West Coast Brewer Home Brewing Blog

Tag: home brewing (Page 1 of 13)

Fermentation and Oxidization

Oxidation is a chemical reaction that occurs when a substance reacts with oxygen. It is a process where atoms or molecules lose electrons to oxygen or other oxidizing agents. This reaction can alter the chemical composition and properties of the substance. It is important to avoid oxygen exposure during beer fermentation. When oxygen comes in contact with fermenting or fermented beer it can cause several negative effects including negative impacts on the quality and flavor of the beer. Here are a few reasons why oxygen should be minimized during fermentation:

1. Off-flavors: Oxygen can react with the compounds in beer, leading to the development of off-flavors. This is particularly true during fermentation when the yeast is actively converting sugars into alcohol. Oxidation reactions can produce undesirable flavors such as cardboard, stale or sherry-like notes, and a loss of freshness.

2. Stalled fermentation: Oxygen exposure can potentially disrupt the fermentation process and lead to a stalled or incomplete fermentation. Yeast requires an oxygen-free environment to perform its job effectively. Oxygen can inhibit yeast activity and growth, leading to sluggish or stuck fermentation where the yeast is unable to fully convert sugars into alcohol.

3. Spoilage: Oxygen can also contribute to the growth of spoilage microorganisms. While yeast is a desirable microorganism in beer fermentation, other bacteria and wild yeast strains can thrive in the presence of oxygen. These unwanted microorganisms can produce off-flavors and spoil the beer, resulting in an unpleasant taste and potential health risks.

To prevent oxygen exposure during fermentation it is suggested that a brewers take precautions. The use of a sealed fermentation vessels, such as fermenters with airlocks or conical tanks with controlled gas exchange is your budget allows for it . It is also suggested that you purge your keg with carbon dioxide or nitrogen to create a protective atmosphere for your beer. Additionally, careful transfer and handling techniques are employed to minimize the introduction of oxygen during and after the fermentation process.

By avoiding oxygen exposure during fermentation, brewers can maintain the desired flavors, aromas, and quality of the beer. The above photo is the system that I use. After I transfer the wort from the brew kettle and pitch the yeast in the conical fermenter, the only time that the fermenting beer has the opportunity to come into contact with oxygen is when I add dry hops.  I try to do this while fermentation is still occurring so that there is a layer of krausen containing CO2 filled bubbles to purge any oxygen that may have entered the fermenter while the lid was briefly off. I use CO2 to transfer the finished beer into a keg that has been purged with the CO2 that was created during fermentation.

Save 25% On a BrewZilla Home Brewing System

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Information on the 9 Gallon BrewZilla 120v Homebrew System from MoreBeer.com

We’ve seen a lot of all-in-one systems over the years, but none are as feature-packed and affordable as the Brew Zilla. While other units simply maintain your set temperature, the Brew Zilla home breweryfeatures a sophisticated digital controller which can be programmed with a full mash schedule, executing each step automatically. The built-in pump will continuously recirculate wort during the mash for more even heat distribution and higher efficiency, but thanks to the integrated camlock fitting, it has even more functionality. Add the optional whirlpool arm to make your late hop additions pop and speed up chilling time, or connect a camlock fitting and tubing to transfer wort to your fermenter. These are just a couple of reasons why MoreBeer loves the BrewZilla, but there are so many More!

Best Features:

Sophisticated digital controller capable of programmed mash steps, boil addition timers and delayed start
Built-in pump for constant recirculation during mash or whirlpooling and transferring with optional accessories
Full depth malt pipe for higher mash efficiency and capable of running small batches without a pricey adapter
Multiple power modes to cover each step of the brew day – low power to gently heat your mash up to full power for a rolling boil
Wort chiller included! Perfectly sized for this system and adds even more value to your purchase of the Brew Zilla
High capacity brewhouse – with a volume of over 9 gallons, you can fit more grain and more wort to make
Single wall design doesn’t trap in heat – chill your wort quickly after the boil!
Super convenient bottom handle makes lifting/pouring a breeze
This is the best price for an all-in-one brewing system you’ll find, period.
If you want to jump into all grain brewing right from your first batch, or as an upgrade from malt extract brewing, the Brew Zilla is a complete turn key solution. The Brew Zilla is an all-in-one electric brewery that has built-in elements for heating and boiling, programmable mash schedule and delayed start, a built-in pump for recirculation, an onboard water resistant control panel for setting and monitoring temperatures, a removable grain basket, and a built-in spigot for transferring. It is extremely portable and uses 110V power so it can be used nearly anywhere.

