DIY Hop Spider

A hop spider is one of the easier DIY projects I've come across in home brewing.  It only requires about 15 minutes of your time and a few parts that can be picked up at the local home improvement super center.

I made a hop spider last year, and it immediately made a huge difference for me.  Hop utilization became obviously better while at the same time less hop matter made it to the bottom of my kettle or into the fermenter.

The purpose of this device is to give the effect of having free floating hops in the kettle, lots of contact between the hops and the boiling wort, while keeping the hops contained so that they can easily be removed.  You get the benefit associated with using a hop bag, combined with the benefit of dumping loose hops directly into the boil.

This idea, of course, was not original.  I found the idea/ design on the internet- probably HBT but I'm not sure.

My first iteration, which I used for several batches up to a few weeks ago, did have some minor design flaws.  So when I neglected it in a rotting pile of spent grains after brewing my Nelson Cream Ale, I threw it away (rather than try to clean it), and seized the opportunity for a hop spider redux.

Hop Spider 1.0.  Got the job done, but was clumsy and awkward.

As much as this first version improved my process and final beer, it wasn't perfect.  The main flaw was that it sat very close to the surface of the boiling wort.  So close that, as seen above, the temperature was enough to soften the pvc.  It also didn't help that the "legs." while secure, were loosely mounted; they moved around too much.  On one brew day, the legs collapsed, causing the entire device to drop into the boil.  Ugh.

So, for version 2.0, my top priority was to raise the main body of the spider away from the rim of the kettle.  Secondly, it was important to secure the legs firmly to the body.

The parts list for this build is fairly simple:

1. (1) 6" x 4" pvc adapter coupling
2. (1) 4" hose clamp
3. (3) 3/8" diameter 10" length hex bolts (zinc coated, but would like to replace w stainless steel)
4. (6) 3/8" hex nuts
5. (3) flat washers
6. (1) 5 gallon paint strainer bag

The upgrades over version 1.0 are:

•  Upsizing the pvc coupling.  The 6x4 provides a wider mouth, easier for pouring hops into, as well as a thicker wall versus the 4x3 on 1.0.
• Adding a nut and washer on the outside onto each bolt.  Additionally, I used a 5/16" drill bit this time, requiring the 3/8" bolts to be threaded tightly through the hole in the pvc wall.
• Mounting the legs through the angled section of the pvc coupling.

Here's the build:

1.  Using 5/16" bit, drill three holes (evenly spaced) into angled section of pvc coupling.
2.  Thread one nut onto each bolt, then place one washer on each.

3.  Now carefully thread each bolt into one of the drilled holes in pvc coupler.  For me, this required 

     the use of a wrench.  Also, a beer.  Go through the wall just enough to be able to add a nut on the 

     other side (inside the coupling).

4.  Thread one nut onto the end of each bolt on the inside of the coupling.  Tighten all six nuts with 

     wrench.

5.  Using the hose clamp, secure the paint strainer bag to the 4" end of the pvc coupling.

6.  You're now finished making your hop spider.  Now use it.

Packaging Update- The Journey Continues

About a year ago, I published a post, in which I swore off kegging until I have a proper means of dispensing from kegs (ie kegerator or keezer, something with pretty chrome faucets and concealed kegs).

In spite of the fact that this condition has not yet been met, I suddenly find myself kegging again.

Eleven days ago, I transferred ten gallons of my Hoppy Oatmeal Blonde Ale (Forty, brewed in honor of my sister's upcoming birthday) into kegs for dry hopping.  And last Sunday, I removed the dry hops and connected the CO2 to force carbonate it.

No, I will not be connecting any picnic taps for filling glasses from these kegs.  That is something that hasn't changed for me.  I am kegging for a different reason.

The point here is, as previously asserted, packaging my homebrews truly is a journey of iterations.  This latest iteration--force carbing, then bottling the entire batch off the keg--is just that:  merely the latest, not the final, iteration.

Who knows when this journey ends; or even if it does.  I think I know.  I have a vision; know what my ideal is.  But that may change once I get to where I think "there" is.  Once I get there, I may discover, want or need a different way.  In which case, the journey will continue.

Bottling Forty with the beer gun.  Couldn't have been easier.

So what about this current iteration?  Why keg, just to bottle?

Well, multiple reasons.

