The Waiting Game

It's Tuesday and I have just transferred the last of the S.H.A. into a secondary to sit for a couple of weeks until the big day.  Until then, I've got the remainder of the Fool's Golden and an interesting batch of Gelblicht (some of which is in growlers in the basement, and some of which is still in a bright tank upstairs) to mull over.  When that runs out... I hope I will have the will-power to not tap into one of these beautiful batches.  If this rain keeps up, I don't think I will make it.

I've also been doing a bit of studying of Newton's Cooling Law just to see if I am able to predict when my wort cools to about 75F post boil.  So far I figure it takes about 10 hours for a 212F wort to get down to 75 without any help, but I may have rounded "e" to too few places to be really accurate.  I don't have any real reason to be doing this figuring because I just picked up a wort-chiller, but... I'd be a good thing to know.  I'm just not sure if I need to find the specific heat of my wort.  This is beginning to sound like an episode of the Big Bang Theory.

So... THIS is why I need a Wort Chiller. The time is in hours and the Temp is in degrees Fahrenheit.

Lots to Say (nothing to tell)

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to work with Andrew and Ben up at Federal Jack's in Kennebunkport, Maine for a day of brewing their Blue Fin Stout.  They use a 7 barrel system, and we were brewing 14 barrels of the stuff... so half on Wednesday, half on Thursday (for the latter I was not around).

• What are some of the things I learned about?
• PH: I need to get me one-a them there water filters, some phosphoric acid and litmus paper.
• Yeast: Find one that works, and stick with it.
• Consistency: Never ever ever ever surprise the consumer.  PH, Gravity, Grain Bill, Carbonation Rate, and Color need to be the same - every time.
• Waste: Goats will eat just about anything... including spent grains.
• Aroma: With a french press and whole leaf hops.
• Mashing: Different grains work better on the bottom of the mash tun to help filter during mash-out... primarily your base grains will be better like the two-row I use because of the thickness of the husk.
• Output: A small brewery like that does between 7 and 14 barrels/day.  That's between 217   and 434 Gallons... it would take me between 44 and 88 days with my current system to brew that.  I will hopefully be cutting that down to 11-22.
• Contract Brewing: It is a possibility.  Chris over at Notch does it.
• Recycled bottles: They come from the mid-west somewhere.
• Taxes: They only come into the picture when there is a transaction.  Such as handing over your kegs to a distributer. 
• Corrections: It is possible to correct a gravity that is too high by adding water, but only up to 3% of the total volume.
• Water: Breweries use way more water than you might even believe.

Then on Thursday it was up to Shipyard Brewing in Portland, Maine.  We took the "behind the scenes" tour of the facility from soup-to-nuts.  What a great place!  Can't wait until that Monkey Fist hits the shelves!


Back in Bevtown we found out that there is a possible location on Elliot Street that is zoned correctly and available... so - keep your fingers crossed!

Next week... I'm going to brew three... count 'em... THREE batches in a row, and I'm going to see if I can get the consistency that we need to be successful.

The Search for Space

We took a drive down to the airport yesterday to see what was there for space.  As it turns out, the cafe/restaurant that we thought had closed is still in business.  The search for space continues.

A Most Fascinating Read

Having trouble sleeping? When I can't sleep, I read the brewing regulations as set forth by the federal government.  I think I will memorize these.