Chilling Out In A 1brm Apartment

[PistolPatch]

Just started chilling my first un-assisted AG in my 1BRM apartment and as The Pub is for, 'general chit-chat,' thought I'd ramble a bit as I wait.

My 70lt Robinox arrived today (was going to brew Sat but no pot) and I have to tell you that this is one heavy SOB! My goodness! Very pleased with the exorbitant amount of money spent ($250 but you can get them for $215.)

Started at 4pm and lost about 20 minutes in 'production,' time through a visitor so would have started chill at about 8:40pm. All else OK as Ross trained me up well!

The 70lt I think has a few advantages in the boilover department as I had a near one just before the 2nd hop addition - weird? From all I've read boilovers are meant to occurr at the hot break or just after hop additions. I only have a 3 ring burner and wanted a slightly more vigorous boil than I was getting so I put the lid on but not fully covered at about 60 minutes. 5 minutes before 2nd hop addition a near boil-over but it wouldn't have mattered if I missed it as the bubbles were so large at the top of the kettle they just evaporated. Nice to know that you can relax the entire way through a boil.

Pint Of Lager warned me about the steam. My windows are totally fogged up as my visitor closed the damn verandah door(!), and when I just threw the chiller in I noticed the ceiling was dripping - whoops! Immediately covered the kettle before chilling.

That's probabloy enough of a ramble for now. I'll go and rock my kettle again - I have a unique set-up where you can rock the kettle instead of shaking the chiller!

Cheers PP

P.S. Noticed another thread here tonight about burners. If you're in an apartment I don't think you should use a NASA burner as they are way too noisy! I have no idea about the Mongolian.

 

[Stuster]

Agree about the NASA and apartments. I have both :angry: though luckily I'm a balcony brewer so I can shut the door and reduce it to rock concert volume instead.

Glad to hear your first solo mission is going so well that you can post at the same time. Boilovers can happen any time if the heat's too high. I did my first few AGs inside and so I know just what you mean about the condensation - which is why I moved outside. No room on your verandah?

What are you brewing anyway?

Happy rockin'.

 

[PistolPatch]

though luckily I'm a balcony brewer so I can shut the door and reduce it to rock concert volume instead.

What are you brewing anyway?

[post="130078"][/post]​

LOL!

Brewing Ross's schwarzbier again but will have to use ale yeast which turned out really well last time. Anyway, tonight doesn't really matter too much Stuster as it's just for the QLD Xmas in July Swap so I won't have to drink too much of it. (This is a PM I'm sending isn't it?)

Next one is on Saturday and will be a quasi-lagr to please my mates who have no taste in beer.

Threw the ice chiller in about 10 minutes ago so I better go and have a look!

 

[warrenlw63]

PP.

If you're worried about the inherent risks of rocking your pot, not to mention the drudgery a quick trip to Bunnings and a little bit of stuffing around you can knock up one of these. Just takes some ally strip and a bit of round ally tubing and a couple of S/S screws.

I just pop it in my cordless drill and with the trigger gently squeezed (should be easy given your forum name :lol: ) I just give it the occasional burst to move the wort around the chiller.

I have an 11mm hole drilled dead centre in the lid of my pot and just insert the paddle through and leave it in the last 15-20 mins of the boil with the chiller. When your wort drops below about 40 degrees you can let the drill rip a bit faster to move the wort better and create a whirlpool which should move most of your hop sludge to the middle of the pot.

Well done PP. :beerbang: Brewing in a small apartment would not be without it's perils and it sounds like you're really getting it together.

I could say I've got a bit of empathy for you. Before SWMBO booted me out to the garage to brew (something I'll always thank her for). I used to brew 40 litre batches in our 6ft x 6ft laundry. The final straw came when I bent and subsequently broke the lid on the washing machine lifting the boiler onto it to drain the fermenters. h34r:

BTW. Glad to see you're covering your pot whilst chilling too.

Warren -

 

[Aussie Claret]

Well done PP, my next one's in a few weeks time, can't wait to get started.
AC

 

[PistolPatch]

Warren : I like your stirrer, what a beauty! Thanks for taking the trouble to post the pic. Yep the small space is a bit of a hassle. Have just come home to face the clean-up - just lifting that 70lt Robinox is an effort! I'm also wondering about evaporation from that pot.* Another good thing with that pot too Warren was that the lid covers really well during the chill. Thanks again.

Aussie: Wish I had your brewery here last night!

*I'm not sure where I went wrong on this brew but I ended up with 14 litres of wort at 1080. I added 9 litres of cold water which brought it to 23 litres at 1052 which is spot on but where did all that wort go?

I added 15 lt for the mash
then another 1.7 lt boiling water as my strike was a few degrees off
then 7.5lt for first sparge
and finaly 14 lt for the second sparge

All that adds up to 38.2 litres so where did it all go? It was a 90 minute boil and the pot is very wide (45cm) but surely I couldn't have evaporated an extra 9 lts? Mind you the roof of the apartment was pretty wet!

I was sober too for that part of the operation at least. If anyone has any ideas, that would be great as I have to do another brew on Saturday.

Cheers
PP

 

[warrenlw63]

PP

Your pot is quite a wide diameter. On a good day evaporating about 13-15 litres via a 90 minute boil is not impossible. If you want to reduce the evaporation maybe turn your flame down and cover the pot a little more with your lid.

