Forking Hungry

I use this space to share both my experimentation in beer brewing and food creation.  One day I will even muster up the discipline to create youtube content to post on my channel “Applied Science of Food and Spirit“.  Until then, please enjoy my content here and on instagram.  For foodie pics check out @PixelServed, for beer related @DrinkingGiant. I also post as RedKamado on The BBQ Brethren forum. This web site was originally going to focus only on brewing and beer.  See my below history of making sudds.

Cheers

Cheers! I have been brewing beer since 2010.  Since then, the methods and process in which I use to make beer have expanded exponentially.  The purpose of this site will be to share and extrapolate on my experiences in brewing and document my “hobby” as it evolves to further excess.

Evolution

It all started on a birthday some years ago when my wife, girlfriend at the time, surprised me with a home brew started kit and pale ale extract recipe.  Sometimes I wonder, had she known the gift would be a catalyst to a brewing obsession, would she still have given it.  I digress…
My very fist brew set up was as simple one.  I used a 7 gallon pot on the stove top for use in brewing 5 gallon extract batches.  Soon after I found a turkey fryer and propane burner on sale at the grocery store.  This led to many satisfying propane fueled brew sessions.

Further down the road I made the transition to all grain brewing.  For this I repurposed a 10 gallon cooler from home depot.  At this point I was having a great time experimenting and making all sorts of beer.  Most if it was pretty darn good too!

For the record, one can see I have an awesome wife as one fine spring day I received a gift; a keg of Bells Oberon.  I was very excited about this for many reasons.  The obvious being 15 and a half delicious gallons of American Wheat Ale.  The perfect ‘maiden voyage’ for a kegerator I had recently converted from an old fridge.  Finally, that keg gave me the idea to convert an old keg into a brew pot.

After purchasing an old keg, a bit of drilling, and the installation of some weld-less parts, I had my first “keggle” brew pot.  I soon upgraded my propane burner to a unit that put out more BTU’s.  This helped me reach my target temperatures much quicker and I was a happy brewer. Unfortunately, I was happy but not satisfied.  I’d often find myself thinking that if I could increase my batch size from 5 to 10 gallons, I could double the amount of beer I make for the same amount of work.  I mean, I had a 15.5 gallon brew pot to work with, right?

Before I knew it I was making 10 gallon batches with some success.  At this point, I was limited by my 10 gallon mash cooler.  I had to be careful in designing beer recipes that wouldn’t call for more grain than my mash vessel could accommodate.  Fortunately I stumbled across 2 more kegs for sale, I purchased them immediately and began work to convert one to a mash vessel.

Now my brewing was at a point were I could really improve on my processes and efficiency. I spent a lot of time going over how best I could streamline my process from hot water, to mash, boil, cooling, and into a fermenter.  Remembering I had an extra keg I invested in 2 electric heating elements, a 220 volt control module, and had my basement wired with a 30 amp switch to power it all.  Additions include a March pump, stainless quick connect fittings, heat exchange re-circulating mash system (HERMS), and a counter flow chiller.  Now, my set up is complete and I am fully satisfied.  …said no brewer ever