First, the reasons I swore off kegging in the first place . . .  Those number just two:

1. No proper means of dispensing.  Picnic taps work just fine, but that process was cumbersome.  My wife hated.  Hated.  Opening our basement fridge and seeing kegs, CO2 bottle, regulator and hoses staring at her where shelves and drawers should be.  I can't blame her.  I didn't like it either.
2. No bottles of beer to share.  I like sharing my beer.  I want to share it.  I tried a DIY bottle filler made from a racking cane and drilled stopper.  Either I didn't have the right technique, or I didn't have the requisite patience, or maybe like the size of Paul Bunyon's Ox, claims of the design's effectiveness were just more than reality could bear out.

After bottle conditioning a few batches, I was reminded of some limitations of bottle conditioning.  Well, mainly one.  There was the issue of bottle variation in carb level, but that's easily mitigated by a gentle stir in the bottling bucket with a sanitized long handled spoon.  What I'm really talking about is hoppy beers.  Bottle conditioned hoppy beers just aren't the same as their force carbed counterparts.  I noticed it with last year's Simcoemech.  Didn't get that full facial assault of hops that I was expecting from such a back-end heavy hopping schedule--a dilema in stark contrast to what I had become used to in kegs.  With Simcoemech, the aroma was there in the bottling bucket, but not in the bottle.  Why?  I guess, for the same reason we don't dry hop in primary, but rather rack the beer off the yeast cake first.  Something about the metabolic activity of yeast destroys the delicate volatile aromatic compounds, leaving hop aromas muted and muddled.  Reading similar complaints from others helped to light the lightbulb in my brain as I finally made this connection.

Forty is too important a beer to take this risk.  It's for my hophead sister's fortieth birthday.  This Beer.  Must.  Be.  Hoppy. To that end, I finally picked up the Blichmann Beer Gun, which I've had my eye on for a while.  And on Friday, I bottled two 40 oz bottles and two six packs off the keg.  It was as easy as, if not easier than, using a bottling bucket and wand.  The 40's were served last night with dinner and they were perfect.  Perfect carbonation level and amazing bright pungent hop aroma.

The idea is that I will keg most of my clean beers (those fermented only with saccharomyces, no brett or bacteria), force carb, and batch bottle off the keg.  This lends naturally to dry hopping in the keg.

This also helps me to maintain separate equipment for clean and sour/ funky beers (for the most part).  If most of my clean beers are being finished, force carbed, and bottled from the keg, then the bottling bucket and wand become obsolete for those beers.  Which leaves these pieces of equipment for sour/ funky beers.  "Clean" saisons and Belgian styles would be the only styles left to bottle condition, and these would be the only exceptions to share "infected" equipment.

Sour Bottles:  Bottling Maggie Depeche with bottling bucket

I will bottle the rest of the batch of Forty within the next few days.  The Beer Gun is so easy and effective; I only wish I'd made the investment sooner.  In addition to the advantages already mentioned, there is less risk of oxidation in the transfer from fermenter to bottling vessel, from bottling vessel to bottles.  The keg is easily purged with co2 prior to transfer, and the beer gun is designed to do the same to the bottle.  The bottle is purged with co2 directly prior to filling with beer, and then a final blast of co2 is administered to the filled bottle to displace any air that may have entered while withdrawing the gun.  Really loving this setup.  Solid equipment profile and bottling process that should serve me well into the future.

Seasonal Brewer?

Maybe I am a seasonal brewer.

I never set out to be that, but after a flurry of activity that started around this time last year, I really hadn't had much brewing related activity since last July.

That's when I brewed Maggie 2.0, my second sour mash Berliner Weisse, which I racked onto Brett and fresh peaches in late August. As the Brett slowly did its thing, I spent all of the Fall and Winter months thinking about the many things I should do around the house before allowing myself to brew again.

Yet no sooner did milder weather break, than my brain kicked into overdrive thinking about brewing. Same thing that happened last year at this time.  And the year before that.  So while Maggie 2.0 remains in the fermenter, and while Spring household projects join the list of unchecked boxes leftover from Winter, I am brewing.

I currently have five beers in process in addition to Maggie 2.0.

• Motueka Saison (Walter)
• Session Rye Saison (Walt)
• Hoppy Oatmeal Blonde (40) 
• American Brown Ale (Adam)
• Coffee Brown (Chef Adam)

All of these beers existed only on paper until I jumped back into the game on March 22, when I brewed a 6 gallon batch of a 1.066 Saison, generously late hopped with Motueka. After running off what I needed for that beer, I added 1.5# rye malt to the mash tun and did a second infusion, yielding about 3 gallons of 1.032 second runnings. The base beer, fermenting on 3724 (DuPont strain), in a temperature controlled environment starting in the 80s and ramped up to the mid 90s, is taking forever to attenuate.  Knowing 3724 is notorious for stuck fermentations, I added 8 grams of Belle Saison yeast on day 10.  And still after 3 1/2 weeks, it's only down to 1.022.

