New Opentroller Dx1 ordered - what have I done!

Well I have been thinking a lot about upgrading the brewery to run on new Opentroller (Brewtroller) platform. I am a geek at heart so it should be a cool project for me. 

This morning they had a few in stock so I pulled the trigger.

The first step will be to add my HLT and MLT. In the future I plan to add volume measurement and maybe some other automation.

Let the journey begin!

Basic set up I will be working on. I will not automate the kettle... at least not for a while.

Improvisational Double IPA brew day

We decided to brew a 15 gallon batch of a DIPA today but didn't really have a plan on hops. So we gathered what we had on hand and added additions based on how we were feeling at the time. No pre checking IBUs from the additions on any software. It was all recorded with pen and paper to help us remember what and when additions were made.

We ended up with 6 oz of Zythos, 7 oz of Sorachi ace, and 1 oz of Calypso over 6 additions, with most coming with less than 20 minutes left. Should be an interesting beer. Another 4 of the sorachi will be used to dry hop. I figure it will have a pretty heavy lemon character.

All in all the brew day went perfect. It's those kind of days that let you mess around and have fun making shit up as you go.



Heating strike water



The Mill



Mash recirc

Mash recirc close up

First runnings

Full boil

Chilling wort

Kegged up

Nothing was brewed Last weekend, but it was still a busy one in the brewery.

6 kegs were cleaned and filled. 15 gallons of an Imperial American Red Ale and 15 gallons of a Belgian Style golden strong ale.

The Belgian is young, but is already tasting amazingly Belgian. It makes me want to brew more estery beers like this. It tastes like fucking bananas!

I also bottled up the last of the Kilo double IPA and our latest wheat creation for a competition at a later date.