Two Test Batches Under Our Belt

As we had hoped, Premier Stainless sent out Adler, a brewer/technician last Thursday and Friday to help setup the brewing system.  Before he arrived on Thursday morning, there was plenty to do: getting the tanks in place, setting out all the parts, connecting up the electrical connections, and making a temporary flue setup.  The permanent stainless steel flue was being fabbed, so we put together a galvanized vent for the interim.  The install on Thursday went pretty well.  Our electrician, Adam, and Adler finished up making the connections for the kettle burner and temperature and level sensors in the morning, so we were ready to start cleaning the tanks by the afternoon.  Cleaning took much longer than I expected, but the process went pretty well.  By the time we did a clean-in-place cycle of caustic, acid wash, and rinse on the brew kettle, mash tun, and fermentor, it was 8:00 pm.  A long but productive day.

Friday was brew day, which was much more fun, but took equally as long.  The mash water took about 4 hours to warm up, so we didn't really start the brew until close to noon.  Meanwhile, we set up the malt grinder and finished outfitting some of the other equipment.  Right after lunch we started the mash and things went smoothly from that point on.  Amazingly, our mash efficiency was in the 85%+ range which resulted in a 6% ABV Pale Ale to have enough sugar to end up closer to 7.5% ABV.  No problem there - greater efficiency is always a good thing - next time a little less malt needed.  By the time we got the cooled wort in to the 3 BBL fermentor and did a quick clean up, it was 7:30 pm.  It was a great feeling to see the wort in the fermentor churning out Lake Bluff Brewing Company's first beer.

After doing a thorough cleaning of the tanks again on Monday night, we brewed our Soft Tail IPA on Tuesday. The brew went really well, took far less time, and we hit the mash numbers right where we wanted to be.  A great second showing, and can't wait to see how they turn out.  It will be nice to have a week off over the holidays to recharge before transferring the Pale Ale to the Bright Tank for carbonation around the new year.  Still lots to do, so the "time off" is all relative.

Wishing you all a very happy holiday and a joyous New Year.