Update: brew complete. Diluted 1 qt of finished wort to 1.033, target was 1.052 for og and nailed it. Pitched wyeast 1007 into diluted wort. One of the nutrient packs had worked as expected, the other still intact so sanitized it and opened it and dumped it into my starter with the yeast. Pitching tomorrow morning. KC and the Sunshine Band commencing…
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Even with small beers i do make a starter. From a smack pack. But be patient. It will take of. Some yeast strains. Have a lack time. One thing i did find out while back. Adding yeast nutrient. Helps as well.
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Cool thanks a lot! Looks like the starter seems viable. Pitching a little later.
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Update: it seems to have worked!! Substantial activity from the airlock. I chilled the water bath a little too hard to start (down to 52F) but chugging along nicely now at 62F. FYI for anyone else trying this, it was actually a pint of finished wort, hops and all, that I diluted down to just over a quart, 1.052 down to 1.033. Thanks for your help, everyone!
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A little cool won’t hurt… the yeast may take a bit to get chugging along… then they’ll help warm up the bath water (wort)…
Sneezles61
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Interesting. It will be a bit of a puzzle to try and keep the bath/wort the proper temp using different size frozen water bottles.
Thats actually good procedure start low and rise up through the zone especially with a swamp cooler
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Ok cool thanks! Glad I’m doing it right by accident😂. Will continue to do so in future batches
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You are off to a good X-beerment!
Sneezles61
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Hah! Thanks. I thought this was going to be a simple recipe for my last brew at this place😂
So… either yer moving or not brewing again… I think you said, you don’t hang yer hat on the same nail too long…
Sneezles61
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Definitely brewing again! Can’t stop now, having way too much fun! I move every 6 months or so for work. Gonna miss the water here, tho…
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Once you find a place with good water it will be time to settle down😂
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No I really like the water here! Comes from a pipe stuck straight into a mountain spring, for real!! No filter or anything! I’m actually still awaiting the results of my free Home Depot water test I sent out.
So if its surface water… low ion content (check it with a TDS meter) you could be brewing some really tasty Pils style brews! That’d be enuff fer me to pound in the tent stakes right there!
Sneezles61
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Sweet! Now I’m more excited for my altbier. I’ve never lagered (bottle or otherwise) or tried to control ferm temp before. I finally got some temp strips, swamp cooler, and a bottle lagering plan. Bringing 12 bombers on the road with me for friends/fam. Will look for a TDS meter…
I disagree with boiling DME to make a starter. I don’t see the point. A liter of water at 159F will sterilize DME in 15 min… without boiling. The DME was already wort so there’s no point in boiling for a user other than sterilization and if you don’t even need to boil to sterilize… save the effort of boil overs and cooling times by simply reaching pasteurization temperatures.
So, in my mind… the vessel I’ll boil in may have sumptin’ that shouldn’t be there… So thats my only reason to bring the water to a boil first…
Sneezles61
