After some delay, I was able to complete the California Common brew day. I woke up to a surprising amount of new snow on the ground and more snow falling out of the sky. After some shoveling, brewing commenced.
I had more luck keeping my mash temperature around where I wanted it. I was targeting a 150°F temperature and monitored it with a probe thermometer. After about 30 minutes, the temperature was down 5 degrees. I was able to infuse a quart and a half of boiling water to raise it back up to 148°F which lasted for the rest of the hour.
The boil went well except for a bit of a boilover. With 15 minutes to go, I put in my wort chiller and the outake hose got a little too close to the flame.
I was still able to use it, but it got a bit crispy. I took a few photos with my phone to capture the brew day and show off the damage.
The snow helped chill the wort down quickly. I aerated for the first time and was glad to see that fermentation started up 6 hours after I pitched the yeast, if not sooner.
It’s bubbling away at 62°F in my basement.
Señor Brew™
It’s not a true brew day unless something gets melted. See how I melted my computer keyboard here:
http://noblesquarebrewing.blogspot.com/2009/11/dunkel-brewday-photos.html
Mike
Nice an “on deck’ brew day. I was wondering if you were going to be buried in snow out back or on the deck. I wanted to stop by but the snow and my other house were calling.
John
Señor,
Can’t say I have melted a keyboard before. That’s good stuff.
Mike,
The deck was prepared the day before but I wasn’t prepared for the 4-5 inches of snow we got.