The Beer Journals
Est. 1992
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Hello, I'm Dean Palmer, and welcome to my site. Although a very different site today, The Beer Journals was started back in 1992 when I moved to Ft Lauderdale/Miami for my first corporate management job. I created a newsletter of stories and photos that was printed and mailed to friends and colleagues, detailing my adventures in South Florida. I'm not an expert, I don't have a degree in brewing science, I'm a hobbyist, and the intent of this website is not to teach brewing, or to imply that my way is the best way. I do hope that by showing what I have done, and how I do it, might help someone with their process. |
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Custom welded
brew stands available to your specifications and
design.
Kettle drilling for valves, bulkheads, thermometers, etc. Complete All-Grain Brewing Solutions from Basic to Expert. Custom Electric Control Systems. Call or email for information. |
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Links, Recipes, & Places to Go | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Brewery | Kegerators | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fermentors | Sanitation and Cleaning | Growing Potted Hops in Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mash Tuns | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Grain and Milling |
Water,
Filters, and Chloramines! |
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Yeast & Starters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Free Brewing Classes | Current Home Remodel |
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NEW Perlick Perl Faucet! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chilling Wort | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Carbonation | Welding |
Closed-System Fermentation and Transfer Page | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Brewery
Version 6
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View of the brewery showing the electric control panel. Brewing is done with 5500w 240v electric elements. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The
electric control panel uses a 240v/50amp service and
powers three water heater elements. The controllers are
from Auber Instruments. This is a modified and more
compact version of the panels shown at
http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/ but wiring and
configuration is specific to the brewer's request. The
latest version of mine has the programmable timer on the
left, then the slim PIDs in the center for control of the
hot water tank and mash tun, and then a boil controller on
the right side. The newest boil controller from Auber has
the ability to program power in a few stages and also a
timed flameout/shutoff for the end of the boil time. The
blue PIDs at the bottom center are simply used as
thermometers and the probes can be attached at a variety
of optional locations on the brewery depending on the
process happening, such as sparge water temp going in, and
wort temp coming out of the mash tun, or in and out temps
for the HERMS setup when that is being used. I found that
using the PIDs that control the heating elements may not
be the only monitoring you would want for detailed control
of the process, so these were added and work well. These
optional PIDs could also be wired to control other parts
of the process if ever needed.
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![]() The control panel shown above is right
at $900 in parts at my cost, not including the wire for
the main power and to the outputs. Each build is different
and I'd be happy to sit down and create something as
simple or complex as needed.
All of these are commercial quality and will pass electrical inspections and meet code as needed. |
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The 20 gallon
cylindro-conical fermenter is stainless steel with
completely sanitary fittings and valves. No threaded
fittings to trap contaminants. It sits inside a temp
controlled upright freezer and also has a small heater
just in case the Florida garage temps drop below
optimum. It is shown with the sight-glass assembly and
oxygenation stone installed and ready to receive wort
from the next brew session. Although I resisted spending
on conicals for almost a decade, now having one is
really nice. I still can't say if it helps make my beer
better but it is great to be able to harvest yeast for
myself or friends at any time, and to drop out the trub
and debris before pitching yeast.
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Keg Kettles
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Keg kettles are made
from scrapped, damaged, and legally-purchased
stainless-steel 15.5 gallon beer kegs, hence the name
"keggle." I was fortunate enough to have found the
current ones from a keg wholesaler. I also purchased
some from Sabco.com.
Sabco is just about the best place to get a good legal
keg, and their Brew Magic Systems are nice as well.
I cut a 10" or 12" hole in the top and install valves, thermometers, and filtering devices as needed. The Hot Liquor Tank (HLT or water tank) only has a simple pickup tube, the Mash Lauter Tun (MLT or mash kettle) has a false bottom, and the Boil Kettle has a false bottom as well to screen out as much debris as possible before racking the beer to the fermenter. I can build these for you if you are local, and already have your own legal keg that needs cutting or drilling. |
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Welding services for sanitary tri-clamp or threaded ports will be quoted per the brewer's requests and can be done in any configuration. Ports and other parts are usually stocked and ready. 2" ports are installed for electric element adapters, and 1.5" for the standard connections. All ports are flared/swaged and polished for a nice finish. ![]() |
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Firepower
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When brewing
using the smaller portable kettles I use the
Bayou Classic brand cookers because they are readily
available, portable, and able to be used for other
cooking tasks throughout the year. I use the
KAB4, KAB5, KAB6, and SQ-14.