The BrewZilla  version 3.1.1 unit features an upgraded main circuit board that changes how the automatic step mashing functions. Now when moving from step to step, the timer for each step will not begin counting down until the programmed temperature is reached. This means more accurate mash schedules than ever before! The new board also introduces boil addition timers so you’ll never miss the mark for hop additions.

To get the Wort Chiller Connection Kit for free, add the item to your cart along with the Brew Zilla and use code ZILLAKIT at checkout.

New accessory! Check out the BrewZilla Whirlpool Arm, which uses the unit’s internal pump to recirculate and spin the wort, improving hop extraction and chill times. No more stirring!

Automatic Step Mashing & Delayed Start!
One of the coolest features of the BrewZilla is the ability to program the unit with up to 6 individual temperatures and durations so you can step mash precisely how you desire. Simply press the “S1-S6” button to select the stage you want to adjust, and use the temp, time and +/- buttons to program the stage. If you have less than 6 stages in your mash schedule, program the stages you want to skip with 00:00 as the time and the controller will automatically move on to the next step. When all the stages are complete, the unit will sound an alarm and hold the last set temperature.

The programmable stages can also be used to set a delayed start of up to 23 hours in advance so that you can have your water hot and ready to go when you get home from work or wake up in the morning. In order to do this, fill the unit with strike water and program the controller with two steps. Step 1 should be programmed at a temperature lower than the unheated strike water (so the elements will remain off), and the duration should be programmed for however long you want the delay. Then program Step 2 with your desired strike water temperature and a duration of 1-2 hours, giving the BrewZilla ample time to heat up and giving you a margin of error in case you hit the snooze button the morning of brew day.

Recirculating Mash with Full Depth Malt Pipe
The built-in magnetic drive pump easily recirculates wort during the mash. We recommend getting some silicone tubing to go with the recirculation arm. This allows you more control over the recirculation and you can then use the pump to transfer your wort to your fermenter. As with any mash, be sure to stir your grain very thoroughly after mashing-in so you start out with an even temperature throughout the grain bed.

Some competing models advertise their perforated malt pipes as “high flow”, but what they don’t mention is how this affects efficiency. When recirculating the mash, wort will escape through the side perforations rather than passing through the grain at the bottom-most end of the malt pipe which can lead to lower efficiency. The BrewZilla’s malt pipe is designed so that recirculating wort must pass through the entire grain bed before escaping through the false bottom and being pumped over the top of the grain bed again. If you’re worried about the flow rate, simply add a pound or two of rice hulls to your grain bill. This is especially recommended when brewing with a high level of wheat, oat, or flaked grains.

Power & Heating Control
Dual heating elements run off of a single 110 volt plug and have individual switches allowing for more control over the heating process. One element is 1000 watts and the other is 500 for a combined 1500 watts! Use both when you need to ramp up the temperature quickly either at the start to get to your mash temp or to go from your mash temp to boiling. Use only one of the elements when you want to hold a temperature.

We highly recommend adding the optional BrewZilla Neoprene Jacket to help reduce heating times and maintain a more vigorous boil. The extra thick neoprene jacket is custom designed to insulate the entire kettle portion of the BrewZilla while staying out of the way of the ball valve and handles. The jacket can help you acheive up to 10% faster heat up times and cut heat loss from the boiler in half. And when it comes time to cool your wort after the boil, simply remove the jacket! While other units boast a double wall design for better heat retention, this actually becomes a disadvantage when it comes to chilling.

