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Hello and a few questions

 
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JSB




Joined: 17 Oct 2016
Posts: 125
Location: NE Ohio


PostLink    Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 9:46 pm    Post subject: Hello and a few questions Reply with quote


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Hello all and Thank You for a great forum!

I have ZERO brewing experience.... expect for the last week pouring over this site.

From what I gather... electric is my path forward. I just got my Electric Engineering degree a few months ago. When I read Kal's rational for electric... it is spot on for me! I also spent my younger years as a facilities manager of a 1.5 million sq ft facility.

I am handy!

Here is the deck I built last year:


Some plans I drew up and submitted (HOA then ARB then Village Building Dept):


So my long term plan is:

1.Build a Keezer and go the keg route(I live really close to this place http://www.superiorbeveragegroup.com/keg-sales/cleveland.html) (I can get Great Lakes, Southern Tier, and Oszark Blues! )

2.Electric Brewing ( I have started a speadsheet... )

3. Rule the world!

-----

Some questions....

So onto stage two. I can use the Keezer for serving and conditioning/lagering ? ( I am an ale guy)
Then I will also need another fridge/freezer for fermenting (carboy route) (correct?)
How about clarifying? http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/brew-day-step-by-step?page=11

Thanks!
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 12:42 pm    Post subject: Re: Hello and a few questions Reply with quote

JSB wrote:
I can use the Keezer for serving and conditioning/lagering ? ( I am an ale guy)


Sure! All beer benefits from at least a couple of weeks of near freezing temps before serving. I'll often put stuff in the keezer for before it goes on tap and it'll often sit for a few months.

Quote:
Then I will also need another fridge/freezer for fermenting (carboy route) (correct?)

Correct. The serving keezer's usually a few degrees above freezing while fermenting will need to be done at higher temperatures.

I usually ferment in two little fridges:



Most lagers would be done at 50-52F, most ales at 62-66F. There are exceptions of course. Often Belgians are at high temperatures, and some 'hybrid' beers like a Cali Common or Kolsch are fermented between lager and ale temperatures. Take a look at our recipes for complete details: http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/recipes

Once fermentation is done I keg and usually store in my conditioning fridge set to just above freezing (it holds 6 kegs):



In this fridge the keg's hooked up to CO2 to carbonate. That takes about 2 weeks. All beers get better over over this ~2 week conditioning. Some beers (mostly lagers) will then benefit from much longer conditioning (called lagering) for 4-8 weeks to allow clean/crisp flavours to develop.

Then it's put on tap. Sometimes the 6-keg fridge is full so I'll just lager/condition in the serving keezer. While you can technically 'lager' at higher temperatures I find for lagers it works best near freezing. Beer is somewhat fragile. One of the reasons I prefer my own beer to much commercial beer is that I never let it warm up after I've kegged it. It doesn't sit in a hot delivery truck or on a store shelf at room temp or on a long boat ride at warmer temps. When you make it yourself you're in complete control.

Quote:
How about clarifying? http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/brew-day-step-by-step?page=11

Beer will clear on its own. If you want to speed it up, follow the instructions in that link on using gelatin before kegging.

With most ales (especially hoppy ones) these days I'm usually going straight from the fermenter to the keg and skipping the gelatin completely.

I find I'm mostly only using gelatine now with lighter coloured lagers.

If it requires multiple dry hops where the hops are removed, sometimes I'll dry hop in the fermenter then after a few days rack to a 5 gallon glass carboy and add the second dry hops, then keg and add the third in something like this where the hops can be removed later: http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/Stainless-Steel-Dry-Hopper-for-Kegs
The beer will clear on its own so with many racks I'll often not use post-fermentation clarifiers like gelatin. Some say it strips flavour - I haven't noticed that but generally speaking the less you do to the beer, likely the better.

Right now I have a Russian Imperial Stout sitting on some oak cubes in my 5 gallon carboys. It'll sit there for a month so I didn't use any clarifiers as I know in a month's time it'll be crystal clear (as crystal as a ink black stout can be I suppose Wink ).

Did you have a more specific question on clarifying maybe?

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your build! Based on your background you should find it very simple. Many here who have build their own setups (including wiring the control panel) had not done more than screw in a lightbulb in the past and are now happily brewing away...

Hopefully some others will chime in too with their experiences.

Cheers!

Kal

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Walts Malt




Joined: 27 Sep 2013
Posts: 119
Location: Farmington, MN

Drinking: Two Hearted Clone

Working on: Planning my Fall Brewing Schedule


PostLink    Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 9:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kal, what is the make and model of that storage fridge? I'm looking for something similar.
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 9:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Walts Malt wrote:
Kal, what is the make and model of that storage fridge? I'm looking for something similar.

Take a look here for complete details and more pics: http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/brew-day-step-by-step?page=11

(The exact model is no longer available - like cars, they change almost yearly)

Kal

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Our new shop with over 150 new products: shop.TheElectricBrewery.com
We ship worldwide and support our products and customers for life.
Purchasing through our affiliate links helps support our site at no extra cost to you. We thank you!
My basement/bar/brewery build 2.0
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JSB




Joined: 17 Oct 2016
Posts: 125
Location: NE Ohio


PostLink    Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 11:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hmm so you ferment in plastic buckets... I thought you would be using carboys.
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 12:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

JSB wrote:
Hmm so you ferment in plastic buckets... I thought you would be using carboys.

