Grain to Glass with Eric

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Christian Patterson
5 years ago
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1 Grain to Glass with Eric Eric s 2014 Brewery GTA Brews March 2016 Eric Cousineau ericbrews.com

2 What is Covered in This Presentation? Grain to Glass Ingredient Storage Eric s 2014 Brewery (spent 2 years dialing in this setup) Brewery Setup Mashing Boiling & Chilling Fermenting Process Racking & Dry Hopping Carbonating & Serving

3 Grain to Glass Type of presentation where a brewer takes you through their process Brewing doesn t all take place on brew day (or brew night) It s hard to learn all a brewer s tricks if you only see their brew day Hoping to get others to do these presentations at future meetings Mostly review for advanced brewers But you might pick up a new trick if you pay close attention! Feel free to ask questions at any time!

4 Ingredient Storage - Grain Bulk base grains from GTA Brews Bulk Buys ;) Store unopened in sacks Open sacks go into food safe buckets Some have gamma lids, some just orange lids Keep lots on hand to not limit options Use within 1 year of purchase

5 Ingredient Storage - Grain Specialty grains stored in a mix of bags and airtight containers More frequently used grains in containers Containers are Betty Crocker brand from Dollarama Try to use within a year, usually fail Taste before using to check freshness

6 Ingredients Storage - Hops Hops are stored in the freezer of my beer/yeast/hop fridge Bulk hops stored in original 1 lbs bags or repackaged into 4 oz foodsaver bags Once 4 oz bags are opened the un-used hops are sealed in mason jars

7 Ingredients Storage - Hops

8 Ingredient Storage Yeast Yeast harvested from starters stored in sanitized mason jars in fridge Un-used yeast packages are stored in fridge Dregs are stored in ~200 ml of starter wort No stir to avoid acetic acid Allow several weeks at room temp to grow before cold storage

9 Ingredient Storage Yeast

10 Ingredient Storage Yeast

11 2014 Brewery - Setup

12 2014 Brewery - Setup Brewhouse: MLT: 10 gal Igloo cooler with false bottom BK/HLT: 3500 W induction cooktop + 10 gal stainless kettle Chugger pump Copper convoluted counterflow chiller Plastic bucket (marked at ¼ gal increments with sharpie marker) Quick disconnect silicone hoses Batch sparge

13 2014 Brewery - Setup

14 2014 Brewery - Setup Utility shelf to store lots of odd items Very helpful to have everything within reach Great for hanging hoses/tubing to dry Store most used things closer to eye level and at front of shelf Thermometer, brew log, towels, keg cleaning equipment

15 2014 Brewery - Setup Yeast starter kit Air tight container to store DME DAP, scale, marker/tape, stir plate Laser thermometer To measure pitch temp without putting thermometer in flask

16 2014 Brewery Mashing Weigh out grains on UltraShip 75 and scoop Crush using Monster Mill MM3-2.0 Corded electric drill

17 2014 Brewery Mashing Mash at 1.75 qt/lbs by default Due to large dead space under false bottom (~ 1 gal) About the same as 1.5 qt/lbs Decrease qt/lbs and/or increase boil time for high OG Longer boil gives more sparge water Need more than 1.0 qt/lbs of sparge water to re-suspend grain bed For beers I do: 120 min boil & 1.35 qt/lbs Fly sparge due to tiny sparge volume! These quirks will vary from system to system, you just need to manage them for yours!

18 2014 Brewery Mashing 2014 RIS 1.0 qt/lbs = Mistake! 2015 Barleywine 1.35 qt/lbs = Success!

19 2014 Brewery Mashing Heat strike water volume in BK/HLT Add extra ½ gal due to loss in pumping to MLT Once heated over 175 F transfer into MLT using pump Pump in through the ball valve, underlet Put on lid and let MLT absorb some heat Estimate grain temp and calculate strike temp using BeerSmith Grain stored in cold room Stir and/or add cold water to reach strike temp (160 F F) Add crushed campden + acid/salts, stir to mix Calculated salts and acid through Bru n Water

2014 Brewery Mashing Move bucket of crushed grain onto table My method (make this consistent): Mash paddle in left hand, grain scoop in right hand, scoop as much as you can then dump Mash in fast to

20 2014 Brewery Mashing Move bucket of crushed grain onto table My method (make this consistent): Mash paddle in left hand, grain scoop in right hand, scoop as much as you can then dump Mash in fast to avoid losing too much temp Keep this consistent to make mash temp more predictable Measure mash temp about 10 mins in Extract ph sample with stainless ramekin Depress the top of the grain bed with strainer to take a debris free sample

2014 Brewery Mashing Chill ph sample in shallow ice bath Only takes 1 minute to reach room temp Calibrate ph meter every brew day Sometimes I just do the 4.

