Hop Charts

I've been saving these two nice images I found on the internet to share with you guys. The first one is a generic IBU vs Original Gravity. This is a great quick reference when looking to formulate your own recipes. Depending on how you like your beer, plan accordingly with this handy tool.

The second image is something I want framed in my brew cave! This fancy ass piece of artwork is a hop reference to end all hop references. I has nearly every single hop available right now. It also provides flavors/aromas associated with each hop, and how much of those particular flavors/aromas are contributed. This is probably thee single best hop reference chart available. (Click on the image for the full scale)

One Love Wit

Here's the new brew recipe. I wanted to put together a nice Belgian style Witbier for summer. ...something light and white.... Here's what I came up with.

My buddy Pete (local cellarman at Mother Earth Brewing) introduced me to a peppery wit that MEB had in their tap room. It was delish!! I haven't commited to any pepper yet in this recipe, but I may have to add a small bit in at the end of the boil. Here's what I got so far:

Amount      Item                             Type 
5.00 lb     Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (1.6 SRM)    Grain 
5.00 lb     White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM)       Grain 
0.25 lb     Acid Malt (3.0 SRM)              Grain

Time    Amount    Item                               Type
60 min  0.50 oz   Sterling [7.50 %] (60 min)         Hops 
10 min  0.50 oz   Saaz [4.00 %] (10 min)             Hops 
5 min   0.50 oz   Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 min)      Misc 
5 min   0.50 oz   Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 5.0 min) Misc

60 min single infusion mash 152°.  Double batch sparge.

Est Original Gravity: 1.053 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG 
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.11 %  
Bitterness: 15.8 IBU 
Calories: 43 cal/pint 
Est Color: 3.9 SRM

Kegerator Build - Part Two

Well some of the hardware has begun to come in. I got my stainless steel drip tray from barproducts.com. This tray is by far the cheapest anywhere. Most of the same size drip trays from homebrew supply stores are twice if not more expensive. Also, my perlick 425SS faucets came in from Austin Home Brew Supply. From what I've been reading, if you want to buy faucets, you should always buy either Perlick or the now defunct Ventmatic. Both are forward sealing faucets. Standard chrome faucets are backward sealing, and if are not used all the time, can become quite stuck.

I've also finished the shelf for the kegs. Instead of using regular wood, I used recycled composite lumber. I chose to go with this because of the moist environment in the fridge. Composite lumber will hold up better then the regular or pressure treated lumber.

Here's a few updated pics!

Here's the top of the fridge where I've cut the insulation. Instead of trying to glue the vinyl flooring, I separated the plastic from the insulation, and stuffed the flooring into the gap.

Here's a snapshot of the stand for the kegs. I can fit 2 underneath, and 4 on top. The CO2 thank should (hopefully) fit on the raised area on the floor of the fridge behind the 2 kegs.

I used 2 inch brackets to hold the legs up for the stand. I used composite deck railings. They just needed to be cut to length.

The wife admiring my handiwork!

A closeup of the back of the fridge where the insulation was exposed. There wasn't enough plastic sticking out to be able to glue the piece in, so what I did was shaped the flooring, and filled it with Great Stuff. This gave it nice stability. You can see it oozing out the top and bottom of the flooring piece.

The drip tray is a great piece to have, however eventually it needs a good cleaning. For cleaning convenience I decided to use industrial strength velcro to secure the tray down to the brackets. In case you didn't know what velcro looked like... here's a closeup!

Here's the mounted drip tray.

All this work is making me thirsty...

Kegerator Build - Part One

Well, I've finally had enough with bottling. I mean we have probably 300 bottles in our house. They take up too much freaking room!! With the amount that we currently brew, bottling just takes up too much extra time. So it's time to Keg!!!

The side by side fridge that we picked up last year will be the kegerator. However, the problem with a side by side fridge, is that you have this big ass wall halfway between the freezer and fridge section. It takes up a lot of space! Solution? As Ronald Regan probably would have said it:

"We welcome beer and soda; for we believe that carbon dioxide and malt beverage go together, that the advances of brewing beer can only strengthen the cause of world peace. There is one sign that Jeremy can make, that would be unmistakable; that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. Jeremy Ryan Schulz, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for Eastern North Carolina, if you seek liberalization, come here to this refrigerator. Mr. Schulz, open this door. Mr. Schulz, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!"

Can't argue with Reagan!

Here's a bunch of pics from the build!

Here's the refrigerator before anything is done to it. Time to demolish!!



The first step was to cut through the wall. I used a dremel for most of it, because the plastic was quite thick. For touching up later I would eventually use a utility knife.



The insulation was in there pretty good. They must use a ton of glue at the fridge factory!



All of the center insulation has been removed. I left about 2 feet of wall to support a second level on the fridge side.



The ice machine remnants were the next to go. Screws started coming out of this thing left and right! Since we've had the fridge, there has always been an annoying rattling noise when fridge shuts off. I always attributed this to issues with the compressor (perhaps a loose bolt). However with the ice machine off, I could see the problem. The evaporator fan motor was the problem. Upon removing it, I found that the bearings were shot.



So with a ton of digging (thank god for the internet), I was able to find a spare motor/fan assembly (Our fridge is not what you would consider "name brand"). I found the assembly from Timer King. It turns out Timer King is a family owned business up in Superior, WI! Yeah Sconnie! Represent! (Plus the free shipping rocked). Here's me holding up the defunct motor/fan next to our shiny new (quiet) one.



The ice maker dispenser in the door had to go. Not only is this thing barely insulated, but the mildew growing up inside it was turning my stomach. Here's the back of the assembly.



Since removing the assembly left a ton of empty space that was not covered by insulation, I sprayed a ton of Great Stuff into it. This helped to seal it up, and provide some strength to the gap that was created.



The nice thing about having the left over Great Stuff was that I was able to fill the lids to my mash tun and hot liquor tank. This allowed me to up the R-value, so my mash temps would stay more stable. Bonus!



I sealed the inside (where the ice would normally fall into the ice dispenser with a spare chunk of plastic that I had previously cut out of the middle.



I was tempted to take the front of this off, and replace it with plain plastic, however I just couldn't due to the words on the front. "Convenience Center". Well the "Convenience Center" will now be a convenient place to set my beer! I'll eventually sand the excess Great Stuff out of there and seal it up with some caulk.



Next I sanded and smoothed all the insulation/plastic where I had previously cut.



Proper attire is needed when sanding insulation. Proper attire is also needed when robbing banks. I'm set for both.



I used Gorilla Glue (best glue ever) to seal the insulation back to the plastic. Gorilla glue requires clamping of the materials for about one hour.



I wanted something that would seal up the bare insulation. I thought about using plastic pieces from hole I cut, but I wouldn't get a good enough seal. I ended up going to a local carpet/flooring store, and asking for some old vinyl flooring. They let me peruse their dumpster, and I found some pieces just the size I was looking for. Color on the other hand....is a bit off, but oh well it's free!! :-)



I removed the back of the fridge door in order to put on the braces for the drip tray. Holy mildew Batman! Get the bleach!


I picked up some corner brackets from Lowes for a few bucks. Using 3 inch bolts, I secured them to the door. The drip tray will sit across these brackets.


I used fender washers as well as an extra bracket I cut in half for the back of the door.

Well that's all I have finished so far. As parts start coming in, and more time allows I'll post the new updates! Thanks for reading!