In contrast, 4 grams of Belle Saison ripped through the second runnings, bringing it to 1.002 within 3 days and finishing at a very dry 1.000 by the end of week one.  I moved this one to room temp after two weeks, and just bottled it tonight.

Since Saison brew-day, I've also brewed ten gallons of Hoppy Oatmeal Blonde (currently in kegs for a four-day dry hop, after which it will be force carbonated), and ten gallons of Brown Ale (half of which will have cold brewed coffee added to it after primary fermentation).

So, I will soon have roughly 33 gallons of beer bottled and ready to drink.

And I'm not done yet.  Next up are updated versions of last year's Wendy Peffercorn (Blonde Ale) and last year's Jobe (Cream Ale).  After that, I'd like to get a Stout going so it's ready for the cooler months, as well as a run of Belgian stuff.  Patersbier, followed by a Pale or Golden Strong (half of which will likely get dosed with Brett), and then a Flanders Red.  I'd also like to brew an Old Ale over the Summer to be ready for Christmas.

I will definitely brew another Berliner or two in the hottest weeks of Summer.

Not sure what's in store after that.

I'd like to think that I will keep brewing, and not stall out again.  I don't want to be a seasonal brewer.  I'd love to keep a steady pipeline flowing all year round.  That takes discipline, especially balanced with the duties of husband and father, and the demands of job.  I on the other hand, seem to brew in quick intense bursts of inspiration.  As for seasonality, it makes sense that these bursts would line up with the weather, especially considering I brew outside.   It's nearly impossible in the hottest weeks of Summer to get wort down to pitching temperature, even with a pre-chiller submerged in ice.  Not to mention uncomfortable standing over 12 gallons of boiling wort in that heat.  Winter presents equal but opposite challenges.  Can't run water outside in freezing temps, and even if I could, I'm not standing out in the bitter cold to brew.

Bottling Update

It looks like I need to brush up on my bottle conditioning.

I have recently bottled four batches:  Maggie, Benedict, Jobe, and Simcoemech.  At bottling, these all were easily my top four best beers ever brewed.  However, something's gone a bit awry in the few weeks since then.

Maggie and Benedict appear to be fine.  Every bottle I've opened of these two has been consistently carbed with one another, with no off flavors.  Jobe and Simcoemech, however, not so much.

Jobe:  This is my Citra Nelson Cream Ale.  4.8% abv at 1.008 FG.  This beer was very slow to carbonate--something that was not expected, but was also not particularly surprising.  I hit this beer pretty hard in secondary with gelatin and a 2 week cold crash, trying to get it as clear as possible.  Not sure how much yeast made it into the bottling bucket.  This could certainly be a cause of the slow carb time.  That's not really a big deal, but what is alarming is the subtle phenolic bite in some (not all) of the bottles--the kind of off flavor that's usually associated with stressed out yeast from underpitching.  This batch was definitely not underpitched, and there was no sign of this off flavor up to and including bottling.  And it's not every bottle.  Some bottles are fantastic!  Perfectly carbonated, crisp and quenching, with a slight fruity nuance from the late Nelson Sauvin addition.  And clear.  Others have failed to carb completely and present this phenolic bite.  I'm thinking I should have added a bit of dry yeast to the bottling bucket, and may not have gotten the priming solution to mix fully with the beer.

Simcoemech:  This is my all-Simcoe APA modeled after Russian River's R2H56.  4.7% abv at 1.012 FG.  Unbelievable Simcoe flavor and aroma.  This one's going down quick.  Problem is, not all bottles are equal.  As with Jobe, some of the bottles are carbing much slower than others.  Luckily there's none of that phenolic off flavor that Jobe has--either the hops are masking it, or more likely it's just not there.  This beer did not undergo the rigors of fining that Jobe did.