The KAB6 Banjo Burners are the main ones used in my rig. They have 185k to 210k BTU, but the nicest thing about them is the ability to have a nice even simmering heat when needed, for brewing and for any outdoor cooking we do. This KAB4 shown to the left has been modified with edge supports welded on to keep keggles from slipping off the sides. |
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Above and to the left is the KAB6. The wind shield was added by me and is just made out of some tin roof flashing from the hardware store. The frame on the KAB6 is the best so far for holding the keg kettles, and works great for big pots of all kinds. The burner is further away from the kettles so the wind screen helps a bit to direct the heat where needed. It is the same design as the KAB4 and 5, but with some changes they have really made it more powerful. It has a larger air inlet, and I suspect the orifice might be changed, but the regulator seems to the same one as my other KAB series. Worth the extra $$. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Below is a pic
of the Bayou Classic SQ-14 that holds a keggle well,
and is available at many places including Home Depot
for about $45. Works as well as the more expensive
burners, and is quieter, more powerful, and more
efficient than the standard 55K BTU burners.
These are rated up to 150k BTU per the manufacturer,
but seem to really have to work to get 13 gallons to a
rolling boil. Works though.
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Chilling Out
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Recirculation Pump To the left is a pic of my pump that I currently use to recirculate the ice water through the IC instead of wasting it like I did using the pre-chiller. The ice seems to last about the same as before however, and I never connect this pump until the wort is below 100f anyway. It's also a nice way to rinse the cooler after lautering. The pump I have is a 1/2HP from Harbor Freight, but I'd suggest the 1HP model as mine is just enough to do the job with a 50' copper chiller. |
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Why the Ice??? Here in Florida the tap water is rarely if ever cold enough to chill our wort down to pitching temps. To get colder water we need to either recirculate ice water with a pump, or pre-chill the tap water as it goes into the immersion chiller. The recirculation pump has proven to be the best method, and doesn't waste as much water. |
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Pre-Chiller... Don't
waste your time!
This pic shows my pre-chiller in a cooler full of ice, to cool the hot Florida tap water before going into the main immersion chiller inside the keggle. The pre-chiller is just a 3/8" copper immersion chiller like the one that goes into the keggle. Unfortunately this is not the most efficient way of chilling the cooling water. The recirculation pump in a bucket of ice works best. You run the tap water through the immersion chiller until the wort is down to ~100f, and then connect the pump for the ice water to bring the wort to pitching temps. This is the most efficient way to chill your wort in hot Florida weather! |
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Grain Milling
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Below is a picture of grains
crushed at .037 in my BarleyCrusher mill. I'm still
fine-tuning my crush, but I've got it to a place where I
don't have any whole grains, and I'm also not making too
much flour. This is a place I'm looking to improve my
efficiency a bit more. I'm at a consistent 75%
efficiency per Promash Software, so I can't complain.
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Here in Florida our
weather is hot most of the year, and keeping your house
cool enough for even making ales can be impractical. A
solution to that is a dedicated refrigerator or freezer
with an external temperature controller. With this setup
I can ferment any type of beer, at any time of the year,
and it can even be set to cool based on the temp of the
wort for ultimate accuracy. There are cheaper methods,
but no others are "set it and forget it" like this.
Also in my case this has to be a part of our dining area, so other solutions just are not visually acceptable. |
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Shown above is our set of 15
gallon Cornelius keg fermenters. One is used for primary
fermentation, and the other is the secondary
fermentation/conditioning tank. The black and silver
tape you see is to secure the temp sensor to the keg for
stable readings. Once the beer goes into the fermenters,
all transfers of the beer between fermenters, and
between fermenters and serving kegs is done with a
closed system and CO2 pressure. This is to limit any
exposure to oxygen to prevent oxidation of the beer and
also possible exposure to contaminants. The photo to the
right shows the fermentation fridge with a Vittles Vault
fermenter and a few corny kegs which was my old process
before buying the twin 15 gallon stainless kegs.