Just topping up like you did will be fine. If I overboil I just add the water back from the HLT in the last 15-20 mins.

70 Litres and stainless? I have to admit to being a bit jealous PP. :beerbang:

Edit: spellerhhing

Warren -

 

[MVZOOM]

Man - a 70l pot - that's outragious! Just like my spelling!

Cheers- Mike

 

[TidalPete]

*I'm not sure where I went wrong on this brew but I ended up with 14 litres of wort at 1080. I added 9 litres of cold water which brought it to 23 litres at 1052 which is spot on but where did all that wort go?

PP,

Sounds like you had an entertaining afternoon? I also have the 70 litre ss Robinox & needed a pre-boil volume of 37 litres to get 23L & was amazed after my dry run that I needed so much. A lot of the extra volume is taken up with the dead space under the outlet where a lot of my wort lay uncollected (even with a pickup tube). How far up the side have you put your ball valve? I found that the large radius at the bottom of the Robinox forced me to drill the outlet hole higher up the side than desired thus increasing the dead space under (The solution to this, of course, is to get a ss fitting welded on to the outer radius at the bottom). Also, as Warren says, the 450mm dia of the pot makes for an increased evaporation rate as well (6 litres over 90 minutes with my NASA on low & the lid half over). I seem to have solved my problem with the pre- boil volume (If it's really a "problem"?) by getting a hop sock -- see Post 39 here. Even the sieve mentioned seems to be surplus to requirements. Hope this is a help?

:beer:

 

[browndog]

Jeez PP, that is one big pot. You could close all the doors and windows and invite those nice lady friends of yours round for a wort sauna! The mind boggles at the thought, missing hop additions and boil overs for sure.

cheers

Browndog

 

[PistolPatch]

LOL! The pot is outrageous. I knew the measurements when I ordered it but was totally surprised at what turned up. I've heard others have had a similiar experience when internet dating.

It's great to hear from Warren and Tidal that the evaporation is that high as all yesterday I was thinking I must have stuffed up. I had a look at the pot when I got home yesterday and had a look at the, 'tidal,' marks on the side - definitely evaporated. I'll go for a more gentle boil but it's such a long way down looking in the pot it's hard to even see what's going on!

I just used an auto-syphon to drain it Tidal and had only about a lt wastage as I put the kettle on a bit of a tilt. I also had the hop sock so this was its christening and it worked a treat! Thanks for the other info as well. Too scared to drill into the bugger just yet but am pleased with the syphon for the moment. I will make up a dipstick for the monster though to get a better idea of what's going on.

Thanks for the idea of adding water at the end of the boil too Warren and don't be too jealous, I can see this kettle costing me money already. I need a mini crane for a start just to lift it! For now I'll just have to use my nice lady friends although the day to day maintainence on those 2 can be quite high.

Pat

 

[warrenlw63]

I will make up a dipstick for the monster though to get a better idea of what's going on.

PP.

Here's another simple but great idea. I use one myself. No more guessing final volume.

Borrett's Kettle Gauge


Warren -

I'll just have to use my nice lady friends although the day to day maintainence on those 2 can be quite high.

Pat

:lol:

Warren -

 

[PistolPatch]

Warren thanks for your link and all the other info above. Much appreciated. That last link got me thinking as I don't want to drill any holes in my brand new Robinox... yet!

The following idea just came to me for an alternative to a dip stick. What do you reckon about a test tube shaped tube with a ball bearing at the bottom? Here's a pic though you probably get my drift without it...



In other words, you push the tube in, the ball bearing lifts up and fills the tube. Lift it out to take a clear reading and then pour the wort back in. Pretty sure I had a gadget like this for some other purpose years ago but it escapes me at the moment.

What made me think of this was that in the link you posted, it relies on being able to see inside the kettle. This kettle is damn hard to see inside at the depths where a normal brew is.

:beer: Pat

 

[poppa joe]

PP
Went to Manufacturers Expo at Darling Harbour
They had all the gadgets needed to lift your kettle
A nice little robot thingy...Also lift your bank balance to Zero.
Sight Gauges,Thermometers,Grain type thingys,etc.
My mind was boggling....
Only came home with their showbags...New mouse pad pens and lollies..
cheers
PJ

 

[Pumpy]

Pistolpatch ,

your enthusiasm for brewing Ag beer is quite incredible, given the size of your 1b apartment .

It may have been wise to breed hamsters as a hobby :blink:

Pumpy

 

[PistolPatch]

That sounds like a dangerous expo for a brewer to visit Poppa. You did well to get out of there with only a few showbags.

Pumpy I wish you'd advised me of that hobby 6 months ago!

As for the dip stick, I'm just going to use a small plastic tube and calibrate it. To get a reading I'll just dip it in the kettle, put my thumb over the top, pull it up, take the reading and then let the wort fall back into the kettle. Simple but I think that'll do me for the moment or at least until it melts!

 

[poppa joe]

PP
They had a few of what u need..3 or 4 roller barley crusher 12ft long..(But the blurb on it says u can also roll metal with it}
One hopper and crusher probably handle about 1000 kg in 10 secs..{But the stupid demonstrator told me it was for crushing plastic}
Got a bit sick on the lollies .But the mouse pad works great..
Cant wait for next one to see what else they come up with..?
Cheers
PJ