21 2014 Brewery Mashing Chill ph sample in shallow ice bath Only takes 1 minute to reach room temp Calibrate ph meter every brew day Sometimes I just do the 4.0 ph buffer Usually undershoot the ph adjustment Stir in ~1 ml acid per 0.1 ph drop desired Varies with batch size, lbs of grain, mash thickness, water profile, etc Re-measure mash ph after 10 min Record initial and final ph readings

2014 Brewery Mashing Get sparge heating (+½ gal loss) Notes on base malts: Pilsner malt seems to hit mash ph first time more often than others Bru n Water isn t

22 2014 Brewery Mashing Get sparge heating (+½ gal loss) Notes on base malts: Pilsner malt seems to hit mash ph first time more often than others Bru n Water isn t perfect Mash ph prediction is based on base/crystal/roasted and L only Doesn t take into account wheat, etc... Happy to hit within ph For most (not all) styles

2014 Brewery Mashing After mash rest is done begin vorlauf Vorlauf into Rubbermaid pitcher Pour into mash over plastic paddle Recirculate several times until

23 2014 Brewery Mashing After mash rest is done begin vorlauf Vorlauf into Rubbermaid pitcher Pour into mash over plastic paddle Recirculate several times until grain debris is minimal Attach silicone hose with nylon bag tied on end Drain 1 st runnings into bucket Keep hose above runnings by moving bucket away from table

24 2014 Brewery Mashing

25 2014 Brewery Mashing

26 2014 Brewery Mashing

27 2014 Brewery Mashing Do the batch sparge bucket dance! Drain 1 st runnings into bucket Pump (underlet) sparge water into MLT and re-suspend grain bed Stir in sparge acid/salt addition, let settle Transfer 1 st runnings into (emptied) BK with pitcher, turn on heat, rinse bucket Vorlauf, drain 2 nd runnings into bucket through nylon bag Transfer 2 nd runnings into BK with pitcher Discard any extra 2 nd runnings This is how I managed to brew with only 2 vessels Record SG and volume of 1 st & 2 nd & combined (pre-boil) runnings

28 2014 Brewery Boiling & Chilling In order to have 5 gallons go into the keg: 5.5 gal into fermenter (0.5 gal trub loss) 6 gal of wort in kettle (0.5 gal kettle loss) 6.25 gal at end of boil (0.25 gal cooling shrinkage) 7.25 gal pre-boil volume (boil off rate is 1.0 gal/hr) 60 min boil for most beers Increase to 90 min for beers with pilsner malt Installed a DIY vent hood to avoid steam clouds Nutrient/Whirlfloc at 10 or 15 min to match hopping schedule Fermcap used in every boil (why risk it?)

29 2014 Brewery Boiling & Chilling

2014 Brewery Boiling & Chilling Boiling with induction same as propane Start boil timer, add additions, etc Boil with 3500 W for most beers Keep this consistent to

30 2014 Brewery Boiling & Chilling Boiling with induction same as propane Start boil timer, add additions, etc Boil with 3500 W for most beers Keep this consistent to make boil off predictable Measure hops while heating to boil Clean out mash tun while boiling Do what you can to prepare ahead: Sanitize cold side, decant starter, etc

31 2014 Brewery Boiling & Chilling Stir in any 0 min additions before turning on pump Pump can clog with pellet hops Check OG at 0 min before pump Add DME or water to hit OG target if wanted Recirculate through chiller, to sanitize, before turning on water For hoppy beers: Extend hot recirculation for 20 mins as a whirlpool Turn on chilling water to start cooling

32 2014 Brewery Boiling & Chilling

2014 Brewery Boiling & Chilling Watch chiller output drop to pitching temp Turn off pump at pitching temp and move hose to fermenter Turn pump back on and fill fermenter

