Almost zero motivation (& other ramblings)

[Blackened]

Hey all,

Sook alert, woe is me! LOL

I've recently (last 2 years ish) found myself in a position of having a bit more time on my hands and figure I'll get back into a hobby. The girls are in school, work is stable, money isn't so tight etc....

So last year I started thinking about my old hobby brewing. Got the gear to build a HERMS rig. Started building. Shiney!! Test new kettle with a simple LME batch with metallic results. :unsure: Got bogged down in programming a brew-troller, the coding for the temperature probe readings ended up a little over my head I'm afraid to admit.... Basically the wheels fell off my motivation and the entire project has been shelved for almost 12 months now.

The last couple of weeks have seen me cleaning up the shed, slashed and burned all the non-essential crap that seems to beam in from outer space. The partially complete rig is now accessible so there's that excuse gone. Now I'm looking at my mash tun thinking "that's way overkill", I'm downsizing from a previous 50L batch size and due to the HERMS won't need an insulated cooler style. 20-23L batches with maybe the odd barley wine. Thinking 30L would be plenty? The current esky takes up too much space on the brew platform although I can put up with it.

Opinions on Grist/liquor ratio for a HERMS? Is 3L/kg loose enough?

Anyway, that's enough whining for the moment.

 

[Dave70]

Dunno about HERMS, but for a 25L batch at those ratios, I'm using around 35L of water alone. Total that is.
Wouldn't the system be more efficient with an insulated tun anyway?

 

[Bribie G]

Maybe 00 gauge electric train sets and papier mache landscape backgrounds (and miniature English Villages of course) might be a better option for you then you can sell the HERMS and spend the money on an air still for $200 and get hammered and cheer on the Fat Controller ...........

I'm thinking of switching to

 

[Truman42]

I do 25 litre batches using a Herms and I dough in with 16 litres. Sparge water is around 22 litres.
I have 34 litres in my 40 litre urn pre boil and end up with about 29 litres at EOB.

I allow for 4 litres of trub, especially if I don't use a hop sock. I often lose less so might be 27 litres in the kettle.

 

[MartinOC]

So last year I started thinking about my old hobby brewing. Got the gear to build a HERMS rig. Started building.

Test new kettle with a simple LME batch with metallic results.

Got bogged down in programming a brew-troller, the coding for the temperature probe readings ended up a little over my head I'm afraid to admit....

The last couple of weeks have seen me cleaning up the shed, slashed and burned all the non-essential crap that seems to beam in from outer space.

All of this sounds like you're motivated to me (but then, I lost motivation for 10 years until just recently). Just keep going! I'm also looking at a new set of toys, which is why I'm doing a shedload of research here before I dive-in with the dosh.

Keep us posted on progress....

I'm thinking of switching to

Ooer! No! That's dangerous territory you're heading into there! Think of the blisters & the cost of double-breasted suits & cancer from smoking cork-tipped Woodbines...

Why not try a nice, safe, adrenaline sport like unlimited cage-tiddlywinks?

 

[Bribie G]

Woodbines were never cork tipped, My granddad smoked them,



He were a coalminer down t'pit and would smash t'coal out of t'seam by swinging his knackers at t'coal face, yielding a ton at a time.

Cork tips were for pooncy middle class pharmacists etc. When I was a 13 year old my posh mate and I would nick packets of Kensitas off his Dad.

 

[treefiddy]

One trick is to tell 'em stories that don't go anywhere, like the time I caught the ferry over to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for my shoe, so, I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. "Give me five bees for a quarter," you'd say. Now, where were we? Oh yeah, the important thing was I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn't have white onions because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones...

 

[Yob]

Ha.. Youze guyz...

I run a herms rig from a 45lt willow esky, mostly do singles but can easily push out a double or barlywine if I feel the need, usually keep to a 3/1 liquor to grist ratio unless going large... Rigs are largely subjective to the brewer and get refined over time.. Build it, run it... Where you encounter issues, fix it... Have at it man, I've built various parts of my rig a few times and it's totes organic now... Still learning in the big picture but can punch out some evil ****..

What we really need here is photos

 

[Nick JD]

I can't be bothered with people who have zero motivation.

 

[dougsbrew]

I don't know what gave me the motivation to make this post?/!
for some reason I feel like a cigarette right now...

 

[chewy]

.....

 

[Blackened]

I do 25 litre batches using a Herms and I dough in with 16 litres. Sparge water is around 22 litres.
I have 34 litres in my 40 litre urn pre boil and end up with about 29 litres at EOB.