The digital control panel makes it easy to see the current temperature and set the temperature you want. The digital controller is also water resistant so don’t worry about spills or some water dripping down the side. This controller is built for brewing!

The brewery also includes a stainless steel malt pipe with false bottom allowing you to easily shift from mash tun to boil kettle during your brew day. The malt pipe includes a handle to lift it out and tabs at the base so you can set the malt pipe over the kettle to let the wort drain out. It also has feet at its base to raise the malt pipe slightly off the base and help prevent clogging.

The included stainless steel wort chiller is shipped with bare ends so you can set it up for your situation. We list below the most common tubing and fittings to connect to a hose, hose bib, or faucet.

What MoreBeer! loves about this product: Homebrewing is trending in the direction of all-in-one, all-grain brewing systems and the BrewZilla is the ultimate value. The cost is half of the next comparable system with programmable mash steps and nearly the same as buying converted coolers and a kettle. We’ve brewed on all the systems and we can truly say the BrewZilla is the easiest to use. We feel confident that a lot of first time brewers could buy this and use it with ease. At the same time quite a few of our experienced, all-grain brewing staff are buying it to brew at home. The unit is extremely compact because the pump is built-in to the bottom of the unit. You can move it around with ease which makes it perfect for guys and gals that have space constraints. Someone on the team also mentioned how they like that you can drain it via gravity without having to use the pump. All in all a great buy and highly recommended. Please note you will need a few extra pieces of hardware to connect the wort chiller and at least 2′ of silicone tubing for the sparge.

Use the Pump for More Than Just Recirculation!
One of the surprisingly handy features of the BrewZilla is that the recirculation pipe features a female camlock. This allows you to hook up other accessories and use the unit’s pump for more than just recirculating wort. With a male camlock and silicone tubing, for example, you can use the internal pump to push wort through a plate chiller or counterflow chiller. Check out our selection of camlock fittings here.

Brew Zilla Features:

Stainless steel construction
9 gallon total capacity with a finished beer output of 5-6 gallons
Digital temperature controller
Automatic step mashing with 6 programmable stages
110V power and plug
Dual heating elements for total control (1000 watts and 500 watts)
Stainless steel 1/2 inch ball valve for draining (dont have to use the pump)
Immersion wort chiller included
Stainless steel malt pipe/basket
Stamped in volume markers
Glass lid
Magnetic drive pump for recirculation
Recirculation arm
Bottom handle for easy lifting and pouring
Upgraded rocker switches
Temperature reads in °F or °C (press and hold temp button for several seconds to adjust)

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Brew Your Own Magazine Promo Code

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Electric 5 Gallon Homebrewing Systems

Electric Home Beer Brewing Systems

Electric Home Beer Brewing Systems

 

 

The Best Electric Home Brewing Systems Under $1,000

There are two main methods of home brewing beer. One is called extract and the other is known as all grain home brewing. With extract, you use either powdered malt sugar or malt syrup that has been extracted for you. With all grain home brewing, you extract the starches from the grain yourself and then convert them to sugar during the mashing process. All grain home brewing is considered to be more advance than extract brewing since it is more complex and you have greater control over the beer you make.

If you have tried extract home brewing and are ready to move to all grain, I have created a list of my top 3 all in one turnkey all grain home beer brewing systems. For my list I have chosen 3 affordable home brewing systems that will allow you to brew 5 gallon batches of beer.

 

RoboBrew Home Brewing System

RoboBrew Home Brewing System

#1 The RoboBrew Homebrewing System $479

The RoboBrew v3 is an electric home brewing system costs $479 and comes with everything that you need to start brewing all grain beer recipes. The RoboBrew features a built-in magnetic drive pump to recirculate the wort during the mash for high efficient brewing. The RoboBrew also features dual electric heating elements run off of a single 110 volt plug and has individual switches allowing for more control over the heating process.