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Click Here for the Closed-System Fermentation and Transfer Page | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kegging
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Once the beer is made, you
need a container. Kegging makes home brewing wonderful.
You can always bottle a few, but kegging is much less
work with the same or even more consistent results than
bottling. The investment can be a bit more, but it pays
off! Here are some older pics that show that you do not
need a complicated system to keg your beer and maintain
perfect quality.
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Here are photos of beer being
racked from various containers to kegs. I use the same
basic CO2 system to move the beer into the keg that I do
when racking between kegs. In this case I purge the keg
with CO2 before starting and leave the purge valve open
so that the incoming beer purges the gas out as it
rises. As mentioned before, the CO2 pressure used here
is very small and there is little danger of the glass
breaking as the tops will fly off (and have) long before
the glass breaks. The CO2 is also left on through the
entire process so that the airspace in the fermenter is
replaced only with CO2 and not with air from outside.
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Click Here for the Closed-System Fermentation and Transfer Page | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dry-Hopping
Here is the hop bag that I use inside my kegs. It is attached to the pressure release nub on the underside of the lid with a stainless hose clamp. I've also learned to seal the bag with a zip-tie to prevent the hop sludge from escaping if I leave the bag in while shaking to force-carbonate. This method allows you to remove the bag without reaching into the keg, thus reducing the risk of contamination. It also allows the lid seal to properly seal unlike other methods that run something like dental floss or fishing line through the seal. Of course you need to sanitize everything before use! |
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Serving
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Here is Kegerator #1 (circa
2003?). It can hold 4 of the 5 gallon homebrew kegs, and
serves 3 of them at any time. It can also hold
commercial kegs if needed. All the hardware is stainless
steel, and the faucets are the forward-sealing type.
Each keg has a separate regulator for serving at
different pressures, or force-carbonating.
It is made from a Frigidaire freezer, and the temperature is now controlled by an external controller instead of the factory thermostat. The collar is made with a frame of regular 2x4's and it has a red oak trim panel. The original lid is simply remounted to the collar, and the collar is sealed to the freezer with some foam tape. |
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Here is Kegerator #2. It is an older
Beverage-Air DD68 that I just refurbished. It is shown
with 6 taps and will hold as many as 12 cornies, but
that space was mainly for storage and lagering of beer
that just came from the fermenters.
Newly added are lower trim panels made from polished aluminum diamond-plate to give it a really tough look. I pimped out my kegerator! The only issue with these commercial units is the noise. There is a fan that runs constantly, but the real killer is when the compressor kicks in. We had this in the same room as the TV, and in some cases we are turning the volume up and down when the kegerator cycles. If it wasn't for the function and convenience of the front doors and stainless top, I'd just build another chest freezer kegerator and have a quiet house again! I've started to build a noise baffle system with some acoustic foam panels, but you just can't restrict the airflow very much, and that is where the sound travels. |
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Other Stuff
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The
Vittles-Vault containers use the Gamma-Seal Lid
system, which has a rubber gasket between the lid
mount and the bucket which is not visible, and another
seal between the actual screw-on lid and the mounting
rim. To make sure this hidden area gets clean when you
use this lid system for fermenting, you should remove
the lid mount. This was not a thought of the people
who designed the system, so I simply made the holes
like you'd find on regular bucket lids with a drill,
being careful not to drill through anything but the
outer rim. Then with a utility knife I made cuts
downward. This allows the edges of the lid to flex and
be able to release from the bucket. After breaking the
first lid after repeated and difficult removals, this
was a good fix!
The Gamma-Seal lid systems are great for dry storage in buckets and such, but are clearly not the best for fermenters and liquid storage. I would advise against using them ,or the Vittles Vault containers for fermenting in unless you really have to use a single container. Just buy two regular fermenting buckets or carboys and be happy. |
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My email
address is Dean_Palmer@jabil.com
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