33 2014 Brewery Boiling & Chilling Watch chiller output drop to pitching temp Turn off pump at pitching temp and move hose to fermenter Turn pump back on and fill fermenter Throttle the water pressure using water valve to control pitching temp In the summer ground water gets hotter Need to chill lagers in ferm chamber to pitch 45 F in winter, 58 F in summer

34 2014 Brewery Boiling & Chilling

35 2014 Brewery Boiling & Chilling

36 2014 Brewery Boiling & Chilling Pour yeast into carboy Keep some for next batch in mason jar Oxygenate with 2 mm stone 90 sec for most beers Don t forget to sanitize wand Label carboy and put in ferm chamber Don t forget the blow off Clean up

Fermenting Process Yeast starter 2 days before brewing Brew United to calculate Add 100 billion cells for harvesting Round UP starter size to closest 0.

37 Fermenting Process Yeast starter 2 days before brewing Brew United to calculate Add 100 billion cells for harvesting Round UP starter size to closest 0.5 L Cold crash 24 hours before brewing Decant before pitching on brew day Harvest from starter in mason jar Estimate yeast count by measuring volume of sediment in mason jar Multiply ml by 2.5 to get billion cells Very crude, but conservative

Fermenting Process Ramp temp on every fermentation Usually starting around day 4 Keep the pipeline full enough that you don t need to rush Once active

38 Fermenting Process Ramp temp on every fermentation Usually starting around day 4 Keep the pipeline full enough that you don t need to rush Once active signs (krausen) fade: Take SG reading Taste for off-flavours Precision hydrometer for most beers Your palate is the best off-flavour detector there is

Fermenting Process When tasting gravity sample look for all off-flavours including: Diacetyl, acetaldehyde, inappropriate esters & alcohols, sour & phenolic (from contamination),

39 Fermenting Process When tasting gravity sample look for all off-flavours including: Diacetyl, acetaldehyde, inappropriate esters & alcohols, sour & phenolic (from contamination), etc Flavours that won t age out Some off-flavours age out: Sulfur, yeastiness, some kinds of astringency, etc.. Once FG is reached AND beer is tasting clean, fermentation is done

Racking & Dry Hopping After fermentation some beers get racked into the dry hop keg Shortened dip tube with small filter slotted on Larger filter basket over the dip tube with the end covered in

40 Racking & Dry Hopping After fermentation some beers get racked into the dry hop keg Shortened dip tube with small filter slotted on Larger filter basket over the dip tube with the end covered in nylon bag (stainless brewing) Purge keg, rack in, add hops, purge again After 2-3 days move keg into keezer to crash Transfer into serving keg using CO2 Sometimes add gelatin for clarity Usually not needed after this filter method

41 Racking & Dry Hopping

42 Racking & Dry Hopping Elevate finished carboy above keg for auto-siphon Purge, purge, purge! Give a few minutes for carboy to settle after moving it Avoid picking up trub by tilting carboy Don t overfill kegs or they won t carbonate Working on moving to closed transfer with CO2, stainless, and silicone tube Do everything you can to avoid oxygen pickup

43 Racking & Dry Hopping

44 Carbonating & Serving CO2 utility line

45 Carbonating & Serving Most new kegs get about 20 PSI for the first day or two Lagers carbonate at serving pressure while they lager Finish off carbing at serving pressure (Eg. 12 PSI) Keezer specs: 4.5 C temp controller setting 8 ft 3/16 lines, except for one 10 ft Dual output CO2 tank Output 1: secondary regulator with 4 outputs Output 2: CO 2 manifold with 6 outputs 11 ball lock keg capacity Drip tray hangs off shanks

46 Carbonating & Serving First 3 taps run off 8 line Last tap is 10 line for higher carb beers Always throw away the first few ounces of beer from a line each day Pay attention to how beer changes over time Balance your system so that you can pour with acceptable foaming at equilibrium PSI

47 Carbonating & Serving BeerGun for competition and long term beers Tray on left to catch overflow while filling Pitcher to hold beergun Vinator and bottle rack to sanitize bottles Bench capper to cap any kind of bottle

48 Conclusion Covered: Ingredient storage for malt, hops, yeast Mashing, boiling, and chilling with my 2014 brewery Fermenting Dry Hopping and Racking Carbonating and Serving

49 Questions?

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