The RoboBrew’s digital control panel makes it easy to see the temperature as you brew. The Robo Brew’s digital temperature controller is also water resistant so you don’t need to worry about spills or some water dripping down the side. The Robo Brew home brewery includes a stainless steel malt pipe with false bottom allowing you to quickly shift from mash tun to boil kettle. The Robobrew v3 even includes a stainless steel wort chiller is shipped with bare ends so you can set it up for your situation.

The RoboBrew costs $479 and can be purchased here.

Information on the RoboBrew was found at HomebrewingCoupon.com

 

GrainFather Homebrewing System

GrainFather Homebrewing System

#2 The GrainFather Home Brewing System $998

The GrainFather home beer brewing system is an electric home brewing system costs $998. The Grain Father home beer brewing is an all in one Brewing System with a hefty feature set! The Grain Father has a small footprint and uses standard 120 v power. Mashing in the Grain Father takes place in the inner Stainless Steel brewing basket. The wort recirculates through the perforated plate. This Grain Father electric home brewing system includes a counter flow homebrewing chiller for cooling wort post boil. Best of all, the Grain Father uses the Connect Control Box in conjunction with the Connect App for the ultimate home beer brewing experience. The control box has Bluetooth connection to your mobile device so it can be controlled remotely making your brew day a snap.

The GrainFather Home Brewery Can Be Purchased Here

Information on the GrainFather brewing system was found at HomebrewingCoupon.com

 

Brewers Edge Homebrewing System

Brewers Edge Homebrewing System

The Brewers Edge Electric Home Brewing System $299

If you are looking for the most cost effective all grain home brewing system available, look no further. The Brewer’s Edge plugs into any 110 volt GFI household outlet. The Mash and Boil features double wall stainless steel construction. This design enhancement conserves heat and lets you reach a boil faster! You can achieve a rolling boil with only 110 volts and 1600 watts! The Brewers Edge’s precise thermostat and internal sparge basket lets you mash and boil in the same vessel.

The Brewers Edge Home Brewing System Can Be Purchased Here

Information on the Brewers Edge home brewing system was found at HomebrewingCoupon.com and https://homebrewingbeer.quora.com

 

 

Home Brewing A Hazy Session IPA Tomorrow!

It feels like it has been way too long but, I’m brewing up a new batch of homebrew tomorrow! For this batch I’m converting one of my old session IPAs into a hazy. I’m excited to see how it turns out.

One of the modifications is using Wyeast London Ale III for the yeast. I’m also adding a pound of flaked oats, and making modifications to the hop additions, especially during fermentation.

I will be sure to post the recipe if it comes out well!

For the yeast starter I also used Fast Pitch canned wort.  It certainly speeds up the yeast starter process since I do not need to spend the time boiling and chilling the wort. I open the can, place the wort in a sanitized flask, add the same quantity of water, pitch the yeast, placed the sanitized stir rod, place it on the stir plate and that is all she wrote!

The New RoboBrew v3 Electric Brewery Is Now In Stock And SHIPS FREE!

robobrew home brewery promo code coupon

robobrew home brewery promo code coupon

RoboBrew v3 Promo Code Link: ROBOBREW PROMO CODE LINK
Right now, while supplied last at More Beer, you can get FREE Shipping and A FREE Wort Chiller when you purchase the all new Robo Brew 3 electric home brewing system.  The RoboBrew home brewery is an all in one electric and digital home brewery. It features built in electric heating elements for heating and boiling water and wort. It also has a built in home brewing pump for recirculation! The onboard water resistant control panel allows for setting and monitoring brewing temperatures, making for a simplified homebrew day!  The removable grain basket makes cleaning the RoboBrew a snap and a built in spigot makes transferring your wort easy. The RoboBrew v3 Electric Home Brewery is loaded with high end home brewing features.  Here are some of the specs on the New RoboBrew 3 home brewery:
Robo Brew Home Brewery

