98 replies to this topic

[HarvInSTL]

Love the cart.  Mobile brew unit!

 

Do you have to remove the Anvil system from the cart to clean it or is this CIP?

 

What is the induction burner for?

I do remove the system from the cart. I like to clean that bottom shelf, the little riser that the Foundry sits on and have closer access to cleaning the pump. So for my needs removing would occur either way.

I clean it by setting onto my DIY carboy/keg cleaner.

 

The induction burner is used for sparging. I put a 3 gal pot on there after mash in. It was about $30 from Amazon.

 

I like the cart idea, though I probably won't do it myself as I will end up leaving the unit in the same place. The main reason I had the instinct to put the unit on a stand is gravity transfer into the fermenter. But even full of wort, the unit doesn't weigh much and would be easy to lift. Better, I have the pump and could just use that to transfer into the fermenter. Cool!

I brew in our laundry room so during normal business hours it needs to be out of the way. There are quite a few pictures of different setups in the Anvil Foundry All-Grain Brewing User Group on Facebook.

[porter]

I do remove the system from the cart. I like to clean that bottom shelf, the little riser that the Foundry sits on and have closer access to cleaning the pump. So for my needs removing would occur either way.
I clean it by setting onto my DIY carboy/keg cleaner.

The induction burner is used for sparging. I put a 3 gal pot on there after mash in. It was about $30 from Amazon.

I brew in our laundry room so during normal business hours it needs to be out of the way. There are quite a few pictures of different setups in the Anvil Foundry All-Grain Brewing User Group on Facebook.

Details on the carboy/keg cleaner?

What have your experiences been with sparging on the Foundry? Worthwhile?

Unfortunately, I don't do Facebook. Still figuring out the best way to design my future brewing area, which is about a 4x5 foot area off the laundry room with a basin.

[porter]

Just tasted my first beer on this system (Old Chub clone). Has an off flavor (almost plasticky) which I suppose could be from the small amount of smoked malt, but I wonder if it is chlorophenols. Our water supply uses chlorine for disinfection but I'd never bothered with dechlorinating because I'd assumed the chlorine was lost while heating the strike water. Never any off flavors. However, with this system, I put the lid on while heating the strike water so this may have been prevented due to refluxing of the steam. Guess I'll be ordering some campden tabs...

Edited by porter, 23 September 2020 - 08:26 PM.

[zymot]

Always. Step #1, get rid of chlorine and/or chloramine before you do anything else with your water. Do not rely on heating or boiling to drive off chlorine or chloramine. 1 campden tablet treats 20 gallons. It is too easy and too cheap of a step to bypass.

[porter]

Heating or time works as reliably (more, actually) as the chemical reaction but this is the first time where I've created a situation where chlorophenols might be possible so I will grudgingly consider the campden. I'm not totally convinced that's the off flavor (I haven't used smoked malt before, and the is a young beer), but my beers rarely have major flaws, so this is notable to me.

[positiveContact]

Heating or time works as reliably (more, actually) as the chemical reaction but this is the first time where I've created a situation where chlorophenols might be possible so I will grudgingly consider the campden. I'm not totally convinced that's the off flavor (I haven't used smoked malt before, and the is a young beer), but my beers rarely have major flaws, so this is notable to me.

I think your statement up top might be true for chlorine but not chloramine. Campden tablets take care of both to a level where you won't taste any off flavors in my experience.

Edited by Mando, 24 September 2020 - 03:58 AM.

[matt6150]

Any chance it's not the beer itself and rather the serving line? I had a beer that was plasticky and it turned out it was this picnic tap I was using because I had too many beers on tap at the time and was serving out of the on deck fridge. That picnic tap line was old and had been laying around awhile.

[porter]

Yeah, aware of that - specifically, we have chlorine, not chloramine. I've always been a fan of avoiding extra steps and additives unless there's solid evidence of benefit. I've never heated strike water in a covered vessel, so never had this consideration before. Chlorine leaves hot water very quickly - if it has somewhere to go (completely gone from boiling water within 10 minutes, a little longer for just hot water).

