I have been lusting after the idea of putting in some 1.5" ferrules in my HLT and BK to host some 5500W electric ripple heaters (240v of course). Just something I could quick plug in and with a big knife switch breaker box, quickly boost my gas heat options. Nothing fancy...just some raw V*A pure energy for the colder months and big temp steps...
Today was the day I would test out some of the new additions and changes I had made to my brewery! Namely, the bottom drain mash tun and the replumbed natural gas access from the garage instead of off the back patio deck (to help make it easier to wheel 15 gallons of fresh wort in my large half bbl stainless steel conical fermenter from SS Brewtech).
While recently riding shotgun on a brew day for a friend, Chris Stephani, I was intrigued to see that his mash tun utilized a normal half barrel keg, and had a bottom drain, based on the normal tap port of the keg used upside down. He has a flat silicon custom for that connection to a normal 1.5" TC. It drips just a very small amount, and I think he really wants to redo it, but it works. And best of all, it uses a very efficient bottom drain that leaves no lost head space or dip tube through false bottom. I was enamored...
It was LONG over due time for me to replenish my long gone favorite house beer, my beloved Dark IPA. I was quite frustrated with myself for letting it go so long, especially since I had been working from home all summer due to some crazy disease or something. It was not rational or reasonable that I had let things get so far out of control. And, so, with a couple weeks off to bleed down my extensive time off before retiring, I resolved to have a brew day!
Well, after *many* years of not updating my Blog or brewing page, I've decided it is time for some updates! Oh, I've still been brewing; just more like a well oiled recipe book with little changes. I'm now retired from my day job as a DRAM/NAND Flash Electrical Engineer working for Micron Technology of almost 26 years...and one of the things I wanted to toy with was growing my brewery scale (or at least seeing how to make it better). I'm still not sure to what end...
Today, I finally got a respectable half barrel conical fermenter. I went with the SS Brewtech Brew Master Edition. This represents a huge investment (nearly half of what my full setup cost), but I think it is going to be worth it.
I just got back from Washington D.C. and a quick trip up to Harrisburg, PA, where I visited Troegs Brewery and Appalachian Brewing Co. Troegs Brewery was a fairly small operation, a lot like Rogue Brewery, but the tour was a blast. I really liked John, one of the brothers that started the brewery, and his tour. Had a great tasting and lots of fun. Images available.