Robo Brew Home Brewery

ROBOBREW 3 HOME BREWERY

  • Stainless steel construction
  • Large 9 gallon total capacity with a finished beer output of 5-6 gallons
  • Digital temperature controller
  • Standard 110 v power
  • Dual heating elements for total control (1000 watts and 500 watts)
  • Stainless steel 1/2 inch ball valve
  • FREE Immersion wort chiller included
  • Stainless steel malt basket
  • Volume markers
  • Glass lid
  • Magnetic drive pump for recirculation
  • Recirculation arm
  • Temperature reads in °F or °C
The Robo Brew 3 All Electric Home Beer Brewing System is the ultimate portable all grain home brewery! The RoboBrew uses standard 110 v power so you can brew beer anywhere. The built in magnetic drive pump easily recirculates the wort during the mash. Dual heating elements run off of a single 110 volt plug and have individual switches allowing for more control over the heating process. One element is 1000 watts and the other is 500 for a combined 1500 watts! Use both when you need to ramp up the temperature quickly either at the start to get to your mash temp or to go from your mash temp to boiling.

Click the following link to take advantage of this More Beer Coupon Code:

ROBO BREW FREE SHIPPING PROMO CODE LINK

RoboBrew 3 Electric Home Brewing System

RoboBrew 3 Electric Home Brewing System

West Coast Brewer NEIPA Hazy IPA Version 2

West Coast Brewer NEIPA – Hazy IPA Recipe v2.0

We just finished brewing our most recent batch of beer!  For this one, we took another crack at a Hazy IPA. Hazy IPA’s have quickly become one of my very favorite styles to both brew and consume.  The combination of tropical hops and fruity esters from the yeast end up creating a hoppy fruitiness that is difficult to resists!

Just a word of caution, if you choose to brew this recipe, beware that there is a good deal of oats and wheat in it and depending on your system it could cause sparge and recirculation issues.  I personally experienced that with this batch.  It may be wise to add some rice hulls to the mash to help prevent it from sticking. It did finally clear, but it was a struggle for a little while. I ended up adding an extra gallon of water to the mash to help clear it.

Ss BrewTech Stainless Steel Conical Homebrewing Fermenter

Ss BrewTech Stainless Steel Conical Homebrewing Fermenter

Sanitizing the stainless steel Ss BrewTech conical fermenter. I ended up chopping the feet off of mine and using a flat top so that it fits inside my cest freezer for fermentation. I also traded out the racking arm for More Beer’s Ultimate Racking Arm solution. I am super happy with it and also have a 14 gallon version.

 

Here is the post boil whirlpool after I added the additional hops in at flame out!  I let it whirlpool for approximately 15 minutes. I added a weldless stainless steel whirlpool arm from More Beer and it has worked out really well for me.  It was easy to install into my kettle and has been completely leek free!

 

The TrubTrapper Post Boil

The Trub Trapper Post Boil

This is probably my best recent purchase! The Trub Trapper did an incredible job on this batch and really exceeds expectations when I use it in conjunction with a whirlpool process.  It captures 90%+ of the hops and trub so that I can draw in clean wort to my fermentor with out worry!

Here is my West Coast Brewer Hazy IPA v2.0 beer recipe!

If you brew it, please let me know how it turns out for you!

Beer Name:  West Coast Brewer Hazy IPA v2.0
Beer Style: New England IPA / NEIPA / Hazy IPA / Vermont Style IPA
Recipe Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 5 Gallons
Mash Type: Infusion
(60 Min) 150F Mash with recirculation
(10 Min) 169F Mash Out
1 tsp Calcium Chloride
1/2 tsp Gypsum / Calcium Sulfate
Grain Bill:
12 LBS Pale 2 Row US
2 LBS Flaked Oats
2 LBS Flaked Wheat
1 LBS Flaked Malt
1 LBS Honey Malt
Hops:
1 oz Mosaic – 5 Minutes
2 oz Citra – 5 Minutes
1 oz Mandarina Bavaria – 5 Minutes
1 oz Citra – 0 Minutes – Whirlpool for 15 Minutes
1 oz Mosaic – 0 Minutes – Whirlpool for 15 Minutes
Other: DO NOT USE A CLARIFIER
Yeast: London Ale III Wyeast  #1318
Fermentation:2 Week Primary @ 72F
– I ferment this at a slightly higher that usual temperature to increased ester production
and to create a more active fermentation)
On day 3 of active fermentation make the following hop additions
2 oz Mandarina Bavaria
On day 7 of fermentation make the following hop additions
2 oz Mandarina Bavaria
2 oz Citra
Once fermentation has completed or on day 10, cold crash and transfer to keg or bottle.

