What Just Happened:
Yeast Culturing - I purchased a microscope and a bunch a lab equipment. Petri dishes, test tubes, inoculating loops, an alcohol burner, and more now all reside in the brew room. As a first go at culturing yeast I prepared a few petri dishes and a number of slants.
I used some frozen second running wort from my last batch that had an original gravity of 1.040 so make the cultures. The first step was to boil the wort until a hot break formed (about 15 minutes). I added yeast nutrient and irish moss at this point. Next I cooled the wort and then let it sit. When the break had settled I then poured off the clear wort into another container. This container then went into the microwave until it was near boiling. The agar was then sprinkled onto the surface and stirred in once it was hydrated. This agar was purchased from a local Asian market (H Mart).
The next step was to fill each test tube with 15ml of the solution and place them in the pressure cooker. The remaining wort was poured into a canning pint jar and placed in the pressure cooker as well. The petri dishes were placed in the pressure cooker too. I happen to have a digital pressure cooker so I set the pressure to the max (80 kpa) for 30 minutes. When the cycle was complete, I placed the test tubes at a slight angle to cool and poured the liquid from the pint glass into the sterilized petri dishes and left to cool. Condensation formed on the lids of the petri dishes so I stored them upside down in a paper bag at room temperature to help evaporate some of the water. In the morning I took on petri dish and inoculated it with some Thames Valley II yeast krausen from an active fermentation. We shall see how my first attempt turned out soon.
I used some frozen second running wort from my last batch that had an original gravity of 1.040 so make the cultures. The first step was to boil the wort until a hot break formed (about 15 minutes). I added yeast nutrient and irish moss at this point. Next I cooled the wort and then let it sit. When the break had settled I then poured off the clear wort into another container. This container then went into the microwave until it was near boiling. The agar was then sprinkled onto the surface and stirred in once it was hydrated. This agar was purchased from a local Asian market (H Mart).
The next step was to fill each test tube with 15ml of the solution and place them in the pressure cooker. The remaining wort was poured into a canning pint jar and placed in the pressure cooker as well. The petri dishes were placed in the pressure cooker too. I happen to have a digital pressure cooker so I set the pressure to the max (80 kpa) for 30 minutes. When the cycle was complete, I placed the test tubes at a slight angle to cool and poured the liquid from the pint glass into the sterilized petri dishes and left to cool. Condensation formed on the lids of the petri dishes so I stored them upside down in a paper bag at room temperature to help evaporate some of the water. In the morning I took on petri dish and inoculated it with some Thames Valley II yeast krausen from an active fermentation. We shall see how my first attempt turned out soon.
Record Keeping - I decided to number my kegs this week in an effort to bring a bit more order and record keeping around. I have yet to have a problem with a keg, but if I ever do it will be interesting to see if the beer that lived in it previously is the culprit. I encourage everyone to take note of everything. Information is your best friend in brewing.
Hop Garden Visit - We took a trip to visit a friend last weekend who enjoys brewing and has a nice hop garden. As you can see he has many varieties and grows a nice bumper crop of hops each year. Now is the time of year to get your rhizomes from a friend (or supplier) and start thinking about how to grow them to their full potential. To round out our trip we sampled some of the 15 brews he had on tap including 3 meads, 2 ciders and a number of ales. He was so gracious as to send us on our way with a pound of magnum hops and a bit of insight on how to grow our own.What to look forward to:
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What's on Tap:
Brewery Visit - Last weekend we stopped in at Golden Valley Brewing in McMinneville, OR. I had tasted their beer before at a local ale fest and had seen it available in the grocery store. Upon our arrival I was surprised to see how busy the place was at the lunch hour. The space was large for a small town. The space was a nicely upgraded older building with giant wooden beams and fitting stain wood bar and table to complement. The beer sampler consisted of 10 beers and was served on a unique sampler tray. Upon inquiry I confirmed that the tray was made from a used wine barrel slat. The beers were all good. Lindsay liked the pale ale the best, but I was a fan of the dark lager. All of the beers were bright and flavorful. The bar was nicely crafted from solid wood and featured stained glass inlays at about 14 feet above us. Sitting at the bar you can look to your right and see directly into the brew room. Well worth a visit, this brewery has been in business since the early nineties. We should have made it out to this one long before now.
Brewery Visit - Last weekend we stopped in at Golden Valley Brewing in McMinneville, OR. I had tasted their beer before at a local ale fest and had seen it available in the grocery store. Upon our arrival I was surprised to see how busy the place was at the lunch hour. The space was large for a small town. The space was a nicely upgraded older building with giant wooden beams and fitting stain wood bar and table to complement. The beer sampler consisted of 10 beers and was served on a unique sampler tray. Upon inquiry I confirmed that the tray was made from a used wine barrel slat. The beers were all good. Lindsay liked the pale ale the best, but I was a fan of the dark lager. All of the beers were bright and flavorful. The bar was nicely crafted from solid wood and featured stained glass inlays at about 14 feet above us. Sitting at the bar you can look to your right and see directly into the brew room. Well worth a visit, this brewery has been in business since the early nineties. We should have made it out to this one long before now.
