17 replies to this topic

[jammer]

So, its been about 5 years since I have brewed any beer.   And a move.  All my brewing gear has been sitting around in the garage and collecting dust, and mouse droppings. Gross!    I've been thinking about doing it again.  Really I was!  The problem:  no motivation.  I'm lazy.  LOL.   So I have learned long ago, i have to push myself into things headfirst.  Example:  I bought 18 chicks from the feed store to motivate myself to build a chicken coop.  I now have a great flock of productive egg layers.  :-)   So a few days ago, I stopped in to my formerly frequented LHBS and purchased ingredients for two 5 gallon batches.  It worked!  Most of my gear is already cleaned up and ready for sanitizing, and brewing!   

 

So......  I was always a ProMash guy.  I still have my copy and all my past brews are stored in it.  I remember it being pretty clunky, but once I got the hang of it, I really like it.  The water calculations were such a pain in the ass!  It was a bitch to set up the water volumes needed.  Also, what happened to White Labs and Wyeast yeast?    The yeast I bought isnt in the database.   Bummer.   Since I have forgotten most of how ProMash works,  maybe now is a good time to switch over to something more current.  What do you guys use?    I have a very simple brewery, nothing fancy.  I made my mashtun out of a cooler and built a pvc manifold for it.  I have a large plastic fermenter for primary, and move to glass carboys for secondary.    I have everything to keg, except for the kegs.  I sold those off when I moved.  I plan on buying a few more, but may have to bottle the first few batches.    

 

It feels good to be back!   Now I just have to figure out which day I want to dive back in!  Woo hoo!!

 

 

[positiveContact]

Bru'n water for water stuff.

I use a homemade Spreadsheet for other stuff but I think there are other good options out there for the basic recipe formulation stuff that provides volumes, temperatures, etc.

[MtnBrewer]

Honestly I still use ProMash. But if you're looking for something with a more modern UI, BeerSmith seems to be the best thing going. I never switched over to it because I like the way ProMash separates recipes from brewing sessions.

 

And I agree with Mando that Bru'n water is great for water additions

 

Also you can add yeast (or anything else for that matter) to the database. LMK and I can walk you through it.

[jammer]

Honestly I still use ProMash. But if you're looking for something with a more modern UI, BeerSmith seems to be the best thing going. I never switched over to it because I like the way ProMash separates recipes from brewing sessions.

 

And I agree with Mando that Bru'n water is great for water additions

 

Also you can add yeast (or anything else for that matter) to the database. LMK and I can walk you through it.

 

I like that about ProMash too.  At first, it confused me, but now it just seems so natural to separate the two.  I know that I have added things to the database a long time ago, but would need a refresher.  What all do you have to enter for the yeast?   

[MtnBrewer]

I like that about ProMash too.  At first, it confused me, but now it just seems so natural to separate the two.  I know that I have added things to the database a long time ago, but would need a refresher.  What all do you have to enter for the yeast?   

Just whatever data you can dig up, like attenuation rates, flavor profile, origin, etc.. Really you don't truly need much of anything beyond the name. I don't think the program uses any of that data like it would with AA% for hops, for example. It's mostly just for reference.

[positiveContact]

Just whatever data you can dig up, like attenuation rates, flavor profile, origin, etc.. Really you don't truly need much of anything beyond the name. I don't think the program uses any of that data like it would with AA% for hops, for example. It's mostly just for reference.

I assume it uses the attenuation for a rough estimate? Guessing FG seems to depend on other factors beyond og and yeast though so maybe they don't bother?

Edited by Mando, 11 March 2021 - 10:11 AM.

[HVB]

I assume it uses the attenuation for a rough estimate? Guessing FG seems to depend on other factors beyond og and yeast though so maybe they don't bother?

I doubt it.  I know in Beertools Pro I have to put in the attenuation I want.  It defaults to 75%

[MtnBrewer]

ProMash doesn't do FG estimates, which I sort of like too because they can be misleading.

[jammer]

I think ill fire up the brewery tomorrow morning.  The only way to do it is to dive right in.  I have ingredients for two 5 gallon batches.  One is for an American Pale Ale, similar to SNPA.   The other is for an American Amber Ale.   Not sure which ill start with, probably the Amber.   

 

I have always kept my brewing very simple, not having tons of money to invest, and also cuz I just want to have fun.  For me, it's always been just a hobby that produces cheaper beer.  I never really took the water science part of it very serious, other than adding some gypsum upon recommendation from my LHBS when I lived in the city.  Now I live in a place where I am on a well.  I have been told it is the same water that comes out of a natural spring at the back of the property and that it is some of the best around.  It is awesome right out of the tap, no off flavors at all.  I am pretty excited to see how much, if any, this will affect my beer.   I have yet to have it tested to see what my water profile is.  I guess I'll worry about that down the road a bit, after refamiliarize myself with my brewing system.  

 

I'm actually a little nervous.  LOL.  Wish me luck!

[jammer]

OH, and I was going back through my brewing notes, my last brew session was 3/9/14.   A little longer than the 4-5 years I had thought it was. 

[djinkc]

No software recommendation but you are going to love the smell on brewday after that long.  My break was quite a bit longer

[MtnBrewer]

Good to see you getting back in it! You'll probably goof something up but that's okay. You'll have fun and you'll make beer and that's the main thing. Let us know how it goes/went.

 

As for the water, if it's really soft, you'll probably still want to add some gypsum to hoppy beers and maybe some calcium chloride to less hoppy ones -- especially if they're pale. Our water here is snowmelt so it's almost as soft as you can get. I always add calcium in some form to insure that I get good starch conversion.

[jammer]

Well, I did it!  I brewed up a hoppy Pale Ale, think SNPA-ish.  It actually went very well.  No major problems at all.  The only thing that irritated the hell out of me was after cooling and whirlpooling the wort,  I was using my new autosiphon (i found my old one, broken) to transfer to primary fermentation vessel, and it clogged up with all the hop debris.   I remember now that is why I preferred using whole hops in hop sacks.  Now its all pellets, and it turn to green goo.  I ended up leaving about 1.5 gallons behind.  How does everyone else deal with the sludge?  Do the hop sacks actually contain the pellets or is it a waste of time?   

 

It feels great to brew again!  I have ingredients for one more batch, but need to wait until I free up my fermenter.  Woo hoo!: 

 

ETA:  Should I have just dumped it all into the fermenter?  I thought about it, but decided against it. 

Edited by jammer, 13 March 2021 - 08:37 AM.

[jammer]

No software recommendation but you are going to love the smell on brewday after that long.  My break was quite a bit longer

 

You are so right!  I loved it.  And ive already been in the spare room sniffing airlocks this morning.  LOL

[positiveContact]

You are so right!  I loved it.  And ive already been in the spare room sniffing airlocks this morning.  LOL

 

don't do what I did one time and stick your head in the chest freezer to take a hit.  I almost passed out.  I don't think there was a whole lot of O2 in there.

Edited by Mando, 13 March 2021 - 01:16 PM.

[MyaCullen]

The beersmith lite app is pretty handy, I use it on my Fire Tablet on brewdays.

 

On the PC I've been using the opensource Brewtarget.

 

My PC with Promash is still in a box in the garage.

[HVB]

I mainly use an excel spreadsheet but the brewfather app is pretty nice and free.

[matt6150]

I use Promash and bru'n water.