I allow for 4 litres of trub, especially if I don't use a hop sock. I often lose less so might be 27 litres in the kettle.

Thanks Truman, that's quite helpful....

Dunno about HERMS, but for a 25L batch at those ratios, I'm using around 35L of water alone. Total that is.
Wouldn't the system be more efficient with an insulated tun anyway?

Dave, the esky I have is 50L and 50mm thick insulation all round, It takes up heaps of space compared to anything else so I'm probably going to go for something a bit more compact and yes, wrap it with some insulation.

Maybe 00 gauge electric train sets and papier mache landscape backgrounds (and miniature English Villages of course) might be a better option for you then you can sell the HERMS and spend the money on an air still for $200 and get hammered and cheer on the Fat Controller ...........

I'm thinking of switching to

Already have the paraphernalia to make spirits. I swapped to spirits after I quit making beer due to the less anal approach, and you can stockpile a lot without taking up much space. Might go back to it one day.... probably to reclaim the next failed batch of whatever lol. But beer has captured my imagination again for the moment. I gave up trying to learn the guitar earlier this year, yet another aborted attempt at getting a hobby. Can't drink a guitar though,

All of this sounds like you're motivated to me (but then, I lost motivation for 10 years until just recently). Just keep going! I'm also looking at a new set of toys, which is why I'm doing a shedload of research here before I dive-in with the dosh.

Keep us posted on progress....

Martin, to give you some idea how motivated I am, this morning I went out to the shed for about 45 minutes. In that time I managed to fold up a card table........ and then stood there thinking about brewing. I might have had a quick look at some of my previous brew notes too but that's about it. I'm getting there though......AHB is helping me rekindle my interest too.

 

[Parks]

I'm not really sure beer is a good hobby to force yourself to do. Too much cleaning, preparing, planning, work on brew day.

If I didn't love doing it I sure as f&$k wouldn't have the motivation

 

[dicko]

My thoughts are to keep the 50 litre mash tun and build the Herms and then just do "full volume" mashes straight into your kettle.
This way you dont need a HLT and you cut out the sparge step which would suit a less motivated person such as yourself.
Just heat the water to strike temp through the herms into the mash tun a away you go.
The argument will be " you'll lose efficiency" well if you have a good false bottom in your mash tun and a good grain crush then the loss is minimal.
Cheers

 

[Logman]

I'm not always motivated to brew, so I sometimes tap into my motivation to drink to get motivated to brew...

 

[Dave70]

Maybe 00 gauge electric train sets and papier mache landscape backgrounds (and miniature English Villages of course) might be a better option for you then you can sell the HERMS and spend the money on an air still for $200 and get hammered and cheer on the Fat Controller ...........

I'm thinking of switching to

I think you'll find it's now Sir Topham Hatt instead of that other politically incorrect reference.

About time to.

So offensive.

 

[seamad]

Joe Hockey probably complained to the producers about it, he doesn't like being called fat, especially by redheads.

 

[Bribie G]

Yes and the golliwogs have been airbrushed out of all the Noddy books as well I notice. There's one story that has actually been expunged from the literary record where Noddy gets mugged by a gang of golliwog homies who strip him naked and steal his car. "it isn't very good in the dark, dark wood". I had that book as a kid and nobody ever believes that such a book existed.

Well here's the money-shot page. Found it, although that site will probably be shut down fairly quickly. You'll notice that Enid covered her ass by describing him as a "little nodding man" rather than a minor.
Nodding, hmm, wonder where she got that idea from. hahahahahahahaha

 

[Dave70]

Joe Hockey probably complained to the producers about it, he doesn't like being called fat, especially by redheads.

If that's the case, guess Noddy's mate will be the next in line for some PC re-naming.

 

[Dave70]

Yes and the golliwogs have been airbrushed out of all the Noddy books as well I notice. There's one story that has actually been expunged from the literary record where Noddy gets mugged by a gang of golliwog homies who strip him naked and steal his car. "it isn't very good in the dark, dark wood". I had that book as a kid and nobody ever believes that such a book existed.

Well here's the money-shot page. Found it, although that site will probably be shut down fairly quickly. You'll notice that Enid covered her ass by describing him as a "little nodding man" rather than a minor.
Nodding, hmm, wonder where she got that idea from. hahahahahahahaha

noddy.png

Its important not to offend anyone.
Especially those of us with delicate sensibilities. Like builders - ect.

http://metro.co.uk/2008/01/23/three-little-pigs-banned-for-offending-muslims-and-builders-649240/