great!!

Report back when you tap the first draft!

Thanks,

JA

[azasadny]

JA,
Yep, the primary fermenter is plastic and it was from a kit called "Mr Beer". I've used these for over 100 batches of beer and the plastic works well but just for primary and secondary short-term fermenting. For long term storage, use stainless steel or glass.

Brewing is easy and can be done just about anywhere, even at the backyard pool on a hot summer day. The 10 gallon stainless steel (PolarWare) boiling vessel makes the process really easy. The ingredients cost $35 and we'll have 5 gallons of cold, carbonated Porter in a week to 10 days. I've never tasted Simcoe hops, but the "grapefruit" flavor is great, especially in a IPA.

I can't drink beer (liver condition) but I like to brew for my neighbors. I'm the most popular neighbor in my area!!

[azasadny]

One important thing... Everything has to be very clean and you don't want to use anything abrasive, so as not to scratch the plastic and give the bacteria a place to grow....

[Tim Hancock]

Pretty cool set-up Art!

[azasadny]

Tim,
Thanks, it works well and suits my needs. Nothing fancy...

[Shuie]

Awesome. I'm brewing today too. 10 gallons of my summer beer recipe (Kolsch grain bill w/orange & coriander spice and US-05 yeast). Hooray for beer!

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by azasadny

One important thing... Everything has to be very clean and not give the bacteria a place to grow....

True, words to live by

Art, the most impressive thing to me is the use of your pool. Genius finds the simple things, combines them, and...beer!

Well done.

[john70t]

(Time: 2:15pm. Date:7/3/11. Pavlovian effect has initiated.)

[syncroid]

Nice write up Art! I wish I was a little closer. I'd volunteer my services as a taste tester.

[TimT]

Do they make glass fermenters?

Yes... I use the glass jugs that were used for water coolers, I have 5 gal and 6 gal, for fermenting or aging. There are 10 gal glass carboys available, but they are to heavy to handle when filled with wort.

[azasadny]

Thanks, guys!

If you're going to use glass fermenters (carboys), but the straps that enable you to safely handle the big glass jug, especially when it's filled.

I really like the plastic fermenters, but you MUST NOT scratch the interior plastic surface or bacteria will grow. I clean with hot water, bleach and soft cloth.

Brewing is similar to reloading your own ammo, except it's not quite as detail-oriented. Brewing is a little more "relaxed" as you can do other things while the boiling is going on. I set everything up by the pool because my natural gas line is there for the pool heater. The cold water that runs through the wort chiller gets hot and it goes into the pool for a "sustainable" process!

I'm going to brew a mead (fermented honey) in the fall and I'll ferment it in a stainless steel Cornelius keg. I'm saving now for the 30lbs of unprocessed, raw honey. It's expensive and I need a lot of it for 6 gallons of mead.

[Shuie]

The best tools I have found for handling carboys are milk crates. Still, I do not use glass. I just dropped a better bottle in my garage while sanitizing. I'm really glad those are made of plastic. If it had been a glass carboy I'd probably be bleeding out on the garage floor or at least spending the rest of the day in the ER.

[azasadny]

I like the braided nylon straps that completely surround the glass carboy and have handles on them, but glass and brewing do not go together for me, just too dangerous. I have more than 50 stainless steel Cormelius kegs (formerly Coke and Pepsi kegs) that I can use whenever I want.

[azasadny]

Fermenting like crazy... smells like beer in my garage!