Installed New Blichmann RipTide Home Brewing Pump Upgrades

 

I initially purchased my March home brewing pumps about 7 years ago, well before stainless steel homebrew pumps were really a thing. Once stainless pumps became more popular, I considered upgrading, but my existing pumps worked fine and I could not justify the cost.  Then Blichmann released their RipTide home brewing pumps which feature a tri-clamp attached head!!! In my opinion that is a big deal because it allows you to easily gain access to the pump cavity for easy cleaning.  As it stood, I had to rely on hot water and PBW to do all of the cleaning unless I wanted to spend an extra 30 minutes breaking down, clean and then reassembling each of my March pumps; which is really not something I wanted to do after a long day of beer brewing.  The one down side was that a new Blichmann Rip Tide home brewing pump will run you $199+. So I waited…..

Then, Blichmann release the RipTide Upgrade Kit! The Rip Tide Upgrade Kit allows you to upgrade some of the most common existing home brewing pumps to a Blichmann Rip Tide, for just $99. With this RipTide Kit, you can upgrade your March or Chugger pump with the Riptide’s Tri-Clamp housing.  The RipTide’s head is made from stainless steel and can rotate 365 degrees to fit almost any home brewing setup. The kit also comes with Blichmann’s  integral linear flow valve, which provides superior control and eliminates the need for an upper ball valve in must situations.

 

Blichmann Rip Tide Home Brewing Pump Upgrade Kit

Blichmann Rip Tide Home Brewing Pump Upgrade Kit

Here is a list of home brewing pumps that the Blichmann Riptide upgrade kit is compatible with.

More Beer Homebrewing Pumps:

H340, H331, H332, H315HF, H350 and H375

Chugger Homebrew Pumps:

CPSS-CI-1 (115V),CPSS-IN-1 (115V), CPSS-IN-2 (230V), CPSS-CI-2 (230V), CPPS-IN-1 (115V), TCPSS-IN (115/230V) and TCPSS-CI (115/230V)

March Home Brewing Pumps:

809-SS-HS, 809-BR-HS, 809-PL-HS, 809-BR-HS-C, 809-PL-HS-C, 809-SS-HS-C, 809-BR, 809-PL, 809-SS, 809-BR-C, 809-PL-C, 809-SS-C, 815-BR, 815-PL, 815-SS, 815-BR-C, 815-PL-C and 815-SS-C

The Blichmann Riptide Upgrade Kit Can Be Purchased Here for $99

 

After verifying that the Blichmann RipTide Upgrade Kit would work with my current March homebrew pumps, I place my order for two of them.  After placing my order, it took about 8 days for them to arrive. I purchased them from More Beer, but the pumps were shipped directly from Blichmann.

RipTide Homebrew Pump Upgrade Kit

RipTide Homebrew Pump Upgrade Kit

Blichmann RipTide Upgrade Kit Installation Instructions

Next step was to read the instructions (which were relatively simple), make sure I had everything needed (which was just a screwdriver, a couple of wrenches and some PTFE thread seal tape. The instructions from Blichmann came in black and white and unfortunately the contrast made it so that it was difficult to see where the washer was supposed to go, so I included some color photos here to help you out if needed. I began by breaking down my existing march pump per the instructions and removing my existing fittings.  It is important that you just remove the pump head and NOT the magnet collar! The pump head was held on by 4 stainless steel screws in my case.  Here is an image to help:

