Thursday, March 30, 2006
The hopocalypse commeth...
I brewed my Double IPA tonight. Gravity came out at 1.087 - Woot! My hop scale has been acting a little wonky recently, so I am concerned it wasn't hopped as aggressively as I wanted, but it'll still be plenty hoppy. Despite recalibrating several times, I think my hop scale may be off... need to find some more intermediate weights to make sure that 50g is really 50g.
I also completed another project - my Crankandstein grain mill is now motorized. Wish I could post pictures for you all, but Donna brought the digital camera with her to Atlanta. I'll have to post it next week sometime once she's back. I used it tonight for the first time and I gotta tell you - it is the epitome of sweetness. It gives a much more consistent and perfect crush than my hand drill did. I spent $75 on a 1/3HP, 100 in-lb torque, 151 RPM reversable 120V motor from Herbach & Rademan over in Jersey. It arrived in perfect condition. The remainder of my motor-related parts I ordered from McMaster-Carr, those being a capacitor and spider couplings for about $25. All my hardware, lumber, and wiring accessories I picked up at Home Depot down at People's Plaza. I guess all told I spent another $120-130 to get the mill motorized, but considering the results I won't complain. And if you think about it, all of that junk is still a fraction of the cost of the original mill and well worth it.... it'll last me forever.
My yeast starter for Sunday's brew is already going strong. It'll probably be fermented out by tomorrow morning and I'll stick it in the fridge until Sunday's session of McBride's Strong Ale from Stewart's. If you attended the AHA ralley up at Iron Hill Wilmington last fall, you probably got a copy of the recipe from Ric Hoffman as part of your literature. I quickly squirreled the recipe away and waited for an opportunity to brew it. I'll probably split it between 2 3gal kegs, one with oak cubes and one with bourbon oak cubes... Why not?
I also completed another project - my Crankandstein grain mill is now motorized. Wish I could post pictures for you all, but Donna brought the digital camera with her to Atlanta. I'll have to post it next week sometime once she's back. I used it tonight for the first time and I gotta tell you - it is the epitome of sweetness. It gives a much more consistent and perfect crush than my hand drill did. I spent $75 on a 1/3HP, 100 in-lb torque, 151 RPM reversable 120V motor from Herbach & Rademan over in Jersey. It arrived in perfect condition. The remainder of my motor-related parts I ordered from McMaster-Carr, those being a capacitor and spider couplings for about $25. All my hardware, lumber, and wiring accessories I picked up at Home Depot down at People's Plaza. I guess all told I spent another $120-130 to get the mill motorized, but considering the results I won't complain. And if you think about it, all of that junk is still a fraction of the cost of the original mill and well worth it.... it'll last me forever.
My yeast starter for Sunday's brew is already going strong. It'll probably be fermented out by tomorrow morning and I'll stick it in the fridge until Sunday's session of McBride's Strong Ale from Stewart's. If you attended the AHA ralley up at Iron Hill Wilmington last fall, you probably got a copy of the recipe from Ric Hoffman as part of your literature. I quickly squirreled the recipe away and waited for an opportunity to brew it. I'll probably split it between 2 3gal kegs, one with oak cubes and one with bourbon oak cubes... Why not?
