# Bioreactor Problem



## Slugger926 (Aug 22, 2006)

I have a bioreactor at home with barley malt, hop tea, and yeast working away.

Any suggestions on how to make the time pass faster until the contents of the reactor can be bottled with additional fructose, and conditioned in a bottle?

Two more weeks.......


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Aug 22, 2006)

I had a similar bioreactor going until the other day. Once the mean cell residence time had been reached, I knew I needed to waste some sludge in order to maintain steady state kinetics.

I ran the wasting pump and stored the effluent in 32 oz pressure sealed drums until such time when it can be properly disposed of at an approved facility.

You homebrew man? I just bottled a batch of golden oat ale. I had a half bottle leftover and drank it. The oat flavor is great, but it'sa little hoppier than I typically like.

I saw a sweet Tripel recipe in a magazine I want to make for my next batch.


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## TouchDown (Aug 22, 2006)

Enjoy the stench coming from the back of your closet where you have this contraption brewing... 

I've heard tiddleywinks is fun.


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Aug 22, 2006)

I got mine in the basement. It's really not bad.

The only time it smells is during the brew. It kinds smells like bread then, until you add the hops. Then it smells like shit.


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## EdinNO (Aug 22, 2006)

Start washing dishes (empty bottles) if you haven't done so yet. That was the biggest pain for me when I made a couple of batches several years bac.

If you're already done with that, start washing more for the next batch!

Otherwise, call your engineering board and ask them if the results of your brew are ready yet and blame them for it taking too long- either them or NCEES!

Ed


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Aug 22, 2006)

Actually, what I do with my bottles is just tinse them out after I use them to get the bulk of the stuff out. I then run them through the dishwasher with no detergent (kills the surface tension of your bubbles) on an extended wash, hot water, heated dry setting to sterilize them.

I've been brewing for 3 years and have never lost a batch due to improper sanitation of equipment.

The only time I skunked one was when I added a quart of maple syrup halfway through the fermentation without boiling it first. Musta introduced something that gorged itself on my wort. :angry:


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## Timber (Aug 23, 2006)

beer. always an interesting thread. i personally usually prefer an ale or lager when i plan on putting a few down. microbrewery are always a choice place to visit. Hops Rest' makes a nice tatsty hammerhead red, this is my fav. unfortunately, i don't live close to their restaraunt anymore. i've often wondered and considered what intersting discoveries could be had if I tried brewing on my own. actually seems like it would be quite interesting "bubbles in beer" CO2, sugar, yeast, hops like a college chem lab, i never new what the heck i was doing. But i always thought it was cool as shit. a heat exchanger, this is needed yes? I'm not really interested in starting off with some cheap $99.99 beer brew kit. i need some insight on the cost of this adventure. how much room is needed, and how enjoyable is the whole process. i know the end has to be the most rewarding. :drunk:


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## petermcc (Aug 23, 2006)

beer................

View attachment 167


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Aug 23, 2006)

> i personally usually prefer an ale or lager when i plan on putting a few down.


When it comes down to it, all beer is either ale or lager.

I spent $75 on a middle of the road brew kit a few years back. I bought a few more accessories over the years. You can spend hundreds of dollars on stainless steel fermenters, copper brew kettles, wort aerators, wort chillers, etc.

I use the good old fashioned plastic and glass buckets, a 4 gallon lobster pot for my boil, and a bag of ice to chill it. Nothing flashy. I get great results every time.

You don't need much room. You basically sit over the stove for the boil, then pour it in a bucket and forget about it for a while. You can stash it in a closet or basement. No real space requirements.

Bottling will take up most of your kitchen and make a mess, there's no way around it. It's the least pleasurable part. But if you get a good capper, or use self-sealing bottles, it's pretty painless.

The best part is definitely cracking the first one open and tasting your creation. Showing it off to your friends is pretty sweet too!


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## Kipper (Aug 23, 2006)

HOORAY!! BEER!! :???:


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Aug 23, 2006)




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## Kipper (Aug 23, 2006)

>


Awesome, I have new wallpaper on my screen. :bow: :bow:

Thanks VT! :beerchug


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## Hill William (Aug 24, 2006)

My wife bought me a "Mr. Beer" home brew kit for my birthday and I am getting ready to start my first batch. Do you guys use the packaged stuff like they sell or do you buy your own raw ingredients?? I have never tried this before so I am totally in the dark. I will use their stuff first, but where do you buy hops and beer yeast? Not something I see at the grocery store. :dunno:


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Aug 24, 2006)

There are a number of good websites out there where you can order ingredients. I used to do this exclusively until I moved somewhere with a homebrew shop, and I still do when I need specialty ingredients. The brew shop by me is quite small and has a limited selection.

Here are a couple of good online shops.

Austin Homebrew

Midwest Supplies

I'd say go with a packaged kit to start with. All of the ingredients are measured out for you and the recipe was made by someone who knows what he's doing. Make something standard and simple, and follow their instructions.

Once you get a feel for the technique, then you can get creative. You can get individual ingredients and make your own concoctions.

I tend to look in a recipe book for some inspiration, then tweak it to my tastes. For example - I really don't like hoppy beer, so I will tend to substitute lower alpha acid hops than what's called for.

Enjoy!

PS - Is it really called Mr. Beer? That's classic. If I was ever a superhero, I'd want that to be my name.


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## Hill William (Aug 24, 2006)

> There are a number of good websites out there where you can order ingredients. I used to do this exclusively until I moved somewhere with a homebrew shop, and I still do when I need specialty ingredients. The brew shop by me is quite small and has a limited selection.
> Here are a couple of good online shops.
> 
> Austin Homebrew
> ...


Thanks man. Im gonna mix up a batch this weekend and see what happens.

Yeah man. MR. BEER. They sell all kinds of stuff for homebrewing.

MR. BEER


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Aug 24, 2006)




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## Slugger926 (Aug 27, 2006)

> > There are a number of good websites out there where you can order ingredients. I used to do this exclusively until I moved somewhere with a homebrew shop, and I still do when I need specialty ingredients. The brew shop by me is quite small and has a limited selection.
> > Here are a couple of good online shops.
> >
> > Austin Homebrew
> ...


My current setup is Mr. Beer. I like the 2 gallon batches for learning what I like and don't like. Some of the recipies are too hoppy for me. Buying the DME and Hops from a local store and making smaller batches is cheaper than buying the kits, but both are much cheaper than buying beer at the liquor stores around here.

Unless you go to a liquor store in OK, you might as well be buying flavored water.


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