Pictured is a perfectly carbed Simcoemech.  Most of the bottles I've opened have been like this.  Unfortunately, not all.  One or two has been severely undercarbed, and yesterday I opened one that was a gusher.  When I pried off the cap, it popped with pronounced force.  First pour was hazy and chunky with hop "flavor crystals."  There is a fine layer of hop matter at the bottom of each bottle, and I'm fine with that.  Honestly it gives me the option to have a clearer version or choose a more hazy, "Vermont-style" hoppy beer (second option by gently rolling the bottle on the counter Hefeweisen style before opening).  This bottle was neither rolled or shaken in any way.  the hops being roused from the bottom of the bottle was related to the carbonation level, I'm sure.  It did not show any signs of infection; bit too early for that to take hold anyway.  The only thing I can think of is that I didn't fully mix the priming solution in the batch, resulting in some undercarbed, some overcarbed, and some perfectly carbed bottles.

I just hope the bottles I've recently shared with others have been good ones.

I used the basic technique of dropping the priming solution in the bucket first, then gently syphoning the beer on top of the solution.  This is the technique I've always used, and I guess it's always worked ok for me.  With future batches, however, I will use a sanitized spoon to gently stir the concoction for a few minutes before proceeding with bottling.  Hopefully that will take care of the problem.  And with my excessively "cleared" beers, I'll look into dosing the bottling bucket with a small amount of fresh yeast.  Might be counterproductive after all the fining and cold crashing, but maybe the only way to get really really clear beer without adverse side effects is to force carb.

Cheers!

The Dilema of Scale--to brew 12 gallons or 6

In a previous post, I made the assertion that some beers should be brewed in 12 gallon batches and others should be brewed in 6.  That was at a time when I brewed exclusively 6 gallon batches.  I thought of them as "half batches" on my equipment, and brewed half batches by choice.  Who needs more than two cases of beer from a batch?  Not me, I thought.  But the 12 gallon batch thing was prompted by the discovery that the less headspace I left in the mash tun, the better the mash held temp.  Since that realization, brewing 12 gallon batches has helped a lot with my sub-1045 beers--Blonde Ale, Cream Ale, 70/-, and Patersbier--holding them to the degree for the entire 90 minutes.

I should probably be honest with myself and accept the fact that brewing 6 gallon batches of most of my brews is plenty.  However, after bottling two 12 gallon batches recently (about 4 cs each of Cream Ale and Patersbier), on Thursday I bottled a six gallon batch of Simcoemech (a Simcoelicious APA modeled after Russian River's Row 2 Hill 56).  It smelled so freaking good.  I found myself standing over two full cases of this obviously amazing beer and regretting not having more.  Not a single bottle had been consumed--won't even be ready for at least two weeks--and already I was lamenting the fact that they will be gone far too quickly.

It got me thinking.  Could I brew a 12 gallon batch of Simcoemech?  Problem is, this is a 1.048 OG beer, and I have always considered 1.045 to be the upper limit for 12 gallon batches.  This is because, a 1.045 beer requires about 17.5 lbs of grain for 12 gallons, and that amount of grain plus 22 quarts of water (1.25 qts/lb) fills the cooler all the way to the top.  So how can I fit this 18.5 pound grain bill in my 10 gallon cooler?  I really really want to.  But at 1.25 qts per gallon, the infusion of water with the grain would overflow the mash tun.

Why does the water:grain ratio need to be 1.25?  This is what all my recipes are formulated to.  But it's not an absolute.  The only absolute is that my cooler holds 10 gallons and no more.  What if I play with this ratio a little?  General guidance is that it should be between 1.10 and 1.25 quarts per pound.  So with this in mind, and with Beersmith's "mash volume needed" calculation, I did a little exploring and came up with some theoretical limits.

Turns out, at a water to grain ratio of 1.10 qts/lb, I can brew 12 gallons of up to a 1.051 OG beer.  This assumes 87% efficiency, which is usually what I get on my 12 gallon batches.  That's 19.5 pounds of grain and 21.5 quarts of water, which according to Beersmith will produce a mash volume of 9.95 gallons and fill the cooler.  Pretty tight, but it can be done.

 This includes a mash out at 168, also not an absolute.  If we drop the mashout infusion, looks like we can go up to a 24 pound grain bill at 1.1 qts/lb before overflowing.  That's a 12 gallon batch at up to 1.063 without a mash out!  Wow!

I don't think I'll test any of these limits in reality, but the good news here is that I should be able to brew a 12 gallon batch of Simcoemech with relative ease, just by adjusting my water to grain ratio.

