All the gear that remains.

I feel like I unloaded a lot of stuff this summer but the list below says otherwise.

Brewing:

1 cheap propane burner
1 10 gal Mega Pot w/drain port
1 5 gal thin walled pot
Brew in the bag bags
hop bags (also used for steeping grains)
wort chiller
mash paddle and spoon
Digital thermometer
hydrometers
100 mL flask for yeast starters

Fermenting:

3 5gal buckets, one with a drain port used for bottling.
2 3gal buckets
1 plastic big mouth bubbler
zero glass vessels
misc bung and air locks
1 old dorm fridge for fermenting
1 big bucket + 150w aquarium heater  for fermenting
A bank of yeast in 12oz bottles (need to clean this out, they can't all be winners).

Packaging:

12 and 22 oz bottles
2 ball-lock kegs & accessories
CO2 tank and regulator
1 sm freezer turned fridge
1 bottling bucket w. line and wand
bottle drying rack
capper
cleaners and sanitizers

Books:

"How to Brew" - John Palmer (copy #3)

"Brewing Classic Styles" Zainasheff & Palmer

"Microbrewed Adventures"  -Charlie Papazian

"Radical Brewing" - Randy Mosher

"Tasting Beer" - Randy Mosher

"Classic Beer Style Series: Bock" - Darryl Richman

"Classic Beer Style Series: Vienna, Marzen, Oktoberfest" - Fix & Fix

"British Real Ale" - Graham Wheeler
"Homebrewer's Garden" Fisher & Fisher

- Brew North

Cleaning out the brewery

So, my brewery is a combination a several breweries and discarded items I've accrued over the last 15 years or so. Most of it never gets used, which is a shame. For some reason, I have three thermostats, two burners, four pots, 8 glass carboys, and a keggle.

This summer I assembled all the gear I'm not using into lots and asked the Minnesota Home brewers Facebook group if they would like any of it. ($60 a lot) A couple members took me up on the offer and are now proud owners of a keggle/ grain mill, burner/pot/ thermostat, and a BYO kit with a hand made wort cooler. The rest I gave away for free to co-workers and friends.

Hopefully it's all out there somewhere mashing, boiling, and fermenting great beers!

- Brew North

the 2020 lagers are in!

Dunkel 

4.5 lbs. Pilsen DME
0.5lb melinoidain,
0.5 Belgium aromatic,
0.5 Fawcett chocolate

1oz GH 4%AA 60

Re-pitched 2018's Omega German Lager I OYL - 106

Brewed 02/06/2020
Transferred 02/18/2020
Racked
Packaged

3 gal boil.
20 min grain steep from cold to 180f
9 min to boil & add DME
3 min back to boil & add 1 oz GH
Boil for 60 min.
Dial up a Victor Wooten playlist & chill.
aerate, bring to 5 gal, & pitch yeast.

German Lager

4.5 lbs. Pilsen DME
1 lb. Belgium  aromatic,

2oz GH 4%AA 60

Re-pitched 2018's Omega German Lager I OYL - 106

3 gal boil.
20 min grain steep
add 2 oz GH & boil for 30 min!
Dial up some Coltrane.
aerate, bring to 5 gal, & pitch yeast.

Brewed 02/06/2020
Transferred 02/18/2020
Racked
Packaged

Fermenting nicely. 02/10/2020

Transferred 02/18/2020
These are tasting quite good. the pale lager is still sweet but doesn't finish sweet and has pronounced bitterness. The all pils malt bill of the dunkel is very different that the 50/50 pils/Munich that I've used in the past. It's very light. 

Packaged the light lager (German Lager?) on March 6th. Kegged at 28psi for 48 hours. The carbonation seemed about right. Someday I'll have to invest more time into dialing in my CO2 levels.

It's tasting very much like a Summit Keller Pils, a little sweeter and a bit less bitter. At this point it is a fresh pilsner, it hasn't undergone lagering yet. The cold storage will happen as it sits in my fridge and I'll enjoy it as the flavor changes. This is one of the things I like about home brew, it's not a packaged commodity, I get to enjoy it a every stage of its life! 

 

How much is that lager in the window?

2019's cheep swill ca. March 2019

Dunkel.

I'd say the clarity is AOK,

The bottom of the barrel.

- Brew North