Eta: this was a sample from a wine thief before kegging, so definitely the beer itself.

Edited by porter, 24 September 2020 - 05:39 AM.

[positiveContact]

Yeah, aware of that - specifically, we have chlorine, not chloramine. I've always been a fan of avoiding extra steps and additives unless there's solid evidence of benefit. I've never heated strike water in a covered vessel, so never had this consideration before. Chlorine leaves hot water very quickly - if it has somewhere to go (completely gone from boiling water within 10 minutes, a little longer for just hot water).

Eta: this was a sample from a wine thief before kegging, so definitely the beer itself.

 

campden tablets in large amounts are the gateway drug to lodo.  look out!

[HVB]

campden tablets in large amounts are the gateway drug to lodo.  look out!

I would only use .4g of NaMETA in a 6g batch as part of the trifecta.  I do no think that is a large amount.

[positiveContact]

I would only use .4g of NaMETA in a 6g batch as part of the trifecta.  I do no think that is a large amount.

 

wasn't a high amount part of the original LODO deal?  I'm sure different people do different things.  I was only joking though since Porter was talking about keeping things as simple as possible.

[porter]

Simplicity, and would also like to avoid sulfites in my beer if possible. Because this has a timer and I plan to usually set up the night before, I may just set it up to be at temp an hour before I plan to mash in, and leave the lid 1/3 off. That should take care of the chlorine without additives.

Eta: I think I used campden when I started brewing and thought my beer improved when I left it out.

Edited by porter, 24 September 2020 - 07:56 AM.

[HVB]

wasn't a high amount part of the original LODO deal?  I'm sure different people do different things.  I was only joking though since Porter was talking about keeping things as simple as possible.

They backtracked on that number quickly.  

[positiveContact]

They backtracked on that number quickly.

Ah, got it!

[positiveContact]

Simplicity, and would also like to avoid sulfites in my beer if possible. Because this has a timer and I plan to usually set up the night before, I may just set it up to be at temp an hour before I plan to mash in, and leave the lid 1/3 off. That should take care of the chlorine without additives.

Eta: I think I used campden when I started brewing and thought my beer improved when I left it out.

Most of the sulfites will react and the rest will boil off if you believe Matt B.

I'm fairly certain they are also a natural byproduct of fermentation.

[porter]

Sulfite will volatilize if unreacted, but can potentially react with other chemicals in the wort and leave sulfur compounds in your beer. I forget what exactly changed when I stopped using campden but it seemed like an improvement at the time. Ok, I've talked myself out of the campden tablets. Just set the timer for an hour earlier.

[positiveContact]

At high temperatures it will do so faster, right? I bring my water to the 160f or higher before it every sees any grain. Not sure how you do things though.
I also leave my water overnight after putting in the campden tablet because I just like to have it measured ahead of time.

[porter]

If I remember correctly, you get sulfur dioxide from breakdown of excess campden. That is considerably more water soluble than chlorine, so heat conditions that cause the sulfites to leave would have caused the chlorine to leave sooner anyway. You're going to have residual sulfites if you use campden. Sulfites are a better residual in your beer then chlorine and I understand some people want them there for hopes of antioxidant properties. If you're heating your water to 160 degrees in topical homebrew times, the chlorine (not chloramine) is going to be gone as chlorine gas before you mash in, with or without campden. I was just worried I created a situation where the chlorine couldn't leave effectively.

[Genesee Ted]

I always boiled my water the day before. Seemed to work well. Now I use an activated carbon filter. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

[MakeMeHoppy]

I have two (well more) 4 gallon water bottles that my neighbor used to get from Walmart (non-returnable). So on brewday I would always fill them and leave them uncapped for a day and then use that for my next brewing water.

It's also good to have at least 8 gallons of drinkable water just in case there is a problem with the water company

Edited by MakeMeHoppy, 24 September 2020 - 02:15 PM.