Blacihmann RipTide Upgrade Instructions

Blacihmann Rip Tide Upgrade Instructions

Next I mounted my home brewing pump on to the included stainless steel pump riser. This was not required in my situation but I like the idea of it because it raised my pump up a couple of inches, bringing it close to my kettles, reducing the amount of tubing that I needed and giving me a little more space to empty the pumps when I had to clear wort from them.  Everyone’s situation is a little different, but it works well on my home brewing rig.  After that you will want to mount the Tri-Clamp adapter bracket on to your pump.  Blichmann includes two sets of screws to use, so make sure that you select the appropriate screws for your pump. Be careful not to over tighten the screws; doing so could crack the bracket or damage the pump. Next, place the impeller housing and the impeller into the pump magnet as shown in the following images:

 

Blichmann Rip Tide Homebrewing Pump Upgrade Instructions

Blichmann Rip Tide Home Brewing Pump Upgrade Instructions

Next is where I nearly had a problem.  Install the pump head o-ring and washer to the stainless steel RipTide pump head.  My first kit was missing the washer and the photo quality on the instructions that came with the kit were so bad, I could not tell if I was suppose to use one of the mounting washers.  Something did not seem right and I would have then been missing a mounting washer, so I checked my second pump kit and could see that there was a smaller washer that was intended for the pump head. It thankfully had two in that box, so all was good.  Here is an image to help you see where to place the o-ring and washer into the Blichmann RipTide pump head:

RipTide Upgrade Kit Installation Photos

RipTide Upgrade Kit Installation Photos

Lastly mount the Blichmann RipTide pump head on to your pump using the include stainless steel 3″ Tri-Clamp and attach any fittings that you may have. The entire process took me approximately 30 minutes per pump to upgrade an re-install onto my home brewing stand. Except for the issue with the washer, it was very painless.  Here are a couple of photos of the Blichmann RipTide homebrewing pumps after they were installed on to my homebrewing rig.

 

Finished Images Of The Blichmann RipTide Pump Upgrade Kit

Blichmann RipTide Home brewing Pumps On My Homebrewing Rig

Blichmann RipTide Home brewing Pumps On My Homebrewing Rig

Close up Image of the Blichmann RipTide Home Brewing Pump

Close up Image of the Blichmann RipTide Home Brewing Pump

After that I tested the RipTide home brewing pumps for leaks and checked to make sure all of the ball valve connections were free from leaks as well.  All was good and I also took a short video in case anyone was curious about the type of pressure or flow rate that you could expect from the RipTide upgrade kit.

Blichmann RipTide Pump Video

 

If you are looking to purchase a Blichmann RipTide Home Brewing Pump Upgrade Kit, they can be purchased here for $99

 

Converting a Home Brewery Banjo Burner To Natural Gas

Converting A Banjo Burner To Natural Gas

Converting A Home Brewery To Natural Gas

 

I do not know about you, but I am not the biggest fan of having to store and maintain propane tanks. They take up space, run out of gas in the middle of a boil, the pressure changes when the tank gets too low and they are expensive to refill; and all the while I have natural gas available 10 feet away from my home brewery.  So I decided that I would try converting my banjo burners from propane to natural gas. Let me start off by saying that I am not a professional plumber, a mechanical engineer, or a scientist that specialized in flammable gasses; so you should consult a professional. PLEASE CONSULT A LICENSED HEATING PROFESSIONAL FOR INFORMATION ON CONNECTING YOUR OUTDOOR BURNER TO YOUR HOUSE NATURAL GAS.

My home brewing setup uses 3 banjo burners and a 120v electric RIMS system to generate heat. So my first step was purchasing the natural gas valve to replace my existing propane valve.  Since natural gas is pushed with a lower pressure than compressed liquid propane, you can not simply use the same valve.  The good news is that the replacement valve is not that expensive.