I mostly use a mix of buckets and carboys. Different brewers will use different types of fermentation vessels based mostly on personal preference and convenience, not because one necessarily makes better beer than another.

Take a look at my reasoning/logic here: http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/brew-day-step-by-step?page=11

That said, I did order a couple of these yesterday for when I want to leave beer longer in the primary: http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/Brew-Bucket-Stainless-Steel-Fermenter

Kal

_________________
Our new shop with over 150 new products: shop.TheElectricBrewery.com
We ship worldwide and support our products and customers for life.
Purchasing through our affiliate links helps support our site at no extra cost to you. We thank you!
My basement/bar/brewery build 2.0
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View user's photo album (21 photos)
JSB




Joined: 17 Oct 2016
Posts: 125
Location: NE Ohio


PostLink    Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2016 11:59 pm    Post subject: Re: Hello and a few questions Reply with quote

kal wrote:
Did you have a more specific question on clarifying maybe?

Kal


What temp is clarifying done at?

(thank you for answering... I have two of the books you recommended in my Amazon cart)


Now onto my thoughts on fermenting.

Once again my knowledge on brewing is small... but my thinking says during the Electric Brew stage (HOT), infection rate is low. Now during the fermenting stage, food safety wise we are in the Danger Zone... well that is what fermenting is all about. Therefore I would want my equipment sanitized.... I have a carboy/keg washer on my to be purchased spreadsheet. As you stated plastic could scratch and there could be a vector for infection. Maybe I am overthinking this, but is the not what engineers do?
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:42 am    Post subject: Re: Hello and a few questions Reply with quote

JSB wrote:
What temp is clarifying done at?

Any temp you like. Some will say that it works better cold, but I've had good luck using gelatin at room temp. I often don't use it however as everything will clear given time.

Quote:
Once again my knowledge on brewing is small... but my thinking says during the Electric Brew stage (HOT), infection rate is low.

Infection is impossible as everything is boiled (disinfected). The only place that could introduce something is after the wort is chilled.

[quote]Now during the fermenting stage, food safety wise we are in the Danger Zone... well that is what fermenting is all about. Therefore I would want my equipment sanitized.... I have a carboy/keg washer on my to be purchased spreadsheet. As you stated plastic could scratch and there could be a vector for infection.[/quote[
Sure. It's easier to have an infection with plastic as I state here: http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/brew-day-step-by-step?page=11

That much is true. But if you clean properly, it's a non-issue. I've been using plastic fermenting buckets since the late 1980's for fermentation and have never had issues. Some of my buckets are 20+ years old. If you're concerned however or don't think you can keep them clean, by all means use glass or stainless.

I use a mix of everything myself.

Kal

_________________
Our new shop with over 150 new products: shop.TheElectricBrewery.com
We ship worldwide and support our products and customers for life.
Purchasing through our affiliate links helps support our site at no extra cost to you. We thank you!
My basement/bar/brewery build 2.0
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perogi




Joined: 12 Feb 2012
Posts: 850
Location: NH

Drinking: Perogi Pale, NEIPA, Nutter's Crossing Nut Brown Ale, Edmund Fitzgerald Porter Clone

Working on: Max's Maibock


PostLink    Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2017 12:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome to home brewing!!

I cannot stress more than to have Spike Innovations make your box for you. The wiring is immaculate.
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2017 2:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks perogi!

That would be the control panels here: http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/control-panel
Kits are also available.

Cheers!

Kal

_________________
Our new shop with over 150 new products: shop.TheElectricBrewery.com
We ship worldwide and support our products and customers for life.
Purchasing through our affiliate links helps support our site at no extra cost to you. We thank you!
My basement/bar/brewery build 2.0
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View user's photo album (21 photos)
rcrabb22




Joined: 23 Dec 2010
Posts: 462
Location: Illinois


PostLink    Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2017 3:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

perogi wrote:
Welcome to home brewing!!

I cannot stress more than to have Spike Innovations make your box for you. The wiring is immaculate.


Maybe if I had a little more money I would have considered buying the turn key version of the control panel.
I did not so I bought the kit and I had never attempted building anything like this before. Sure my PIDs are not perfectly aligned and my wiring is "less" organized than Spike Innovations but I know how everything is put together and how it works. I followed Kal's instructions word for word and asked questions on this forum if I was confused. My CP fired up the first time aside from a faulty solder job on the MLT temp probe connector.

When completed the pride I felt building it myself was as the commercial put it, "PRICELESS!"

Either way I do not think you can go wrong.
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JSB




Joined: 17 Oct 2016
Posts: 125
Location: NE Ohio


PostLink    Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 11:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well I did take the plunge....

Final test before silicone and final wire management...

I did have a small issue reading the damn voltmeter pictograph...



That has been corrected



It works!

Now onto clearing more space in the basement.
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