Here are some stats on the brew:

Batch size:  12 gallons
Original Gravity:  1.048
Total grain:  18.5 pounds
Total water in mash:  34 quarts
Ratio:  1.1 qts/lb mash in; 1.84 qts/lb mash out
Mash volume:  9.95 gallons

Of course this is all hypothetical until I actually brew it.  Wish me luck!

Maggie--Berliner Weisse 1.0

Maggie is almost fully carbed and looking sexy as hell in my Konings Hoeven goblet.  Smells and tastes phenomenal.  Noticeably tart on the nose with a bit of malty sweetness confessing the fact that it did not attenuate fully.  Nice refreshing tartness on the palate, again with some residual sweetness.  Very crushable on a hot afternoon in spite of a mouthfeel that's slightly too heavy for the style.  Color is also off--way too "golden."  A proper Berliner Weisse needs to be much more light and much more white.

So this beer is far from perfect, but as perfect rarely wins the day, I'm declaring this a huge success.

My next go at this beer will be drier, lighter, and hopefully much more sour. Version 2.0 is already on the drawing board, and hopefully I will get a chance to brew it soon. Just a few changes:

1. Increasing white wheat to 50% of grain bill. This should hopefully lighten the color a bit.
2. Cooling only to 120 before pitching unmilled grains. This should give the mash more time in the lacto temp zone, and I should be able to extend the souring rest to 72-96 hours for a hopefully more puckering tartness.
3. Pitching a slurry of Kolsch yeast instead of Cal ale. Also over-pitching slightly. I used an appropriately sized slurry for a 1.032 wort, but based on multiple comments on HBT, that may not have been enough in this acidic wort.
4. I've also dialed in the recipe as much as I could in Beersmith. In particular, if the software is accurate, then the second temperature infusion should take the temperature of the mash directly from 149 all the way down to 120 in a matter of minutes.

Hopefully Maggie 2.0 will be sour enough to warrant some fruit syrup additions in the glass. Only time will tell.

Packaging my Beers--A Journey of Iterations

I've put a hold on kegging until I have a proper setup, so last week, I bottled fifteen gallons of beer.  That's roughly six cases.

Packaging, for me, has been a journey of iterations.  Like most homebrewers, in the beginning I bottled.  It was a chore.  Tedious.  Laborious.  Messy.  I actually preferred the task of cleaning over that of bottling.  After a few years, I purchased a kegging setup (tank, regulator, picnic tap and one Cornelius keg).  A few batches later, I made the decision to keg exclusively.  The more I listened to Jamil Zainasheff on the Brewing Network, the more I heard the message repeated that kegging was necessary if I wanted to improve my beer, dial in carbonation, clarity, etc. If I wanted, I could always fill a few bottles off the tap, but no more mass bottling of 48-96 bottles at a time.  Already predisposed to abandon the dreaded chore of bottling, all I heard was:

"kegging > bottling"

And I bit.  Hook, line, and sinker.  Every batch I brewed in the past 18 months went into kegs.  The vision was to build a four tap keezer with chrome faucets.  A proper way to store and dispense my beers.  That will happen some day, but it hasn't yet.  The 7 cubic foot chest freezer that was originally purchased for that project has been promoted to the much more important role of fermentation control.  Kegs of homebrew went into our basement side-by-side fridge (a few shelves and drawers removed) to be dispensed via picnic tap.  Functional enough, but I know it was an eye-sore for my wife.  Add that to the fact that I didn't have any bottled beers to share outside the house.  Wasn't happy with the carb level from the DIY beer gun, and growler fills were the same story.

Turns out it's not quite as simple as the formula above.  Kegging may be better than bottling in some cases, but bottling may be better in others.  I realize that when Jamil says "kegging > bottling" (you do know I'm paraphrasing), that's really part of his "how to win at competitions" theme.  If you have the proper equipment and master the technique, you can bottle already-carbonated beer from the keg and send it off to comps without fear of yeast sediment being shaken into suspension from poor handling by others.  Sounds great, but I don't need to worry about that right now.

Truth is, some styles should be bottle conditioned, and many styles actually benefit from it.  Don't get me wrong; I don't like a ton of yeast sludge in the bottom of any beer, but that is easily dismissed with proper patience in the fermenter, cold crashing, possibly even fining, and good racking technique.

So I'm bottling again.  The day will come when I will package my beers both ways:  bottle conditioned and force carbed in kegs.  But until I have a basement bar with a 4 tap keezer, I'll have to be content with bottle conditioning all of my beers.