Converting a banjo burner over to natural gas

Banjo Burner Natural Gas Valve

Williams brewing sells the valve for $9.99 and this Banjo Burner natural gas conversion valve is compatible with the  Bayou Classic KAB4, KAB6, and BG14 Banjo burner.  To use this valve, you will need a gas connection hose with a 3/8″ female flare end to attach to this valve to your natural gas source.  This valve has an orifice diameter of approximately 1/8″, and features 1/4″ male npt threads to attach to your gas burner. These home brewing burner natural gas conversion valves also fit the Blichmann Top Tier Burners and Blichmann Floor standing burners. You can see the difference in the two burner valves in the following photo.

Converting Bayou Home Brewing Burners to Natural Gas

Converting Bayou Home Brewing Burners to Natural Gas

The natural gas replacement valve is on the left.  You can see the gas outlet diameter is much larger than the propane on the right.

The process was pretty painless and I was able to replace all three burner valves and test for leaks in about 60 minutes.  I used natural gas safe teflon sealant on all of the valves. One important factor to keep in mind is that natural gas is lower pressure than propane and you are going to put out less BTUs than you would with a propane tank.  So if you were already struggling to achieve a boil with a propane tank, converting to natural gas is probably going to be a bad idea. I have yet to test how long it takes to reach a boil, but the flame tests all look great so far!

Converting A Home Brewery From Propane to Natural Gas

Converting A Home Brewery From Propane to Natural Gas

Once I have the test in, I will let you know how it work out!

All The Small Things – Notch-Yo Lid

Like with many hobbies, home brewing has a learning curve.  Initially there is a lot of information to take in and many processes to keep track of. In time, you gather knowledge and experience and you master the fundamentals of brewing.  Where home brewing differs from many hobbies is that once you have done so, there are a variety of tangents that you can pursue. For instance you can explore water chemistry and the impacts on different styles of beer, design your own beer recipes and figure out which hops best compliment a specific yeast strain, try different mashing techniques and focus on boosting your brew house efficiency or even build and customize your own brewing hardware. At some point along the way, if you home-brew long enough; what makes your beer unique is all of the small things that you learn, apply in your process and customize along the way.

On the topic of all of the small things, one of the things that I should have done long ago was place a notch in my mash tun lid to accommodate my sparge arm. Prior do doing so I had to leave my lid ajar, allowing heat to escape from my mash tun, requiring my RIMS system to use more energy to compensate.  I am not going to lie, any upgrade or project that requires me to drill into or cut in to one of my stainless steel Blichmann kettles make me a little nervous. After all, the last thing that I want to do is ruin one of my vital pieces of home brewing hardware. The good news is that I almost never use a lid on my Boil Kettle, so if I jacked up the mash tun lid bad enough, I had a backup!

I used three tools for this project, an angle grinder (costs about $30 if you do not already have one), a file to clean up the rough edges and sharp spots and a dremel (or drill) with a fine grinding bit to shape the groves more precisely so that the lid would fit snugly against the sparge arm. Although initially intimidating, it really was not so challenging.  My best advice is to measure conservatively for your initial grinder cut and use the dremel to remove any excess metal. The vertical cuts are easy with the grinder, but the horizontal cut can be challenging if you are not careful. As a final touch I may add a silicone stopper and trim it to fill some of the small gaps that still exist; but even with out that I am very happy with how it turned out! Also, if you are looking for an incredible stainless steel sparge arm, I can not recommend the More Beer Ultimate Sparge Arm highly enough.  I have used it for around 3 years now and it had performed flawlessly.

More Beer Stainless Steel Sparge Arm

More Beer Stainless Steel Sparge Arm

Dry Hopping My Hazy IPA

 

I added my first round of dry hops to my new Hazy – New England style IPA.  As opposed to adding the hops to the beer after the fermentation has completed which is typically for a West Coast style IPA, with a Hazy you add it early in the fermentation; in this case after 3 days.  I will do a second round of dry hopping at day 7 of the fermentation as well. At this point I added 2 ounces of Mosaic hops and 1 ounce of Citra hops.  The fermentation chamber is smelling incredible to say the least!

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